Oil spill hurts ecosystem in resort islands

Damar Harsanto and Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The Jakarta Environmental Management Agency revealed on Friday that the pollution in the Thousand Islands had dealt a severe blow to the ecosystem and tourist potential of the resort islands.

"The current oil spill is the fifth incident within the past eight months, and the worst, with a larger ecosystem and greater area severely affected by the incident," the agency's director, Kosasih Wirahadikusumah, told reporters at City Hall.

Kosasih said that tar balls and oil spills, both of which constituted hazardous waste, had damaged the coral reefs and mangrove forests, particularly around the islets.

"The management of the Thousand Islands National Marine Park, has reported that the pollution has damaged one third of the total area of the park, or at least 7.7 hectares," Kosasih explained.

According to Kosasih, 20 groups of krapu fish farmers, 60 groups of seaweed farmers and 100 groups of fishermen had reported losses due to the pollution. The agency also reported that the population of Hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata), which lay their eggs along the coast, had also been halved.

The Jakarta Tourism Agency also reported that occupancy rates on the resort islands had plunged by 70 percent on average over the past eight months, Kosasih said. "Many tourists canceled their trips or shorten their stays."

Daniel Abimanju Carnadie, the manager of Bubbles Dive Center, said that he saw signs of tar balls as far back as 1990, when he first started diving in the Thousand Islands.

"We used to see tar balls once or twice a year back then, but nowadays we see them more often," he said.

He added that the Office of the State Minister for the Environment was still working to find the source of the latest oil spill.

Thousand Islands regent Abdul Kadir hinted earlier that the source of the pollution might be leaking oil pipes built in 1968, which are currently operated by the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, or oil rigs.

"We are also looking to see whether the offshore loading and unloading of oil tankers operating in Jakarta Bay contribute to the pollution," Kosasih added.

As in previous incidents, the CNOOC along with fishermen around the bay have been removing the tar balls from the sea manually. They have collected three tons of tar balls so far.

I-BOX Oil spills affecting the Thousand Islands

Dec. 28, 2003 Tar balls and oil affected 78 islets out of the total number of 87 islets in the Thousand Islands National Marine Park. CNOOC and Pertamina cleaned up the area and removed 220 tons of tar balls.

Apr. 24, 2004 Pollution in the form of tar balls and oil affected 37 islands. At least 80 tons of pollutants were removed from the sea.

May 2, 2004 Tar balls and oil found to the northeast of Pramuka islet as far as Peniki islet.

May 5, 2004 Small tar balls found around Pari, Panjang and Kelapa islets.

Oct. 1, 2004 Tar balls and oil found from Kotok Kecil, Kotok Besar, Semadaun and Panggang islets as far as Pramuka islet.