Pulau Kelapa locals fight off environmental destruction

By Yudha Kartohadiprodjo

PULAU KELAPA, North Jakarta (JP): Dive into the blue water surrounding Kelapa island and witness the environmental damage. The seabed looks like the surface of the moon. Most of the reefs, or what is left of them, has lost its natural color, creating an eerie scenery for scuba divers.

Population increases and environmental disregard by the tourist industry has led to coral reefs becoming a direct victim. The use of coral as a building material and fishing methods involving dynamite and potassium have added to the destruction.

The impact is felt in two ways by the community: environmentally and in terms of their livelihood.

Without the protection of coral reefs, wind and currents shift the sand, endangering the already cramped living space of the community.

Inhabitants of Kelapa island deal with the problem on their own terms. They used to build stilt houses on the seashore. But now they have established a seawall using household waste: plastic materials, driftwood, etc.

The lack of a coral barrier also causes saltwater intrusion into the island's fresh water reserves, forcing the community to get their supply of freshwater from surrounding islands.

The quality of life has decreased significantly, as shown by the higher frequency of diarrhea and dysentery recorded at the community's health center.

And now the fishermen need to sail further out as the destruction of coral reefs has led to depleted catches.

The government has tried to provide loans through the poverty eradication program (IDT). In the past few years the government has paved roads all over the island, established regular ferry connections to Jakarta and built modern piers on both sides of the island. But these efforts have not solved the many problems faced by the community.

Kelapa island's subdistrict chief Anwar complained about the community's indifference to warnings from local authorities regarding environmental destruction.

"They do not want to listen to us ... perhaps due to their low education level or their traditional way of life," he said.

Data from the local education board shows that 83 percent of island's total population only have an elementary education.

Animosity

Yet their indifference toward the bureaucracy's warnings has deeper roots than just their limited education.

At the peak of the 1970s oil boom, when Jakarta's upper class started to look at the islands as their playground, a community of Bugis fishermen in the archipelago was persuaded to leave the one island they had settled on and move to Kelapa island II. Twenty years passed and they have yet to receive their land certificates, according to locals and researchers from the University of Indonesia.

Since then the community's informal leaders have been trying to gain rights for the community. To their disadvantage, locals say the problem was used by the authorities to secure success for the ruling party Golkar at every election.

"They promised they would issue our land certificates if they won. Such unfulfilled promises have created animosity from the islanders," a community leader said.

He also said that locally, the recipient of poverty funds were those related to local officials.

The researchers acknowledged the problem.

"The islanders are a community of fishermen to begin with. The intention of IDT is to cultivate alternative resources of income for the people, namely small-scale businesses. The objective has failed since most fishermen lack business skills or interest in becoming vendors," Hasantoha said.

Research by Kalpataru Foundation in 1996 also showed that the community was less interested in any industries other that the fishing industry.

Distorted perception and ill planning of civil servants has led to public mistrust here, indicated by indifference toward officials.

All this has contributed heavily to the environmental, health and poverty problems here. But there may be some hope for the island's future in the young generation.

Currently they have been targeted by some non-governmental organizations in environmental awareness programs. Apart from that these NGOs are helping villagers with an alternative program to reduce dependency on earnings from fishing.

Among other things, the NGOs train villagers to cultivate seaweed to sell; an activity familiar to villagers but which has not been intensively practiced.

To help rehabilitate the environment, the Kalpataru foundation, for example, in cooperation with local government offices, the Ministry of Forestry, other NGOs and private enterprises and individuals are trying to plant mangroves on the shores of Kelapa island.

Last month, sponsored by The Body Shop Indonesia, the foundation organized a group of people of various backgrounds in a joint effort to plant mangrove trees.

Mangrove forests act as barrier against shore erosion and salt water intrusion as well as a place for fish eggs to hatch. Mangrove bark is useful as a medicine and as firewood and is traditionally used by fishermen to make dye for their dragnets.

Aried Henry, the program's coordinator, said the occasion was just the start of a long struggle. "We realize that such an effort would not bring any results if it stops at a one-day event. Therefore we are establishing an environmental awareness program with the local junior high school as well as housewives," he said.

In school, a teacher, helped by activists, integrates an awareness program into biology classes. Students can receive extra grades by tending the mangrove plants outside school hours.

In informal forums such as the women's weekly Koran recitals, activists try to introduce simple environmental knowledge to housewives as well as young girls.

There is still a long way to go before the community regains its vitality. Land right problems need to be solved, the government needs to amend its city planning and the community still needs to modify its way of living.

Years ago, songs were composed to describe the beauty of the island. It's not too late for the Thousand Islands to regain their beauty.