Pulau Kelapa locals fight off environmental destruction
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.