Reclamation project will make fishermen's life harder

Reclamation project will make fishermen's life harder

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Engkos Kusnadi has little idea why the government is planning
2,500 hectares of coastal areas to the north of Jakarta. But he
does know that his life would be much harder once implemented, as
it could cut into his fishing areas.

"Fishing is the only job I know. I only graduated from
elementary school. I couldn't get any other job. So, I will
remain a fisherman although the reclamation will make it harder
for me," said Engkos Kusnadi, 32, a small fisherman in the
Marunda coastal area in North Jakarta.

Engkos was commenting on the plan by the City Administration
to reclaim some 2,500 hectares of coastal land which is currently
covered by sea water and to revitalize some 2,700 hectares of
coastal areas in North Jakarta.

He is among thousands of fishermen who will be affected by the
reclamation project spanning 32 kilometers from Bekasi to
Tangerang. In Marunda, North Jakarta, alone, there are some 1,000
families whose lives depend on the sea.

As a small fishermen, Engkos can earn, on average, Rp 200,000
per month from fishing to support five members of his family.

He has three children, one still in elementary school, another
in junior high school and a daughter who dropped out after
junior high.

There is no clear data on the total number of fishermen who
work in the areas off of North Jakarta, but according to data
from the Forum for Coastal, Sea, and Island Communities (Formas
P2LK), there are some 3,000 fishing boats used by between two and
six fishermen in the coastal area.

Similar comments came from Tiswa, 32, a fisherman who works
the sea off of Cilincing subdistrict in North Jakarta.

Tiswa, who has a relatively large wooden boat measuring some 8
meters long and 2.5 meters wide, said the reclamation project
would negatively affect his job.

"I might have to find other places to fish if the sea here
(Cilincing) is filled in. But that means, my catches could be not
as good as here," said Tiswa, who can earn between Rp 200,000 and
Rp 1 million per month.

The fishermen will not be the only people to be affected by
the project. Tens of thousands of other residents in the area
will be also be seriously affected by the likely environmental
and economic impacts.

Abdillah, 59, a former bus driver who resides in Marunda, said
that the reclamation project would push them out of their home.
"I'm afraid that I will not get fair compensation for my land as
I do not have proper documents," he said, adding that with the
compensation he probably could not buy a new house in another
place.

"I have been here since the 1960s. I am not sure if I can
afford a new house if I have to move from here as usually the
compensation is very low," said Abdillah.

Abdullah, 62, a former fisherman, who lives in Cilincing
subdistrict, said that he did not oppose any development program
if it was aimed at improving the people's welfare.

However, he said that there were numerous examples where the
common people became victims of large-scale projects such as this
rather than gain any benefit from it. "If the reclamation and
revitalization project proceeds as planned, I can only hope that
we do not become another victim of a development program," he
added.

The reclamation project is part of the City Administration's
plan to develop the coastal area into commercial areas.

The area would be allocated for luxury homes, hotels,
condominiums, an industrial zone, a port area, business centers,
super shopping malls, offices, and recreation areas.

Originally, the reclamation plan was based on the Presidential
Decree No 52 issued in 1995 by former president Soeharto and the
Jakarta Bylaw No. 8/1995. But the project did not get off the
ground due to the economic crisis which hit the country in 1997.

Executive Chairman of the Jakarta Waterfront Implementation
Board Mochamad Sidarta, who is responsible for the project,
estimated that the project would need some Rp 20 trillion and
would be implemented in stages for 30 years.

Many officials and environmentalists have expressed their
concern over the project as they said it would mean social and
environmental problems, including worsening floods in the city.