Sand extraction endangers Bantul coast, causes environmental damage

Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post/Bantul, Yogyakarta

Some 15 years ago, hundreds of sand dunes were still in evidence along the southern coastal areas of Bantul regency, Yogyakarta.

Sometimes they looked huge but on other occasions they looked a little thinner when the wind blew hard on them. It always left long, meandering traces on the surface of the sands, creating beautiful, natural pictures on the beach.

In Soge hamlet, Srigading village, Sanden, for example, a sand dune could sometimes reach a height of 100 meters. Children at that time used to play on the dunes to fly kites. Some attached banana stems to their feet to slide down the top of the dune, as if they were skiing.

Unfortunately, such scenes have now become quite rare. No happy voices of children playing on the sand dunes are heard in the afternoon. Even the long, meandering wind sculptures can no longer be seen.

The dunes are gone. Irresponsible people have taken the sand away from the beach and given it to developers. They have damaged the attractiveness of the beach, including the renowned Samas and Parangtritis beaches.

It seems they are unaware of what they do; taking sand from the beach in an uncontrolled fashion is like digging a grave for people living in the area. They do not seem to realize that it is the sand dunes that had been protecting coastal villages from abrasion, strong winds and high tides.

The sand dunes were their natural protection.

Geologist Dwikorita Karnawati of Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University (UGM) said the sand dunes indeed protected villages along the regency's southern coastline.

Uncontrolled sand extraction, therefore, threatens the coast with both abrasion and intrusion, especially as such activities often leave gaping holes at the extraction sites.

"This is a serious threat. If nothing is done, it will certainly endanger people living in the area," Dwikorita told The Jakarta Post.

Sukamto, 35, of Srigading village, is a living witnesses to the disappearance of the sand dunes in his area. Since 1992, he said, hundreds of trucks had come to his village every day to carry away loads of sand.

"As far as I can know, at least 50 sand extraction sites exist along Bantul's coastal areas," Sukamto said.

At first, he said, the activities seemed beneficial for local people. Locals, including Sukamto himself, for example, can earn money by working for truck owners by digging the sands and loading it onto trucks. The activities, too, have flattened the dunes, making it easier for them to build dwelling huts there.

Locals, Sukamto says, usually work for the truck owners in groups. A group consists of four workers and is able to load six to 10 trucks a day, depending on the situation on the day. The fee for loading a truck is Rp 35,000 to Rp 60,000, depending on the size of the vehicle.

"I can earn more than Rp 100,000 a day when business is good. Sometimes, I earn nothing if there are no loading orders at all," said father of one, Sukamto.

However, he appears to have started to regret the activities that he previously perceived as beneficial, especially after learning the news about the tsunami tragedy on December 26, 2004, that claimed many thousands of lives and displaced many thousands of others.

"Now I'm anxious. I wonder what would happen if a similar tsunami stuck here. The natural fortress is no longer there.

Such a wave would, of course, easily devastate the villages here," said Sukamto, in hushed tones.

He also feels the same when strong winds from the sea blows in the direction of his village, threatening to blow roofs off houses. It is something that he never experienced before the sand extraction occurred.

Sukamto's worry, like that of many other local villagers, is not without foundation. Hardly any sand dunes are left on the beach.

At Srigading hamlet, Karanganyar, an average of 100 trucks per day carry away sand.

"A truck is required to pay a fee of Rp 1,000; we have been earning some Rp 100,000 a day from this, meaning that there are some 100 trucks taking sand from here a day," Budi, a Karanganyar villager, told The Post.

The situation has become even worse recently as there has been an increased demand for beach sand for building construction. Beach sand that was previously used only as a filler at construction sites is later mixed with river sand and sold as construction material.

To make it, three trucks of beach sand are usually mixed with a truck of river sand, taken mostly from the Progo River. Such a mixture is normally sold for Rp 180,000 per truck, which encourages more people, including those from outside Bantul, to enter the business.

Agus, a truck driver from the neighboring regency of Gunungkidul, for example, said that the sand that he got for Rp 40,000 per load was sold for Rp 200,000 per load in his hometown, Wonosari, after being described as sand for construction works.

It is ironic. On one hand, sand extraction has created jobs not just for locals but also people from outside the region. On the other hand, however, the activities are endangering the region, especially as they are removing a natural barrier that protects local people from possible natural disasters.

It's high time that the local government started controlling this activity so as to be both economically and environmentally sustainable.

"I really long for God's beautiful "sculptures" on the beach that I used to enjoy here years ago," Sukamto said.