Save mangrove forests: Official

JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Forestry and Plantations has called on the private sector to help protect mangrove forests in the Muara Angke reserves in North Jakarta.

Besides providing a natural habitat for marine biota, shrimps, fish and crustaceans, mangrove trees are essential for the protection of coastlines against sea erosion, Secretary-general Sudarsono said during a ceremony which marked the planting of 500 mangrove trees in Muara Angke on Saturday.

"We can't replace mangroves with other trees because it is the only plant suitable for the coastal area," Sudarsono said.

The replanting program was sponsored by General Electric Indonesia in cooperation with the Jakarta-based Biological Science Club (BScC) and the Natural Resources Conservation Agency of the Ministry of Forestry and Plantations.

Sudarsono said he hoped other parties would join similar programs in the future.

The Muara Angke mangrove forests have been under serious threat with a great deal of domestic and industrial waste discharged into Jakarta's rivers finding its way to the area. The putrid odor from the water in the area is testimony to the sad condition of Muara Angke.

"We urge Jakarta residents, especially factory owners, not to discharge their waste before it is treated," Sudarsono said.

Indonesia's mangrove forests have dwindled to less than two million hectares from 4.25 million in 1982, causing more abrasion and danger to biota living in the area, he said.

Many of these forests have given way to housing and industrial areas, or for shrimp and fish cultivation. Some were arbitrarily slashed by people for firewood, he said.

General Electric Indonesia is not the first to launch a campaign to save the Muara Angke mangrove forests.

Trees planted in one campaign, involving several universities in Jakarta in October, seemed to be growing well, Iwan Krishnamurti of the Biological Science Club (BScC) said.

For a city of 8.4 million people, Jakarta's forestry area only covers about 7 percent of its 661.62 square kilometers of total area. All the forests, including protected forests, wildlife reserves and national parks, are located in North Jakarta.

The Muara Angke reserve, located in the Angke River's estuary, covers a total of 25.35 hectares of land. It is administratively part of Kapuk Muara, Penjaringan district, in North Jakarta.

The reserve shares borders with Pantai Indah Kapuk housing complex in the south and the west; the Angke river in the east; and the Angke Kapuk protected forest in the north.

Iwan said that ideally, mangrove trees should cover 75 percent of the total reserve area, compared to less than 50 percent at present.

A mangrove tree takes approximately five years to grow, while replanting has an average success rate of 75 percent, he said. (04)