Vanishing islands
Six out of a thousand may not sound like many -- nor, for that matter, would six out of 120, which is closer to the actual number of islands contained in the Seribu (thousand) Islands group just outside the Bay of Jakarta. That, perhaps, is why so little attention has been given to reports this week that at least six of the islands have disappeared in recent years. After all, presumably none of the islands had permanent populations or have been long abandoned by fishermen and their families.
Our lack of concern for the vanishing islands would be acceptable if their disappearance had been the result of some nonviolent natural process, such as gradual erosion by wind or surf. But according to Jakarta Governor Surjadi Soedirdja last year, nine islands have disappeared due to uncontrolled sand quarrying, the destruction of mangrove stands, the use of explosives for fishing, the destruction of coral reefs and the destruction of marine life due to the disposal of oil in the sea by passing ships -- in short, due to quite a long list of man- made calamities.
In the face of these facts, North Jakarta Mayor H. Suprawito's claim yesterday that he had heard of no report of any islands disappearing since 1992 has a rather apologetic ring. Before 1992, according to Suprawito, only four islands had disappeared.
Which explanation should we believe? Dismal as the disappearance of islands may be -- especially, one might add, in an archipelagic country such as ours -- it is not the number or the size of the islands that makes the case so lamentable. Rather, it is the disrespectful, irresponsible attitude that so many of us still seem to harbor with regard to our precious, either unreplenishable or hard to replenish natural resources.
Whether it is four, six, or nine islands, the fact is "we know that problems exist in that area", said HM Ali Rozi, head of the Jakarta Office for Urban and Environmental Studies. The city's means to control fishing and protect the area's coral reefs and other marine resources are limited. It is hard enough for authorities in Jakarta to cope with the capital's mounting population pressures. But according to Rozi there is not much the city administration can do to curb the practice because "the quarrying permits are issued by the Ministry of Mines and Energy".
The same kind of mix-up in the division of authority between the central government and the city administration that hinders the effective supervision of other affairs -- traffic, for example -- is further hampering Jakarta's efforts to control the situation in the Seribu Islands.
If there is anything that the vanishing islands has taught us -- or should have taught us -- it's that all the various elements that help sustain the environment are interlinked. The cooperation of everyone concerned is needed to preserve the natural environment. But straightening out the bureaucratic clutter that hampers effective control is equally important.
It will take a good deal of work, not to mention concern and idealism, to make our environmental protection program work. But the result will be worth the trouble, for all of us and the future.