Who's destroying Pelabuhan Ratu?

Although I have traveled widely, I consider Pelabuhan Ratu one of the most beautiful places on earth. Rugged coastlines, unspoiled beaches, natural wilderness, lush vegetation -- a truly magical hideaway.

Even the drive there is very scenic with mountains, valleys and beautiful trees along the way.

Now I am saddened to see that the beach at Karang Hawu is being wantonly destroyed, while officials apparently turn a blind eye.

Every day the beach is filled with laborers mining black sand. Convoys of heavy trucks cause traffic hazards, pollution and road damage. This has been occurring for several months, directly in front of houses and motels. The laborers told me the sand would be mined until no more sand was left.

A lovely unspoiled beach has become a tourist trap of another kind -- with many holes covering an area of some several hundreds of meters.

I understand that an official letter requesting the activity to stop has been ignored.

This organized sand-mining also has disastrous ecological effects. Natural vegetation along the shore is being burned to get to the sand -- removing the sand may change the ocean currents, causing erosion as well as threatening the livelihood of local fishermen.

What is going on?

On entering Pelabuhan Ratu a toll is charged -- ostensibly to help develop the area as a tourist destination. Are we entering an area of industrial tourism? A "head in the sand attitude"?

To make matters worse, I have noticed recently that many mahogany trees en route to Pelabuhan Ratu have been chopped down. Most of them are now gone especially in the Warung Kiara area. Who benefits from the felling of so many mahogany trees measuring at least one meter in diameter?

We have seen this happen before, we witnessed with great sadness the felling of hundreds of old mahogany trees on the beautiful Cianjur road during the reign of the New Order. Now the same thing is happening again.

This madness has got to stop.

A beautiful tourist beach is being destroyed. Roads are being ruined. Pollution is increasing. Fifty-year-old protected trees are being chopped down before our eyes without a second thought. All because of commercial greed.

If this destruction is happening openly at a designated tourist area, one can only surmise what is occurring in the secluded rainforests of Kalimantan and elsewhere.

LILY KASOEM

Jakarta