Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandarlampung – Illegal loggers in Lampung have cleared tens of thousands of hectares of mangrove forests, the green belt along Sumatra's eastern coast.
Logging activities have also occurred along the coasts of South Lampung, Tanggamus and Tulangbawang regencies, creating large-scale coastal abrasion, thus making it difficult for traditional shrimp farmers to obtain seawater for their ponds.
According to data from the Lampung office of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), of the total 160,000 hectares of mangrove forests in the province, 85 percent have been damaged in the past eight years.
A traditional shrimp farmer in Sragi village, South Lampung, Sulaiman, 40, said that mangrove forest destruction had been going on for the past five years, especially within the past year to make way for shrimp ponds.
"As a result, coastal erosion has gradually worsened." According to Sulaiman, the drop in the seawater debit due to erosion has caused many farmers to go out of business and take up other jobs, like working as laborers in Bandarlampung. Hundreds of farmers involved in producing shrimp fries have also gone bankrupt.
Now, hundreds of hatcheries in South Lampung have been left idle and have become mosquito breeding grounds.
Sulaiman said that large-scale shrimp farmers could stay in business by procuring water pumps to maintain the water levels in their ponds. "Only large-scale farms can afford to do that," he said.
Illegal logging is still going on around the PT Dipasena Citra Darmaja (DCD) shrimp farm in Tulangbawang regency. Company spokesman Agus Tito said that local residents had cleared 3,000 hectares of mangrove forest spanning 27 kilometers long and 300 to 700 meters wide.
Tito said that if mangrove logging continued unchecked along the green belt, coastal erosion on the eastern coast of Sumatra would exacerbate and threaten the shrimp industry.
A number of areas along the eastern coast of Lampung are in a critical condition. Data from Mitra Bentala, an NGO advocating the conservation of mangrove forests, indicates that only around 5 to 20 percent of mangrove forests still remain.
Mitra Bentala director Herza forecast that natural disasters would likely occur if spatial planning in coastal areas was not implemented.
According to Herza, mangrove forest destruction in Lampung, such as on East Lampung regency's east coast has reached between 15 to 20 percent, Lampung Bay (Bandarlampung) 5 percent, Semangka Bay (Tanggamus) 20 to 25 percent, and on West Lampung's coast between 10 to 20 percent.
"It is caused by the rampant conversion of mangrove forest into traditional shrimp farms by local residents, around 100 meters from the beach. Ironically, after opening the farms, residents abandon them and look for more favorable places," said Herza.
The most critical condition, said Herza, was the forest area in East Lampung regency's eastern-most area which was difficult to reach. He said that apart from the opening of new traditional shrimp farms, sand miners had also contributed to coastal destruction. A researcher from Lampung University, Buchori Ayik, said that the east coast had a relatively level coast and the longest span of mangrove forest in Lampung. Mangrove forest destruction, he explained, is caused by forest conversion resulting in coastal erosion.
Lampung Walhi data shows that around 85 percent of the 160,000 hectares of mangrove forests in Lampung have been damaged due to forest conversion since 1998. As many as 12,000 hectares are located in the green belt area along the eastern coast around the Mesuji river delta in Tulangbawang.
"The loss of mangrove forests has caused coastal abrasion on the east coast of Sumatra. The mangrove forest in Tulangbawang acts as a buffer against erosion caused by strong waves especially when there are easterly winds," said Lampung Walhi director, Mukri Friatna.
The Lampung governor's aide in economic, financial and development affairs, Harris Hasyim, said that the provincial administration would require Rp 2 trillion (US$222.5 million) to restore the damage done to mangrove forests across Lampung by illegal loggers.
Hasyim said that if forest destruction continued unchecked it would be unfavorable for Lampung's economy, especially following the endorsement of the international environmental policy on agricultural products, including fisheries, such as shrimps, a significant contribution to Lampung's economy, the consequences of which would be the ban on Lampung fishery products being exported to developed countries.
To overcome the problem, according to Harris, the provincial administration is working together with Lampung University and local hatchery companies to initiate the Forest Fisheries Program, in which residents, who depend on mangrove forests as their main source of income, are not only required to preserve them but also manage shrimp farms.