Fadli and Jon Afrizal, Batam, Jambi – Coastal erosion is progressing at an alarming rate in Batam and Jambi as a result of widespread illegal logging of mangrove forests, the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry says.

An estimated 800 to 900 hectares of mangrove forests that function as buffers against strong waves are illegally logged each year.

Marine Resource Supervision and Control Agency head Ansori Zamami on Tuesday told The Jakarta Post his office had filed a report with Batam-Rempang-Galang (Barelang) Police over illegal logging of mangrove forests carried out by two companies in Batam.

On September 14, the agency found PT Harapan Barelang and PT Sinar Jaya felling mangrove trees to be made into charcoal for export to Singapore and Malaysia.

"Damage to mangrove forests in Batam was mainly attributed to widespread illegal logging in the charcoal-making industry. The forests will disappear altogether if no action is taken to prevent this," Ansori said.

He said uncontrolled deforestation would lead to erosion, high tides and depleted fish stocks in the area.

He added his office had sent a team to Batam to take stern measures against those found illegally logging in mangrove forests.

"We truly hope the police will thoroughly investigate those involved in mangrove forest destruction in Batam. We want this to serve as a lesson for other offenders," Ansori said.

Timber derived from mangrove forests in Batam is mostly handled by a number of private companies equipped with only general trading licenses, but not logging permits. Thus these companies evade paying taxes for charcoal exports.

Ansori said the two companies operating on Galang and Rempang islands employed at least 300 loggers, felling between 2,500 and 3,000 mangrove trees from each hectare of mangrove.

He added the companies took between 45 and 60 days to turn out charcoal, with each company able to produce between 1,500 and 21,000 tons. They then shipped their products to Singapore and Malaysia, from where the charcoal was re-exported to other countries.

"We plan to establish a government-to-government agreement with Singapore and Malaysia to curb the trade of charcoal derived illegally from mangrove forests, because the country is incurring huge losses. We hope both countries will cooperate," Ansori said.

Batam Maritime Fisheries and Plantation Office head Suhartini said the practice had been in existence for several decades now, but was done traditionally, in smaller volumes, previously.

"Over the past six years, the industry has been controlled by a number of companies, with no heed for existing policies. We want the police to thoroughly investigate the irresponsible parties. We have so far stopped issuing forest management licenses to anyone," she said.

Suhartini added the Batam municipality had provided soft loans as start-up capital for loggers to encourage them to seek other means of making a living.

Coastal erosion has devastated the east coast of Sumatra, especially in Sadu district, Tanjungjabung regency, Jambi.

The area suffering the brunt of the damage is Cemara village, where erosion is bringing seawater between 300 and 500 meters further inland each year.

Coastal erosion is also affecting coconut farms, concentrated within nine villages in the district. Many coconut trees are having to be felled each day because their roots are too exposed to protect them against rising tides.

With many coconut farms severely incapacitated, villagers are attempting to slow the rate of erosion by replanting mangroves in affected areas.

"The local community is now aware of conservation efforts," said Gita Buana Foundation spokesman Abdul Hadison. He added all community groups in villages along the east coast had been tasked with cultivating their own mangrove saplings that would be grown together later.

"We only supply the bags for the seedlings, while the residents provide the seedlings," he said.

Residents planted a 3-kilometer stretch of mangrove trees in mid-2006. The trees have grown to a height of more than 1.5 meters now, and farmland in the village is no longer affected by coastal erosion.

"People from other villages are now aware of the importance of planting mangroves along the coast," said Hadison.

In 2002, the Tanjungjabung regency administration issued an ordinance to save mangrove forests. The ordinance stipulates offenders can face three months' imprisonment or a fine of Rp 2 million (approximately US$222) if found guilty of illegally logging the forests.