The Jakarta Post, August 03, 2006
Housing development threatens Ambon mangrove forest
M. Azis Tunny, The Jakarta Post, Ambon
A mangrove forest in Teluk Ambon Baguala district, Maluku, is threatened by severe
sedimentation as a result of construction of the Bukit Lateri Indah housing complex,
observers warn.
The construction, carried out by developer PT Modern Multiguna, has damaged about
45 hectares of mangrove forest in a preservation area near Paso and Lateri villages,
the observers say.
Controversy over the housing project began as far back as 1997, during its planning
stage. Hundreds of Lateri residents protested the developer for failing to offer
compensation for community-owned farms affected by construction in the area, which
is home to a number of different mangrove species.
In 2004 the company began using heavy machinery to clear land for the project,
despite the continued protests by residents who felt they were being deprived of their
rights.
Since construction work began, say observers, signs of the environmental damage
allegedly resulting from the work have been apparent. Every rainy season, the pace of
erosion has quickened, with the soil flowing into the sea and silting up Dalam Bay in
Ambon.
From 2004 to the middle of 2006, sedimentation covered much of the productive
mangrove forest from Lateri to the Paso preservation area.
The extent of destruction worsened last month when the rainy season was at its
height in Ambon. In a matter of hours, hundreds of cubic meters of mud poured into
the bay from the project site, around 700 meters from the coast.
A recipient of the Kalpataru and Setyalencana development awards, Dominggus
Loudrik Sinanu, who has dedicated his life to planting and taking care of the mangrove
trees along the Lateri beach up to Paso, expressed anger with the housing developer
for ignoring the environmental impact of its project.
"I warned them not to build houses on the hill due to the negative impacts it might
have on the area," Sinanu told The Jakarta Post recently.
Mud as thick as 1.5 meters has covered hundreds of mangrove trees and damaged
the surrounding area. If something is not done, the mangrove forest could be
completely lost.
"The government should pay serious attention to this matter to prevent further
damage," Sinanu said.
He added that fishermen in the area were facing the loss of their livelihood because of
the loss of the fish that use the shallows of the mangrove forest to breed.
Based on an aerial assessment performed in August 1985, the mangrove forest in
Dalam Bay spanned about 59.5 hectares, stretching from Tawiri to Poka, Waiheru,
Kate-Kate and Lateri, with Waiheru and Paso being the areas with the densest
growth.
An inventory of the mangrove trees in the area found there are 17 mangrove tree
species in the forest, which is dominated by the Sonneratia species and two coastal
tree varieties.
Head of the environmental group the Arman Foundation, Haulussy, said PT Modern
Multiguna should be immediately required to perform dredging work in the area to save
the mangrove trees.
"It's their responsibility. They could be imprisoned and fined hundreds of millions of
rupiah if they disregard the matter," Haulussy asserted.
He said development on a small island like Ambon should not be compared with work
on larger islands, because any environmental damage on a small island has the
potential to massively disrupt the lives of residents.
"Forced development around a protected area will have unfavorable impacts. The
government should review the building project," he said.
According to Haulussy, the size of the mangrove forest in Ambon's bay ranges
between 47 and 51 hectares, including 41 hectares located in the Paso preservation
area.
Haulussy demanded the provincial office of the Environmental Impact Control Agency
be held responsible for the matter, since it issued an environmental impact analysis
(Amdal) certificate and a permit to the housing developer to carry out the project.
Criticism also has come from Ambon municipal councillor Husein Toisuta, who
insisted the government immediately revoke the Amdal certificate issued to the
developer.
"The Dalam Bay coastal area, especially the mangrove forest ... has obviously been
affected by sedimentation," said Husein, who heads the commission on city planning,
sanitation and environmental affairs at the municipal council.
The head of the environmental impact analysis department at the Ambon Sanitation
and City Planning Office, Roy Hutubessy, when questioned by the Post, said the
office had asked PT Modern Multiguna to stop expanding the housing project, and
urged the developer to protect the three river delta areas affected by sedimentation as
a result of land clearance and construction work.
"Soil eroding from the hill and project site has flowed through three nearby rivers and
affected the ecosystem around Ambon bay," he said.
He said field observations indicated the company had only restored one of the affected
areas.
The management of PT Modern Multiguna could not be reached for comment.
All contents copyright © of The Jakarta Post.
|
