T

he East Java administration has been urged to take stern action to stop all activities that are believed to have damaged around 70 percent of the total 118 hectares of coral reefs in the region, a member of a green movement said.

Qodim Manembojo, coordinator of the Jember Environmental Conservation movement, said that the government should be serious in tackling this environmental problem, saying that it had yet to stop its plan to mine iron in the protected forest area near Paseban Beach, Kencong district, Jember.

“Jember has long been known for its coral reefs. So, we strictly oppose the mining activities. Nahdlatul Ulama [NU] has even issued an edict banning such activities, as they pose an environmental threat,” said Qodim.

He said the iron mining would not just damage the reefs, but would also threaten local sea life including turtles, saying that the 491,8 hectare beach plot was one of a few places where turtles lay eggs.

According to the East Java Maritime and Fishery Agency, some 70 percent of the 118 hectares of coral reefs in the region have reportedly been damaged due to destructive fishing, mining activities and coral reef exploration.

Erjono, head of the Maritime and Controlling division at the Maritime and Fishery Agency, admitted that the damage might lead to abrasion and loss of the ecosystem. “The damaged reefs have also caused the increase in the price of fish because there is now a scarcity of certain fish,” he told The Jakarta Post.

East Java’s coral reefs are scattered in various areas, ranging from the northern coast, in areas such as Tuban, Lamongan and Gresik Pesisir Utara Madura, to Madura Strait areas like Surabaya, Probolinggo and Situbondo.

The coral reefs situated underneath Sumenep regency in Madura Island, Erjono said, suffer the worst, as many fishermen still detonate bombs to catch fish.

Besides the destructive fishing activities, many people also take the corals for decoration or use them as materials to erect buildings. “Even though the issue on coral trade has been stipulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora [CITES], the fact is the exploitation of coral reefs is still happening,” he said, adding that Situbondo and Banyuwangi also suffered the same critical condition.

The development of industry, which is increasing along the coastline of the province, seems to make the condition for the coral reefs worse. “The industrial waste affects the coral reefs. For example, the waste from steam-powered electricity plants, which is in the form of warm water, is not good for the reefs’ health. The raising of the sea temperature will lead to coral bleaching,” he said.

It is not an easy task to preserve all the damaged coral. Erjono said that it took around Rp 3 million (US$318) to preserve a clump of coral, while it might take many years to bring the coral reefs back to their previous condition.

“It takes one year to grow 1 centimeter of coral reef. So, you can imagine if we want to revitalize all the reefs in East Java, it may take hundreds to millions of years to do it,” he went on. The government, he continued, has made an effort by planting coral on man-made structures in the ocean in the last 10 years, but it does not seem to help much.

Another area of coral which is greatly suffering is Nusa Barong Island in Puger, Jember. Maritime and Fishery Agency head Mahfud Afandi said that almost 80 percent of coral reefs in Nusa Barong had been damaged due to illegal turtle thievery in the area.

“We have declared Nusa Barong a coral reef conservation area in an effort to preserve the reefs,” Mahfud said.