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From beauty to waste dumps: Lakes plagued by pollution, sedimentation
Rapid deforestation, urbanization and agricultural activities have sped up sedimentation and water evaporation.
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A fisherman rows his boat on Lake Toba, North Sumatra. (Shutterstock/DH Saragih)
I
n bygone days, fishermen at Lake Kerinci in Jambi could take home 50 kilograms of fish every day. But over the past five years, their catches have steadily dwindled and now they each catch only 3 kilograms of fish a day.
Nowadays their catches contain more trash and plastic waste than fish.
“The poor condition of the lake has decreased the size of our catches,” Mat Toris, head of the Bunga Setangkai fisherman group in Koto Petai village, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
Lake Kerinci is a popular recreation spot in Jambi, known not only for its scenic view but also its freshwater fish. But the second-biggest lake in Sumatra has also experienced a high level of pollution in recent years.
The head of indigenous rights and advocacy group Lahar, Moesnadi Munir, said the lake’s degrading condition was the result of unawareness on the part of the local community about ecology and a lack of local government oversight.
“Many rivers flow into the lake, such as Batang Merao and Batang Merangin, and each carries waste to the lake,” he said.
A similar condition is found in another popular recreation destination in Sumatra: Lake Toba in North Sumatra. The largest volcanic lake in the world has also seen high levels of pollution in past years, with the worst case found in Haranggaol, Simalungun regency.
