Full of garbage: Plastic trash litters the mangrove forest in eastern Surabaya. The garbage is dumped by people living along the Surabaya River. (JP/Indra Harsaputra)
Early in 2010, Surabaya Mayor Bambang Dwi Hartono inaugurated a conservation and ecotourism zone on the eastern coast of Surabaya known as Pamurbaya.
However, it is hard work changing the habits of local people who are used to dumping rubbish into a nearby river, covering the coastline with plastic waste.
Dimas, a photographer working for the East Java Traveler magazine, was amazed to see the coastal scenery at sundown. “It’s a fascinating view. I could see an expanse of mangrove trees along the shore, glowing in yellowish hues in the setting sun,” he told The Jakarta Post recently.
He visited Pamurbaya with a group of journalists and several researchers from the Foundation for Nature Conservation and Education (Yapeka), which has partnered with the Surabaya city administration to develop Pamurbaya.
But the natural beauty of Pamurbaya has been spoiled — as Dimas discovered — by heaps of garbage in the coastal areas where the Surabaya River empties into the sea.
“I’m longing to enjoy the Surabaya landscape without rubbish. I thought this conservation area was free from waste, yet it’s not far different from the city’s garbage-strewn traditional markets,” he added.
The accumulation of waste causes the death of some full-grown mangroves as it hampers sunlight penetration and interferes with the process of oxygen absorption by their roots. Besides, plastic swathing frequently stops the growth of shoots at the base of the trees, thus slowing down mangrove regeneration.
Executive director of Ecological Observation and Wetlands Conservation (Ecoton), Prigi Arisandi, said Pamurbaya’s natural environment had changed since the Surabaya administration issued its Regional Regulation No.23/1993, turning the coast into a development zone. Its mangrove forests and brackish water ponds were converted into settlements.
“Shortly after the regulation was announced, this zone was transformed into a housing area complete with shopping facilities and schools. So far, many housing developers have been attracted to building housing complexes on the waterfront,” noted Prigi.
Prigi added that housing construction prompted local people to use vacant land for business and settlement purposes following sedimentation in Pamurbaya, since the width of the area increased by between 2 and 4 kilometers from 1986 to 1996.
This land reclamation has endangered the existence of several wildlife species in Pamurbaya. The coastal birds now under the threat of extinction include egrets, sandpipers, plovers, and white eyes.
“Moreover, the increasing waste along the river basins of Brantas in Malang, Kediri, Mojokerto and Surabaya combined with the lack of public awareness on the need to avoid the disposal of garbage into rivers has posed a serious problem to the Pamurbaya zone,” he indicated.
Bambang said that to promote the restoration of Pamurbaya’s mangrove forest, the city administration had for two years made various conservation efforts, including the formulation of a regional regulation on the Surabaya spatial layout plan (RTRW), in which Pamurbaya was designated as a conservation zone.
“The RTRW rule serves as the regional government’s tool to save mangrove land from housing development. From 1972 to 2009, Pamurbaya’s land area expanded by 176 hectares, which private circles are now eagerly eyeing for settlement,” he pointed out.
Bambang revealed that before the endorsement of the regulation, the National Land Affairs Agency (BPN) had been requested not to issue certificates for housing construction and ownership in the new areas formed by sedimentation in Pamurbaya, while a proposal was forwarded to the Office of the State Minister for Environment Affairs to make Pamurbaya a protected mangrove zone.
The proposed protected zone covers almost 2,500 hectares. Of the area, around 50 hectares in three districts, Rungkut, Gununganyar and Sukolilo, will be the core zone of conservation, almost 390 hectares will serve as a buffer zone and close to 430 hectares will become a cultivation zone.
Meanwhile, 1,585 hectares in Keputih sub-district, Sukolilo, are still under study.
According to him, several programs related to the low public awareness of proper garbage disposal practices would continue to be implemented. On top of preventing erosion, expanding urban green space and increasing the catch of local fishermen, Pamurbaya’s mangrove forest is also richer in biodiversity than most conservation areas in Southeast Asia.
Pamurbaya, for instance, has 15 natural mangrove species. In fact, Muara Angke Wildlife Reserve in Jakarta only has six species and Sungei Buloh Conservation Zone in Singapore only nine species of mangroves.
A researcher from Yapeka, Ahmad Suwandi, said Pamurbaya had also become the habitat of 53 species of insects, 83 species of birds, including migratory birds passing from New Zealand to Siberia, and seven species of primates.
“These Pamurbaya primates are interesting to note as many other mangrove forests usually have just one to two species. In Pamurbaya, I can still see long tailed monkeys hunting with their tails,” he continued. They put their tails into water and when crabs pinch, the tails are jerked up and the crabs are caught. “It’s very natural, far from imitating human behavior,” he added.
Suwandi acknowledged that in spite of the various constraints, the local government’s intention to develop Pamurbaya into a conservation zone constituted an advanced step to reduce the impact of global warming.
Head of the Surabaya City Planning Agency Tri Rismaharini said a regional budget of Rp 3 billion would be provided for the establishment of a Mangrove Information Center in Pamurbaya to show the regional administration’s commitment to nature conservation.
The Mangrove Information Center (MIC) planned to be developed in East Java is on the same lines as has been promoted in Bali to support the island’s mangrove ecosystem.