228
S. Sukardjo
by extensive mangrove forests, coral reef and sea grass beds. The mangrove forests
(4.25 million ha) constitute the dominant ecosystem in marine and brackish coastal
areas and produces litter fall of about 20.50-29.35 t ha -1 a-I (dry weight) (Sukardjo 1995).
Coastal ecosystems in Indonesia are very productive and support major marine fisheries and mariculture activities.
12.3
Coastal Zone Problems in Indonesia
Being the major part of Indonesia's territory (see Table 12.1) the exploitation of the
coastal zone is closely linked with the concern for economic development. The consequences of coastal exploitation in Indonesia are very complex. Increasingly, it is being
realized that a man induced effect on one ecosystem can have far reaching consequences
on another. Increasing demand from within the provinces with different social set-ups
and from the coastal villages along with their rapid population growth compound the
coastal zone management problems. Further, faster rates of coastal degradation and
over-exploitative uses of land, water and other coastal resources and disruption of
environmental processes through degradation of environmental quality and loss of
critical terrestrial and aquatic habitats lead to serious and deleterious impacts on the
health and productivity of coastal ecosystems adversely affecting the food availability,
health and economic welfare of coastal people. The key resource use problems and
conflicts in the coastal zone in Indonesia include
• loss of mangrove forest and tidal swamp lands which support traditional fisheries,
• improper utilisation of coastal zone by "money holders" (not coastal inhabitant -
eXaDlple conversion of mangrove forest for Tambak),
• declining socio-economicllivelihood status of the already poor inhabitants of coastal
villages,
• increasing coastal population,
• overfishing and use of destructive methods,
• lack of comprehensive ecological information concerning the coastal zone/resources
for developers an~ decision makers at the provincial level,
• the relevance of agricultural policy for income and food security.
The coastal zone in most of the Indonesian islands are subjected to population
(transmigration, resettlement etc.) and economic pressures manifested by a variety
of coastal activities, notably, fishing, coastal aquaculture, waste disposal, salt making,
tin mining, oil drilling, tanker traffic, construction and industrialisation. All are in
many cases, threatening ecological stability. This situation is aggravated by the expanding economic activities attempting to uplift the standard of living of coastal
people, the vast majority of them live below the poverty line. Obviously, human interactions in the coastal zone in Indonesia are often more critical. This is an aspect
that has begun to receive attention only in recent times (e.g. Program Pengentasan
Kemiskinan) by Government along with lOT (Inpres Desa Teringgal). Because economic benefits could be derived from them, the coastal zones in Indonesia teem
with dense human settlements. The effect of human settlement on the ability of coastal
systems to retain the ecological stability and ~heir multiple use attributes is of the
S. Sukardjo
by extensive mangrove forests, coral reef and sea grass beds. The mangrove forests
(4.25 million ha) constitute the dominant ecosystem in marine and brackish coastal
areas and produces litter fall of about 20.50-29.35 t ha -1 a-I (dry weight) (Sukardjo 1995).
Coastal ecosystems in Indonesia are very productive and support major marine fisheries and mariculture activities.
12.3
Coastal Zone Problems in Indonesia
Being the major part of Indonesia's territory (see Table 12.1) the exploitation of the
coastal zone is closely linked with the concern for economic development. The consequences of coastal exploitation in Indonesia are very complex. Increasingly, it is being
realized that a man induced effect on one ecosystem can have far reaching consequences
on another. Increasing demand from within the provinces with different social set-ups
and from the coastal villages along with their rapid population growth compound the
coastal zone management problems. Further, faster rates of coastal degradation and
over-exploitative uses of land, water and other coastal resources and disruption of
environmental processes through degradation of environmental quality and loss of
critical terrestrial and aquatic habitats lead to serious and deleterious impacts on the
health and productivity of coastal ecosystems adversely affecting the food availability,
health and economic welfare of coastal people. The key resource use problems and
conflicts in the coastal zone in Indonesia include
• loss of mangrove forest and tidal swamp lands which support traditional fisheries,
• improper utilisation of coastal zone by "money holders" (not coastal inhabitant -
eXaDlple conversion of mangrove forest for Tambak),
• declining socio-economicllivelihood status of the already poor inhabitants of coastal
villages,
• increasing coastal population,
• overfishing and use of destructive methods,
• lack of comprehensive ecological information concerning the coastal zone/resources
for developers an~ decision makers at the provincial level,
• the relevance of agricultural policy for income and food security.
The coastal zone in most of the Indonesian islands are subjected to population
(transmigration, resettlement etc.) and economic pressures manifested by a variety
of coastal activities, notably, fishing, coastal aquaculture, waste disposal, salt making,
tin mining, oil drilling, tanker traffic, construction and industrialisation. All are in
many cases, threatening ecological stability. This situation is aggravated by the expanding economic activities attempting to uplift the standard of living of coastal
people, the vast majority of them live below the poverty line. Obviously, human interactions in the coastal zone in Indonesia are often more critical. This is an aspect
that has begun to receive attention only in recent times (e.g. Program Pengentasan
Kemiskinan) by Government along with lOT (Inpres Desa Teringgal). Because economic benefits could be derived from them, the coastal zones in Indonesia teem
with dense human settlements. The effect of human settlement on the ability of coastal
systems to retain the ecological stability and ~heir multiple use attributes is of the