M. Yamin Panca Setia

Lampung Coastal Has Been Destroyed

CAMANG hill located at Tanjang Gading, West Tanjung Karang, Bandarlampung was changed. Camang is not beautiful hill like several last years ago.

Bulldozers destroyed Camang’s hill face. For Gading residents, environmentally damage doing by PT Bukit Alam Surya (BAS), leaved havoc. They must suck thick dusts when dry season.

“We were congested our respiratory cavity,” said Fasni Bisno, the Gading resident. Meanwhile, resident’s houses flooded when wet. Beforehand, during for 14 years, they never experienced that problems. “Dredging just makes we were became misery,” Bisno’s complain.

Gading resident angry. On September 2003, BAS's camp around hill destroyed by them.

They also joined with several environment activists who included in The Coalition Conglomeration Teluk Lampung Coast (KP3TL) pressured Bandar Lampung Parliament to stop hill dreging. They also forced BAS must to end dreging activity.

But, not for long time, BAS dredging hill again. And, more ironically, the land dredged by BAS more than larger to Pidada hill located Soekarno Hatta street. Several bulldozers is destroying Pidada Hill from morning until evening every day. Pidada hill is same like Camang.

When I walked around the hill, water from hill down and flooded road and entered several resident house. Kunyit Sukaraja hill and Sukamaju hill also dredging. Condition is not different with others. Mifhatul Hadi, Sukamaju Resident worried land hill can be sag.

“I afraid befall resident house,” he said. And more ironically, million tons land and gyps from has been dredging from hill used for stored up Teluk Lampung beach.

Accordingly, fisherman can’t catching fish cause beach was destroy now. “Our beach has destroy,” said Beach Panjang Fisherman Muhammad Yamin.

Fisherman very difficult to catch fish now. He said, since 1990 until now, about 80 percent fish was lost. ”Terumbu Karang that place flourish to fish was disturb cause conglomeration” he said.

The fisherman must looking for fish until Selat Sunda and Ujung Kulon for four days. Operational cost more than bigger. They need about 80 liter diesel fuel to turn on fisherman ship. “We need about more than Rp400 ribu go to sea, and that even can obviously payback. We seldom got a little fishs,” said Yamin.

Before dredging, oceanic water is clean and blue colour. The fisherman can more easier gotten fish. They were not necessarily looking for fish until Selat Sunda or Ujung Kolon. They were just used payang around beach, and they can got many fish. Beach area also formerly a lot of built by fieldsman charts. But now, no more charts on near beach.

Maznan, fisherman said, we are not free looking for fish cause often against with bodyguard corporate. “They were warned us looking for fish around conglomeration area,” he said.

They also imposes the tax to fisherman if want looking for fish around conglomeration area, “We must pay about Rp75 thousand for full day,” he said.

According to Maznan, fisherman just can catched fish around conglomeration area when holiday.
Hill dredging activity and beach conglomeration is constitute series of performing big project that named Water Front City. That project organized by Bandar Lampung municipality government.

In Bandar Lampung Municipality Government Regulation Number 4/2004 about Spatial Manner Plan and City Region Manner, beach reclaims project planned pile Teluk Lampung and coast area for along 18 kilometers and 100 meters. That project planned should be finish on 2015.

Reclamation project wants make Teluk Lampung City more beautify. The government dreaming to jigger Teluk Lampung become like Manila, Sidney, Rio de Janeiro, New York and Tokyo that has been successed develop project water front city.

At beach coast area will build the center of urban area, dwelling area, public infrastructure, office, hotel, apartment, hotspot and others support facility.

But, project reclaims performed since 1983 not used environment aproach. Beach reclamation has destroyed beach aesthetic.

While I through reclamation area as much 5 kilometers, I founded mound hill. That so bad. Land conglomeration also made oceanic water be feculent.

Area becomes swampy and slippery when rain. Conglomeration perfunctorily that was imbricate beach bounds around 500 meters. Terumbu Karang dashed cause most agglomeration millions soiled tons and stone of hills. Undiscovered ecosistem sea around beach.

Dr Gregorius Nugroho Susanto, sea ecosystem expert from University of Lampung said, land conglomeration around Teluk Lampung given negative impact for sea ecosystem life, and condition of oceanic. Conglomeration made constrain life chain sea system.

Used by gyps, therefore made water quality be lost cause colaboration with calcium and others element so made hydrogen capacity and water salt rate be damage.

And then, he mentioned, terumbu karang is very important to safe food chain process fluency for sea ecosystem.

“Plangton as fish meals of anchovy can amends at beach area that there are many terumbu karang," he explain. And then, that can ascendant on sea ecosystem.

Herza Yulianto, Coordinator of KP3TL said, beach water quality damage because intermingled gyps and stone from the hill. Water oxygen content be decrease cause leach limestone at oceanic water and gyps as slime pap. That slime up to vicinity high about 0,5 meters.

“That condition threaten sea ecosystem," he explicit. He added, reclamation supposed didn’t evoke mud explosion and mud wave. Mud explosion appearanced it slime on surface farm reclaims, cause utilized as clay that really soft, with sizable thickness.

Then, that slime precipitate in water made demage water sea that beget oceanic water becomes feculent.

According to Yulianto, reverential slime flow cause mud wave, which is conglomeration process is not proportional so mud wave happening under farm reclaims.

“If happening, its very difficult to repair. In consequence, I think more better if we tried avoids instead than repair,” said Yulianto.

Others impact, Gregorius added, beach reclamation, made abrasion to others beach. For example, abrasion at East Lampung beach cause conglomeration land Jakarta beach.

That can be happen cause so larger area beach has been dredging can make million cubic water be overflow to mainland and made abrasion impact to others beach.

Reclamation consept from the Bandar Lampung municipality government, said Gregorius, very dangerous for enviroment beach. The municipality government have not strategy to anticipate abrasion cause water volume increased after conglomeration.

That methode also made trivialisation. The Lampung duty Transportation Departement For example, Panjang Port area. Luluk Daryanto, Expert Staf from Duty Official Lampung Transportation Departement said, Panjang Port area has been trivialization, and disturb ships transportation.

Beach around Panjang Port indeep just 10 until 12 meters. Thefore, Panjang Port is international port and seldom used ships from others countries that longest until 200 meters.

Process of reclaiming land from the sea by piling up earth also make water sea be overflow and flowed flooded several resident house who leave not far from estuary.

Lake be grow wider and made water flow be slowly. If rain, Panjang’s lake always overflow. “Water Lake be overflow cause has been trivialization in estuary area,” said Yulianto.

To repair environment damage need big cost and long time. “Environment damage repair also must natural,” said Gregorius. Moreover, Environment damage in Teluk Lampung also cause industrial and domestic pollution, and pollution from oil ships.

He recommended, reclamation project must review, used environment approach. The beach coast physical change, will ascendant on environmental quality that on constrain sea ecosystem growth. The physical change happens cause material that utilized to pile indigenous from mindland. Evenless containing lime and slime. Gregerios said, reclamation supposed utilize significant which come from beach.

Conglomeration also not for all beach area. The reclaims concept must have provide beach area that becomes sea ecosystem conservation place . “That can enables for sea ecosystem can growth ,” Gregorius said.

Teluk Lampung reclaims concept not give area for conservation. Conglomeration also distance 500 meters of beach boundses.

According to Gregorius, that can be trouble on tidal area. So, not just damage system beach changed, but also be negative impact divides system at deep oceanic.

“I also see no retaining dam,” said Gregorius. He recommended made dam for pile limitation so not influential oceanic ecosystem.

Dam development shall drawn round area who will be reclaimed. And then, material for reclamation diffused at all farm who will reclaim.

Bandar Lampung municipality government ambition in the big project also condemn resident that leave at area beach, like Teluk Betung Barat, Teluk Betung Selatan and Pajang. The project to develop dream city made loss 20 thousands people who leave at that area. Armen Yasser, Law Observer from University of Lampung said, beach area Teluk Lampung is common property.

He said, not reason for Bandar Lampung Municipality Government to condemn resident house cause they have land certificate, documents that law fact to leave at beach area.

But, several resident not have land certificate. But, from Armen’s research, fisherman whose leaved at beach area already leaved since 1960. That means, they have rights to leave and stay at that area.

Armen also explained, The Bandar Lampung municipality government regulation Number 4/2004 also troublous. “That regulation can snipp off cause a fault procedure,” he said.

Armen said, that regulation made not used environment impact research. From the Lampung Institutional Environment Control, that area have been polluted since 1990. “But, conglomeration is not stoped until now,” said Armen.

He said, negative impact must anticipate early. Armen assesed, reclamation project only used for several interested parties. “Reclamation in the Teluk Lampung just made really advantage for government and private,” he said.

They get income from reclamation land sell to property investation, infrastructure, tax, and economic business. “But, how about thousands fishermen fate.”

The Bandar Lampung municipality government also promise to relocate fisherman leave at Gubuk Sero, Ujung Bom, Sukaraja to Lempasing. They got Rp750 thousand for each. Relocate area also near sea.

But, fishermans refused. They were hold out and didn’t want relocate to new place. “We didn’t want move,” said Yamin.

Relocation is not good solution. Beforehand, the municipality government also relocate Fisherman from Gudang Lelang to Lempasing. But, they needed long time to adaption with new place. Moreover, from Mitra Bentala’s reseach, fisherman walfare more decrease than when they leaved at Gudang Lelang.

M. Yamin Panca Setia

Photo: Yamin and Tempo’s collection