KUALA LUMPUR: Indonesia environmental activists have reported that only one-tenth of the country's Balikpapan Bay's original coral reef remain today. The activists have accused shipping and the continued destruction of mangrove swamps for the main reasons for the reefs destruction. Mumum Saputra, the information and data coordinator for the Kalimantan Coastal Foundation, said on Friday that 89 to 90 percent of the reefs had been destroyed. “The situation is critical,” he said. He said the destruction of the reefs began in the 1970s with the development of Balikpapan when huge chunks of coral were blasted out of the seabed for use in construction. But the main culprits in the past few years, Mumum said, were the increased shipping in the area and the clearing of Balikpapan's mangrove swamps. The mangroves, he pointed out, served as natural filters for the water from the Wain River emptying out into the bay. Without them, large amounts of sediment washed into the bay and smothered the coral reefs, eventually killing them. “Dynamite fishing, which used to be a problem here, is no longer happening,” Mumum said. “So a lot of the destruction is due to ships and sedimentation.” He said the only way to prevent the complete destruction of the remaining reefs was through a coordinated effort by the three regional administrations that share the bay. Only 17 percent of Balikpapan Bay falls within Balikpapan's jurisdiction. Most of it, 80 percent, is in North Penajam Paser district, while the remainder falls in Kutai Kartanegara. He stressed the importance of preserving the reefs for their special value. “These are among the most unique coral reefs in Indonesia, because they grow in a bay that is relatively isolated [from the sea],” he said.
