Mangroves and Sea Waves: Two Sides of One Coin.

Mangroves and seawaves are two sides of one coin as Ebony and Ivory. They should live side by side and in perfect harmony. If mangroves gone and only seawaves left, the consequence is obvious. Flooding to the land is one of the consequence which is very common. Loss of the land is another consequence that should be experienced by the people who live on the edge of the beach. If there are no mangroves, the sea water will intrude the land and the sea become wider as the land loss happen. We don't want this to happen as the global warming will also exarcebated the situation with the increase of sea water level every year. Every effort to plant the mangrove trees along the beach areas in order to protect beach environment should also be promoted and supported by all parties and people who have concerd toward it. It could come from the civil society, corporate, and also the government. These three stakholders should work together side by side and hand in hand to save mangroves and beach environment. What is the necessary action required now for to do this? Compiling or collecting the funds from civil society and corporate as well as fund from the government are inevitable action. These funds should be use to buy the seed of mangrove or to breed it and then to plant it in the beach areas which are empty from mangroves and another greenbelt protectors.

Some Mangroves Were Deforested for Fish Pond Business

From this picture we can see fishpond that is use to grow shrimp or fish between the mangrove trees. For this purpose mangroves were deforested and destructed by people who own the land in order to get the benefit from their own business effort. This situation is not good enough for the society who live there as they might be in danger and might experience losing their wealth and properties as the impact of the people action toward the environment. Fishpond business is a profitable business for those who know how to do and to manage it. This business is also need and require a high capital to undertake, especially from buying or renting the land as well as to buy the shrimp or prawn and fish breed. The capital needed always change time to time but one thing for sure is the number of fishpond is still increase from time to time. This is inline with the export of shrimp and fishpond yields to overseas which are increasing in the amount of dollar. However, all of these dollar cause a consequence to the beach environment and its inhabitants. Land and environmental degradation are the first price they should pay, inline with the dollar goes to the pocket of the capital owners of fishpond businesses. What should the society and the government do to protect mangroves from deforestation? Contribution and environmental campaign are not enough action to save the beach and mangroves from destruction. A strong penalty should also be taken by the government to the fishpond business owners who do not care about environmental safety on the beach areas. Their businesses should also also obey the ISO for environmental protection and safety. If the fishpond owners or companies do not really care about this matter, their business should be banned from the beach, to protect the greater societies and interests in there.

Mangroves as a Green Belt to Prevent from Sea Waves

As a greenbelt to prevent from sea water intrusion to the land, mangroves actually has the function to protect the land where the inhabitant lives from flooding, hard wind, and also from abration and abhation. These functions sometime are not recogniced or has appropriate attention to all of them who involve in the shrimp and fisheries business in the beach areas. Why the capital owners for shrimp or fisheries business do not have interest to pay enough attention to mangrove trees and its function? The reason obviously related to their interest to gain much profit from their own business activities. Paying to much attention or giving a high priority to the environmental concern will actually reduce their own profit opportunities. And this is not good enough for them and the benefit and welfare of their workers or laborers. If this is done severely, we can find what happen to Paojepe Beach will also happen to another places. This is very common now as we have heard a lot of report that say about beach areas destruction and environmental degradation. A hard campaign and communities as well as government supports are needed to be done in the long run in order to preserve beach areas and its inhabitants from destruction extermination. Sea waves itself are very common to cause flooding to the land if there are no mangroves on the beach. No barriers to entry the land if there are no mangroves as a greenbelt on the beach. If there are mangroves, sea waves will be blocked to enter the land and it will save the people who live there and their own properties as well.

Mangroves Forest that Still Exist

These mangroves are still exist on the beach as the result of people awaraness about the importance of the greenbelt as a safety belt to the land behind the beach area. There are three important interests of the stakeholders that causing either the beach areas could still be conserved or not. This is called as stakeholders interests to the cultivation of beach land areas, including mangrove trees. Three important stakholders here are the capital owner of shrimp or fisheries business and its workers, the government, and fishermen society who live in beach areas. Capital owners and their workers need to increase or to gain high profit from the business, while the government on the other side has interest to protect the environment while promoting a favorable or conducive business environment. On this position government has a middle position or contradictive position, whereas they should create a good economic growth on the one side and on the other hand government should also play the role in saving and protecting the beach environment for future generation and fishermen society who currently live in the beach areas. Meanwhile fishermen society in the beach areas also need to have a good lving condition and environment and free from pollution of chemical disposals or from another substance that could harm their lives. Meeting point for all of the interest of these three stakholders on the beach areas are not very easy as the economic interest is not always inline or agree with social or environmental interest. The three parties should sit together to talk about saving and preserving beach environment from disaster and destruction.

Still Many Mangroves on the Edge of Bonepute Beach, Bone Regency.

Still there are some mangroves on the edge of Bonepute Beach. Although people have interests in doing fish pond business at this place, the beach environment can be said as a half in danger situation. Why it can be said like this? All we can see are about people behavior of the beach and its surrounding areas. So many people have their own interest in doing their fish and shrimp business here, but why the environment still can be kept safely although not all of it. The answer might be because there are still government control or might be because of people who live in this surrounding beach. Bonepute Beach is situated in Bone Regency, where its capital city is Watampone. Still this place is in South Sulawesi Province or South Celebes people name it. Around this beach there are also some sacred place on the hill close to the beach, and still jungle trees and teak forest can be found in this beach area. Those who are doing fish pond business in Bonepute Beach might be aware about this sacred place or might not care about it. But people who walk around the forest at this beach should aware of the danger of Cobra Snake in which according to some people could jump or fly between the trees in the nearby forest. All we know about inhabitant in this place most of them are still fishermen who always gone to the sea around middle of the night and come back to their home after the sun has risen. They are not faraway fishermen, as they just did their own work at the sea around the beach. Who is the fishpond business actors in this place then? They are not always the owner of the fish pond itself. Some of these fishpond are belong to the richmen in the Makassar City, either they are businessmen or government officers. And those who did the business either just salaried men or hired men for that purpose.

Where Mangroves Have Gone in Paojepe Beach, Wajo Regency.

Mangroves and its surrounding environments have gone in Paojepe Beach. All we can see at the beach when we visit the place are just empty beach sand and mud which is dirty. Paojepe Beach is situated in Sengkang, Wajo Regency, South Sulawesi or South Celebes some people named it. This beach is not far enough from Palopo, a small city about two hours drive to Tana Toraja Regency. Go back to Paojepe Beach what happen in this place is the result of human behavior to exploit beach environment for their own economic interests. Almost all of mangroves have gone as the beach land was converted into fish pond. The people who cultivate the land mostly came from other parts of the region and have experiences in doing that business. Usually they are the owner or partners of the owner of fishpond business. They come from Pangkep Regency which is also in South Sulawesi Province. However, they usually just came alone and do not bring their own family there. Their family still stay at their home in Pangkep and for their children attentd the school and the wive take care of the children. This place is also not suitable for children, especially little children as the wind very heavy and the weather is very hot. We can understand why the weather is very hot here. It could happen as there are not so many trees are found in Paojepe Beach. People do not care about the environment and just thinking about their economic benefit to use the beach for doing fish and prawn business as a profitable export commodites for prawn and local consumption for fish. The impact is very severe, especially toward beach environment and its inhabitants such as bird, bat, crabs, and other biological living.