Coastal communities and fisheries

Down to Earth No 57  May 2003


What lessons will be learned from the shooting dead of two local fishermen at the Komodo National Park, managed by US-based conservation organisation, The Nature Conservancy?

On the night of November 9th 2002, security personnel at the Komodo National Park in East Nusa Tenggara province, approached a small group of boats suspected of illegal fishing activities.

Down to Earth No 56  February 2003

With major new oil and gas developments planned for Sulawesi, there is growing concern about the likely impacts on local livelihoods, forests, rare wildlife and the fragile marine ecosystem.

Central Sulawesi is being billed as Indonesia's next big gas producer by Indonesian companies with exploration projects in the province. Indonesia's state-owned oil and gas company, Pertamina, and Exspan Tomori Sulawesi - a subsidiary of Medco (see box) - say the province has huge potential for natural gas exploitation.

Down to Earth No. 56, February 2003

The British oil company BP has been accused of negligence in maintaining gas collection pipes at its offshore Pagerungan gas field near Madura in East Java. The president of state oil company Pertamina, Baihaki Hakim, said in January that BP should have anticipated a possible gas leak but had "failed to deal with it". The leaks forced BP to shut down five gas fields in the Pagerungan contract area, reducing gas supply to Java-based industries to 100,000 million cubic feet per day from 180,000 million cf/d.

Down to Earth No 56  February 2003


NGO to sue Singapore over sand imports

The Institute of Indonesian Forestry Studies, an organisation based in Riau province, is planning to charge Singapore with destroying the marine environment and mangrove forests as well as causing the disappearance of an island in Karimun subdistrict. The Institute's director, Andreas Herykahurifan, said the Riau administration must also bear responsibility because it had issued licences to sand-dredging companies.

Down to Earth No 55  November 2002



Kalimantan border oil palm?

East Kalimantan governor Abdul Fatah said his administration is looking into the possibility of developing oil palm plantations near the province's border with Sabah, Malaysia, to create jobs for a million migrant workers expelled from Malaysia.

Down to Earth No 51 November 2001

 

Despite a poor social and environmental record across the globe, commercial aquaculture - intensive fish-farming - is still regarded as having a bright future in Indonesia. According to former marine affairs minister Sarwono, of Indonesia's total fish production, 82% is from capture fisheries. "We need to push for aquaculture to boost fish production" he told a March workshop.

Down to Earth No. 51, November 2001


The mining of coastal sands for export is blighting the livelihoods of small-scale fisherfolk in Riau.

Sand mining in the coastal waters of Riau is taking a heavy toll on the marine environment and the peoples who depend on it. Riau province, eastern Sumatra, is closest to the biggest consumer of the sand - Singapore. Companies, backed by Singaporean buyers, use dredges that excavate sand at a rate of 6,000 cubic metres a day.