Seabed that Supports Life on Earth

Kompas/Heru Sri Kumoro

Mohammad Abrar (right), a researcher at the Oceanography Research Center of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), checks a coral reef in the waters of Babua Island, Jailolo, West Halmahera, on Thursday (27/7).

When he journeyed across the Nusantara archipelago from 1854 to 1862, British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace noted that coral reefs obstructed ships from approaching islands. As it turned out, these coral reefs are highly beneficial to life on Earth.

For the coastal population and environment, coral reefs ensure the availability of sources of protein, medicines, foreign exchange from tourism, livelihoods and environmental protection. In Indonesia, which has a marine region that makes up two-thirds of its area, about 2.5 million hectares of coral reefs exist in varying conditions across the archipelago.

Wallace’s observation of the coral reefs as a barrier to ships, which is found in his 1869 historical records in The Malay Archipelago, is based on a journey he took around 1860 to Waiego in Raja Ampat, West Papua. On page 490, for instance, he wrote that ships needed sail out to sea and around the coral reefs along the islands’ southern end.

Wallace’s land-based empirical views were common at the time. Even today, many still view coral reefs as nothing but rock piles offshore.

Not many realize that these reefs are actually living creatures that may have existed since prehistoric times. They colonize, grow and reproduce. Their existence is the foundation of life in the reef ecosystem.

A recent research cited in a report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature titled Explaining Ocean Warming: Causes, Scale, Effects and Consequences (Scott F Heron, et al, 2016), mentions that coral reefs are the habitat for more than 25 percent of all fish species in the ocean. Despite only covering 0.1 percent of the world’s marine floor, coral reefs contributes US$9.8 billion in fulfilling social, economic and cultural needs around the world.

In Indonesia, reef ecosystems directly support the lives of millions of people in coastal regions. However, the vital role of coral reefs is not unthreatened. A 2016 report by the oceanographic research center at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), titled Status of Coral Reefs 2017, says that the area of Indonesian coral reefs has been decreasing since 2013.

Global warming in 1997 and 2015 had destroyed several coral reef ecosystems. Furthermore, development activities have led to maritime environmental destruction, especially of coral reefs. In the name of prosperity and economic growth, mankind is destroying coral reefs.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

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Coral reef exploration

To raise awareness on coral reefs’ important role in supporting human life, Kompas will publish a special coverage titled Coral Reef Exploration (Jelajah Terumbu Karang). In late July 2017, Kompas launched an expedition to eastern Indonesia. Since then, the Kompas team has photographed marine ecosystems at many diving sites and interviewed local residents to find out more about their lives.

In Jailolo Bay, North Maluku, for instance, Kompas observed that Halmahera Island’s little “mouth” has an interlinked coral reef ecosystem. One side produces coral larvae while the other side, which was destroyed by fish bombing, is now recovering with the growth of a new reef colony.

In Papua’s Cendrawasih Bay, which the Environment and Forestry Ministry has declared a national park, is a village that initiated marine environment rehabilitation by gathering giant clams (Tridacna spp.) and transplanting coral reefs onto the bivalves.

The waters of Komodo, East Nusa Tenggara, which is also a national park, is gaining fame as a favorite travel destination among domestic and foreign tourists. The local residents, however, still live in poverty. They still have difficulty accessing basic needs, such as clean water and electricity, as well as education.

In Lembeh Strait off Bitung, North Sulawesi, Kompas visited the globally renowned haven for macro photography. There, the strange-looking endemic microbiota are the focus of undersea photographers from all over the world. Such tourism potential, however, is now threatened by the development of the Bitung Special Economic Zone.

Moving on to Sulawesi’s southeastern coast, Kompas visited Wakatobi, known as the heart of the world’s Coral Triangle, and found tragic tales of the local coral reefs. On Binongko Island, the southernmost of Wakatobi’s four main islands, the people of Wali village have closed off sections of its marine areas from fishing activities over the past two years.

Meanwhile, West Papua’s Raja Ampat, which has been the dream destination of the world’s marine tourism enthusiasts in the past decade, is facing the possible transfer of its management from the regency to the provincial government. Kompas toured its southern end, particularly around Misool Island that relatively lags behind the northern areas in and around Waigeo.

The local initiative to protect these waters from poaching is currently inactive. The local marine patrols ceased after the management transfer was stipulated in Law No. 23/2014 on Regional Administration.

At the final locations of South Sulawesi’s Selayar and Bali, the Kompas team was still traveling at the time this article went to print.

The problems found in these unique regions will be published in this daily every Wednesday for eight weeks.

Other reports can be viewed on kompas.id.