Students planting mangrove seedlings along the Jakarta Bay shoreline on Saturday. Nine million mangroves are scheduled to be planted over the next several months in an effort to protect coastal communities from rising seas and increasingly stronger tropical storms. (Reuters Photo)
In order to help save Jakarta Bay from environmental devastation, some 400 fishermen from the North Jakarta Fishermen’s Community Forum cleaned garbage from the waterway on Saturday in commemoration of World Fisheries Day.
Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo said at the event, held at Festival Beach, Ancol, North Jakarta, that the pollution in Jakarta Bay had reached a critical level. He invited everyone to join together to help save the bay for the future.
“More people can feel a sense of belonging toward Jakarta Bay by preserving the environment. Jakarta Bay is not only an asset for the Jakarta government and Ancol, it belongs to every stakeholder, it belongs to every Jakartan,” said Fauzi.
The governor added that if people really wanted to save and preserve the environment, they should work together to save the bay, rather than just talking about it.
“We know the pollution of Jakarta Bay comes not only from the land — as there are many rivers flowing into Jakarta Bay — but also from the sea. Many boats and ships dump their trash [overboard] and pollute the bay, the monitoring is in the hands of all people,” he said.
Everyone, Fauzi said, should be actively involved in the preservation of the bay for its marine tourism potential.
“Let’s save Jakarta Bay together. Because it has the potential to support fishermen as well as Jakarta’s economy,” said the Governor, as he stood alongside North Jakarta Mayor Bambang Sugiyono.
Meanwhile, about 500 cyclists participated in a “Fun Bike” ride from the National Monument to Ancol, to mark the occasion.
Other activities are scheduled over the next few months to promote the importance of saving Jakarta’s marine environment, including the planting of 9 million mangrove trees at North Jakarta’s Angke Kapuk Restoration Area and the cleanup and improvement of the coral reef at Pramuka Island in the Thousand Islands by hundreds of professional divers.
Jakarta Bay suffers from heavy pollution that threatens the sustainability of mangrove forests and coral reefs.
The dramatic decrease in fish and other marine life threatens the livelihoods of fishermen as many residents continue to dump household and industrial waste into sewers, canals and rivers that eventually flow into the bay.
Antara
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