Coastal Area Reform
To start a discussion about coastal reform, consider the condition of Indonesia’s beaches. Currently, there is physical development being carried out at estuaries, such as moving river mouths, building jetties (current-directing buildings) at estuaries, straightening and narrowing river channels at estuaries, strengthening river banks at estuaries with stone masonry (talut) or seat piles. , as well as the construction of embankments along river mouths and other physical efforts.
Physical infrastructure development in this estuary has been started since the 1970s until now. The impact of a constructive approach to the estuary is a change in the dynamics of coastal currents, both locally (at the construction site and its surroundings) and regionally (in other areas hydrologically affected by the construction). Another impact is changes in the ecosystem in the estuary and associated coastal areas, which results in a decline in fish populations caught by fishermen due to a decrease in environmental quality. This causes the maintenance costs of these buildings to become high, thus continuing to burden regional and state finances.
In 2001-2002, there was a plan for a dewatering project on the Citandui River. This dewatering plan aims to channel the Citandui River water directly into the sea, without entering the Soon Anakan. However, this effort was stopped due to resistance from the community who were worried that there would be muddying at Nusawiru Beach and the east Pangandaran Beach area, as well as major changes that would occur at the mouth of the Citandui River.
The main problem in this dewatering plan is related to rubbish and river sediment. The Citandui River carries around 75% of the sediment that enters Segara Anakan, so that gradually Segara Anakan will become land because the sediment supply is large and cannot fully exit into the sea. To avoid this possibility, it is planned to make a cut that can throw sediment and rubbish directly into the sea, so that it will then be carried away by sea currents. However, the analysis carried out showed that there was an impact on East Pangandaran Beach due to the cut. Apart from that, there will also be changes in water salinity in Segara Anakan which can cause changes in the population of aquatic fauna and damage to the habitat there.
Solving the sedimentation problem in Segara Anakan must focus on the root of the problem, namely handling the upstream and middle parts of the Citandui River watershed and other rivers, not just at the mouth. Therefore, it is more appropriate to make efforts to reduce the intensity of erosion, sediment and waste originating from central and upstream areas. The funds planned to build the cutoff can be diverted to reforestation of the Citandui River watershed and other vegetative methods, as well as involving the community in waste management to reduce and control sediment and waste in the middle and upstream parts of the river towards the estuary in Segara Anakan.
The dredging approach to deal with sediment is not effective because the volume of incoming sediment is very large, so that within a few months the sediment will be filled again. Therefore, the most appropriate decision is to improve the quality and quantity of watersheds so that the volume of sediment entering from rivers can be reduced significantly. The funds planned to build the cutoff can be used for reforestation and other watershed improvements.
The reforms needed in coastal area management are efforts that systemically consider matters related to hinterland areas. Coastal and estuary development cannot be carried out separately, but must be integrated with related watershed development.
To realize systemic and integralistic coastal development, strong cooperation between departments is very necessary. This collaboration is not enough to just coordinate, but must start from planning, implementation, and joint monitoring and evaluation. Activities, resources and funding sources must also be coordinated so that there is no competition or resistance between activities. For example, if there are funds to build a cutoff from a department but the activity is deemed unsustainable, then these funds can be diverted to reforestation activities carried out by another department as the leading sector.
Indonesia as an archipelago has the longest beaches in the world, so knowledge about holistic and integral beaches is very important in the regulation, preservation and utilization of related coastal areas. Many cities are located on the coast (around 70% of cities in Indonesia), so damage in coastal areas will be more intensive compared to other areas due to the penetration of urban communities into coastal areas.
The reform that needs to be carried out is to change the mindset of urban communities in viewing the beach. Currently, urban communities such as Jakarta, Medan, Surabaya, Semarang, and others tend to exploit beaches. Beaches are built with large construction as a place for recreation, holidays and rest, without paying attention to the preservation of the coastal environment, even eliminating coastal areas. To prevent increasingly intensive degradation of estuary areas, it is necessary to apply beach management concepts in peri-urban areas of cities or in front city areas that maintain the function and characteristics of estuaries and beaches so that beaches can continue to function according to their role.
In the context of coastal reclamation, reform is needed that beach reclamation is only carried out under conditions of extreme necessity and with the concept of exchange. This means that reclamation is only carried out if there is no other option and the area of the reclaimed coastal and border areas must be replaced outside the reclaimed area with a similar area and ecological-morphology, so that it is still possible to create a new coastal environment that maintains hydro-oceanographic dynamics. ecology, and socio-economics of coastal communities.
However, as an alternative to reclamation, it is recommended to build new islands in the middle of the sea so that the country obtains additional land area on these islands. Island creation and reclamation will provide positive benefits if using sediment that settles along the downstream river channel. This can also overcome flooding problems caused by shallowing of rivers by sediment. Therefore, sediment management in the future is very important, especially to overcome flooding, meet material needs, and maintain the sustainability of rivers as transportation routes. It is important to ensure that development in coastal areas does not use filled land from upstream areas, but rather adheres to the principle of zero input of filled land from upstream areas. In this way, erosion from upstream can be minimized. Thinking reforms like this need to be implemented immediately considering that coastal problems in Indonesia have become an urgent problem to be resolved.
Source :
Book of Teknik Dan Pengelolaan Sumber Daya Air
Writer : Dra. Fauzia Mulyawati, ST, MT; Dr. Agung Wahyudi Biantoro, ST, MT.