Sandy Beaches, Rocky Shores and Beach Forest

TE-9907-E Significant Coastal Habitats, Wildlife and Proyek Pesisir Water Resources in Lampung idea that they should not be allowed to use read: convert the greenbelt zone for reasons of coastal protection. Cultural and social reasons also play a role in the fate of mangroves. Most communities along the east coast of Sumatra are migrants from other provinces and often care less about the local environ- ment than they might at ‘home’. They are also likely to bolster their economic situation with oppor- tunistic behavior aimed at short-term gains. The conversion of coastal swamps to wet rice field sawah, followed by mangrove logging and the conversion into tambak fits into this ‘culture of transition’. Comparing this pattern of development and land use with that of the Damar tree gar- dens, cultivated for more than hundred years along the west coast, provides insight into what is sustainable and what is not, even if shrimp production is the economic primadonna of the moment. Although the silvo-fishery program for mangrove rehabilitation has failed so far, there are prospect for improvements and possible successful implementation. Rehabilitation of the mangrove greenbelt by way of silvo-fishery programs has been assessed as being economically feasible BC of between 4.15 and 4.19 for Lampung and offering a much higher return to farmers than the traditional ap- proach of replanting the greenbelt in the intertidal zone Zainal, et al., 1998. But economically feasible or not, the fact remains that farmers have to be organized, convinced, and economically capable of gradually taking some of the ponds out of production to allow for the conversion back to mangrove forest.

III. Sandy Beaches, Rocky Shores and Beach Forest

Most people associate the coastal zone with sandy beaches lined with coconut trees, rocky shores, or dry land beach vegetation; all of these are found along the coast of Lampung, particularly at the south and west. About 570 km 52 of the coastline consists of these habitats. The east coast of Lampung is dominated by mud flats originating from swamps forest. See Figure 3 for the distribu- tion of these of habitats. Flora A good example of how most beaches would look like left undisturbed is found in the colonization and succession of beach vegetation on the Krakatau islands. The beach vegetation established on the shores of the islands since the volcanic eruption in 1883 consists of two types: the Pes-caprae formation and the Barringtonia formation: The Pes-caprae has species typically comprising Ipo- moea pes-caprae, Vigna marina, Canavalia maritima, Ischaemum muticum, Spinifex littoreus, Cyperus penatus , Fimbrystylis spathacea, Cassytha filiformis, Euphorbia atoto, Scaevola taccada, and Wedelia biflora. The Barringtonia formation consists of Barringtonia asiatica, Casuarina equisetifolia , Cerbera manghas, Hibiscus tiliaceus, Morinda citrifolia, Pandanus tectorius, Terminallia catappa , and Calophylum inophyllum. The Barringtonia formation is the climax veg- etation for the beach and starts with pioneering casuarina and Pes-caprae plant communities Kartawinata, 1983. Local soil differences primarily determine the current type of beach vegetation in Lampung, but the management history also play a role. The beach forests of Lampung consist of an impoverished Barringtonia formation, with one or more of the common tree species found all along the coast of west Indonesia, including species such as Terminalia catappa ketapang, Hibiscus tiliacea waru laut, Calophyllum inophyllum, Casuarine equisetifolia cemara, and Pandanus tectorius. Ipo- moea pes-caprae kangkung laut. A number of short, sturdy grasses e.g. Pennisetum, Spinifex grow on the sandy beach ridge of stable shores. The fauna is rather poor, but these beaches are very TE-9907-E Significant Coastal Habitats, Wildlife and Proyek Pesisir Water Resources in Lampung important because of their use by marine turtle see below and the potential for tourism develop- ment. The east coast had extensive zones of coastal mangroves, but locally both the principal coastal morphology and the soils differ greatly, resulting in sandy sediments and actively eroding andor accreting shores, unsuitable for the expansion of mangroves. The sandy shores of the Way Kambas N. P. are dominated by Casuarina equisetifolia, which suggests unstable shores as well as the influ- ence of burning -- casuarina is a typical pioneer on newly-established beaches and withstands fire well. The west coast shows the best development of the Barringtonia beach formation. In combination with the white sandy sediments from reefs, this formation results in beautiful beaches with high excellent tourism potential. Also characteristic of the west coast is the dominance of Pandanus tectorius . The beach forests are very small, however, and bordered by lowland dipterocarp forest, village settlements and gardens, sawah or the famous Damar gardens as found at Krui. Lowland dipterocarp forests 0 - 500 m are outside the scope of this coastal profile, but it is important to know that very little of this forest remains as primary vegetation because of the serious impact of human settlements. Even the Bukit Barisan National Park has little of this forest, except probably in the southern part up to Tj. Belimbing - Tj. Cina. The shores of the islands in south and west Lampung support a combination of Barringtonia beach forests along sandy coral beaches, lowland dipterocarp forests on steep rocky coast, and mangroves in sheltered bays. Fauna The most important animals using the beaches are the sea turtles along the south and west coasts and the water birds along the east coast. See the sections on freshwater swamp forests and man- groves for discussion of water birds. There are about 250 species of terrestrial and aquatic turtles around the world. Of the eight marine species, six are found in Indonesian waters. The survival of sea turtle largely depends on the protec- tion of their nesting beaches from the poaching of eggs and the killing of female turtles during their laborious crossing of the beach. Three species of sea turtle have been found in Lampung, with important nesting beaches known in only five locations Tomascik, et al., 1994. The Green Turtle Chelonia midas is found on the beaches of Pulau Rakata and Sertung Krakatau, Tanjung Cina, Krui, and the southwestern coastline of the Bukit Barisan N.P. beaches outside the reserve bound- aries. The hawskbill turtle Eretmochelys imbricata is found only on the Krakatau islands and the beaches of Pulau Segama, 25 kms off the east coast part of the Pulau Seribu. The leatherback turtle Dermochelys cariacea is found only at its nesting beaches of Tj. Cina. All three species are rare, decreasing in numbers, and classified as endangered by the IUCN. They are also included in Appendix I of CITES, to which Indonesia is a signatory. Appendix I stipulates no trade in turtle products from natural populations. All turtles, except the green turtle, are protected by Indonesian law. Any exploitation, such as recorded for the five nesting locations in Lampung, is therefore illegal and likely to lead to extinction. Management Concerns The most frequent problem mentioned with regard to sandy beaches along the west coast is shore- TE-9907-E Significant Coastal Habitats, Wildlife and Proyek Pesisir Water Resources in Lampung line erosion. Beach erosion is reportedly leading to property losses in coastal villages, damage to some coastal roads, and the loss of valuable coconut land. However, much of this erosion is neither a recent phenomenon nor the direct result of human encroachment into the active zone of the beach. Every natural beach has its dynamics in terms of periods of accretion and erosion. Building too close to the shoreline is asking for trouble. Shoreline erosion along the east coast, particularly at Kec. Labuan Maringgai, needs further study to assess the real causes of abrasion. It is unlikely that the loss of mangroves is the sole reason for erosion at all locations. A second problem is that many beaches close to human settlements are heavily polluted with house- hold wastes and feces. Rural settlements seldom have solid waste management systems. Fishing communities all along the coast of Lampung are known to use beaches for sanitation instead of building septic tanks, which are often too costly. The status of sea turtles in Lampung needs further study, in particular for the west coast and the islands in the south. It is very likely that turtles use a much larger number of beaches for nesting than reported, but are unnoticed due to lack of surveys. Specific community-based management actions have to be developed for important nesting sites. The experiences of WWF in Bali can be used for this.

IV. Water and River Resources