MANGROVE CARE FORUM BALI
Also known as Forum
Peduli Mangrove Bali (FPMB), is formed with the aim to protect,
preserve, rehabilitate, replant and educate, as a concerted effort to
save the mangroves. Supported by the Artha Graha Peduli Foundation,
the team at the Mangrove Care Forum Bali draws from 16 years of
experience the foundation has in caring for and operating the Tambling
Wildlife Nature Conservation Park, located at South Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, within 356,000 hectares of Tropical Rainforest and 21,600 hectares of Marine Nature Reserve.
The mangrove forest under the care of The Mangrove Care Forum Bali is
located in the Ngurah Rai Grand Forest Park, a 1,373.5 hectare mangrove
forest at the Benoa Bay Area in Bali. The mangrove forest suffers from
severe pollution and misuse, and debris and rubbish from nearby
villages. Deforestation of trees and littering its grounds are a common
sight. The focus of the Mangrove Care Forum Bali is to involve the
communities surrounding the mangrove and enlist regular help to clean up
and create a safe environment for plants and marine life to thrive. A
further goal is to prevent further abrasion of coastline and to regrow
the affected areas to lush mangrove vegetation.
Challenges and Aims
The Benoa Bay mangrove forest is both primary and secondary
vegetation, meaning parts of it have never been cleared or removed while
parts have regrown after the natural and human assisted destruction of
the original vegetation. It suffered damages from pollution and
construction projects. Mangrove forests can serve as a natural barrier
to tidal erosions, and are oxygen providers and a safe haven to many
species. The Mangrove Care Forum Bali helps to conserve and nurture life
along this coastal sanctuary, and has set 5 key goals in furthering its
efforts:
- Maintenance of Degraded Land
- Preservation of Mangrove Areas
- Replanting of Mangroves
- Rehabilitation of Degraded Mangroves
- Mangrove Development
Ecology/Biology
The Ngurah Rai Grand Forest Park is a vast green area located in
Benoa Bay. The coast is filled with diversity in nature’s ecosystem,
including but not limited to:
- 66 species of Makrazoobentos (Nassarius luridus, Clypeomorus coralium and Nerita antiquate)
- 45 species of Fish (Teraponidae, Belonidae, Muraenidae)
- 36 species of Birds (Accipitridae, Laridae)
- 27 species of Plankton (Skeletonema costatum, Podon)
- 16 species of Mangrove Trees (Ceriops tagal, Avicennia marina)
- 5 species of Reptiles (Komodo dragons, vipers, mamba)
- 3 species of Mammals (Brandocota indica, Pteropus edulis)
Importance to preserve and protect Benoa Bay
Benoa Bay is a tidal estuary located on the southeast coast of Bali.
The estuary is protected by the narrow sandy Benoa Peninsula which
protrudes northwards from the southern tip of the harbour and which
closes off the entire southern portion of the estuary. Serangan Island
which is located to the north partially closes the remainder of the
estuary except for a one kilometre navigable stretch of water that
separates the southern tip of the island from the Benoa Peninsula. The
northern tip of the island is separated from the mainland at high and
mid tides by a very shallow straight which is 400 metres at its
narrowest point. The entire coastline is protected by an extensive coral
reef system that runs continuously apart from a very narrow (200 metre)
channel at the harbour entrance at the northern tip of the Benoa
Peninsula.
The human feature of the Bay is the Benoa Port facility located on
reclaimed land in the middle of the estuary, and the connecting causeway
that stretches 3 kilometres north to the mainland. The causeway being a
solid barrier has greatly affected the natural flushing of the bay by
tide and stream discharge. Benoa Bay is lined with a mangrove forest
that has suffered depletion due to development and land reclamation.
Estimates are that 50% of the mangrove forest has been lost since 1980
as a result of development. There are many fresh water rivers flowing
into the estuary, predominantly those draining the central plains and
mountain ranges to the north, and to a lesser extent from the southern
Bukit Plateau.
Benoa Bay suffers from a number of serious environmental problems and
in a sense, similar to other estuarine environments, is a focal point
for environmental impacts that originate elsewhere in the region. These
problems range from eutrophication of the estuary due to nutrient
loading through to biological pollution from untreated sewage effluent
discharge.
Three of the fresh water rivers that enter Benoa Bay from the north
originate in the agricultural heartland of Bali and reach the estuary
after travelling through the highly populated urban centre of Denpasar.
Agricultural runoff is particularly high in nutrients from fertilisers
and manure from farm animals. In particular crop applications of urea,
triple super phosphate and potassium chloride, as well as growth
stimulant ZA are common in the catchment area. Fertilisers that are not
directly absorbed in the rice fields are carried down through the
irrigation system and eventually through rivers and out into the bay.
All of the rivers entering the bay have large quantities of excess
nutrients and the nutrient loading of the bay is evident with the
visible growth of algae and uncharacteristic sea bed grasses.
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