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  Bernama 22 Dec 06
Four Villages In Madura Island May Be Gobbled Up By Sea

SUMENEP (East Java), Dec 22 (Bernama) -- At least four villages in Madura Island may eventually disappear as a consequence of prolonged coastal abrasion, according to the results of a survey conducted by non-governmental organization AMI.

The villages of Pabian, Angon Angon, Sambekati and Bilis Bilis are under threat of being gobbled up by the sea if sea water intrusion into their soil cannot be stopped, Antara news agency reported Thursday quoting AMI chairman Hosen as saying.

Coastal abrasion had been happening at the four villages for the past 10 years due to sand quarrying activity by irresponsible parties, he said. Illegal sand mining was being done up to 10 km from the seashore with quarries reaching depths of between 1.5 and 2 meters and destroying many coconut trees.

"Sea water has not yet reached local people's houses but if the sand quarrying activity continues, their houses will eventually also be affected and residential areas will become part of the sea," he said.

Sand quarrying is rampant on many of Indonesia's 17,000 islands.

A controversial sand quarrying case happened in Nipah island in Riau Islands province recently. Environmental experts had asked the government to forbid any kind of illegal sand quarrying on Nipah Island as it would threaten the existence of the island which was serving as a reference point in defining a part of the Indonesia-Singapore sea border.

The sand from Nipah Island was reportedly used by Singapore in land reclamation projects.
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