Muara Beting Increasingly Threatened

The prosperous life of Muara Beting residents in Pantai Bahagia village, Muaragembong district, Bekasi regency, West Java, is only a memory. They now live in limitations due to natural conditions.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

Dozens of dead mangrove trees in Muara Beting Kampong, Pantai Bahagia Village, Muaragembong District, Bekasi Regency, West Java, Thursday (27/10/2022). Sea level rise, land subsidence rate, and local conditions pose real threats to the northern region of Java.

Muara Beting kampong, Pantai Bahagia village, Muaragembong district, Bekasi regency, West Java, was abundant in fish, shrimp and crabs. It was so rich that the village was dubbed the “village of dollars.” However, that is a story of the past.

Muara Beting is about 6 kilometers from the Muaragembong sub-district office in Pantai Mekar village, Bekasi regency. Although they are located quite close together, traveling from the office to the village by motorbike takes about an hour.

The access road to Muara Beting can only be reached by motorbike because the path is quite narrow, only 1 meter wide. The road is muddy and not smooth.

Road conditions are damaged due to tidal floods that often inundated the area. Years of tidal floods were a scourge for the residents of Muara Beting.

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The impact of rob (tidal wave) on the residents' houses can be seen along Jl. Muara Beting. The sea water continues to rise into the mainland, inundating the residents' yards. The walls of the residents' houses and the walls of a mosque have peeled off due to the rising sea water. There are also empty houses, left behind by the owners.

The life of people in Muara Beting is very unique. Some residents repaired nets, dried fish, sorted shrimp and cleaned traps that had been taken from the sea. Jumhana, 57, a housewife in Muara Beting, for example, on Thursday afternoon (27/10/2022), was busy sorting out various types of fish the size of an adult's index finger. The small fish were caught by her husband in the morning.

"Just like this, only one kilogram at most. Fishermen catches are less. Last year, it was hard to get fish. The sea is empty again," said the resident of RT 005 RW 002 of Pantai Bahagia village.

Damaged ponds

Jumhana and her husband have for the last 10 years relied on the sea for their living. They looked for fish using a small boat with an engine. The boat was only able to circle around and catch fish and prawns around the coast.

Fish and shrimp are no longer easy to find. Once at sea, if you are lucky, the maximum amount of fish and prawns that can be caught is 3 kilograms.

Money from the sale of their catch is enough to refuel or provide supplies while at sea. Jumhana and her husband’s debt have accumulated at the warung (shop) due to their daily expenses when their catch – fish or shrimp – cannot offset their costs from fishing.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

Residential houses abandoned due to land subsidence in Muara Beting Kampong, Pantai Bahagia Village, Muaragembong District, Bekasi Regency, West Java, Thursday (27/10/2022).

Although it is now difficult to get fish, one resident from Indramayu, West Java, was a successful fisherman in the village 20 years ago. His father owned 15 hectares of ponds, abundant with shrimp, fish and crabs.

"I used to have a pond, which was left by my parents, but it has been damaged, all subject to abrasion," he said.

Abrasion and subsidence of the ground are causes of damage to fisherman's ponds in Muara Beting where there no longer are active community ponds. Most of the ponds have now turned into mangrove forests.

Land subsidence and the impact of abrasion have not only damaged the Muara Beting fisherman's ponds, it has also eliminated a number of villages in Muara Beting Ujung. The village is about 500 meters from Muara Beting, where Jumhana and hundreds of other families currently live.

“Here, the population used to be almost 200 families. Now there are only 15 families left," said Kusno, 45, one of the residents who still lives in Muara Beting Ujung, on Thursday afternoon (27/10).

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The distance between Muara Beting Ujung and the coast is only 200 meters. In fact, in the early 2000s, the distance to the coast was about 1.5 kilometers. Abrasion and subsidence have also wiped out three other villages in Muara Beting Ujung.

“This place used to be full of fish and shrimp. Our village was known as the “village of dollars.” Why? We threw the fishing net [into the sea] and within an hour or two it was full of fish and crabs. It was easy to make money," said the man who has lived there since 1988.

Mangrove area

Yusup Maulana, founder of the Muaragebong Kita Coastal Community Empowerment, said that there are various factors causing land abrasion and subsidence in the coastal area of ​​Muaragembong. Apart from climate change and global warming, the residents' actions have had an impact on the damage to the Muaragembong coastal area.

The coast of Muaragembong in the 1960s was uninhabited. The natural conditions in the area were beautiful, green and had many types of animals living there, ranging from various types of birds, such as the long-tailed macaques, to Javan langurs. “Muaragembong in the 1980s had extraordinary nature. A lot of people started going there,” said Yusup.

Without serious efforts, the fate of Muara Beting is increasingly precarious and threatened of being wiped out by the sea.

Residents who came to Muaragembong came from various places, such as Banten, West Java, and East Java. They changed Muaragembong into an area of fishing ponds.

Nature is not always friendly. Abrasion and rob have eroded the beautiful memories of the people of the village of dollars, Muara Beting. Without serious efforts, the fate of Muara Beting is increasingly precarious and threatened of being wiped out by the sea.

This article was translated by Kurniawan Siswo.