ROCK PILE KANGGE ISLAND: A JOURNEY OF RAISING HOPE FROM THE LIME STONE COLLECTION

During the 1980s and 2010s, in the waters of Marisa Village, Pulau Kangge, Alor Regency, and East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), there were still widespread fishing practices that were not environmentally friendly, such as the use of bombs and fish potassium cyanide. For local people, these methods are a practical way to catch large amounts of fish in a short amount of time. Unfortunately, without realizing it, these actions harm people's lives due to the destruction of fish habitats, namely the coral reef ecosystem. 

In 2011, residents of Kangge Island began to feel a decline in catches and began to change professions to become seaweed cultivators, as a substitute for the economic driving force of Kangge Island residents. However, the same problem still occurs, the use of poison is still being used to catch fish. As a result, a decrease in water quality occurs and leads to a decrease in the quality of seaweed cultivated by the community. 

Coral Reef Rehabilitation 

The decline in fish catches and the disruption of the quality of seaweed cultivation have become the motivation and movers of the people's hearts to change and start looking for solutions to overcome the environmental damage that has occurred on Kangge Island. In April–May 2013, together with the Marisa Village community on Pulau Kangge, the WWF Indonesia Foundation, and the Alor Regency Government through the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) program PT Hino Motors Manufacture, conducted a coral reef rehabilitation program using the Rock Pile method, which is an underwater structure. made of limestone, which is placed at a depth of 5-10 meters below sea level. 

This activity received full support from the residents of Marisa Village. The community worked hand in hand to collect as many as 150 cubic feet of limestone available around Kangge Island, to be placed in several points where the waters were considered to have been damaged. The location selection was carried out regarding several things, namely in waters that have currents, have sufficient light intensity, and have a depth of between five and nine meters with flat bottom conditions. 

Rehabilitation of coral reef ecosystems using the rock pile method is a simple method that is very easy to implement by communities on the coast of the Alor Regency. Low operational and maintenance costs, the availability of materials or materials around small islands that are easily obtained, and simple installation make this method effective for coastal communities. 

The rock pile consists of limestone arranged to resemble a square dome. This structure works in a natural way that provides a place for the attachment of larvae from coral animals, and if not disturbed within at least 3 months, a food chain will begin to form around the rock pile. This is a good sign for the small fish around it. 

Based on the experiment of Fox et al (2005), coral larvae tend to be easier to grow on rock piles because they are the most natural substrate. This is one of the main considerations in choosing the rock pile method, compared to man-made media. 

Improving Coral Reef Ecosystem in Kangge Island 

After the implementation of the rock pile installation in 2013, the condition of the coral reef ecosystem around the rock pile location began to improve, and the community's optimism grew more and more to continue to participate in the restoration of the coral reef ecosystem. Direct observations made by the WWF Indonesia Foundation team in 2013 exactly 5 months after laying the rock pile, and in 2018 showed the growth of soft coral and hard coral began to appear around the surface of the rock pile. In addition, the number of reef fish communities that inhabit rock piles continues to increase, much higher than before the rock pile. 

In April 2021, Reef Health Monitoring team in the Marine Protected Area of ​​the Pantar Strait and the surrounding sea, went directly to see the condition of the rock pile. Monitoring at that time found a total of 21 species of reef fish, which were dominated by species Ctenochaetus striatus, Chlorurus sordidus, Thalassoma lunare, Scarus niger. 

The rock piles on Kangge Island have not only succeeded in being a home for fish and substrates that stand alone but have also been able to support and even restore conditions in the surrounding locations. 

The improvement of coral reef ecosystems is also being felt by the Tourism Awareness Group (Pokdarwis) which is currently active in initiating the development program of the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Bahari Tourism Village. 

"Until now, pressure by fishing methods that damage the ecosystem is still happening, if we don't balance it together with ways and efforts to improve it, then the marine wealth of Kangge Island will only be a memory," said Rahmat Laba, Head of Pokdarwis Marisa village, Kangge Island.                

Rahmat and Pokdarwis members who are supported by the Marisa Village government, Kangge Island, are currently focusing on reducing pressure from destructive fishing activities and starting to move through marine tourism activities while continuing to monitor other activities in the waters of Kangge Island. Rahmat admitted, that when he went down to dive, he saw the condition of the rock pile growing better and more colorful, and the fish seemed to be more abundant. Rahmat hopes that this rehabilitation initiative using the rock pile method can be replicated in various other locations that need improvement so that marine wealth, especially in Alor district, can still be enjoyed by current and future generations. 

The location of the coral reef rehabilitation waters using the rock pile method in Marisa Village, Kangge Island is included in the Regional Water Conservation Area (KKPD) of the Pantar Strait and Surrounding Sea Nature Reserves (SAP). Precisely in the zone of protection and sustainable fisheries. The SAP area of ​​the Pantar Strait and the Surrounding Sea has been established through the Decree of the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries No. 35 of 2015. This area is managed by a spatial engineering or zoning mechanism that aims to maintain the sustainability of coastal and marine resources and improve community welfare. The existence of rock piles on Kangge Island is also expected to support the restoration of coral reef ecosystems and support the optimization of the fish bank around the waters of Rusa Island, Kambing Island, and Tanjung Soyang. 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Rumah Ikan (Rock Pile) Pulau Kangge: Perjalanan Membangkitkan Asa dari Kumpulan Batu Kapur

Di masa tahun 1980 hingga 2010-an, di perairan Desa Marisa Pulau Kangge, Kabupaten Alor, Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT), masih marak terjadi praktik penangkapan ikan dengan cara yang tidak ramah lingkungan, seperti penggunaan bom dan racun ikan/potas (potasium sianida). Bagi masyarakat lokal metode-metode tersebut adalah cara praktis untuk memperoleh tangkapan ikan dalam jumlah besar dan dalam waktu yang singkat. Sayangnya, tanpa disadari tindakan tersebut membawa dampak negatif pada kehidupan masyarakat akibat rusaknya habitat ikan, yaitu ekosistem terumbu karang. 

Pada tahun 2011, warga Pulau Kangge mulai merasakan terjadinya penurunan hasil tangkapan, dan mulai beramai-ramai beralih profesi menjadi pembudidaya rumput laut, sebagai roda pengganti penggerak ekonomi warga Pulau Kangge. Namun, permasalahan yang sama tetap terjadi, penggunaan racun masih terus digunakan untuk menangkap ikan. Akibatnya penurunan kualitas perairan terjadi, dan berujung pada penurunan kualitas rumput laut hasil budidaya masyarakat. 

Rehabilitasi Terumbu Karang

Penurunan tangkapan ikan dan terganggunya kualitas hasil budidaya rumput laut kemudian menjadi pematik semangat dan penggerak hati masyarakat untuk berubah dan mulai mencari jalan keluar mengatasi kerusakan lingkungan yang telah terjadi di Pulau Kangge. Pada April–Mei 2013 silam, bersama masyarakat Desa Marisa Pulau Kangge, Yayasan WWF Indonesia dan Pemerintah Kabupaten Alor melalui program CSR  (Corporate Social Responsibility)  PT Hino Motors Manufacture, melakukan program rehabilitasi terumbu karang dengan metode Rock Pile, yaitu struktur bangunan di bawah laut yang terbuat dari batu kapur, yang diletakkan pada kedalaman 5-10 meter di bawah permukaan laut.

Kegiatan ini mendapat dukungan penuh dari warga Desa Marisa. Masyarakat bahu membahu mengumpulkan bongkahan batu kapur sebanyak 150 kubik yang tersedia di sekitar Pulau Kangge, untuk ditempatkan di sejumlah titik yang perairannya dianggap telah rusak. Pemilihan lokasi dilakukan dengan mengacu kepada beberapa hal, yaitu di perairan yang berarus, memiliki intensitas cahaya yang cukup, serta memiliki kedalaman antara lima hingga sembilan meter dengan kondisi dasar perairan yang datar.

Rock pile di Pulau Kangge tak hanya berhasil menjadi rumah bagi ikan dan substrat yang berdiri sendiri, melainkan telah mampu menjadi penunjang bahkan pemulih bagi kondisi di lokasi-lokasi sekitarnya.

Perbaikan ekosistem terumbu karang kini dirasakan juga oleh Kelompok Sadar Wisata (Pokdarwis) yang saat ini aktif dalam inisiasi program pengembangan dari Kementerian Kelautan dan Perikanan, Dewi Bahari (Desa Wisata Bahari).

“Sampai detik ini tekanan dengan cara penangkapan ikan yang merusak terhadap ekosistem masih saja terjadi, apabila kita tidak bersama - sama menyeimbangkan dengan cara dan upaya perbaikan, maka kekayaan laut Pulau Kangge tinggal kenangan,” ungkap Rahmat Laba, Ketua Pokdarwis desa Marisa, Pulau Kangge. 

Gambar 3. Rahmat Laba, Ketua Pokdarwis Desa Marisa

Rahmat dan anggota Pokdarwis yang didukung oleh pemerintah Desa Marisa, Pulau Kangge, saat ini fokus untuk mengurangi tekanan dari kegiatan perikanan yang merusak (destructive fishing) dan mulai bergerak melalui aktivitas pariwisata bahari sambil terus memantau aktivitas lainnya di perairan Pulau Kangge. Rahmat mengakui, saat ia turun untuk menyelam, ia melihat kondisi rock pile tumbuh semakin baik, lebih berwarna, dan ikan terlihat semakin melimpah. Rahmat berharap dengan adanya inisiatif rehabilitasi dengan metode rock pile ini, bisa direplikasi di berbagai lokasi lain yang membutuhkan perbaikan agar kekayaan laut khususnya di kabupaten Alor, tetap dapat dinikmati oleh generasi kini dan nanti. 

Gambar 4. Pengukuran tutupan substrat pada rock pile tahun 2021

Lokasi perairan rehabilitasi terumbu karang dengan metode rock pile di Desa Marisa Pulau Kangge masuk dalam Kawasan Konservasi Perairan Daerah (KKPD) Suaka Alam Perairan (SAP) Selat Pantar dan Laut Sekitarnya. Tepatnya dalam zona perlindungan dan perikanan berkelanjutan. Kawasan SAP Selat Pantar dan Laut Sekitarnya telah ditetapkan melalui Surat Keputusan Menteri Kelautan dan Perikanan No.35 tahun 2015. Kawasan ini dikelola dengan mekanisme rekayasa ruang atau zonasi yang bertujuan untuk menjaga keberlangsungan sumberdaya pesisir dan laut serta meningkatkan kesejahteraan masyarakat. Keberadaan rock pile di Pulau Kangge juga diharapkan dapat mendukung pemulihan ekosistem terumbu karang serta mendukung optimalisasi zona inti (bank ikan) yang ada di sekitar perairan Pulau Rusa, Pulau Kambing dan Tanjung Soyang.

Gambar 5. Transect Master melakukan pemasukan transek kuadran untuk melihat tutupan substart di Blok rock pile

Gambar 6. Kondisi Ekosistem terumbu karang di sekitar rock pile