Indonesia's Islands Have Their Own Story To Tell

By Azeman Ariffin Bernama's correspondent Azeman Ariffin shares his observation on Indonesia and its people. JAKARTA, March 27 (Bernama) -- It is my third month in Jakarta, Indonesia now as the Malaysian National News Agency's (BERNAMA) correspondent. Indonesia has always amazed me in many ways including its geography. A recent article on a local daily on Indonesia's missing islands prompted me to share some interesting points with readers. Indonesia is an archipelago of 17,508 islands, known as 'Pulo', 'Nusa' or 'Gili' in the local language, spread from the west to the east covering an area of 5,193,250 square kilometers. However, recently about 4,000 of the 17,508 islands in Indonesia went 'missing' not due to natural factors or human intervention, but because they failed to conform with the island definition set by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). 4,000 ISLANDS GONE? A local media Koran Tempo recently quoted the head of Indonesian Geospatial Body (BIG) Dr Asep Karsidi as saying, Indonesia only has 13,466 islands based on the conditions stipulated under UNCLOS. Among the four requisites that a land area above water has to fulfill before can be declared as an island are; there has to be land above water, created naturally and not man made, surrounded by water and is not submerged during high tide. Therefore, after the Indonesia authorities reclassified the their islands based on UN's definition, many failed to live up to the conditions stipulated by UN as they were only sandbanks, mudbanks or reefs that were submerged during high-tides. The same goes to the mud and mangrove clusters that were submerged under water during high tides, never mind if even only the mangrove trees stayed above the water. Asep was quoted saying, Indonesia previously had 17,508 islands as it classified everything that stood above the water's surface including shoals and sandbanks as islands. LOST DUE TO NATURE'S FORCES Also, Indonesia lost several islands due to nature's forces or mankind's destructive ways. About 24 of the small islands in Indonesia, including Pulau Gosong Sinjai, vanished due to the 2004 tsunami in Acheh, Sumatera. Pulau Mioswekel in Papua vanished due to erosion while the Pulau Lereh in Riau Archipelago went missing from the map due to sand mining activities. Much earlier, in 1883, Indonesia lost Pulau Krakatau, in the middle of Sunda Straits, and several other smaller islands surrounding it, as it was swallowed by the sea following the worlds deadliest volcanic eruption. The eruption and the ground vibration could be felt at the far reaches of the world with 36,000 lives lost along with the island. THE FACTS BEHIND INDONESIA'S ISLANDS Despite this, the huge number of islands make Indonesia the seventh biggest nation in the world based on land area after Russia, Canada, the United States, China, Brazil and Australia. It is also the biggest country within Southeast Asia. And due to its archipelago nature, the Republic is covered by 11 seas - the Java Sea, Flores Sea, Sawu Sea, Timor Sea, Sulawesi Sea, Maluku Sea, Seram Sea, Banda Sea, Arafura Sea, Natuna Sea and South Tiongkok Sea. Can readers guest the biggest and the smallest island in Indonesia? The biggest island in the archipelago is the Papua Island, covering an area of 786,000 square kilometres and divided between two nations - Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The smallest island in Indonesia, covering about 1 square kilometres, is the Pulau Simping located near Singkawang in West Kalimantan. The Java island where the capital city Jakarta is located is the 13th biggest in the world and also one of the most congested with a population of 136 million. About 60 percent of Indonesians occupy the island and to facilitate administration, the island is divided into four divisions West Java, Central Java, East Java, and Banten. However, for the average Indonesian life goes on as usual in one of the thousands of islands that make up Indonesia. -- BERNAMA