KAPUAS RIVER

Kapuas River

Kapuas River is located in Pontianak, West Borneo.  Kapuas River is the longest river in Indonesia which is 1143 Km, and around 942 Km can be used for water transportation. Then in this river there are so many kind of Biodiversity Such as fish, there are more than 300 species of fish in Kapuas River. Furthermore Kapuas River are used for water resources, as the infrastructure of water transportation, and then in the some occasions also used to fulfill daily necessary. Mostly People in West Borneo choose to go anywhere by using Kapuas River as the medium of the transportation such as ship and boat, etc. It is because the access can be easiest by using that kind of transportation rather than using car or even motorbike. Let’s say for example I have to go to Ketapang from Pontianak, if I used water transportation it will cutting up my time rather than I used land transportation.

In Kapuas River there is large number of fishes there with the famous one is Arwana or called as Dragon Fish. There are eight species of Arwana which so expensive. For, example the Red Super Dragon Fish which had 30 cm long, we have to pay around Rp.6.800.000,-  each of The Super Red Dragon Fish. Then for the seedling its sales around Rp. 680.000,-each of them. Arwana was found in Danau sentarum National center park of West Borneo. They growth and develop with some grasses that floating on the surface of Kapuas River.

this the picture of location that used for live and also place for the dragon fish growth and development.

The seedling of the Arwana was life in the section of the grasses. Besides Arwana there also many kind of fishes live in Kapuas River Toman, Lais, Patin, Jelawat, Labau, Gurame, Seluang, and Catfish.

 Nowadays, Kapuas River had becoming a residence. Today, you can see many houses along the Kapuas river bank. That causes the Kapuas river bank narrower than before. The reason is because when their closer with water resources lives in Kapuas River. The people also used the river to transported their crop let’s say for example Coconut. Because the coconut can float on the surface of Kapuas River. It really helpful rather than they used land transportation.

Kapuas River also used for transportation, there is so many boat and ship through across the Kapuas River. It is cause of the infrastructure of the street still not good enough to used land transportation. Beside many people used water transportation to get the cheaper cost. Let’s said for example to go to Ketapang there are two choices given, there are by using water transportation or airplane. Then mostly people in West Borneo choose to use the water transportation to decreasing their cost of accommodations. Actually Kapuas River’s water is also use as water resources for whole cities in West Borneo. Kapuas River is also had big influence for the growth and the development of West Borneo. Based on the function and the value that Kapuas River had.

According to Kanwil PU of West Borneo, said that on the 1996, the water volume of Kapuas River is 274.628.200 m for each year. Furthermore the use of water level is around 22.312.325 each year or around 8 % in each year. Kapuas River is also places that use for gold and silver mining and as place for some workers.

All the activities above, is not only came with many advantages but also disadvantages. Nowadays, there is much news that told people in West Borneo, that so many fishes die because of the water has been contaminated by the oil and petroleum. Then the latest news from antara.com, the amount of Dragon fish has been decreased.  Now it is become a challenge for the government, environment department and also us as the human that supposed to be keeping the sustainability of Kapuas River ecosystems. Below are the pictures shows the comparison of

Kapuas River in ten years later and now.

Ten years ago

 

Now

 Both this pictures show the differences in the Kapuas River ten years ago until now. 

Then many houses that appear along this river bank also make the river became narrower. House

that build along the river banks are shown by this picture.

 

Kapuas River is also become places that used for advertise. Besides as a place for celebrating some events likes Idul Fitri that will appear some cannon Attraction, also for Khatulistiwa festival (Equator) then New Year celebration. The houses that build along the river bank also produce some disposal material and rubbish that can pollute the Kapuas River.

Show by the picture below.

You can imagine what will happen in the next ten years later with Kapuas River? If all the people who live along the river bank always throw their rubbish to the river, how the fishes and also the plant that is can lived inside of the river do the photosynthesis. The sun light was block by the rubbish that floating on the surface of the Kapuas River. Beside it is also make the Kapuas River become dirty and make the smell not become smell of water anymore, even the feces of human, we can easily found floating on the surface of Kapuas River. That was one effect that caused water pollution happen on the Kapuas River.

In the other hand, the function Kapuas River that use as water transportation was involving the process of water pollution in Kapuas River. It is because of the petrol that had been used by the driver. The petrol such as benzene and also diesel petrol substance was dissolved with the water of Kapuas River. It also as the effect that involving the water pollution is happen in Kapuas River. It can pollute with the water and made the after had different composition than before. Commonly in wet season, when raining was coming with the high level of water; it can cause flooding, not only dirty water they will get, they also get disease, losing the water supply. Starting from today, we have to think about our Kapuas River and the continuity of biodiversity that live inside and also on the surface of Kapuas River like Dragon Fish; as we know that Dragon Fish was live inside of the Kapuas River, otherwise we can say goodbye for our proudness; Dragon Fish? Do we want to lose our Dragon Fish habitat? Or we want to lost our famous animal and make us become worse than before?

Besides of all this side we also saw that was waste materials from gold and silver mining give a big influence that caused the Kapuas River dirtier than before, we can see from this picture.

Problems

In this part I would like to tell you all how the mining can influence the water pollution of Kapuas River.

First, the gold and silver miner used the mercury as the chemical substances in the process of mixing the materials with the burning process that used the mixed of mercury and gold without permissions

Second, the waste materials of the mercury directly throw to the river without any filtration before their throw it away to the river.

Third, the people that lie along the Kapuas River bank used the water for daily need.

Fourth, the people who lived closer to the Kapuas River and their miner is already contaminated by the mercury through their nose, mouth, skin, nail and also hair.

Fifth, the last is the people and also the miner does not full attention on it.

Then that the objective of me why I wrote this essay because I want all of young people be aware with their environment and what is actually happen. I can’t imagine what will happen in the future with very Single River in Indonesia; if we as human do not want to take care the sustainability of our river to keep the biodiversity that live inside of the river. If we just throw the rubbish and also waste materials to the river. The biodiversity will die and we as human will get diseases.

How to prevent that side?

It is easy how we can prevent the river that supposed to not get water pollution

First, we have remembered 3R, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Let’s say for rubbish that excess of vegetable and food can be used to make an organic fertilizer. Then the foam of our detergent we can make our own sanitation before allow it flowing to the river.

Second, the one who work as the driver of boat; they have to make sure that the places of the petroleum is not leak; so the petroleum will not flowing to the river and pollute the river water.

Third, the owner have to think, to provide ecology observer to observe the condition of places nearer their mining, it is balance or something small bad started to happen. We can just let it go, we have to think further not only how we can be rich and get profit from the gold and silver mining.

Finally, we have to go back to the nature and see what is happen actually around us.  

Siti Febry Wahyuni 28 of February 2012