"We have observed that the shoreline of Aceh Province has moved tens of meters inland over the last 10 years," Arifsyah M Nasution, coordinator of the Coalition for Aceh Seas Advocacy (KuALA), said here Friday.
Over the next 15 years, Aceh`s shoreline was predicted to move 10 to 70 more meters inland, he said, adding Aceh`s western shoreline would move around 20 to 70 meters inland while the land area of the proovince`s northern parts would shrink by 10 to 50 percent.
"The high level of shoreline diminution in the west and south coast is caused by their location facing the Indian Ocean directly whilst the ocean is known for its powerful waves," he said.
Moreover, the fast shrinkage of the land in the western parts of Aceh province was caused by the damage done to the natural coastal barriers by the tsunami on December 26, 2004.
Meanwhile, the coastal land shrinkages in the north and east of Aceh province was mostly caused by illegal logging of mangrove forests, he said.
Therefore, KuALA predicted that most of the Aceh shoreline was unstable due to the damage in the 2004 tsunami and also the coastal ecosystem breakdown, in addition to unsustainable city planning, he said.
The season anomalies which had triggered extreme weather and caused the increasing force of ocean waves and sea currents should also be taken into account as factor contributing to coastal land shrinkage.
The other factors in coastal land shrinkage were construction of embankments , coastal mining activities, and offshore oil and gas explorations.
"Unsustainable urban planning also contributes to the high level of abrasion," he said, exemplifying the improper construction of embankments that lead to changes in sea currents.
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