Volcanic eruptions and the forgotten pearls
Abstract With this paper we demonstrate, using the example of the Segara Anakan lagoon in south Java, Indonesia, that exploring the environmental history of an area may provide important information for the understanding of present day problems and their possible solutions. The lagoon is seriously affected by sedimentation. Management measures aiming at its preservation were rather ineffective. Until now, most scholars have treated sedimentation of the lagoon as a short-term phenomenon. We found evidence that sedimentation is a long-term driver of ecosystem changes in Segara Anakan. Ecosystem changes are also obvious in the disappearance of species from the lagoon, like pearl oysters. We recommend that preconditions for the development of adequate management decisions regarding the lagoon's sedimentation problem are (1) a distinction between natural and anthropogenic causes of sedimentation and (2) an understanding of changes in species composition.