Weh Island
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| Weh Island
<tr><td style="border-top:1px solid #999966; text-align: center;" colspan=2>Image:Weh Island.png | |
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| Elevation | 617 metres (2,024 ft)<ref name="gvp">Pulau Weh. Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institute. Retrieved on 2006-11-16.</ref> |
| Location | northwest of Sumatra, Indonesia
<tr><td style="border-top: 1px solid #999966; border-right: 1px solid #999966; background: #e7dcc3; width: 85px">Coordinates</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #999966; width: 220px"></td></tr><tr><td style="border-top: 1px solid #999966; border-right: 1px solid #999966; background: #e7dcc3; width: 85px">Type</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #999966; width: 220px">Stratovolcano</td></tr><tr><td style="border-top: 1px solid #999966; border-right: 1px solid #999966; background: #e7dcc3; width: 85px">Last eruption</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #999966; width: 220px">pleistocene time</td></tr> |
Weh Island or Pulau Weh or Pulo Weh is a small active volcanic island at the northwest of Sumatra. It was originally connected to the Sumatra mainland and became separated by sea after its last eruption in the pleistocene era.<ref name="gvp"/> The island is situated in the Andaman Sea. The largest city on the island, Sabang, is the westernmost outpost of Indonesia.
The island is known for its ecosystem; the Indonesian government has declared 6,000 hectares of inland and sea around the island as a wildlife protection area. A rare megamouth shark species was found on shore and the island is the only habitat for the threatened toad, Bufo valhallae (genus Bufo). Coral reef areas around the island are known for their large variety of fish species.
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[edit] Geography
Weh Island is located in the Andaman Sea, where two groups of islands, the Nicobar Islands and Andaman Islands, are scattered in one line from Sumatra to the north up to the Burma plate. The Andaman Sea lies on an active moving small tectonic plate (microplate). A complex geological fault system and volcanic arc islands have been created along the sea by the microplate movement.<ref>Curray, J.R. (2005). "Tectonics and history of the Andaman Sea region". Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 25 (1): 187–232.</ref>
The island is just 350 metres (1,150 ft) off the northernmost tip of Sumatra. The island is small at only 15,630 hectares, but mountainous. The highest peak is 617 metres (2,024 ft), which is a fumarolic volcano.<ref name="gvp"/> The last known eruption is estimated to have occured in the pleistocene age. As a result of this eruption, the mountain partially collapsed, filled by the sea and thus a separate island was formed.
At nine metres depth (29.5 ft) close to Sabang city, underwater fumaroles emerge from the seabed.<ref>Pulau Weh Volcano, Indonesia. John Seach, an Australian volcanologist. Retrieved on 2006-11-23.</ref> A volcanic cone is found in the jungle behind Jaboi. There are three solfatara (mudpot) fields on the island: one is 750 m (0.5 mi) southeast of the summit and the others are 5 km (3 mi) and 11.5 km (7 mi) northwest of the summit on the western shore of Lhok Perialakot bay.
There are four islets surrounding Weh Island: Klah, Rubiah, Seulako, and Rondo. Among those, Rubiah is well known for diving tourism, because of its coral reefs. During the Hajj pilgrimage session when traveling to Saudi Arabia was only possible by sea, Rubiah was used as a quarantine place for Indonesian Muslims.<ref>Weh Island, a piece of land from heaven. Aceh Tourism Office. Retrieved on 2006-11-30.</ref>
[edit] Inhabitants
Weh Island is a part of Aceh province. A 1993 census reported 24,700 inhabitants.<ref name="Allen2002">G.R., Werner,T.B. (2002). "Coral Reef Fish Assessment in the ‘Coral Triangle’ of Southeastern Asia". Environmental Biology of Fishes 65 (2): 209–214.</ref> The large majority of the population are Acehnese and the remaining are Minangkabau, Javanese, Batak and Chinese.<ref name="WehEconomy">The people of Weh Island. Aceh Tourism Office. Retrieved on 2006-11-30.</ref> It is unknown when the first time the island was inhabited.
Islam is the main religion, as Aceh is a special province where Sharia law has been applied exclusively for the province. However, there are some Christians and Buddhists on the island. They are mostly Javanese, Batak and Chinese.
On 24 December 2004, a massive (9.0 on Richter scale) undersea earthquake struck in the Andaman Sea. The earthquake triggered a series of tsunamis that killed at least 130,000 people in Indonesia alone.<ref>UN Office of the Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery. The Human Toll. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-11-23.</ref> The effect on the island was relatively small ,<ref>"Waves of Mercy Says Goodbye to Pulau Weh", Indonesia Relief, 11 June 2005. Retrieved on 2006-11-23.</ref> but it is unknown how many inhabitants of the island were killed by the event.
[edit] Economy
The economy on Weh Island is dominated by agriculture. The main products are cloves and coconuts.<ref name="WehEconomy"/> Small-scale fisheries operate in the area, and fishermen have used explosives and cyanide fishing extensively. Therefore since 1982, a wildlife protection area (suaka alam) has been declared by the Indonesian government that includes 3,400 hectares inland and 2,600 hectares of surrounding sea.<ref name="Allen2002"/>
The two main cities are Sabang and Balohan. Balohan is a ferry port that serves as a hub between the island and Banda Aceh on the mainland Sumatra. Sabang has been an important quay since the late nineteenth century, because the city overlooks the entry to a busy shipping route, Malacca Strait.
Before the Suez Canal was opened in 1869, the Indonesian archipelago was reached via the Sunda Strait from Africa. From the Suez Canal, the route to Indonesia is shorter via the Malacca Strait. Due to its natural harbour with relatively deep and well sheltered water, the Dutch East Indies government decided to open Sabang as a quay. In 1883, Sabang quay was opened for ships to dock by the Atjeh Associate.<ref name="ABN">Sabang. ABN AMRO History. ABN AMRO. Retrieved on 2006-11-30.</ref> At first, the harbour was intended as a coal station for the Dutch navy, but later also served merchant vessels and for the transfer of export goods from northern Sumatra.
Each year, 50,000 vessels pass through Malacca Strait.<ref>"IMO to take Straits initiative", International Maritime Organization. Retrieved on 2006-11-24.</ref> In 2000, the Indonesian government declared Sabang as a Free Trade Zone and Free Port to gain economical benefit by establishing the port as a logistic hub for international vessels passing through the strait.<ref>Government of Indonesia (1 September 2000). Free Trade Zone and Free Port of Sabang. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-11-30.</ref> Infrastructures for a deep water harbour, port, warehousing and refuelling facilities, were developed.
Weh Island is also known for ecotourism. Underwater diving, hiking through the volcanic mountain and beach resorts are the main attractions. A small village, Iboih, is known as a location for scuba diving. A few meters from Iboih is the Rubiah islet that is known for its coral reefs.<ref>Pulau Weh. Asia Dive Site. Retrieved on 2006-11-21.</ref>
[edit] Ecosystem
During 1997–1999, Conservation International conducted a survey of the coral reef in the area.<ref name="Allen2002"/> According to the survey, the coral diversity is relatively low, but fish species variation is rich. Some species found during the survey include Pogonoperca ocellata, Chaetodon gardneri, Chaetodon xanthocephalus, Centropyge flavipectoralis, Genicanthus caudovittatus, Halichoeres cosmetus, Stethojulis albovittatus, Scarus enneacanthus, Scarus scaber and Zebrasoma desjardinii.<ref name="Allen2002"/>
On 13 March 2004, a specimen of the rare and unusual species of shark, megamouth shark, was washed ashore on Gapang beach.<ref name="White2004">White, W.T., Fahmi,M.A., Sumadhiharga,K. (2004). "A Juvenile Megamouth Shark Megachasma Pelagios (Lamniformes: Megachasmidae) From Northern Sumatra, Indonesia". The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 52 (2): 603–607.</ref> Megamouth shark has a distinctive large mouth, very short snout and is broadly rounded in dorsal view. The specimen is said to be the 21st,<ref name="White2004"/> or the 23rd,<ref name="FLMNH">"Megamouth Shark #23 Washes Up in Sumatra, Indonesia", Florida Museum of Natural History, 13 March 2004. Retrieved on 2006-11-21.</ref> sightings of the species since its discovery in 1976. The male shark, measuring 1.7 metres (5.58 ft) in length and weighing 13.82 kg (30.5 pounds), was frozen and sent to the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) for further scientific study. As of 2006, there have only been 36 findings of megamouth sharks in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans.<ref>Distribution Table of Confirmed Megamouth Shark Sightings. Florida Museum of Natural History. Retrieved on 2006-11-21.</ref>
The 2004 earthquake and tsunami also affected the ecosystem on the island.<ref>"USGS Scientists in Sumatra Studying Recent Tsunamis: Leg 2 Reports, 12 April to 30 April 2005", USGS. Retrieved on 2006-11-23.</ref> At Iboih village, a large swath of mangrove was destroyed. Debris from the land was deposited on the nearby reefs as a result of the tsunami. In 2005, about 14,400 mangrove seedlings have been replanted to save the mangrove forest.<ref>"Seacology News", Seacology, 9 July 2005. Retrieved on 2006-11-23.</ref>
Apart from underwater ecosystem, Weh island is the only habitat of one threatened species of toad, named Bufo valhallae (genus Bufo).<ref>Bufo Valhallae. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. Retrieved on 2006-11-23.</ref> The species is only known from the holotype from the island. Due to heavily degraded forestation on the island, the population of the species is uncertain.
