OVER the past six months, unusual activities have occurred across from the Cita Sabut Port owned by Itci Hutani Manunggal, located in Sabut hamlet, Sepaku subdistrict, North Penajam Paser Regency, East Kalimantan. Heavy machinery was deployed seemingly out of the blue to uproot at least four hectares of yellow mangrove in the upper reaches of Balikpapan Bay.

The piles of mangrove wood are then buried with soil to form landfills. The government h