Weh Island

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Weh Island
Map of Weh Island
Elevation	617 metres (2,024 ft)^[1]
Location	northwest of Sumatra, Indonesia
Coordinates	5.82° N 95.28° E
Type	Stratovolcano
Last eruption	Pleistocene time

Weh Island or Pulau Weh or Pulo Weh is a small active volcanic island to the northwest of Sumatra. It was originally connected to the Sumatran mainland and became separated by sea after the volcano's last eruption in the Pleistocene era.^[1] 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.

1 Geography
2 Inhabitants
3 Economy
4 Ecosystem
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[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 length of the sea by the movement of the microplate.^[2]

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 a fumarolic volcano and is 617 metres (2,024 ft).^[1] The last known eruption is estimated to have occurred in the Pleistocene age. As a result of this eruption, the mountain partially collapsed, was 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.^[3] A volcanic cone is found in the jungle. 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. When traveling to Saudi Arabia was only possible by sea, Rubiah was used as a place of quarantine for Indonesian Muslim during the Hajj pilgrimage season , .^[4]

[edit] Inhabitants

Weh Island is a part of Aceh province. A 1993 census reported 24,700 inhabitants.^[5] The large majority of the population are Acehnese and the remaining are Minangkabau, Javanese, Batak and Chinese.^[6] It is unknown when the island was first 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.^[7] The effect on the island was relatively small,^[8] but it is unknown how many inhabitants of the island were killed by the event.

[edit] Economy

Painting of Sabang port in 1910.

The economy on Weh Island is dominated by agriculture. The main products are cloves and coconuts.^[6] 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.^[5]

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.

SS Sumatra docked at Sabang in circa 1895

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.^[9] 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.^[10] 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.^[11] 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.^[12]

[edit] Ecosystem

During 1997–1999, Conservation International conducted a survey of the coral reef in the area.^[5] 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.^[5]

Earthquakes around Aceh and Andaman Sea in 2004

On 13 March 2004, a specimen of the rare and unusual species of shark, megamouth shark, was washed ashore on Gapang beach.^[13] 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^[13] (some say it is the 23rd^[14]) 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.^[15]

The 2004 earthquake and tsunami has affected the ecosystem on the island.^[16] 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.^[17]

Apart from underwater ecosystem, Weh island is the only habitat of one threatened species of toad, named Bufo valhallae (genus Bufo).^[18] 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.