Nusa Kambangan Prison: The Alcatraz of Indonesia

It houses the Bali Bombers and Indonesian society's worst. It is a fortress that renowned throughout the archipelago as a place you just don't want to end up. The island was also in the spotlight during the recent tsunami off Java.

Nusakambangan is off the southern coast of Java. It
is best known as a maximum security facility where some of the country's big name criminals have been sent to do their time and rot in most cases.

But the so-called Indonesian Alcatraz is now earning plaudits as a natural wonder with its craggy shores shielding the local community of Cilacap from the brunt of Monday's tsunami.

"If there was no Nusakambangan, I don't know what would have happened to Cilacap, maybe it would have been swept away. We felt protected from the tsunami and that's why we should preserve the island" tourism industry employee Annas Abdullah told The Jakarta Post.

His office located about 40 meters from the shore at Teluk Penyu bay, and other businesses in the area were left untouched by the giant waves that decimated beach resorts and fishing villages along the southern coast of Java killing at least 575 people.

Hardest hit was Pangandaran beach in West Java as well as other coastal areas east of Cilacap including Bunton, Selok and Widara Payung. Also affected were Logending and Ayah beaches in Kebumen, Central Java, extending up to Parangtritis beach in Yogyakarta.

Although those living near Cilacap's popular tourist attraction of Teluk Penyu or turtle bay,, were spared, others were not as fortunate. In Cilacap alone over 90 people were declared dead and at least 50 others remain missing.

But locals are worried about environmental damage to the 12,106 hectare island which supports populations of animals now rare on the mainland.

Several environment activists in 2001 protested limestone mining activities on Nusakambangan because of the potential environmental degradation.

"Many people and non-governmental organizations are worried that Nusakambangan will be damaged by the ongoing cement project. We can't allow it to be harmed by the cement company's business interests. The lives of tens of thousands of residents should be prioritized" Annas said.

Mining is not the only threat.

Yogyakarta-based Sylfa Gamma Foundation which conducted research about illegal logging on the island in 2002 warned it would be completely denuded of its forests by 2010 if strict measures were not taken.