A conversation on conservation

Conservation in close-up...

More than ever the general public, the local consumer and the tourist are being made aware of their responsibility towards the planet, and in Bali there are always steps forward amidst the rashes of 'bad' news. Many organisations in Bali hold regular clean up days, host awareness activities and the island has a really switched on population of savvy individuals from all walks of life contributing to the eco-logical well being of the island. From eco-Bali domestic waste recycling and the mid March Make a Change Bali eco-awareness rock concert organised by Bali International School student Gary Benchegib to shop keepers not using plastic there is a groundswell of change and community awareness in Bali that extends all the way down into the ocean as the work of The Coral Triangle Nature Conservancy group illustrates.

Nusa Penida off the island of Bali is a particularly sensitive area that is the natural home of many diverse species of underwater life. Currently under the care of a Marine Protection Initiative headed up by the Nature Conservancy Organisation, Nusa Penida is heralding a new generation of home-grown eco-aware personnel who recognise not only the sensitivity of the marine environment but their own vulnerability as their livelihoods depend on creating sustainable working relationships with the dive companies, fishermen and seaweed farmers.

Although Indonesia only covers 1.3% of the world’s land surface it is home to over 17% of the world’s plant and animal species. Some of these are found nowhere else in the world, and many of them live beneath the surface of the seas. The waters around Nusa Penida hosts a kaleidoscope of living treasures from the largest known group of sea grasses to the spectacular Manta Rays and Mola Mola’s that live in the deeper water of the trenches between Peninda and Ceningan. The The Mola – Mola, or Tropical Sun Fish, is the symbol of Nusa Penida, a deepwater fish that can grow to two metres long with a fin span of up to four metres. Its name in German means ‘swimming head’ and when you see one you’ll know just why. There are other species, the chevron barracuda included; in the waters, as well as moray eels and titan triggerfish.

Nusa Penida is the largest of a group of three islands located off the East Coast of Bali, it lies behind the slightly more populated island of Nusa Lembonggan which has already become a marine playground where off shore pontoons dot the bay and host water slides and a proliferation of inflatable craft to speed thrill seekers of no specific skill across the surface of the sea.

The middle island of Ceningan is currently under threat with motions in the courts at present trying to prevent a wide scale sale of 'private' land, land that is public but that has been 'reclassified' in an underhand and secret deal on the island.

Here it is the local people who are being manipulated but this is not the entire story. One very important factor in preserving these areas is not visible and easily forgotten, is it true that human livelihoods are at stake here, but more than many people realise. In any development run off into the surrounding waterways, oceans and river is inevitable, and the impact on the balance of marine life can have disastrous and far spreading consequences. Already studies are showing an increase in surf diatomes which, given the 'right' or wrong circumstances can develop into the algae blooms that poison fish and create havoc in the microcosm of invertebrate life. This inevitably returns to haunt the human population in the form of poverty through less fish caught and disease through eating the few toxic fish that are caught.

For the moment Nusa Penida is less populated, less developed and a reason for this may lie in the island’s history. Nusa Penida is believed to be the home of a Demon king, Jero Gede Macaling. Apparently a master of black magic he is reputed to be responsible for a number of natural disasters in the region.

However the diving off shore attracts tourism that can, if not undertaken responsibly increase the dangers of a serious ecological disaster under the surface of the water. According to the representative from the Coral Triangle Centre, Marthen Welly, dive companies are becoming wiser about the way they teach divers to treat the underwater environment, cautioning them against touching the coral, not just for their own protection from the scorpion fish and sea snakes but to protect the fragile coral.

Coral is vulnerable to many destructive elements, over 88% of the coral in the Indonesian region is considered ‘at risk’. These risks include over fishing and the use of dynamite and the effects of climate change that brings about mass coral bleaching. When you think about the dependency the world has on coral this puts each accidental footstep into a different perspective. Globally over one billion people benefit from coral reefs, from the fish that depend on them for feeding and the related service industries associated with fish farming and tourism.

The work of the Bali based Coral Triangle Centre intends to establish marine protected areas that are designed to survive the challenges of human exploitation and disturbance as well as shifts in the climate. The aims of this are also to provide benefit to the local fishing industry and nature based tourism, while protecting the biodiversity of the Nusa Penida area.

The Nature Conservancy works Indonesia wide, and the Coral Triangle Centre was established in 2000. With a mission to create a network of Marine Protection Areas, described by the CTC as “connected like a string of pearls across the Coral Triangle” that work towards sustainable on-site preservation, with training in scientific and communicative skills, they will build a skilled workforce of managers and technicians to continue the work and pass it from generation to generation.

More information is available on the work of The Coral Triangle at:

www.coraltrianglecenter.org , www.nature.org and on the fight to save Ceningan at:http://www.nusaceningan.org/