INTEGRATED BEACH CONSERVATION

INTEGRATED BEACH CONSERVATION

FOR SUSTANABLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN BALI INDONESIA

Dr. Ketut Gede Dharma Putra

Udayana University Bali Indonesia

E-mail : kgdharmap@telkom.net

ABSTRACT

The implementation of the integrated beach conservation program in Bali Indonesia is very important in connection of the demand on the marine natural resources to provide economic growth. The growth of economic factors give impact to the release of local regulation to provide the tourist infrastructure in coastal region. As most of the Bali region become a tourism areas, the pressure to the coastal is growing rapidly. Then, to have a strategy for the sustainable tourism development for protecting the environment is need to deeply understand the impact of the development for Bali’s coastal area, to evaluate the level of impact and the impact of the development to increase the quality of the environment in coastal and marine areas.

The integrated beach conservation such as the Coral Ref Conservation, Mangrove Forest Conservation, Bali Beach Conservation Project, Bali Clean Up, Clean River Program is found connected with the growth interest among the local community, the private sector, and also the local government in the awareness of climate change. The sustainable tourism development strategy is found effective in the protection of Bali coastal region from the distruction.

The strategy use are the consistency to Implementing the Tri Hita Karana philosophy as a Coastal Management Strategy, to promote a Conceptual Coastal Management System Model, to Incorporate Local Knowledge into a Holistic Planning, to promote the Empowerment of the Traditional Village Organization. Traditional villages play an important role in the implementation of integrated beach conservation program as seen through the implementation of Tri Hita Karana philosophy into the spatial planning regulation. This concept is derived from the coastal peoples’ belief that there is harmony between God, the communities and the nature. The people honor this belief by protecting their environment with a coastal management system based on traditional or local genius.

Integrated beach conservation in Bali is a succesfull effort because supported by the coastal communities and the private sector/tourism industries. The adaptation of climate change was implemented by the Bali Beach Conservation Project and environmental sound tourism facility development.

Keyword: sustainable tourism development, coastal strategy

.

Introduction

The island of Bali is relatively small (5,633 Km2) and experienced a population increase from about 1.5 million in 1950 to about 3.5 million in 2005 and predict to become 4 million in 2015. Bali’s economy was basically dependent upon the development of the agricultural sector, with home industry and tourism industry being a key factor to the Gross Regional Domestic product. Following the explosion of a bomb blast on October 12, 2002 Bali’s tourism economy suffered greatly, as the number of tourists to the island decreased dramatically. As a result, many of the people who were once employed in the tourism industry were forced to immediately search for other means of employment in other industries. As the number of young people in Bali to be employed in the agricultural sector has decreased, attention is now being focused on the marine and coastal resources as a possible means to aid the economy. As the current understanding of the local coastal and marine resources is continually being explored by the government, many people are beginning to pay closer attention to the protection of the marine environment and coastal strategy.

The Integrated Beach Conservation Program

The integrated beach conservation program in Bali, is very important because of the demand on the marine natural resources to provide economic growth to help people during this crisis. The program that already been implemented in Bali with successful effort such as the Coral Ref Conservation, Mangrove Forest Conservation, Bali Beach Conservation Project, Bali Clean Up, and Clean River Program. The program is found connected with the growth interest among the local community, the private sector, and also the local government in the awareness of climate change. The sustainable tourism development strategy is found effective in the protection of Bali coastal region.

The successful implementation of the program is under the adoption of local wisdom into the spatial planning regulation. The integrated coastal development is executing by the consistency to implement the Tri Hita Karana philosophy as a coastal management strategy, to promote a conceptual coastal management system model, to incorporate local knowledge into a holistic planning, to promote the empowerment of the traditional village organization.

Traditional villages play an important role in the implementation of integrated beach conservation program as seen through the implementation of Tri Hita Karana philosophy into the common sense of development activity. This concept is derived from the coastal peoples’ belief that there is harmony between God, the communities and the nature. The people honor this belief by protecting their environment with a coastal management system based on traditional or local genius. Integrated beach conservation in Bali is a succesfull effort because supported by the coastal communities and the private sector/tourism industries. The adaptation of climate change was implemented by the Bali Beach Conservation Project and environmental sound tourism facility development.

The strategy is needed to understand Bali’s traditional culture in the coastal area; to evaluate the level of traditional role in coastal areas, which can help people increase their commitment for a better future; and to implement the traditional role to increase the quality of the environment in coastal and marine areas, especially in Bali and to understand the role that traditional villages play in coastal management.

The paradox of coastal development

The development in small islands such as Bali have special characteristics relating to their economies, natural resources, and coastal management. Small island economies are less diversified and more specialized than other economies, in that they are often based initially on natural resource-based activities, particularly in primary sectors such as agricultural and fisheries, and later on tertiary sectors such as tourism. Rapid population growth and urbanization, caused by the growth of economy has increased the pressure on limited natural resource. Known for its beautiful beaches, Bali’s coast has been its main tourist attraction to foreigners. Commonly referred to as “kawasan pariwisata,” it is these coastal areas that suffer from the majority of the pressures created by the tourism development investment. The island of Bali was shaped by the action of volcanoes, which produced the rich, black soils that nourish Bali’s beautiful and productive rice paddies. The natural beauty of Bali coastal area is most distinguished in areas such as Kuta, Sanur, Nusa Dua, Tuban, Jimbaran, Candidasa, Amed, Lovina and many other beaches.

The concept of sustainable development has been expressed as an adaptive process of change in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investment, and the orientation of technological development and institutional changes are made to meet the needs of present and future generations for a better life. The key point of sustainable development is to maintain ecological integrity and diversity with basic human needs, and reaching the conservation of the environment, appreciation of local genius, and increasing the self-determination of the local people. In Bali, sustainable development means the balancing of economy, environment and culture. It means that all the development in Bali should enhance the quality of Balinese life.

The development of coastal areas in Bali, without an adequatecoastal management strategy, will increase the negative impacts of tourism development to the Balinese culture, particularly in changing lifestyles toward more consumerism and individualism. Uncontrolled land transformation, conflict of interest over the use of public space, limitation of the natural resources, increased beach erosion, reef destruction, pollution, and safety and security problems are just a few of the problems faced by Bali’s coastal region.

The Local Wisdom

Concern for coastal management related with local belief is not an entirely new phenomenon. From the Hindu philosophy, which is believed by most all Balinese, the story of Dewa Ruci says that once upon a time, Bima, the second son of Kunti was a man with very strong character who tried to find eternity inside the ocean. Instead, he found that the God is Ocean itself, therefore, if the ocean was polluted, it is difficult to identify the God inside the marine water, which means that people live at the coastal region should always clean their surrounding to find the God. This story indicates the role of a traditional village and community members in improving marine environment.

The development at the coastal area in Bali is have a strong support from the local community. It is well known that marine culture has a long history in the lives of the Balinese people. In the past, Empu Kurturan, a holy man who teaches Hindu religion to Balinese people, came to the island by boat. He taught Hindu philosophy to the people living in coastal areas. Also, Dahyang Nirartha, another holy man, built many temples close to the beaches around Bali. For a long time, many Balinese believe that the ocean and its surroundings are holy space and need to be kept with honor. But in recent years, the people of Bali have lost their marine awareness. Coral reef destruction, dynamite fishing, and marine pollution tell an opposite story compared to the old story about how the holy man built the temple in surrounding coastal areas in Bali.

Therefore, the role of traditional village in coastal management in Bali is: to protect the coastal region from the destruction by outsiders; to promote the availability of knowledge for all the communitiesfor; to asses the problems caused by the increase of population; and to maintain healthy resources for the next generation.

With the increase of problems facing the coastal region in Bali, a strategy to maintain a good quality of life for Balinese coastal community may include some actions such as: The implementation of the Tri Hita Karana philosophy as a Coastal Management Strategy. Bali will need people who have a high commitment to marine culture. All the visitors to the island as a tourists, workers, investors should understand that in order to save Bali one must save the environment surrounding the island. The marine way of life should be promoted, instead of the land way of life. If the two can be promoted together in harmony, one will see the coral reef grow naturally, the turtle breeding and nesting areas saved, and the local community happy to protect their environment synergy with the growth of economy. All this has happened by implementing the Tri Hita Karana philosophy.A conceptual Coastal Management System Model, in Bali, may be comprised of three major subsystems, such as the socio-demographic subsystem, the economic subsystem, and the natural marine resource subsystem. Together with the ability and development new infrastructure, new jobs, and increased power for the traditional village, the developments in Bali will reach their goal to enhance Balinese life.

Development in Bali is often poorly planned and very sporadic. As the size of the green belt and open spaces has declined over time, a holistic planning approach is needed to reduce the negative impacts on the environment for future generations.. Local institutions, such as Desa Adat, have power within the community that will be used to help promote the responsibility for assessment and mitigation. As an integral part of this empowerment, a reward and punishment system will work to reduce the destruction of nature and promote environmentally friendly development if it is followed by quality training and additional education in the village. Promotion of the role of traditional villages in Bali will help provide the international community with an appreciation of the Balinese people and help them view Bali as a safe tourist destination. Introduction of sustainable development into the tourism industry and the marine environment will help increase the quality of coastal fisheries and hence, the quality of life in the area.

Conclusion

Integrated beach conservation program in Bali is successful because of the adoption of the local wisdom in the spatial planning regulation. The ttraditional villages play an important role in coastal management in Bali, as seen through the implementation of Tri Hita Karana philosophy. This concept is derived from the coastal peoples’ belief that there is harmony between God, the communities and the nature. The people honor this belief by protecting their environment with a coastal management system based on local knowledge will produce the harmony in their life.

References

Baker, I. And P. Kaeoniam (eds.), 1986. Manual of Coastal Development Planning and Management for Thailand. Environmental and Resources Research Division, Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research. Bangkok.

Burbridge, P.R., 1986. Problems and issues of coastal zone management. In Man, Land and Sea. The Agricultural Development Council. Bangkok.

Chua, T.E. 1998. Leasson learned from practicing integrated coastal management in Southeast Asia. Ambio vol. 27 No. 8 : 599-610.

Clark, J.R. 1992. Integrated Management for Coastal Zones. FAO Fisheries Department.

Dahuri, R., J. Rais, S.P. Ginting and M.J. Sitepu. 1996. Pengelolaan Sumberdaya Wilayah Pesisir dan Lautan Secara Terpadu. PT. Pradnya Paramita. Jakarta.

Sorensen, J.C and S.T. McCreary. 1990. Institusional Arrangements for Managing Coastal Resources and Environments. Revised second edition. National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior and U.S. Agency for International Development. Washington .

Sulivan, K., L. de Silva, A.T. White and M. Wijeratne. 1995. Environmental Guidelines for Coastal Tourism Development in Sri Lanka. Coastal Resources Management Project of The University of Rhode Island and the Coast Conservation Department. Sri Lanka.