0 Amed to be developed as green destination

As one of the popular diving spots in Bali, Amed will be developed further as a marine tourism destination that runs harmoniously with coral reef conservation, a joint effort by an environment foundation in cooperation with local people and dive operators. Located in the southeast corner of Bali, about two to three hours drive from Denpasar, Amed has a landscape consisting of a series of headlands overlooking bays lined with fishing boats. The local economy is supported by farming cattle and corn, fishing and tourism, mainly snorkeling and diving. 

There are about 10-20 dive operators operating in Amed, as well as the many operators based in other areas that have Amed as one of their diving and snorkeling destinations. More than 50 hotels and homestays are located there to support the underwater activity businesses. Far away from the bustle of Kuta, this area offers a beautiful landscape both on land and underwater, as well as a relaxing holiday for sea lovers. However, like many places in Indonesia, there is limited effort to manage the coral reef for its sustainability and the benefit of the local people. 

Derta Prabuning of Reef Check Foundation Indonesia’s program development and partnership shared with Bali Daily on Wednesday that there had yet to be an actual management system that linked tourism with the local people in Amed. He gave an example of the many fishing lines being discharged or breaking underwater, strangling the corals. There were also reports of divers being entangled in the lines. “These cases show that there is limited communications and understanding between fishermen and the diving industry. The area also still has to struggle with solid waste management that currently leaves the beach and the water with piles of garbage and floating plastic. 

Moreover, unregulated tourism and fishing activities could potentially damage the reef,” he said. “There is no code of conduct applied, and anchoring on the reef is common practice, especially for fishermen. There is also a worry that destructive fishing practices will become a problem. Without clear collaboration and benefit sharing between tourism and the people, the reef condition — their source of livelihood, will be compromised,” Derta said. The need to reduce the impact of climate change in this area is even more urgent, as the reef is still recovering from a mass-bleaching event in May 2009. 

The active participation of local stakeholders to care for the reef is the key to buying time against climate change impact. “There is no official number on how many divers visit Amed. With rough estimations of 4 visitors per day for each of about 20 dive operators, we calculate that at least 29,000 divers visit the area per year. We can utilize them to bring a positive benefit to the reef and the people,” Derta said, adding that many of the dive operators in Amed were really keen to be involved in coral reef conservation. 

Since 2009, strong interest has been shown in supporting conservation projects by providing an in-kind contribution to host meetings, conduct surveys with provision of boats and tanks, as well as providing accommodation. The commitment has been shown through active participation and support for Reef Check when the organization conducted coral bleaching monitoring in the same year. Since then, the foundation and stakeholders started to jointly carry out various activities, including education on conservation for students, a pilot project for independent funding sources, as well as activities to minimize the threat to the coral reefs, such as providing mooring buoys to prevent anchoring and installing garbage nets in areas between the river and ocean to prevent the garbage from flowing into the ocean. 

“For this year, we are planning to make a system to manage diving locations in accordance with sustainable coral conservation,” Derta said. He added that relevant local government institutions had also been involved in the activities, and that they had been encouraged to draft policies that would serve as a legal basis to support the program.

source : bali daily