Mangrove Information Center

When I visit the PPLH Bali center, the coordinator mentions that they sometimes take kids to the Mangrove Information Center on the South side of town. Curious, I decide to stop here next.

A mangrove doesn’t refer to a specific type of tree, but instead to any group of trees that grow between the high tide and low tide water lines. I find this out, and more, in the display cases arranged around the Mangrove Information Center. The center, which works to teach the public about mangroves, is another project supported by the Japanese organization JICA. This is the same organization that funds programs with the Indonesian National Park System, such as Gunung Halimun and Ujung Kulon NPs.

These coastal areas around Bali became particularly at risk as tourism started booming in the 1970s. As part of the coastal eco-system they prevent land erosion, and provide a safe harbor for fish to grow, they also provide ideal places for hotels and restaurants where one can sip mojitos and stare out at the sea. In 1992 this particular mangrove forest was designated as “Tahura” – grand forest park, and in 1993-1999 JICA and the Indonesian Department of Forestry started The Development of Sustainable Mangrove Management Project. This project resulted in data collection about the mangrove forest and the birds, crabs, and other wildlife that live inside. A nursery was also established to provide seedlings for the rehabilitation.

(The nursery)

While this project did result in rehabilitation of portions of the Mangrove forest, the deforestation going on was to a greater extent. That’s why from 2001-2006 JICA and the Forestry department decided to engage in a second project, The Mangrove Information Centre Project. This project focused on awareness through environmental education as well as an ecotourism aspect. The third and newest project, The Sub-Sectoral Programme on Mangrove, is currently underway from 2007-2010 and acts as a follow up to the other two programs by focusing on maintenance and resource monitoring. The lobby of the MIC clearly explains the work of all these projects, as well as a mini diorama of the Mangrove forest with original forest in dark green and rehabilitated area in light green. I continued my stroll through the center which includes several exhibit rooms talking about the function of Mangroves in the ecosystem and has large aquariums that mimic the mangrove habitat with creatures crawling around inside.

(Crab wildlife in the Mangrove Forest)

At the center I meet Yuni, Assistant Expert of JICA in Museum Management. She tells me about the different environmental education programs and the incorporation of ecotourism into the forestry management strategies. The MIC and nearby boardwalk were both created in 2003 and currently receive about 6,000 domestic guests a year, mostly students and teachers. Special projects are also held at the center, such as summer camps and a weeklong Mangrove Arts festival. At the festival local sculptures, painters, and cooks are invited to the Mangrove forest to find inspiration in the year’s theme (last year’s was “Hidden Beauty”). Then people from around the community come to see the art exhibits, and view/sample products from the cooking displays that use products from the forest. On the wall near to where we are talking, I can see the finalist from a kids drawing contest also held.

While the number of international visitors is much smaller, closer to 500 a year, many people come who have a special interest in the forest, like bird watching. Two tall hides have been built to cater to bird watchers. A 3km long trail winds through the mangrove forest, very solitary and silent except for the noises of nature one would expect. Acting as a barrier between the land and the sea, the Mangrove forest does suffer problems from rubbish being trapped among the roots. I had a very peaceful walk along the boardwalk, but as the sky began to darken I decided to come back early.

The Mangrove Information Center and hiking trail is located at:

Jl. By Pass Ngurah Rai km.21
Suwung Kauh Denpasar, Bali
62-361-726969
micjica@indosat.net.id

A Buena Vista Ecological Tour

Before I left for Indonesia I’d been in communication with Dr. Robby K.T. Ko, a medical doctor, geologist, English enthusiast, Tourism instructor, Cave guide, and founder of the Buena Vista Outdoor Education Center, so a very eclectic man. In fact, this is just a brief listing of his many accomplishments, so I was honored to receive an invite to stay at the BV Education Center with him and a few other guests.

Dr. Ko’s driver was kind enough to pick me up on Monday morning along with Lulu, a tourism school employee in the school where Dr. Ko teaches classes on eco-tourism management, and who would also be visiting. We chatted during the ½ hour or so ride from Bogor to Cisarua. From this main road, we took a smaller and uneven street that led us to BV, where we were greeted by Dr. Ko and Manolito, his friend and a fellow cave enthusiast. We were shown around, including to an enviable library of material on Indonesia, tourism, caving, the English language, and local mythology that he offered to let me peruse during my stay. Dr. Ko also has a large collection of books he’s written, both in Indonesian and English, though interestingly his first language is Dutch as he was born during the Dutch colonial reign. The Buena Vista Center where he lives is decorated with mementos of his interests, so paintings of Indonesia, countless varieties of plants, and geological objects (or to the layperson like me – rocks!).

(Tree near the entrance of Buena Vista)

The four of us sat down to breakfast on the patio, from my seat I could see a large mountain with rice fields and houses that climb 2/3rds up to the mountain, until they reach the tree line. Over breakfast he tells us a little more about this area, as he’s seen it change since he first bought the house back in the 1970s. It was the tale of overuse … a place formerly of pristine and panoramic views, but unhealthy tourism practices. Wealthy Jakarta residents discovered the area offered a relaxing escape from the city, so many started building resorts and villas that they could then rent out when not in use. These tourism resorts and villas began doing a tidy profit from other wishing to escape the city during the weekend. This in turn promoted more additional villas and resorts, and encouraged villagers to open restaurants and food stalls catering to tourists. Since the area is no longer as pristine it has seen a drop in visitors, causing many businesses to close and stand vacant. Many of the villas that were build as investments now stand vacant as well, and while locals made some money originally selling off their rice fields and helping with construction, they now suffer from a loss in water supply and must create new rice fields further up the mountain. The tree line is continually being moved. One of the main projects of Buena Vista has been Ecological fieldtrips to teach kids from Jakarta more about nature and warn about these sorts of unhealthy practices.

(picture by Manolito of us on the ecotour)

While the Buena Vista Outdoor Center has been dormant for a few years due to a lack of guides, on occasion Dr. Ko will still give private tours. Lulu, Manolito, and I were lucky enough to accompany him on an ecological fieldtrip of the area. As the brochure he gives us explains,

The target of OUTDOOR EDUCATION is to
convince people, especially city dwelling
persons, who will become or have become
decision makers, to prevent overusing,
overexploiting and over visiting nature
and its resources. To stop mismanagement
of natural resources including nature tourism.
To stop negligence towards nature.

When children go on these tours he gives them each a plastic bag so they can pick up litter on the way, when they return whoever has the most gets a prize. Each child is also given a little notebook to write observations and to answer questions printed in the notebook. The tour includes different stops to identify plants, see animals, and learn more about village life. On this tour we try to identify various flowers along the path, and pass irrigated rice fields. Nearby two women are hard at work washing their clothes next to the rapidly moving stream. Visiting an empty villa is also a requisite of the tour, and Dr. Ko explains the issues concerning the villas to all who attend the tours, especially young people. A gardener attending to one of these vacant villas lets us inside. It rents for $80 a night, but can sleep up to 40 people. Most nights it stands vacant. While Dr. Ko doesn’t operate too many of these tours any more, he emphasizes the importance of these types of programs that teach environmental awareness and the interconnection of people with their natural environment.

(an example of a villa)