Indonesia and World Tourism News

Sawu sea haven for whales and dolphins

While cetaceans such as whales and dolphins are widely hunted in some parts of the world, they could soon find the deep Sawu Sea in East Nusa Tenggara province a safe haven.

Representatives from the provincial administration, three surrounding regencies, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Indonesia, and the Nature Conservancy (TNC) recently signed an agreement to protect sea biodiversity, especially marine mammals.

“The province and regencies are committed to protecting the sea and its biodiversity and will develop sustainable marine tourism,” East Nusa Tenggara Deputy Governor Frans Lebu Raya said during the signing ceremony.

Frans believes that the establishment of the Sawu Sea as a marine conservation area will increase the welfare of local fishermen.

Research conducted by WWF and TNC in 2001 and 2002 suggests that seas in the regencies of Alor, Lembata and East Flores are important habitats for 11 whale species, including the endangered blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) and sperm whale (Physeter macrochepalus).

Whales pass through the sea, which connects the Indian and Pacific oceans, during their migration thanks to its one-kilometer depth.

The Sawu Sea is known among global environmentalists as part of a coral triangle — mainly spanning from west to east and south to north of Indonesia and part of the Philippines — which is also recognized as one of the richest marine biodiversity areas in the world.

Lembata island is famous for its traditional whalers. Using sailing wooden boats and bamboo spears, they can catch dozens of whales and dolphins every year.

Although the number of local whalers is small compared to their counterparts in Japan, Norway and Iceland, who together kill some 2,000 whales a year with their sophisticated ships and harpoons, they still raise concerns among environmentalists.

Nevertheless. the agreement to protect the Sawu Sea does not in any way aim to ban local fishermen from whaling, which has been their main way of life for hundreds of years.

“No, we do not ban them from whaling. But we want to educate them to conserve the whales for the welfare of the fisherman themselves, their children and their grandchildren in the long term,” WWF marine program leader Wawan Ridwan told reporters after the signing ceremony in Lewoleba, Lembata island.

Hopefully, Wawan said, the whalers could only catch mature and unproductive whales and avoid endangered species, such as blue whales and sperm whales.

Whales take between six to 13 years to reach maturity. Their gestation period lasts for between nine and 16 months and they usually give birth to one single calf which needs to be weaned for between eight months to two years. Unproductive whales, on the other hand, are usually those more than 10 meters in sizes.

The 70-nation International Whaling Commission (IWC) has actually agreed on a moratorium on commercial whaling, but commercial whaling still persists. Indonesia is not a member of that commission and is thus not obliged to comply with the policy.

Some countries argue that their whaling is for scientific research, which is allowed by IWC, but in practice they sell whale meat in restaurants.

Besides meat, the marine mammals provide oil for lamps, candles, soaps and perfumes.

The latest IWC scientific survey estimates that there are some 760,000 whales in Antarctic, 149,000 in North Atlantic and 25,000 in the North Pacific. Some species of whales have decreased in number drastically because of overfishing.

Many whales have also been stranded on beaches and died because of heavy pollutants and sonar waves from submarines, which disturb their “navigating sense”.

Of the 27 species of whales in the world, 11 species are seen in Indonesia’s marine area.

Wawan said the conservation program in the Sawu Sea should also improve the welfare of local whalers.

To increase the fishermen’s income, the WWF plans to train locals on other marine-related jobs, such as how to cultivate sea weed and market the product.

“It will take time to educate locals on the importance of the conservation program for them,” Wawan said.

Along with the establishment of the Sawu marine conservation area, WWF Indonesia launched the Phinisi ship as a facility in educating whalers, especially local students, on the importance of the conservation program.

The wooden ship, which is 22.5 meters in length and 5.5 meters wide, can accommodate 35 training participants. The construction of the ship, which is also equipped with audio visual devices on environmental education, cost around Rp 600 million.

Besides the ship, the WWF is cooperating with the New York-based Photovoices to make a documentary project on the life of whalers in Lamalera village in Lembata island.

As many as 50 villagers were lent 50 digital cameras and trained by photographer and chief editor of National Geographic Indonesia magazine Tantyo Bangun.

Photovoices director Virginia Ann McBride said that selected photos taken by the villagers would be exhibited in Jakarta and in the Natural Museum of New York.

A. Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Lembata island, East Nusa Tenggara

Add comment June 25th, 2007

INDONESIA: HARD-HIT TOURISM INDUSTRY FIGHTING BACK

Jakarta/Rome - After being hit by a string of terrorist attacks, earthquakes, tsunamis, transport accidents and outbreaks of bird flu, Indonesia’s tourism sector is to get a boost as the government plans to intensify its efforts to promote the Southeast Asian country abroad. “The way to convince them [the tourists] is to give them more information and be more transparent about what happened,” Thamrin B. Bachri, Indonesia’s Culture and Tourism ministry’s marketing director told Adnkronos International (AKI).

“By giving them more information, I think they will understand that we have done something to protect them,” Bachri told AKI.

Ever since the 2002 Bali bombings, Indonesia’s five billion dollar tourism industry has been hit hard. Visitor numbers plunged even further after natural disasters like the 2004 tsunami and various earthquakes, incidents of avian flu and accidents in the country’s air and sea transportation, made headlines around the world.

In 2006, foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia dropped by 2.6 percent to 4.87 million from five million in 2005.

However things appear to be improving in 2007. In the first quarter, the number of foreign tourists rose by 14 percent over to the same period last year, to one million.

To ensure that this trend continues, the Indonesian government has plans to vigorously promote the country’s tourist destinations including using Indonesia’s foreign mission abroad and even opening new tourist promotion offices.

One such intiative is the “Festival Indonesia 2007″ organised in the northern Italian city of Milan on Friday. Besides being a showcase of Indonesian culture in the Italian financial and fashion capital, the event is also a chance for government and business representatives of Italy and Indonesia to meet and discuss greater investment and cooperation in the fields of culture and tourism.

The event held in Milan on Friday - which includes the best of traditional Indonesian music and dance as well as a fashion show by the “Prince of Batik” Indonesian designer Daud Wiryo Hadinagoro - is the third in a series of such presentations in Europe, coming after similar stops in the Norwegian capital, Oslo and Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.

Through these special events, the government is hoping to highlight other destinations in Indonesia that have not been affected by negatively.

“Our strategy is isolated marketing, where we try to isolate the areas impacted by a certain negative, for example a bomb or natural disaster, because still we have other areas to be promoted,” said Bachri emphasising the fact that there are over 17,000 islands in Indonesia - and not just the world-famous island of Bali - which provide a variety of attractions to be marketed.

“Secondly, we also continue to have a ’seeing is believing’ programme by inviting the press and media from various markets and bringing them to certain destinations in Indonesia ..so they will then tell the world that Indonesia is quite safe to be visited,” Bachri told AKI.

This year the Indonesian government has set aside 10 million dollars to market Indonesia as a tourist destination. However there are concerns that this is not enough.

“We need more funds to market our tourist destinations,” said Andri Haid, the director general for information and public diplomacy at the Indonesian foreign ministry, in an interview with AKI. “Compared with other countries, we spend less on promoting tourism,” said Hadi.

According to Bachri, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, says that to reach Indonesia’s target of six million visitors this year, as much as 60 million dollars is needed.

According to reports, a request has already been made for additional funds. The government is set to stage a “Visit Indonesia Year” in 2008.

Besides marketing Indonesia’s idyllic beaches, ancient monuments and diverse culture, the government is also very open to foreign direct investment in the tourism industry, part of its efforts to improve infrastructure and services.

Earlier this year, the government signed an agreement with a Dubai investor for the development of a resort on the island of Lombok at a cost of 600 million dollars. According to Bachri, there are plans in the pipeline to offer Indonesian islands for rent to local and foreign investors for tourism purposes.

Yet while a lot is being done to encourage foreign tourists to visit Indonesia, the government is also targeting its own citizens.

“Indonesia is a big country,” said Bachri. “Even without foreign tourists, we can still move between ourselves,” he said, adding that in this way the tourism is not only for economic needs for also serves as a “vehicle for unity” as Indonesians discover more about their own vast and varied country.

AKI - Rome,Italy

Add comment June 25th, 2007