Bali in danger of losing its well-known Kuta beach

Bali in danger of losing its well-known Kuta beach

By I Wayan Juniarta

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): A combination of strong winds, powerful
currents and heavy waves have inflicted severe damage on Bali's
most famous beach Kuta, and returned the issue of beach
conservation back to the local newspapers' front pages after
laying dormant for several years.

A huge portion of the white sandy beach of Kuta has been eaten
up by the strong currents. Local people have been working hand in
hand with hotels to stop this natural havoc by deploying hundreds
of sandbags to block the currents and waves, but have failed to
prevent the beach from slowly disappearing.

Apparently, seeing the disappearance of their beloved beach
was such a shocking experience that many local figures started
reconsidering their refusal a few years earlier of the
government's plan to launch a massive conservation project on
some beaches.

Ten years of intensive research conducted between 1987 and
1997 by a joint team of Japanese and Indonesian experts was the
groundwork for that project. A year earlier the Japanese
government had agreed to provide nine billion yen in a soft loan
scheme to finance the conservation project.

The research found out that erosion and abrasion damaged at
least thirty five beaches in Bali. In 1987 the length of eroded
beaches reached 51.50 kilometers from a total beach length of 430
kilometers in Bali.

The condition worsened to the extent that in 1997 the length
of eroded beaches had already reached 64.85 kilometers.

Nusa Dua, Sanur, Candi Dasa in East Bali, Kuta, and Tanah Lot
beaches, all precious assets of Bali's tourism industry, were
suffering the heaviest damage. The length of the damaged beach in
Nusa Dua reached 5 kilometers, as did the beach in Candi Dasa. In
Sanur the length was 6 kilometers and in Kuta 3 kilometers. Some
1.5 kilometers of beach in Tanah Lot was in a devastating
condition.

The damage on the remaining beaches varied from 0.5 kilometers
to 1 kilometer long.

With the assistance of Japanese experts, Indonesian engineers
under the Bali Beach Conservation Project (BBCP) developed
extensive plans to rehabilitate and conserve those beaches.

The methods included the development of several artificial
capes known as headlands, and sand nourishment, the method of
adding sand to eroded beaches.

Unfortunately, the plans came under heavy fire both from the
environmentally concerned NGOs and the locals. Some attacked the
methods, claiming that the headlands would change the currents'
direction and speed, and in the end they would damage the nearby
beaches, merely relocating the problem to another area.

Others also questioned the ecological impact of the sand
nourishment method on the coral reefs and other precious natural
wonders of the sea.

In using the sand nourishment method, thousands of cubic
meters of sand must be excavated from the bottom of the sea and
then transported to the eroded beach. The sand would be used to
fill in and rehabilitate the damaged area of that beach.

The excavation would surely change the ecological balance in
the digging area and therefore pose a threat to many endangered
marine species, claimed activists.

There were also activists who were not happy that the project
required such a huge sum of funds. The fact that the funds came
from a foreign state through a soft loan scheme would, the
activists claimed, worsen this country's already chronic problem
of dependence on outside help.

Meanwhile, the local people were paying more attention to the
impact the project would have on their source of income and daily
life. Kuta villagers and businessmen, for instance, were deeply
worried that the headlands and sand nourishment would kill the
beach's famous wave, which for years had lured the visitors,
mainly surfers.

In the end, the seemingly never-ending pros and cons on the
issue had virtually halted the project.

After several months even the media had put the project on its
dusty shelf of "rubbish" stories.

"Although the project was halted, that does not mean that we
are just sitting around doing nothing. We keep improving the
plan, trying to find new viable and acceptable alternative
methods," said BBCP's head Tjokorda Bagus Budiana.

He said they have kept approaching local figures and
intellectuals to make them realize that the project will improve
the area and benefit the locals.

Budiana also expressed his concern over the fact that huge
sums of soft loans had been lying idle for quite some time. If
the public still did not accept the project he is worried that
the funds might be relocated to other parts of Indonesia by
several central government high officials, who for a long time
have expressed special interest in the funds.

It was when the condition of Kuta beach worsened that the BBCP
officials found new grounds on which they could continue their
work.

The local figures finally realized that they did not have any
other option than to accept the project or they would be facing a
much bigger problem regarding their beloved beach.

"We will socialize the project to Bali's legislative body and
academicians next month," explained Budiana.

It is expected that by the end of April the local people of
Kuta will give their blessing to the project.

"We need six months to find the right contractor to implement
the project. So it will be started in November 2001 and hopefully
it will be completed by November 2003," Budiana stated.

The physical project will be conducted along 2.8 kilometers of
beach starting in front of Patra Jasa hotel and ending in front
of Kuta Art Market.

It is the most eroded area in Kuta, with seawater and waves
already reaching the walls of several hotels and buildings.

BBCP research estimates that in ten years the beach has lost
161,240 cubic meters of sand, or an average of 16,000 cubic
meters of sand per year, due to erosion and abrasion.

The project involves three major Y-shaped headlands being
developed in the damaged area to contain or block the energy of
waves and currents. Each Y-shaped headland will be 150 meters
long, pointing westward, piercing the ocean.

Besides acting as artificial capes, breaking the waves and
weakening the current, the headlands will also protect some
649,000 cubic meters of sand to be filled into the eroded beach
through the sand nourishment method.

The headlands will minimize the loss of sand following the
sand nourishment treatment. With headlands only thirty percent of
the newly applied sand will be lost, Budiana explained.

The sand, according to Budiana, will be excavated from eight
nearby underwater locations using a state-of-the-art dredging
vessel to reduce the impact on the surrounding environment to a
minimum.

Application of the sand nourishment method will make the beach
50 meters wider than its previous size, creating more space for
both the locals and visitors to conduct their businesses, Budiana
said.

Similar methods will also be applied to other eroded areas in
Bali, such as in Nusa Dua, Sanur and Tanah Lot.

Tanah Lot beach will have to receive a special treatment,
Budiana explained. Because the area is considered sacred by the
Balinese Hindus, the BBCP have tried to find a treatment which
will not in any way obstruct the natural landscape of the area.