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.