Bali-Udayana-Environment

JP/22/UDAYAN

Udayana eco-lodge promotes environmental preservation

Rita A.Widiadana The Jakarta Post/Jimbaran

A few years ago, no one would have chosen to live, let alone study, and do business on the barren cliff of Bukit Jimbaran, 20 kilometers to the south of Denpasar, where access to water, food sources and electricity was very limited.

However, with visionary management Udayana University selected this as the location for its main campus building to ease the heavy burden on its crowded campus in downtown Denpasar.

In 1996, most staff and students of the university were against the development of the new campus building because of the long distance and were only willing to stay in Denpasar.

Udayana eco-lodge was established on a 35 hectare plot of dry land with the help of the Indonesian Rural Agricultural Development Foundation (INI RADEF). The development was made possible under a 15-year agreement between the foundation and the university's management.

During this period Udayana Lodge, with the assistance of INI RADEF, continued to repay the investor on an annual basis (around A$60,000), so the university would have a very valuable investment by 2011. The university will not have contributed any funding during the 15-year period.

The lodge was designed and built by Meryl Wilson and was opened in l996. Initially, the Lodge management collaborated closely with the University of Western Sydney to create environmentally sound working parameters.

Dr. Alan Wilson, chairman of the foundation, said the main objective of the eco-lodge development was to prove that preserving the environment was very crucial in any activity.

"We found that the 35-hectare site was ecologically sustainable. We have documented the 50 protected species of birds, 60 rare butterfly species, reptiles and other flora and fauna," he said.

The foundation, he said, was working closely with the university and had been training its lecturers, students and the lodge's staff to build rainwater storage facilities, sewage recycling, solar energy utilization, a sound rubbish disposal system and the use of a worm-composting unit for garden clippings, leaves and biodegradable waste from the kitchen.

Established in November 1994, the foundation has a mandate to promote links between Indonesia and overseas countries including Australia, in the fields of agribusiness, education, environmental protection, small-scale business enterprises, NGO development, eco-tourism and sports.

"We are focusing on community-based projects that involve as many people as possible," he said. Udayana eco-lodge, he added, had become the foundation's flagship of endeavors in protecting Bali's environment. "This is a very beautiful island that is now facing serious environmental threats due to misdevelopment and unawareness," Wilson continued.

Located up on the rocky hill, the lodge consists of a number of rooms, meeting rooms and research centers designed in an environmentally friendly tropical architectural style. "Our aim is mainly to show wise and good water management and forest protection in a very dry tropical area," Meryl Wilson added. Over the years, the lodge has developed an international reputation as a place that offers a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere that provides eco-friendly lodgings for people from around the world.

"Guests, scientists and students from at least 46 countries have stayed at this facility," she said.

Udayana eco-lodge has been successfully benchmarked by Green Globe 21 between 2002 and 2005 and is now ready for international eco accreditation. "We have fulfilled all the necessary requirements for energy use, rubbish disposal, commitment to the local community and environmentally friendly management techniques to achieve "best practice," she maintained.

In addition to Bali, the foundation has now developed two more eco-lodges in Labuan Bajo, Flores and Kumai, Central Kalimantan, based on the above six principles and is planning to develop a third in South Sulawesi to protect around 7,000 hectares of forest and 15 kilometers of coral reefs.

INI RADEF also manages an eco-friendly lodge in Bogor, West Java, the Crawford Lodge.

The foundation is due to hand over the Udayana eco-lodge to the university in July 2011. "It is our desire to continue to play a role in the conservation of the area through working hand in hand in the future with Udayana University, which will, with our help, continue to offer an eco-accommodation facility to visitors from all over Indonesia and the world," Wilson said.

In addition, the foundation will also work with the university's School of Biological Science and School of Agriculture. Thus, after July 2011, INI RADEF and Udayana University will jointly develop Udayana Lodge as a study center for environmental studies, and a center for biological, agribusiness, tourism and community development research.

Udayana Lodge has become a center of education promoting the university in the fields of environmental protection, biological science, agribusiness and small business development. It is hoped that Udayana Lodge will continue to play a dynamic role in the struggle to protect and conserve the natural environment of Indonesia through suitable education programs.

"Bali has abundant natural resources, beaches and forests that must be protected. The island's beaches have been heavily polluted by waste from tourist-related industries as well as domestic waste," Wilson said.

Any university in Indonesia has the potential to play a larger part in preserving the environment, to empower the community and to become an important agent of change.

"Udayana eco-lodge is just one example of how a university can work together with an international agency and the local community to develop small-scale, eco-friendly accommodation as well as preserve the environment," Wilson said.

Udayana eco-lodge can be reached at www.ecolodgesindonesia.com. It includes Bajo Komodo eco-lodge in Flores, The Rimba Orangutan eco-lodge in Central Kalimantan and Crawford Lodge in Bogor, West Java.