Campaign pulls in the public to save endangered coral reefs

Campaign pulls in the public to save endangered coral reefs

By I Wayan Juniartha

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): It was not a usual Saturday night rock
and roll concert, although the venue was none other than the
spacious Center Stage of Hard Rock Beach Hotel in Kuta.

It was different in the first place because it was free. No
wonder the concert venue last Saturday was packed with people
from all walks of life.

A successful young entrepreneur, dressed sharply in designer
clothes, sat comfortably in the corner, having a good time,
sipping an expensive liquor from his small glass. A young, long-
haired environmental activist, a rugged knapsack on his back,
dressed in worn-out jeans, leaned against the wall, his right
hand holding a small bottle of Indonesia's most popular beer. The
concert had pushed down the segregation walls of social class.

Second, it was a concert with a mission. The focus of the
night, grabbing everybody's attention, of course, Nugie, was not
singing songs about the endlessly exploited subject of teen first
love, but about a different kind of love, the platonic love
between Man and Mother Nature. He sung about the beautiful
beaches, serene mountains and the majestic colors of coral reefs.
Sometimes he closed his eyes, faced upwards in gestures of
reverence and awe. He wasn't faking it; he did really
love his Mother Nature.

To make the circle perfect, Indy Barends, the well-known
entertainment presenter, kept the audience interested with her
charm, jokes and her raise-your-environmental-awareness messages.

There wasn't any doubt that the audience was entertained; they
applauded, they cheered, no brawls exploded during the concert
and, as it ended, they looked happier than when they arrived at
the venue.

But, did the concert really raise their environmental
awareness to a higher plane?

"Well, we couldn't convert everybody even if we wanted
to do that, could we? But, the main point of this concert was to
present the idea of conserving nature to a wider audience.
Hopefully, it will attract their attention to learn more, or, God
willing, to do more," Friends of the Reef (FoR) program
coordinator Dewi Satriani said.

The concert was the highlight of various events held under the
umbrella of the Friends of the Reef, a strategic new program
initiated by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Wallacea Bioregion-
Bali.

Collaborating with other environmental non-governmental
organizations, concerned members of the private sector and
individuals, WWF launched the program with one final objective;
the conservation of Bali's precious coral reefs.

The West Bali National Park, Waka Shorea, Reef Seen
Aquatic, Matahari Dive Center, Bali Hai Diving Adventure and
Dunia Selam Lembonga were the stakeholders in the program.

The program is employing aggressive campaign methods to reach
a wider and bigger audience. In April there was a photo, video,
poster and comic competition. In May the activists visited
several schools, which are located near diving sites in Denpasar,
Gilimanuk, Sumber Klampok, Pemuteran and Nusa Lembongan island.

The activists tried to draw the students' attention to the
issue of preserving coral reefs through games, quizzes and slide
show presentations.

Meanwhile, an "If I Were a Fish" themed children drawing
competition, replete with a quiz, games and child singers, was
held in early June. Hundreds of children swarmed the venue of the
competition.

And, in cooperation with Hard Rock Beach Hotel's management,
the activists not only succeeded in staging a concert, but also
organizing a two-day exhibition on coral reefs at the hotel. A
simple newsletter, FoR Post, is also published on a regular basis
to communicate the program's idea to a wider audience.

A two-day Reef Check and Underwater Clean Up was held in May
at Bali's nine prime diving sites, including Menjangan island,
Amed, Pemuteran, Nusa Lembongan island, Nusa Penida island and
Sanur, and involved 34 experienced divers and three marine
scientists. The results showed that illegal fishing, either by
poisoning or bombing, land-based pollution, sea-based pollution
and the global warming phenomenon had inflicted heavy damage on a
large portion of the once pristine coral reefs. Only one dive
site, Pakeh beach, is still in relatively good condition, with a
hard coral population percentage ranging from 46.3 percent to
53.8 percent.

The rest had an average 28.1 percent hard coral
population.

"Indonesia once had the richest and the most diverse coral
reefs in the world. Currently, only 29 percent of it is still in
good condition," Satriani said.

Put it simply, she added, they had no choice but to work fast
and aggressively, otherwise Bali would lose its coral reefs
forever.