Ecotourism promising for Buton
BAU BAU, Southeast Sulawesi (JP): Ecotourism, its advocates believe, is one form of sustainable development and could hold the promise for a bright future on scenic Buton.
The initiative has come from Asep S. Adhikerana and Wayan Dirgayusa, both researchers at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI).
Both are involved in Operation Wallacea, which is currently being carried out on the islands. The viability of their proposal is being evaluated by bureaucrats in Jakarta.
Buton's main attraction would be its birds, which are found in abundance in patches of tropical forests in mountain ridges.
A 1995 survey recorded 187 bird species. Quantity wise, it may be no big deal but for bird observers, the 150-kilometer-long island is unrivaled. Forty-four of the species are endemic to Sulawesi and six to Indonesia. All 44 are protected by law.
But bird wise, Buton is neglected by scientists. Asep said that the Sulawesian birds on the island are especially sensitive and will suffer if their habitat is altered carelessly.
This concern has prompted scientists from both Indonesia and abroad to make Buton a natural laboratory. Already identified as hot spots, or areas with an exceptional abundance of birds, are Lebo, Maligano, Lawele, Kinapani, Lakonti and Wakalambe.
"Birds are economically important. As an ecotourism attraction they could be integrated with environmentally-sound economic development," Asep says.
Asep and Wayan have proposed that ecotourism activities be centered around Lake Togomotonu in the eastern Lawele subdistrict, about 90 kilometers east of Bau Bau.
But the badly silted lake, situated in an area initially earmarked for a transmigration site, needs major renovation and tourist facilities, such as inns and roads, which have yet to be built.
Reliable transportation is also a problem. Losmen (inns) are available only in Bau Bau where economic and administrative activities are centered. But transport to the island is hardly a problem. Buton, which has no airport, can be reached in five and half hours from Kendari, the capital of Southeast Sulawesi, by regular ferries that serve the route twice a day.
Although it has tremendous potential, Buton lacks promotion. Operation Wallacea's organizers hope holidaymakers from the U.S., Europe, Hong Kong and Singapore will hear of their efforts in Buton and Tukangbesi islands from publicity of the operation.
Northern Buton, in the Muna region where the endangered Maleo can be found, is far less developed than the southern region.
Although Buton regent Col. Saidoe is enthusiastic about the ecotourism idea, so far neither experts nor government officials have a clear idea about how they will materialize it. (pan)