Is ecotourism the right approach for Ujung Kulon?

Is ecotourism the right approach for Ujung Kulon?

Earth Wire, the environmental division of Antara, and the
Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, a German foundation, orgazied a
workshop on the environment for journalists and activists.
The Jakarta Post reporter, Gedsiri Suhartono, took part in
the workshop, held on Oct. 9-12, in Jakarta and Ujung Kulon
National Park, West Java, and wrote the following stories.

UJUNG KULON (JP): The pristine wilderness of the Ujung Kulon
National Park faces deliberate environmental destruction as
tourism slowly creeps into the area.

Mushrooming resorts, townhouses and condominiums on the way to
Labuan Port, which is one entry point to the national park, is
one indication that city dwellers have their eyes on this area.

The park's management is planning to attract more visitors to
enjoy the rustic forest, beautiful beaches and the variety of
wildlife.

The dilemma now is whether the park should be further promoted
while bearing the consequence of inviting unavoidable
environmental damage, or stay as low profile as it is now.

Until this century, before Ujung Kulon became a reserve and
then a national park, the area was the hunting, fishing and
gathering grounds for the well-off.

Nowadays, although people are still able to collect forest
products in the park's buffer zone, agriculture, hunting and
fishing activities inside the park are banned.

One of the greatest challenges in the conservation of Ujung
Kulon National Park will be to educate local communities living
on the fringes of the park about the need for protecting the
forest and wildlife as well as gaining their support.

In the villages around Ujung Kulon, several organizations such
as the World Wide Fund for Nature's Indonesia Program and the
Indonesian Ministry of Forestry's Directorate General of Forest
Protection and Nature Conservation run educational programs for
local residents to find alternative resources and incomes.

Agoes Sriyatna, chief of the national park, said the only way
to delay the unavoidable destruction of the national park is by
preparing and improving the quality of human resources.

"What we have now is far from adequate," Agoes said, referring
to the 30 employees oversees in the vast park.

Urban garbage floats southward along the coast, smothering
marine life and washing up on Ujung Kulon's shores is another
problem.

There is also the poaching of marine life by fishermen, often
from distant regions, as well as the pressures and demands raised
by the tourist industry.

Many feel that tourism is in general much more likely to have
negative social and environmental impacts.

Ecotourism, therefore, sounds exciting because the concept
combines the pleasure of discovering and understanding
spectacular flora and fauna while making a combined effort to
protect them from destruction.

Ecotourism, in other words, incorporates both a strong
commitment to nature and a sense of social responsibility.

But not all agree.

"Come on, let's not deceive ourselves, we are just delaying
the destruction, not preventing destruction from happening,"
Vincent Graichen, a visitor who seems concerned about the park's
condition.

Graichen was referring to pollution resulting from
transporting people from one island to another by motorboat,
beaten tracks left in the once unspoiled forests, not to mention
the obvious piles of garbage around the park.

The concept is a good one: an economic model that utilizes
tourism to support nature conservation. But do not be fooled by
the lofty ideals because it could prove impractical and
unrealistic.

"When people do business, they think only of profit, and
philosophical ideals often only become a means to achieve the
ends," Anton Saksono, a fish exporter and importer who also
operates motorboats at the national park, said.

A nature lover himself, Anton said he is fully aware of the
various threats facing the environment, but as a businessman he
can only do his best while reaping benefits.

"Some told me that with the conscience I have, I should
continue doing business here because I am the least of the
evils," he said contemplatively.

Responding to concerns about damage to Ujung Kulon, the
government has declared that only 10 percent of the whole area
can be utilized for tourist purposes.

For example, only 10 percent of Peucang Island is used for
tourist facilities.

Ethics

A major complaint expressed by the park's management is
visitors' lack of understanding or disregard of the right ethical
standard when entering the park.

The rare chance to encounter rhinoceros at the park, for
example, is exacerbated by visitors' ignorance of acceptable
wildlife behavior.

"To truly be one with nature and observe it, one needs to be
absolutely silent and simply enjoy the wonders of nature instead
of shouting in awe and disrupting the forest's harmony," Agoes
said, referring to the clamorous chatter he often has to endure
when accompanying visitors on nature walks.

Many city dwellers, he added, often appear to have a
superficial interest in the national park, and therefore do not
get the most out of their visit.

Arief Zulpermana, a tour manager, told The Jakarta Post that
in general, local visitors' knowledge about nature and the proper
ethics observed when in the national park fall far short of
foreigners'.

"Unfortunately, our local visitors are often ignorant about
the wildlife, not educating themselves enough before they visit,"
Arief said.

According to Arief, foreign tourists seem to better prepared
themselves, by reading, for instance, and arrive with the
intention of learning and enjoying their visit.

"I am not sure if this is the right way to say it. But for
lack of better words, foreign visitors seem to be more
professional in their visit compared to local people," he added.

Visitors' shortcomings, however, fail to dissuade park's staff
from welcoming and entertaining the flow of visitors.

"We very much enjoy their presence and the human exchanges
that happen. After all, humans are part of nature and we want
outsiders to know about the work and the pleasure one can derive
from the national park," Arief said.

Based on his observation of the many locals who have visited
the park, Agoes draws the conclusion that many Indonesians cannot
yet enjoy nature for what it is. They have only reached the level
of relishing luxuries, he said.

Agoes said as an example that locals request air-conditioned
rooms, while foreigners enjoy breathing in the sea breeze and
listening the sound of the waves.

A polished image of the park's management and human resources
is needed to handle the difficult task of nature preservation and
tourism, Agoes said.

"We are therefore preparing our human resources, improving
their skills to enable them to handle the flock of visitors in
the park," he said.

But the park management also needs to educate its staff. Agoes
admitted that even some employees need to learn more about the
environment. During one of our walks in the forest, he was
dumbfounded when the group discovered the remains of a campfire
apparently used by a park worker for warmth at night.

National parks serve at least three functions: to preserve and
protect several species from extinction without neglecting the
roles of local residents who live around the national park.

Every aspect to raise consciousness about the importance of
national parks should involve not only the park management and
its staff, but also local people and visitors. There is no
guarantee that the environment will be secured if ecotourism is
promoted, but at least it might delay the destruction.