Karangasem beaches suffer from environmental damage

Karangasem beaches suffer from environmental damage

Luh De Suriyani, Contributor, Karangasem

The twigs of a coconut tree in front of the small lodge in Candi
Dasa beach, Karangasem regency, Bali danced violently in the
wind.

The strong wind also whipped up some large waves that smashed
the foundation of the building that directly faces the Bali
strait. A part of the foundation was eroded by seawater, while
the big stones that were piled up as a barrier were smashed into
pieces.

Unlike other areas in Sanur, Nusa Dua or Kuta, which have a
spacious coastal area, the width of Candi Dasa beach is quite
small -- just a few meters in places.

Pamela Haris, 62, who was relaxing in front of the lodge, said
that she had spent a week in Candi Dasa. The tourist from
Melbourne, along with her friend, said she did not expect to see
such a beautiful beach in Candi Dasa. She had made her plans to
stay here for the quietness offered.

However, she was surprised to see the poor condition of Candi
Dasa beach.

"The beach here is a mess. In my country, the government has
strict regulations on the use of the beach," she said.
Candi Dasa, one of the tourist attractions in Karangasem regency,
is located about 80 kilometers east of Denpasar. A large part of
the beach is damaged due to abrasion.

The edge of the beach is only between one or two meters from
the road in some sections. In order to prevent more damage, the
local authorities have installed barriers.

A local environmentalist, I Made Mangku, said that the erosion
of the beach in Candi Dasa had really gotten worse since 1987,
affecting a five-kilometer area.

The development of many hotels and other accommodation
facilities to meet the growing demand of tourism has contributed
greatly to the environmental damage as many of the buildings were
built too close to the beach.

Like Candi Dasa beach, the nearby beach in Tulamben, a
favorite diving spot with beautiful fish and coral, also suffers
from environmental problems. The reason, however, is different.
Tulamben beach, where the Liberty cargo vessel from the United
States was once wrecked, is dirty due to the silt that is carried
downstream into the sea from the denuded hills.

Head of the Karangasem tourism and culture agency, Ida Nyoman
Djelantik, said that the silt flowed into the beach because there
were now just a few trees upriver as a result of illegal logging
around Mount Agung. The deforestation also makes the area prone
to flooding.

The local government is now conducting greenery projects to
save the environment in Tulamben, the busiest diving and
snorkeling spot in the regency.

The project will cost some Rp 300 million and the money is
taken from the fund from the World Bank allocated for the
planning of Tulamben, according to Djelantik.

Another problem that threatens coastal areas in Karangasem is
the theft of stones and sections of coral reef.

Damage to the coastal areas in Karangasem has disturbed the
fragile marine ecosystem that attracts tourists. Indeed, there is
a wide diversity of marine biota, some of which will forever
remain a mystery if they become extinct.

"Once, a tourist took a picture of a small, unique species of
shrimp in Bitung island, Sumatra. Then the photo appeared in a
magazine and visitors flocked to the areas to see it. It turned
out that many such shrimps are found of the coast of Karangasem,"
said Cipto Adji Gunawan, a divemaster.

Gunawan, the owner of AIR Diving Academy, said that beaches in
Karangasem like those in Tulamben, Kubu and Amed hold on to a
mystery in their underwater world. Karangasem, he said, is the
best place in Bali for divers to seek adventure.

"It is very easy to reach the water along Karangasem beaches
because of the good transportation system and infrastructure, as
well as the logistics," he said enthusiastically.

As a tourist attraction, Karangasem knows what the visitors
want, but tourist development activities should not be done
without considering the costs to the environment.