Manado's first diver faces fragility of the island's reefs
Manado's first diver faces fragility of the island's reefs
Text and photos by
Hanka Kawecka-Lee [10 pts ML]
MANADO, North Sulawesi (JP): While his gentle exterior hides a
tough sense of purpose, the lively, sun-tanned Dr. Hanny Batuna
carries a commanding air.
His authority is obvious when leading guests on dives into the
depths of the ocean around northern Sulawesi. On land, he
disclaims his leadership, and refers to his wife, the manager of
the Murex Diving Center, as The Boss.
Hanny was the first person in Manado to learn how to scuba-
dive, with an aqualung.
"Ever since my father bought me a mask and snorkel when I was
small", Hanny, now over 55, recalled, "I have had a deep love of
the enchanted underwater world of Manado". He grew particularly
fond of the reefs between the half-submerged volcano Manado Tua
and the island of Nain, known since 1991 as the Bunaken National
Park.
The only marked break in Hanny's frequent visits to the reef
occurred in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when he furthered his
medical education in the United States.
But even then, in spite of the demands of his work, he did not
forget his first love. He took a diving course in the United
States, and returned to Manado as both a fully qualified Doctor
of Communicable Diseases, and a certified diver.
During his absence, some of his best friends, pearl divers,
had died while trying to use the new deep water gear without
proper training. Saddened and challenged, Hanny decided to become
Manado's first teacher of deep sea diving.
As the word spread, many of his town friends and relatives,
and friends of friends with an interest in the sea, started to
visit the simple homestay the doctor had erected on the coast.
As the number of his guests, and the length of their stay,
increased, his visitors began to insist on paying for their keep.
And that is how the first diving center in the up-and-coming
tourist resort of Manado came into existence.
There were occasional business ups and downs, but the magic
underwater world of Bunaken has never let Hanny down.
"On the contrary, says Hanny, eyes twinkling with enthusiasm,
"my beloved reef and others nearby proved richer, more extensive,
more exiting than I ever suspected".
All colors and shapes of fishes, corals, anemones and sponges
can be seen just below the calm surface of the waters of Bunaken.
Their ceaseless activity continues day and night, rain and shine,
to the never-ending delight of Hanny and his visitors.
The Batunas' diving center is set in a coconut grove facing
the islands of the national park, refreshed by constant sea
breezes.
Run by Inetke, Hanny's charming wife, it is an informal
establishment and a very special one to those who have had the
privilege of staying there. It consists of simple Minahasan
cottages, a club house, and the home of Inetke and Hanny: its
doors are always open to friends and guests.
The latest addition to this unique establishment is the
Serenade, a live-aboard diving yacht, with accommodation for up
to twelve divers, sonar, and a host of other features that will
make diving with Hanny even better.
Murex is not only a paradise for divers. Recently, a group of
foreign oceanographers, assigned for a few months to Manado
University, have made it their home.
So has the Singapore-born Australian, Michael Aw, whose recent
book on the riches of Bunaken was largely researched and
photographed out of Murex.
The presence of so many diving enthusiasts inspires heated
discussion on the pressing subject of Bunaken reef's future,
particularly in the context of the intensifying tourist
development of the region.
Manado, one of six officially-promoted tourist centers in
Indonesia, is growing fast. With a just-opened Silk Air route
from Singapore, twice-weekly Bouraq flights from the southern
Philippines, improved services connecting Manado to Jakarta and
Bali, and other flights scheduled or planned from Taiwan and
Japan, coupled with the large hotels now under construction, the
number of tourists is expected to boom.
Damage
As other tourist attractions in the area are not outstanding,
the world-class reef will have to carry most of the burden of the
fast-growing tourist industry.
It is diving and snorkeling that attracts most people to
Manado, and it is these same sports that are already damaging the
reef.
With the number of tourists still negligible, Hanny and his
friends already comment on the broken corals, and the absence of
certain species of fish, once abundant.
Snorkeling and diving take place from boats, and it is the
process of mooring these boats and of taking up the anchors that
does the damage: anchors are dropped onto and torn up from living
corals every time the boats are moored, inevitably killing the
fragile organisms.
A fleet of boats, often with no more than a couple of tourists
aboard, drop anchor several times a day in some of the more
favored locations.
Lately, several mooring buoys have been installed in the park
but, according to local sources, the project has not been a
success.
These, and other problems connected with the spread of human
waste and garbage, and plans to develop tourist facilities on the
islands right inside the fragile reef, are facing the local
governments and national park authorities right now.
It is their planning and quick action, which must be
undertaken before the tourist boom hits Bunaken with its full
force, that will determine the long-term future of the reef and
of the whole tourist industry in Manado.
All of these problems are of the greatest interest to Hanny
and owners of the other diving centers in the area. Although
outwardly optimistic about Manado's future, Hanny's expression
belies concern.
Maybe it is a personal responsibility that weighs more heavily
on him than the others. After all, he helped start the tourist
ball rolling in Manado, when he first learned how to dive...
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