A holiday in Bali can be eye-opening in many respects.
The blackness of the beaches of the volcanic island reminds us of the
importance of nature in shaping our environment. The rice paddies clinging on
to the hill cliffs remind us of how humans have mastered the physical
environment around them and created one suitable for them to live and thrive
in. And the piles of bottles on public beaches, the odd shoes found on the sand
at low tide, the plastic bags clogging up ditches also remind us that humans
have forgotten about actually caring for the environment around them.
Tourism began in Bali in the 1970s, when groups of
Western hippies came to the island, attracted by the beauty and spirituality of
the landscape and the friendly and tolerant reputation of the island’s
inhabitants. Tourism then was what is called cultural, with foreigners
expressing interest and concern for the region’s culture, the locals’
lifestyle, the island’s architecture and history. However, cultural tourism slowly
made way to mass tourism, booming in the 1990s and 2000s as developers realised
the huge tourism potential of the region. Hotels and resorts started popping up
all over Bali, erasing coconut trees and beaches to make way for private
terraces and infinity pools. Other beaches were widened and the background
nature was destroyed, transformed into parking lots to accommodate the masses
of tourists flying in from Australia and Europe.
Bali’s environment is at threat of succumbing to mass
development. Every year, 700 hectares of land is lost to hotels, luxury housing
and roads. Every day, 13,000 cubic metres of waste is dumped and only half of
it is recycled. Traffic jams are becoming increasingly problematic, with the
island’s road connections struggling to accommodate the 13% annual increase in
number of cars.
Today, the main environmental issue regarding Bali is
water, with one expert saying that Bali could face a drinking water crisis by
2015. Waste dumping is dramatically polluting freshwater reserves. The non-existent
garbage collection system leads to individuals and hotels disposing of their
waste in open-air public dumps, polluting the groundwater as rain trickles
through the waste and soil, filled with polluting products. Intensive water
usage is also a concern, with hundreds of hotels absorbing a large part of the
freshwater reserves, depriving locals of an essential irrigation and drinking
resource.
Locals and foreign tourism organisations are slowly realising
the need for a sustainable plan of action regarding water and waste. Previously
non-existent regulation regarding waste dumping was introduced last year, and information
campaigns regarding water scarcity are being organised. But locals and
foreigners alike will all have to seriously tackle the environmental issues
facing Bali. The booming tourism industry, which involves both industry players
and tourists, will have to become more aware and informed, and actively play
their part in protecting the island’s environment, which is, after all the lifeblood of the tourism industry. With the participation of
all stakeholders, the environment catastrophe looming over Bali will easily
disappear and a lose-lose situation averted.
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