Biodiversity Conservation Network
11. Dive Tourism off the Reefs of the Padaido Islands, Irian Jaya
Location: Padaido Islands, Irian Jaya, Indonesia Partners: Rumsram Foundation
Hualopu Foundation
IDRC
Canadian University Service Organization (CUSO)BCN Funding: $295,843 Partner Contribution: $97,769 Grant Period: July 1, 1996 - December 31, 1998
What's at Stake?
The Padaido Islands, Irian Jaya are the site of some of the world's most intact and biologically diverse coral reef systems. The reefs harbor 95 coral species, 155 fish species, and other marine resources which provide both food and income to the people who live there. Destructive fishing practices employ explosives and cyanide to make it easier to scoop up dwindling fish stocks. These unsustainable activities are crumbling the reef ecosystems and threatening the future of coastal communities.
Yayasan Rumsram (based in Biak, Irian Jaya) and Yayasan Hualopu (based in Ambon, Maluku) are addressing these threats by working with local communities to establish a community-based marine ecosystem venture that will attract benefits from tourists who want to see the wonders of healthy coral reefs. Rumsram has built one homestay on the Padaido Islands and has, with assistance from UNDP, established a functioning community based credit union. Currently most of the tourism in the area is mega-scale institutional style and excludes the participation of local communities. By contrast, the project is creating a community owned and operated dive tourism agency that will offer shares to the local community members. The travel agency will initially be owned by Rumsram and the cooperatives in the three target villages. The stakeholders will be represented by a Board of Directors and we hope that the benefits from the dive tourism packages, combined with necessary training in business management and alternative harvesting techniques, will create local incentives for long-term resource management and sustainable use.
1997 Update
Over the past year Rumsram has continued to foster a savings ethic among community members, socialize the idea of community-controlled ecotourism and develop basic skills and infrastructure. Weekly information sessions are held in church on Sunday. Village cooperatives started by Rumsram in collaboration with the church are putting savings in the bank which will be available as loans to local entrepreneurs.
Several craftspersons have already availed themselves of small loans. By September of 1997 the project could boast new toilet blocks in Wundi, Saba and Dawi, an additional cottage on Dawi island, perahus (small boats) in Saba and Dawi that tourists can use, permanent anchorage buoys in place on Saba and Dawi reefs and FAD's (Fish Aggregating Devices) in Wundi and Dawi. English classes have begun in Saba, and significant progress has been made in planning for management of tourism activities, particularly in Saba and Dawi. The efforts of Rumsram and the communities to conserve their reefs and develop ecotourism is strongly supported by local village and district governments.
A small number of tourists have already been attracted to the area and they also have been a valuable source of information and feedback concerning community efforts. For all concerned, it is a rewarding learning experience.
Monitoring of socio-economic and biological impacts of the project has begun, with baseline data collected in early 1997. Monitoring of coral reef health and biodiversity has been conducted twice. The data show that all reefs being surveyed are in just as good or slightly better condition than they were at the beginning of the project. Improvements can be seen in areas that were damaged in the past by blast fishing or by the earthquake and tsunami of 1996. Recovery is particularly rapid off Runi island, the site of extensive earthquake damage. Monitoring shows that blast fishing is at an all-time low -- in fact virtually non-existent -- at all project sites because of increased awareness.
More community members are being trained so that in the future they themselves can monitor the reefs that are the basis for both local fisheries and tourism. Recently, in Saba where all monitoring trainees have up to now been male, a group of six women decided that they too want to start the learning process, while a second group of women have begun a study group on marine plant diversity and applications for family health, food and tourism. A group of fishers who use both natural reefs and the FAD's (Fish Aggregating Devices) is recording catch data so that the degree of shift from reef to pelagic species can be evaluated. A new program under which women can chart and analyze their shellfish catches has just been instituted. Village volunteers are also collecting information on sea temperature and transparency so that they will be better able to distinguish changes caused by local activities from changes related to, for instance, climate change.
Success Stories
A group of Saba villagers deserve awards for their courageous defense of their coral reef -- but some scientists may not agree. In the past year, Yayasan Hualopu's biological monitoring team has held training workshops in Saba to convey basic information on coral reef ecology and monitoring methods. Trainees have been enthusiastic, particularly since they have learned that of all the project sites, Saba has the most intact reef and the largest numbers of butterfly fish, an indicator of rich biodiversity. They have learned how to estimate percentage of living coral cover and now regularly practice their snorkeling and observation skills.
In September of this year, the group was shocked to discover that some scientists had, without prior consultation, laid down a permanent monitoring transect on Saba reef. The transect markers, unfortunately, consisted of 68 heavy concrete blocks linked together by nylon line and balanced, in some cases precariously, along the very edge of the wave-exposed reef slope. Village observers noted that 54 of the blocks rested on top of living corals and a few had already started their destructive descent down the living reef slope. Recognizing the threat to the reef, and fearing what would happen once the windy season started, the villagers removed the blocks. They worked from a tiny perahu and used their bare hands and simple snorkeling equipment -- a dangerous exercise!
Challenges
Compared to last year, when the project was literally swept away by an earthquake and tsunami, this year has been very calm. However, there are always new challenges. One, ironically enough, is how to deal with scientists who, in their own attempts to conserve biodiversity, employ methods that are unacceptable to local communities.
The second serious challenge is also being dealt with in Saba, where a new luxury hotel in the neighborhood wants to appropriate Saba reef as the site for a marina. Saba village is actively resisting this move.
The third area of general concern is the designation of the Padaidos as a site for a national tourism park. What does this mean for local community-controlled tourism developments? Will they be swamped by luxury resorts? What will it mean for the traditional access and withdrawal rights of small-scale fishers? Will the tourism developers who will be attracted to the area respect the communities' traditional tenure of small, unpopulated islands such as Dawi and Nukori? So far, there has been too little information forthcoming to be able to assess whether this will be a benefit or a disaster from the perspective of the project.
Authors: Dr. Irene Novaczek works for CUSO and is the head of the biological monitoring team for the Rumsram and Hualopu project. Dr. Novaczek has been a technical advisor to Hualopu (another Indonesian NGO based in Ambon) since May 1996.
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