Acting Up to Save Balis Environment

Environmentalists and Student Activists Protest Bali International Park Project Via Theatrical Protests at Governors Office

(10/21/2011)Student and environmental activists joined forces in staging street theater in front of the office of Balis governor on Wednesday, August 10, 2011, to protest a lack of consistency by the provincial government in the application of a moratorium on new tourism developments in South Bali.

Beritabali.com describes how, via the street-theater presentations entitled Investors Gobble up the Land of Bali, the protestors depicted a small island being divided among investors who, in order to rake in dollars, lust to build an endless variety of projects and facilities.

The protestors claim investors have appropriated every corner of the island in order to build luxurious hotels, villas, golf courses and shopping centers. In their theatrical presentation, the students passed out large suitcases emblazoned with the slogan Komisi $$$ bags of money they claim are delivered to the government so their projects will go smoothly.

Haris, identified as the secretary general of Frontier Bali (Front Demokrasi Perjuangan Rakyat), told the press that the theatrical protest was directed at the Governor of Bali who his organization views as inconsistent in the application of the moratorium on new development. The inconsistency cited by the group was the governors acceptance of the Bali International Park (BIP) project in South Bal despite the pre-existence of a moratorium on new hotels.

The controversial Bali International Park (BIP) project is proposed by the government to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference Summit to be held in Bali in November 2013. A ministerial decree in support of the project has named PT Jimbaran Hijau as the projects developer.

Those opposed to BIP criticize the governors acquiescence to the Jakarta-driven scheme and his readiness to suspend a moratorium on new projects announced by governor Pastika in December 2010.

In initially announcing the moratorium the governor alluded to the existing oversupply of hotel rooms in Bali.

A separate study conducted in December 2010 by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in cooperation with Balis Udayana University said there was at that time an oversupply of 9.800 hotel rooms in. Meanwhile, estimates are that an additional 10,000 rooms will come on line in 2011, further aggravating the oversupply problem.

Bali currently has 55,000 hotel rooms, a total considered sufficient to serve the demand through 2015.

Haris said, the oversupply of tourism facilities will cause both social and ecological damage due to the lack of concern for the environmental carrying capacity (of the island).

Suriadi Darmoko, the internal deputy of the Balis chapter of the Indonesian Environment Movement (WAHLI), said a moratorium on new building in South Bali was a pressing need as Bali needs to urgently take inventory and calculate the future carrying capacity of the islands eco-system.

The governments environment department in 1995 predicted that Bali would suffer an acute water crisis by 2015 with a water deficit of 27.5 billion cubic meters in that year. Protestors point to the growing incidents of conflict over water sources as early warnings of the worsening water crisis to come.

Darmoko said the BIP was an ordered project from Jakarta, forcing governor Pastika to violate his own moratorium on new hotel projects. The WAHLI officials said Balis governor must have the courage to fight for Balis environment and not be force to swallow his own rules in order to satisfy the desires of the central government.

The protestor see the argumentation in support of BIP as needed to support the coming APEC conference as nebulous. They point to Balis hosting of the U.N. 2007 Climate Change Conference in which more than 12,000 participants from 189 countries participated. The 2007 climate exceeded the 10,000 expected to attend the 2013 APEC conference.

The protestors also regretted what they saw as the government closing its eyes to the plight of farmers who will be marginalized when their lands are usurped by the BIP project.

For the BIP, for APEC, for the dignity of the nation Balis environmental falls victim. Environmental injustice takes place and the farmer must grin and bear the loss of their rights, said Haris.The Bali administrations plan to impose a moratorium on new hotel and resort developments in the south of the island has been backed by 1,500 members of the Bali branch of the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (HIPMI).

Putu Pasek Sandoz Prawirotama, the newly elected chairman of HIPMI Bali, said the moratorium in Denpasar, Badung and Gianyar was needed to kickstart development in the six other regencies.

The provincial administration must develop the necessary infrastructure in the six regencies to attract investors, he said Wednesday.

He admitted that most Bali HIPMI members had investments in southern Bali.

It is possible for us to move to other regencies if the infrastructure was available to do business, he added.

The islands administration issued a gubernatorial decree on a moratorium on hotel developments in southern Bali that took effect on Jan. 5 this year.

Nyoman Suwirya Patra, the head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) in Bali, said the island administration was conducting an environmental impact assessment to ensure that any tourist developments were environmentally friendly.

We will wait for the result of the study before deciding if we should issue new permits for hotel developments and investment, Patra said.

Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika previously stated that the number of hotels and lodgings in southern Bali exceeded market demand.

Bali currently has 2,190 hotels, villas and resorts offering 45,557 rooms. The three southern regencies of Bali are home to 85 percent of these rooms. It is high time for us to develop other regencies, the governor argued.

The development moratorium does not apply to investors who obtained construction permits up to three years ago.

Patra said 50 percent of all investments in Bali in 2010, which totalled Rp 5.9 trillion (US$660 million), went to the hospitality and tourism sectors.

Patra said he remained optimistic that investors would continue to pour money into Bali and develop other regencies such as Buleleng in the north and Karangasem in the east.

Panudiana Khun, the chairman of the Bali branch of the Association of Indonesian Entrepreneurs (Apindo), however, voiced a different opinion.

This is not the right time to implement a moratorium. Investors will turn to the neighboring island of Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara instead of looking to Buleleng or other regencies, he argued.

Lombok is a growing destination for domestic and international investors because of the planned international airport, which will be the largest international airport in Central and East Indonesia.

The Lombok administration is working hard to improve infrastructure to lure as many investors as possible to the island, Khun saidPHRI Protest Governors Statement about Hotel Moratorium

August 05, 2013

DENPASAR

Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) deplored the statement of Governor of Bali Made Mangku Pastika who denied the excess hotel rooms on the island.

If talk about the occupancy rate, you must be careful. We know the data, tourist arrivals in average could only fill 62 percent of occupancy rate, said Vice Chairman of PHRI Bali I Gusti Ngurah Rai Suryawijaya in Denpasar.

According to him, if it is seen from one or two hotels, it might be full, but the number of hotel rooms in Bali is now more than 80 thousand and this year the target of tourist arrivals to the island is 3.1 million people.

We feel uncomfortable to hear the hotels in Bali are full and the number is still lacking. At the moment there is an international activity, hotels can be full, but most international event is only lasted for a week, where as there are 365 days a year, he said who is also the Chairman of PHRI Badung Regency.

He added that what actually happened in Bali is excess of room supplies, thus the occupancy rates are still low and finally there is price competition. To attract tourists, many hotel managements sell rooms at a very cheap price.

The average increase in tourist arrival is only nine percent, while the number of rooms increases 20 percent per year. So it isnt balanced and finally price competition happens, he said.

As a result, with an average occupancy rate of 62 percent, it is difficult for entrepreneurs to get profit while the hotel situation is worsened by the increase in electricity tariffs, fuel prices, employee wage, to food items prices.

Moreover, the length of stay of foreign tourists in Bali is also shorter just 5.5 days and in average spending 100 dollars per day. Government should think positively and not to confuse the people with the different statement of data, he said.

He expected that the government would synergize with PHRI to improve and promote tourism in Bali to be more advanced and increase tourist visits.

Go on if the government wants to pass the reclamation of Benoa Bay, Badung, we have nothing to do with it. However, dont say that our data is false. If you want to add tourist accommodation please continueas it is a governments domain, he said.

On the other hand, he argued that the Australian tourists that have been dominated visits to Bali have also been turning to Europe and America, while in Bali there is no addition of market segmentation.

Gianyar, korandetikbali.com Moratorium hotel di Bali sangat diperlukan, mengingat Bali menjadi salah satu destinasi wisata. Akibatnya para pengusaha berbondong-bondong menyulap pulau dewata, menjadi pulau seribu hotel. Celakanya pembangunan hotel-hotel itu tidak disertai penambahan obyek wisata (run away). Saat ini, jumlah kamar hotel di Bali lebih dari 63 ribu. Tentu, ini angka yang sangat mengkhawatirkan. Sebab efeknya akan mematikan sejumlah usaha akomodasi yang dimiliki warga sendiri, ujar Ketua PHRI Bali, Tjokorda Oka Sukawati, yang ditemui diMuscab PHRI Gianyar di Royal Pitamaha, Kedewatan,Ubud, Kamis siang (27/9).

Menurut Cok Ace moratorium hotel tidaklah menghentikan total pembangunan hotel. Namun, perlu adanya kajian lebih lanjut. Moratorium hotel, bukan berarti menghentikan pembangunan hotel. Namun, lebih selektif, baik itu tipe hotel, maupun pangsa pasarnya, pungkasnya. Sebab kata dia dengan adanya penambahan kamar, akan mengakibatkan alih fungsi lahan yang pada ujungnya akan mempersempit lahan pertanian yang dimiliki daerah tersebut. Seperti di Ubud, justru suasana pedesaan yang dicari. Maka dari itu, kalau pun nantinya di Ubud dibutuhkan penambahan kamar, tentu akan dikaji lagi. Mengingat, hal ini akan menimbulkan alih fungsi lahan, papar pria yang juga menjabat sebagai Bupati Gianyar ini.nurMade Arya Kencana

Denpasar. The Bali provincial government is urging mayors and district heads in the popular resort island to fully obey the temporary moratorium on the building of new hotels in certain areas.

District administrations should give [the moratorium] serious attention, Bali tourism agency chief Ida Bagus Kade Subikshu said on Wednesday.

The moratorium was imposed early last year by Governor Made Mangku Pastika, and covers areas in southern Bali such as Denpasar, Badung and Gianyar.

Bordering the Indian Ocean, areas in southern Bali have been overrun with tourists and surfers with new hotels being built at a dizzying pace.

That leads to land scarcity and unhealthy price wars, the government argued, as well as environmental damage which could spoil the natural landscape the area has to offer.

The government is also urging property developers and investors to put more money in underdeveloped northern Bali, which also has a big potential for tourism but lacks the necessary infrastructure.

Subikshu said despite the moratorium, new hotels keep popping up in the three districts, particularly in the popular seaside area of Kuta.

According to data from the tourism agency, the entire island has 2,190 hotel and other accommodations providing 45,408 rooms, however the majority are concentrated in southern Bali.

There are 158 star-rated hotels, 1,036 non-star rated hotels and 996 cottages and hostels. The agency had not recorded the exact number of hotels currently being built in the three districts.

The moratorium, Subikshu said, is merely a recommendation from the provincial government. It is the districts which have to pay serious attention to it. If [an area] is overly developed than we should stop [building], he said.

But so far I havent heard any desire from the district governments to adhere to the call.

Subikshu however said his office has not considered sanctioning district officials and developers but has urged all sides to adhere to the agreed 2009 spatial zoning regulation.

Chairman of the Bali office of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI), Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati, said separately that his office supported the provincial governments policy to put a hold on the building of new hotels.

With more hotels being built, Tjokorda said Bali is slowly losing its charm and exclusivity.

We are asking the government to involve PHRI in the process of issuing permit for new hotels, because PHRI has a responsibility for the quality and price of the rooms rented. We can stop this from going out of control, he said.