Marine tourism can be harmful

Marine tourism can be harmful: Studies

The Indonesian government and stakeholders in the tourism industry are planning a marine tourism zone stretching from Bunaken in Sulawesi to Raja Ampat in Papua.

The zone basically integrates marine tourism destinations, connected by direct flights, and is expected to make a significant contribution to socio-economic development in the country.

The concept is already present in other countries located in the coral triangle, in line with the fact that marine tourism is currently the fastest-growing sector in the industry.

Marine tourism, however, is far too important to be left to only tourism specialists, as it can have detrimental impacts on the natural ecosystem and the people in terms of livelihood, experts at the World Ocean Conference (WOC) say.

A joint study on human-induced alterations in the Bunaken Marine National Park, north of Manado, by experts from Canada, Japan and Indonesia has found that coral reefs inside the national park are rapidly degrading due to a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors, as well as climate variation and change.

“Marine ecosystem loss will affect services, and biodiversity loss increasingly impairs the ocean’s capacity to provide food, maintain water quality and recover from perturbations,” said the report, authored by Bet E.S. Lagarense and J.R. Pahlano Daud under the auspices of the University of Waterloo, Kyushu University and Manado State Polytechnic.

Lagarense and Daud found the improper management of tourism activities, lack of awareness of regulations, poor sanitation and the exploitation of corals and shells for handicrafts were among the main causes of the deterioration.

Another study presented at the conference showed similar findings – conducted along the coast of Hoi An City in Vietnam by Pedro Fernandez Carrasco from Madrid Polytechnic University and Thu Lan Ho from Canberra National University.

Just as in coastal areas off South Sulawesi, the lack of strategic planning and management of infrastructure development, particularly hotels and resorts, and lack of proper waste management have caused rapid deterioration.

“Signs of deterioration include the lack of clean water supply and loss of pine forests that protect the shores from sand intrusion and storms,” Carrasco said.

The other detrimental effect of marine tourism was on the livelihoods of local people.

Noted author Geoffrey Wall from the University of Waterloo said tourism often deprived natives of their main sources of income due to the changing environment.

“Textbooks will tell you how to develop tourism, but in fact people living in tourism areas vary from one place to another,” he said.

“Therefore one has to consider the unique context that comes with the place.”

Tourism, Wall went on, was a major agent of change, and thus it was important for all stakeholders to understand links with other sectors and lay out a concerted effort in integrating various approaches from various disciplines in creating a balance between development and natural conservation.

“Tourism is too important to be left to tourism specialists,” he said.

Indonesian Marine Tourism Association secretary-general Didin Junaedi said most players in the industry recognized that “there is no tourism without sustainable tourism and sustainable development”.

However, he said, some problems were simply beyond their reach.

“Take the issue of waste management,” he said.

“It’s very bad. I think the situation in Bunaken can get worse. The government must recognize this.”

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/05/13/marine-tourism-can-be-harmful-studies.html

The Pinnacle of Marine Bio-diversity Worldwide

NORTHERN SULAWESI

Northern Sulawesi, and especially the Manado region of Minahasa, is a politically stable and beautifully remote region of Indonesia. With its modern international airport and exceptional natural riches, such as exceptionally bio-diverse reefs and rainforests which inhabit numerous endemic species, it is well positioned to become one of the major nature-based tourism centres of South East Asia. It can be reached by direct flights from Singapore, Davao (Philippines), Bali and numerous Indonesian cities. North Sulawesi consists of an area of about 27,500 sq. km and is divided into four districts, all of which having their different cultures: Minahasa, Bolaang Mongondow, Gorontalo, and the remote Sangihe-Talaud Archipelago. The area is highly mountainous and very scenic, culminating in 54 peaks, some of which are volcanic and still active. The coast is made up of long stretches of virgin white sandy beaches with magnificent corals and an immense wealth of colourful, tropical marine life.
Northern Sulawesi’s waters are warm, clear and superb for snorkelling and skin diving. The water averages a balmy 28 degrees C and visibility is sensational – 30m or more. Beautiful reefs and coral gardens with an immense wealth of marine life are found here. Near Manado, Bunaken National Marine Park has stunning reef sites and drop-offs. Lembeh Strait is renowned for its incredible abundance of macro marine life and is being considered as an additional Marine Park. The remote reefs and fish life of the Sangihe-Talaud Archipelago are simply world class.

North Sulawesi remains peaceful and calm. It has a sound economic basis, and is relatively prosperous and unaffected by the recent economical hardships and political problems facing the country. It enjoys a physical (1000′s km) as well as cultural distance from the occassional disturbances in other regions of Indonesia.

 

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      The Sangihe-Talaud Islands

The Sangihe-Talaud Archipelago lies to the north of Manado and is dominated by the 1830m Karangetang volcano.  This chain of around 40 steep and lush volcanic islands connects Indonesia with the Philippines. It is regarded as one of the most scenic regions of all of Indonesia. Here deep oceanic trenches rise to form towering volcanic islands. Several of these are still active, such as spectacular Siao, a rainforest island which rises to over 1400m above sea level. The abundant marine life and magical reefs fringing these islands are only accessible by a live-aboard boat and are truly impressive, even to the most jaded traveller.
All along the Sangihe-Talaud Island the reefs are described by international divers and snorkellers as ‘remote, pristine and world class’. These coral reef fringed island are among the most pristine in Indonesia, and considered by experts as the pinnacle of marine bio-diversity worldwide.The waters surrounding the islands are frequented by numerous species of cetaceans such as sperm whales, pilot whales, melon-headed whales and numerous species of dolphins are sighted travelling in enormous pods. In addition, pods of rare tropical killer whales or orcas are sighted here occasionally. One of the most amazing geological features of this archipelago is the Mahangatang active underwater volcano near Siau.  To view the release of the Earth’s interior gases a metre or two below the surface of the ocean – while being surrounded by tropical reef life – is most surreal.

 

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“One of the most amazing geological features of the Sangihe-Talaud island chain is an active volcano, which is submerged just under the surface of the reef”

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      The People of Minahasa
 

The people of Minahasa are some of the most western-oriented people in Indonesia. They are very hospitable, friendly and open-minded. The great majority is Christian. Their first contact with the Europeans came in the 16th century with the arrival of Spaniards and Portuguese spice traders. However, it wasn’t until the Dutch landed on their shores that they became integrated with western society. The province has retained its strong links with the Netherlands and many of the older people speak Dutch, in addition to Indonesian and Minahasan. Minahasans today are a welcoming, friendly people and are proud of the politically stability and natural riches of this most beautiful part of Indonesia. The traditional villages are rich in cultures and most rely on the ocean for food, voyaging large distances in primitive yet seaworthy dug-out sailing canoes with colourful square sails.

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 “Minahasans today are a welcoming, friendly people and are proud of the politically stability and natural riches of this most beautiful part of Northern Sulawesi, Indonesia”

 

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     The Ultimate in Marine Diversity
 

Scientists consider the imaginary triangle between the Philippines, Bali and Irian Jaya the epicentre of maximum marine diversity. The peninsula and islands of northern Sulawesi are located right in the middle of this triangle and are thus exceptional in their marine life and ecological significance. This relatively small ocean region inhabits over 3000 species of fish as well as over 500 species of coral and 30 species of whales and dolphins. It has the most diverse and profuse variety of marine life you will find worldwide.  The research and conservation efforts in this region are especially important to ensure the ecologically sustainable use of this exceptional marine realm. The  Oceanic Cetacean Film & Photographic Expeditions have access to this most pristine and bio-diverse region of Indonesia.  It enables adventurous film makers and professional photographers to experience an exceptional marine wilderness in total safety, with all creature comforts on board. Professional cetacean and reef experts are part of the expedition team.

Sunscreen Killing Corals

    

The sunscreen that you dutifully slather on before a swim on the beach may be protecting your body—but a new study finds that the chemicals are also killing coral reefs worldwide.

January 29, 2008. National Geographic

Four commonly found sunscreen ingredients can awaken dormant viruses in the symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae that live inside reef-building coral species.
The chemicals cause the viruses to replicate until their algae hosts explode, spilling viruses into the surrounding seawater, where they can infect neighboring coral communities. Zooxanthellae provide coral with food energy through photosynthesis and contribute to the organisms’ vibrant color. Without them, the coral “bleaches”—turns white—and dies.”The algae that live in the coral tissue and feed these animals explode or are just released by the tissue, thus leaving naked the skeleton of the coral,” said study leader Roberto Danovaro of the Polytechnic University of Marche in Italy.

The researchers estimate that 4,000 to 6,000 metric tons of sunscreen wash off swimmers annually in oceans worldwide, and that up to 10 percent of coral reefs are threatened by sunscreen-induced bleaching.  The study appeared online in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.Activated Viruses.

Danovaro and his team studied the effects of sunscreen exposure on coral samples from reefs in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans.  Even low levels of sunscreen, at or below the typical amount used by swimmers, could activate the algae viruses and completely bleach coral in just four days, the results showed.

Seawater surrounding coral exposed to sunscreen contained up to 15 times more viruses than unexposed samples.  Several brands of popular sunscreens were tested and all had four ingredients in common: paraben, cinnamate, benzophenone, and a camphor derivative.

Dangerous Dose
Robert van Woesik, a coral expert at the Florida Institute of Technology, was not involved in the research.  He questions whether conditions in the study accurately reflect those found in nature.  For example, the coral samples were exposed to sunscreen while in plastic bags to avoid contaminating the reefs. But van Woesik worries this prevented dilution of the chemicals through natural water circulation.
“Under normal situations on a coral reef, corals would not be subjected to these high concentrations because of rapid dilution,” van Woesik said. 
But according to study author Danovaro, the effect is not dose dependent—so coral’s exposure to a very small dose of sunscreen is just as dangerous as a high exposure.  “It is more like on-off,” he said. “Once the viral epidemic is started, it is not a problem of toxicity.”

Read about: Coral Reefs Vanishing Faster Than Rain Forests

Alarming Trend
Rebecca Vega Thurber, a marine virus and coral researcher at San Diego State University in California, said the new results are further evidence of an alarming trend.  “Other [human-induced] factors such as coastal pollution, overfishing, and sedimentation all contribute to coral reef habitat degradation, and this work continues in that vein,” said Vega Thurber, who was also not involved in the research.  “But before we ban sunscreens, we must first determine if local ambient concentrations of sunscreens are positively correlated with coral bleaching events.”

Danovaro says banning sunscreen won’t be necessary, and points out two simple things swimmers can do to reduce their impact on coral: Use sunscreens with physical filters, which reflect instead of absorb ultraviolet radiation; and use eco-friendly chemical sunscreens.  Researchers are also working to develop a sunscreen based on a natural ultraviolet-blocking compound found in coral.

Read about: other ways you can protect the ocean

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FOR THE FIRST TIME, CORALS were added to the IUCN Red List of THREATENED SPECIES :

Read from: Science Daily

Read from: National Geographic

Read from: in the News

Until recently, Scientists estimate that human activities—such as pollution, global warming, and sedimentation—could kill 30 percent of reefs in the next three decades.

Eco-tourism for whom?

Bunaken view photo: JR Pahlano Daud

Bunaken National Marine Park is promoted as an ideal mix of tourism and conservation, but not all local people agree.          

Pak Victor is a fisher living in the main village of Bunaken Island in Bunaken National Marine Park. Like most villagers, he mainly fishes for pelagic (open ocean) species, but during the monsoon he fishes for reef species nearer the shore. He says, ‘We have to go further to catch pelagics than in the past because of overfishing by foreign boats with more modern technology… It’s also harder to get reef fish because there are so many tourists diving in the water.’ Victor wants protection from offshore foreign fishing fleets and some nearshore fishers’ destructive practices such as blast and cyanide fishing. But can eco-tourism protect the livelihoods of local people like Victor as well as conserving the local environment?

Bunaken National Marine Park, located in North Sulawesi, is one of Indonesia’s most successful examples of combining coral reef conservation with economic growth, by developing eco-tourism. Established in 1991 by the Indonesian government, the park nests in the heart of the Coral Triangle, home to some of the richest marine biodiversity in the world. In the interests of both the 30,000 people that live within park boundaries and the dive tourism industry, park managers aim to sustain a healthy reef system.

After its establishment, USAID, the US government aid agency, began to  support ecotourism in the park. From USAID’s perspective, eco-tourism in Bunaken offers a model of decentralising coastal resource management by involving the local community and forging partnerships with the private sector.

Eco-tourism, part of a sustainable development paradigm, has social and ecological goals. It aims to elicit beneficiaries’ participation in a way that can help reduce poverty and at the same time support biodiversity. One key assumption in this paradigm is that poverty is a cause of environmental destruction and that economic growth can help both people and the environment.

Eco-tourists who visit Bunaken are fond of the idea that they are helping to protect the local environment and eradicate poverty. But are they really doing so? In Bunaken the stated aims of eliciting community participation and eradicating poverty been overlooked in the rush to secure economic growth by seeking foreign private capital investment. As a result, many local fishers are relegated to the rank of lowly labourers for foreign owned dive operators and the park management board. 

Participation?

Bunaken National Marine Park has received international awards for local participation, sustainable funding mechanisms and biodiversity conservation. Its multi-stakeholder management board was created to combine private tourism interests, NGOs, government representatives and local park residents in both managing the park entrance fee and sharing in decision-making processes. To minimise user group conflict, fishing zones are distinct from tourism zones and fishers and dive operators negotiated to determine which zones would be located where.
Within the park’s predefined eco-tourism agenda, what does participation mean? Village representatives sit on the management board. Yet many Bunaken villagers feel that park rules do not represent their interests. One fisher says, ‘No one who disagrees with park rules sits on the park management board.’ Similarly, an NGO representative says, ‘I don’t go to meetings anymore because I already know the outcome.’

Growth at any cost

 

The success of tourism in the park has had unintended effects for local fishers. In the past 20 years, the waters around the main island where tourism and management occur have largely been transformed from a working to a recreational seascape. While sustainable fishing practices are encouraged in the park’s community use zones, the relationship between fishing and the park is ambiguous at best.

From a cursory perusal of the zonation map of Bunaken Island it appears that the zone set aside for the community is larger than the tourism zone, but this is not the case. Community zones actually have fewer target fish species (the species that fishers desire) than tourism zones. The space in which fishing can occur becomes even smaller when we are told that community zones include tourism use, while recreational zones exclude local fishers. Allowing everyone access to this space disadvantages fishers as they must compete with tourists for access to marine resources.

Before the 1960s, Bunaken’s waters were mainly made up of small-scale fishers. In 1980 the governor of North Sulawesi declared Bunaken Island a Tourism Object of Manado. Indonesians began opening small homestays. In the 1980s, more established dive operators from Europe and the United States, with bigger capital backing, began to open resorts. In the past ten years, resorts on both Bunaken Island and the mainland have become larger and more focused on pre-paid package deals.

On Bunaken Island, this corresponded with a shift in resort ownership from Indonesian-owned resorts to foreign-owned resorts. Despite park stakeholders’ best intentions, the occupations of local people on Bunaken Island have largely shifted away from nearshore fishing and independent tourism activities such as tour guiding, boat chartering and homestay ownership. Many of these people are now employed as wage laborers by either foreign-owned dive resorts or by the park. In these dive operations, better paying jobs tend to be held by mainlanders from Manado and Minahasa, who are often better educated.

One Bunaken Island homestay owner whose business is suffering said, ‘The park only uses Bunaken people to collect the bins and pick up garbage. We’re only staff – we don’t have a say! We aren’t leaders! Bunaken people don’t work for the [park management board]. The salaries for all these people come from Bunaken but Bunaken people don’t get anything!’

Recently, even many of the foreigners who own smaller resorts have started to feel threatened by more powerful interests. As foreign live-aboard dive boats and larger resorts enter the area, smaller operators and park officials worry about the negative impacts of expanding tourism, and have commissioned dive carrying capacity studies in the area. Similar to the protection desired by fishers, smaller dive operators now desire protection from larger foreign competitors.

Many foreign donors have responded to the call for eco-tourism as a route to both conservation and poverty reduction. As a result, coral reef tourism will only grow in the coming years in Indonesia. We must ask ourselves if this strategy of economic growth is the answer to poverty and to the destruction of coral reefs. Is a successful marine park defined by its ability to open up a coastal space to international capital? In the case of Bunaken National Marine Park, it has resulted in the disenfranchisement of many local fishers with questionable effects for long-term ecological sustainability.    

sources : http://www.insideindonesia.org/content/view/1034/47/

 

 

 

Crown of Thorns Starfish Overcrowding Bunaken Marine Park

COTS

from Indonesia Media Watch

January 5, 2008

Armed with a meter-long stick in her hand, Dutch diving instructor, Christiane Muller does her daily diving rounds at the Bunaken Marine Park in North Sulewesi.

When leaving the water, she buries her prey on the beach. These prey are the dozens of crown of thorns starfish that have been attacking Bunaken en masse lately, observes Tempo Magazine.

The onslaught of the starfish upsets Muller, the owner of Froggies Divers Club. Understandably, these creatures, 25 to 80 centimeters in length, eat up the coral reefs Bunaken is so proud of.

The starfish population explosion has also proved disturbing for Jusak Pahlano Daud a Coastal Marine Ecotourism lecturer from Manado Polytechnic.

This creature belonging to the asteriodea filum echinodermata species has five arms or fingers which increase in number when reaching adulthood. In six months, it grows seven and even up to 23 arms. The diameter of an adult pumparade is 25 to 40 centimeters, even 80 centimeters.

The creature’s entire body is covered with sharp poisonous thorns and the starfish is known to move very slowly, sometimes taking 10 minutes to move 10 centimeters.

They spray a toxic fluid on any live coral found. “This fluid contains a chemical solution called saponin.?said Jusak. This animal would eat the coral’s living cells right away.

Due to the starfish invasion, the coral reefs in Lekuan, Bunaken have begun to turn white.

This according to a report by Dr Medy Ompi, head of the Sam Ratulangi University Marine Biology Lab,

These creatures are flourishing in Bunaken, he said. Each adult crown of thorns starfish can produce 4.5 million eggs.

As it turns out, Bunaken is not the only Marine Park affected by an overcrowding of starfish.

The Wakatobi National Marine Park in Southeast Sulawesi, Derawan Waters in East Kalimantan and the Raja Ampat National Marine Park in Papua have reported similar cases.

In a year, the crown of thorns starfish is known to eat some 5 to 13 square meters of live coral. Jusak fears that unless the population explosion issue is dealt with immediately, the onslaught of starfish is expected to spread far and wide.

Worse, the crown of thorns starfish in Bunaken are notoriously voracious. Normally, they only feed on the corals of the Acroporaridae family that has a branched form. But research done by Jusak shows that these thorny creatures feed on all kinds of corals of various growth forms.

Though Indonesia has yet to experience a starfish outbreak, similar incidents have occurred in Ryukyu Islands in Japan in the 50s, in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in the 60s and Hawaii in the 70s.

Jusak fears that if left unchecked, the overcrowding starfish population in Indonesia will be detrimental to the tourism and fishery sectors, causing the coastal areas to be vulnerable to erosion.

According to Jusak, several locations at Cela Cela and Bunaken’s northern parts have begun to show this symptom. Another loss to be suffered is the disappearance of the sources of important medicines made available by the coral reefs.

Experts are now trying to figure out the reasons behind the increasing starfish population in Bunaken and Wakatobi.

Purwanto Irawan, a researcher with The Nature Conservancy points to several causes.

According to Purwanto, there are two causes, namely the life cycle of pumparade and the decreasing number of starfish predators. “Probably the rising sea temperature causes them to multiply rapidly.?he said.

Experts have resorted to injecting chemical solutions such as sodium bisulphate and hydrochloric acid to kill the starfish.

Unfortunately, this method is costly and it also pollutes the sea.

While marine biologists decide on a more cost-effective solution, they might just have to emulate Dutch diving instructor, Christiane Muller’s method and hunt for the starfish while they dive.

At the same time, their actions help to cleanse the environment.