Mangrove Ecotours and Conservation

Madeftu Bali Tour - On the island of Nusa Lembongan, tour operators and environmentalists are working together to protect a vital resource.

When the 2004 tsunami struck the province of Aceh and other coastal areas in the region, some communities survived because they were shielded by mangrove forests.

Reports from survivors in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Indonesia recounted stories about villages that were spared and people who had clung to life by taking shelter among the mangroves as massive waves washed over the land.

Found in tropical and subtropical tidal zones, mangroves are a natural defense for coastal areas, serving as buffers against storms and erosion and providing a vital source of nutrients for fish and coral reefs.

Despite the critical role they play in coastal ecosystems, vast tracts of mangrove forests are commonly cleared to make way for shrimp ponds or beachfront developments.

In Nusa Lembongan, a small island southeast of Bali, local communities have been quietly nurturing their mangroves, not only as part of a larger effort to preserve coastal resources, but also as a way to develop ecotourism on the island.

Wayan Sukitra, 47, said he recognized about 20 years ago that the mangrove clusters bordering the beach in his village of Jungutbatu could become an additional attraction for tourists, who come mostly to dive in the island’s coral-rich waters and to enjoy its tranquil white-sand beaches. After meeting a French tourist who took a special interest in the mangroves, Wayan decided to move forward with his idea and set about planting 150,000 mangrove trees.

Today, Wayan is one of 33 tour operators who provide boat rides through the mangrove forest that now boasts 13 species of the tree and is home to 30 birds species, minotaurs, lizards, crabs and a host of insects and butterflies.

The site attracts a regular stream of visitors, mostly from Australia and Europe. Several years ago, Wayan opened the Mangrove Bar and Restaurant, a cozy outdoor eatery on a quiet beach among the mangroves.

“In the busiest months, from July to November, the restaurant brings in good business,” Wayan said with a modest smile, declining to disclose his profit margin.

To keep the tourists coming, he added, the mangrove tour operators organize a monthly cleanup of the mangroves.

“The government doesn’t tell me to clean it up. But if the mangrove forest isn’t clean, the tourists won’t come,” Wayan said.

In recent years, The Nature Conservancy has contributed mangrove seedlings to support the ecotours.

“These are very healthy mangroves, among the best in the area,” said Marthen Welly, a TNC project leader.

To promote the preservation of the mangroves, Marthen and his colleagues at TNC have launched an educational outreach program for young people on the island.

“If the people know how useful the mangroves are, they will take better care of them and they will respect the mangrove forest and support the protection of this ecosystem,” he said.

At a community center in Lembongan village, about 20 students from a local high school gather monthly with TNC staff to take part in a mangrove replanting project. Through the program they have learned about the value of mangroves and the various mangrove species that thrive on their island.

They meet every three to four weeks to gather mangrove seeds for cultivation in a seed bank and replant the seedlings when they are ready.

Dwi Putri, 17, said she has always loved nature but never knew much about the mangrove forest. “Now I know we must replant the mangroves because they hold the waves back and they are like nests for small fish,” Dwi said.

Three months ago, Nusa Lembongan was declared a “marine protected area,” along with the neighboring islands of Nusa Penida and Nusa Ceningan. The initiative aims to protect the area’s marine resources, including the mangrove forests, coral reefs, fish stocks and seaweed farms.

“We would like to replicate this kind of marine conservation and ecotourism in other islands across Indonesia,” Marthen said.

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