R

epresentatives from several tourism villages in Bali have agreed to establish a network to better promote the development of ecotourism in the island, which for decades has focused mainly on cultural and leisure tourism.

The agreement was reached Wednesday at a gathering in Pemuteran village in Buleleng, the island's northern coastal regency. The meeting was organized by the Wisnu Foundation, a local NGO active in helping villages develop community-based ecotourism.

Participants at the meeting came from Sudaji village in Buleleng, Kapal and Kiadan Pelaga in Badung, Tenganan Pengringsingan and Sibetan in Karangasem, and Ceningan in Klungkung.

There are dozens of villages in Bali currently developing ecotourism.

"A network is essential for these villages because they will face a huge challenge in developing ecotourism," said Wisnu Foundation director Ketut Suarnatha.

"Such a challenge, which can disrupt local culture, is far too bigger an obstacle for a single village to face."

The foundation established the Village Ecotourism Network (JED) several years ago to coordinate efforts to promote and improve ecotourism in four villages: Kiadan Pelaga, Tenganan Pengringsingan, Ceningan and Sibetan.

Suarnatha said interest in ecotourism in the island was growing steadily as the demand for eco-friendly tourism packages gained significant ground worldwide.

The network will be the first step in establishing a formal association, which will be tasked with monitoring and supervising the development of ecotourism in the resort island.

The association will also act as a certification body to verify whether a village has truly met the accepted standards of ecotourism.

"Why we should let this duty fall to foreign certification bodies, which know nothing about our local values and norms?" Suarnatha said.