Divers to boost coral monitoring in Bali

The Nusa Dua Reef Foundation and the Association of Water Tourism in Badung (Gahawisri) will enhance the monitoring of coral reefs in Nusa Dua and Tanjung Benoa by establishing a special team in an effort to conserve marine resources in the areas.

The team will be tasked with monitoring coral reefs in the two areas once every four months. The results of the monitoring will be evaluated every year to find better ways of managing the marine resources.

As preparation before establishing the team, the foundation and the association recently held training sessions for dive guides, during which the dive operators learned environmentally friendly diving practices that do not harm coral reefs and how to monitor coral reefs in a program called the Reef Check EcoDiver Course. The divers were certified after they completed the training.

The training was held in two phases, with the first one from Nov. 29 to Dec. 1, and the second phase from Dec. 5 to 7, consisting of three steps: classroom lessons, simulation on the ground and inside the water, and practicing around the coral reef zones in Nusa Dua and Tanjung Benoa.

The participants of the Reef Check EcoDiver Course were 14 dive instructors from Gahawisri, who completed the course with instructors from the Reef Check Indonesia Foundation.

Badung’s Gahawisri chairman I Made Tromat said the dive guides played important roles in preserving coral reefs.

“Coral reefs are marine assets. These trained and certified dive guides should commit to getting actively involved in preservation efforts,” he said after the course.

The Nusa Dua and Tanjung Benoa areas boast high diversity of marine resources.

The two areas are part of the world’s Coral Triangle Center. Located in the South Kuta district in Badung regency, the two areas, with a total coastline of 16 kilometers, are home to a diverse marine ecosystem, including coral reefs, mangroves and sea grass as well as various exotic species like sea turtles and dolphins.

According to a quick survey on the potential of the coast and marine area conducted by the Bali Fishery and Maritime Affairs Agency in June last year, Nusa Dua and Tanjung Benoa are prioritized areas for the island’s marine conservation program by the local administration.

“The marine biodiversity in Nusa Dua and Tanjung Benoa bring a lot of benefits to local people, through tourism, fishery, seaweed farming and coastal protection. Tourism is the mainstay of the economy here, which drives other sectors, such as trade, transportation and housing,” said Pariama Hutasoit, director of the Nusa Dua Reef Foundation.

Coral reefs are a very important part of the ecosystem that supports the development of water tourism activities, mainly diving, snorkeling, dive walking, sea walking, fishing and marine sightseeing using glass bottom boats, she said.

“There are a lot of marine sports operators in the two areas that rely heavily on the beauty, health and diversity of the coral reefs. Without coral reefs, there would be no water tourism activities,” she stressed.

Unfortunately, the marine ecosystem in Nusa Dua and Tanjung Benoa is facing serious threats resulting from the coastal development, tourism and fishing practices that neglect the environment and climate change impacts.

Before tourism was developed in the area, there was massive destruction of coral reefs, in which people used cyanide and bombs to catch fish, and they mined the coral reefs to use as construction material. Although coral mining and bomb fishing have stopped, fishing using cyanide is still found.

“It is our responsibility to protect and manage the sustainability of marine resources, and dive guides play a very crucial part in these efforts, and in this eco-diver course they learned how to protect and monitor coral reefs,” Pariama added.