A group of dedicated young conservationists from Serangan Island have turned their skills in transplanting and nurturing coral reefs into a growing commercial enterprise.

The group has also become the island's first-ever private provider of coral transplantation services.

One of the initiators of the business and local youth leader Wayan Patut, says in the past many Serangan residents made a living by excavating coral and selling it to construction companies and coral traders.

Serangan, which lies some 15 kilometers south of Denpasar, offers limited choices of livelihoods for the local population. Fishing and coral excavation were two of the main sources of income for the islanders.

The initiation of the Bali Turtle Island Development tourism project brought significant changes to the island's natural landscape. A two-lane asphalt road, a concrete bridge connecting the island with mainland Bali, wide man-made canals that separate the villages with tourism projects and a massive land reclamation project were some of the things the development brought.

Yet, it failed to bring significant changes to the lives of those living on Serangan Island. As the project's heavy machines dumped sand and dirt to enlarge the island, the local residents toiled under the scorching sun, excavating the island's surrounding coral reefs for meager salaries.

"Eventually, we realized that the activity only caused more damage to our environment," Patut said.

Local residents then made the decision to conserve their surrounding environment. With assistance from several environmental non-governmental organizations, Serangan residents established a three-hectare coral-reef conservation zone.

A Karya SEgara member plants coral reef "seeds" at the site of Serangan's coral reef conservation zone. (JP/Wasti Atmojo)

In 2003, the island's young fishermen formed a group called Karya Segara, which was tasked with rehabilitating the coral reefs in the zone. Rehabilitation was achieved through a transplantation program, whereby Karya Segara's members transplanted, nurtured and protected the coral reefs.

The rehabilitation project endowed Karya Segara members with new skills -- coral reef rehabilitation and transplantation -- that provided new job opportunities.

Patut handpicked 11 of the most-skilled members of Karya Segara and assigned them to a newly established group called the Bali Coral Reefs Conservation Team, which would be the commercial arm of Karya Segara.

"They were selected because of the quality of their work. They are all still young, fishermen aged between 32 and 34," Patut said.

Members of the team were paid on an hourly basis and each member received Rp 50,000 (US$5.30) per hour. The team worked up to six hours per day.

However, Patut added, the rate of pay was negotiable, depending on the project's scale and level of difficulty.

"We should remember that some projects are financed by commercial corporations and others are funded by the government or by a community-based group," he said.

So far, the team has completed projects at Semawang beach (Sanur), Tejakula (Buleleng), Jemeluk (Karangasem) as well as several projects outside of Bali, such as in Teluk Palu and Togean (Central Sulawesi); Jambianom, Gondang and Medana (West Nusa Tenggara); and in Besar Island (East Nusa Tenggara).

Its most recent project was in Kuta, where the team carried out coral reef transplantation at a two-hectare plot near the Ngurah Rai International Airport.

The transplantation method the team employed involved taking coral "seeds" from intact coral reefs near the rehabilitation site.

"Out of a 100 square meters of intact coral reefs, only 15 percent are allowed to be farmed for 'seeds'. Moreover, after the 'seeds' are taken, the team is prohibited from taking another batch of 'seeds' from that source area for a one year period," he said.

"These methods and guidelines have one objective; ensuring that the transplantation effort doesn't cause damage to the existing coral reefs."

From Serangan's three-hectare coral-reef conservation zone, one hectare has been turned into a lush, beautiful coral-reef landscape.

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