Saving Indonesia Biodiversity through Ecotourism - Speech or Presentation Example

Saving Indonesia biodiversity through ecotourism (Indonesia is a country with great biodiversity. It’s a great destination for tourism with a lot of people visiting the archipelago islands annually. Despite this, Indonesia faces a threat of disappearing forests and negative impacts of mass tourism. It is time for the world to uphold ecotourism to ensure sustainability in environment and culture of this great archipelago island. ) Indonesia: Ecotourism haven (For those want to have the best experience in ecotourism, Indonesia offers the best destination. The country is the largest archipelago with a mega biodiversity. The country has over 16% of the world’s reptiles and amphibians. There is 35% of the world primate species, 17% of the world’s birds and about 595 of the country is a tropical forest. This offers the top destination for ecotourism globally.) At the moment, responsible travel to the national areas with an aim of conserving environment has been trending. This is due to the need for tourism which is responsible and sound both socially and culturally. Indonesia is one of the countries which have successfully branded themselves as top tourist destination worldwide. The country has beautiful beaches, rainforests, different animal species, coral reefs and cultural diversity. Tourism has been a major contributor for the country economic possibilities. Despite this, the government has been able to see the threat that tourism poses to ecosystem, diversity and social cultural life. This has led to call for ecotourism due to its conservation aspect (Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, 2015). It is evident that Indonesia presents the best destination for ecotourism. It is also agreeable that the world have to shift from mass tourism to ecotourism. Ecotourism is highly developed in Indonesia. It is believed that the concept will help the country to compromise between conservation aspect and sustainable utilisation of resources. Through ecotourism, is possible to balance the use of local economy without having to compromise the existing ecosystem. Ecotourism have the ability to enable the travellers learn and interact with nature and local people with minimal interruptions (Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, 2015). The concept of ecotourism started becoming important in 1995. This is through a seminar that was hosted by WALHI in Bogor and Pact-Indonesia. This led to the formation of the Indonesian Ecotourism Society in 1996. Indonesia has over 50 national parks which range from rain forests, mountains, rivers and endemic species. Of all Indonesia national parks, 6 are world heritage sites. The country has a total of 9 parks which are largely marine. In 2009, Indonesia came up with Eco-Guide. The main aim was to help in enhancing ecotourism through having well qualified guides and enhanced ecotourism (Mendez & Gunawan, 2011). Taman Nasional Tanjung Putting (Kalimantan) This is one of the first efforts on ecotourism in the country. This was carried out between 1990 and 1997. The national park has eight eco lodges that employ 80% of their workers from the local communities. The local communities have been benefiting a lot from ecotourism through boat rental, selling handcrafts and acting as guides. The locals have shifted from logging activities which destroys the ecosystem. The change of activities has led to better incomes where parents have been able to educate their children. Interesting sites to visit Taman Nasional Gunung Halimum Ecotourism in Gunung Halimum national park took place between 1994 and 1999. This program was funded by the Biodiversity Support Program through USAID. The national park ecotourism have been a major source of income for the communities and government. The park has been able to attract over 80% of the local tourists and 20% international. Sumatra Ecotourism in Sumatra started through a meeting held in Bali on 1996. Sumatra provides one with water rafting, bird watching and other important watching such as orang utan and siamang. (Sumatra Ecotourismn, n.d) Sua Bali This is an example of high quality ecotourism. The site is based on the fundamentals of sustainable tourism. The owner of Sua Bali has been able to receive awards on sustainable tourism. This is a small scale resort that has five houses. There is no water discharge since the affluent is utilised to water the plants in the garden (KEHATI, 2015). Alas Kedaton This is a tourist destination which is located in the Tabanan regency on the South western Bali. The area has over 12 hectares of which half is a forest. The area has hundreds of monkeys located in a Balinase forest ecosystem. This is the only tourist destination in Bali which is fully managed by the customary village. The income obtained is distributed among people as well as relevant bodies. Every family gets an income annually. The money obtained from the parking is shared between the community and local government (Rachmawati, 2014). (Harvey, 2013) Bali Bali is a beautiful island that is around 5,632km2 inhabited by 4 million people. Tourism is the main economic activity in the region. The island has one of the most unique social cultural society, unique nature which offers one of the best tourism destination worldwide. Bali is made up of village ecotourism networks which are owned and by the local communities. This is made up of four villages which are; Plaga, Sibetan, Nusa Ceningan and Tenganan. The local partner for Bali ecotourism is Wisnu foundation. There is forest ecotourism in selat Village which is supported by BUDMES who are local partner. Other areas for ecotourism in Bali include Les village Buleleng regency (KEHATI, 2015). Maratua Island, East Kalimantan Maratua Island is a choice location for ecotourism. The island which is located in Berau in East Kalimantan province is well known for its biodiversity. The islands have reef fishes, corals and a great number of protected species. There is KEHATI community support based ecotourism have been in Maratua since 2008. (Klotz, 2015) Sangihe Islands, North Sulawesi The islands are situated between Philippines and Indonesia (Hakim, Soemarno & Hong, 2012). The white sandy beaches, nutmeg coconuts and underwater volcano are some of the most sought after attraction features. There is support from a local partner KSM komunitas Mandiri Sangihe (Pamungkas, Indriyani & Hakim, 2013). Seribu Islands The islands located in Northern area of Jakarta are a major ecotourism region. The islands present the nearest national park to the capital city. Through the organisation of local community, there have been major conservation efforts which have run along ecotourism. The coral ecosystem in the area is a great attraction which has a bright future through conservation (KEHATI, 2015). (Klotz, 2015) Belitung The islands are located in Bangka Belitung province and play a major role in conservation and education. This is an ecotourism site that one can enjoy nature while at the same time learning. There are programs that are aimed at saving the endemic species for diversity. Tourists visiting this area have a lot to contribute to conservation cause (KEHATI, 2015). (Harvey, 2013) Potential for Indonesia Ecotourism have a great potential for the country. This is due to fact that money gained through ecotourism helps in development programmes. The country is rich in biodiversity which presents a great opportunity for maximum benefit from tourism. The country is expected to continue investing heavily in ecotourism to ensure that all potential is utilised. The exploration of marine ecotourism is still lagging behind in the country. There is need for Indonesia to empower communities in adopting concepts that will help in development of marine ecotourism. The country has huge marine reserves that van be utilised successfully for ecotourism (Butarbutar et al., 2014). Ecotourism and sustainable development Ecotourism is a tool that has more uses than just conservation. It promotes the philosophy of sustainable development. The sense of the tourists’ economic benefits belonging to the local community is able to be achieved. Tourism that contributes to sustainable development should also be economically viable. Indonesia have been able to successfully carry out ecotourism which empowers the community and preserves the biodiversity and ecosystem. Through ecotourism, it becomes possible to ensure that nature and culture are preserved. There is also elimination of economic marginalisation of the local community. There has been a decrease in logging through sustainable ecotourism. Saving Indonesia disappearing forests Indonesia has been facing a threat from logging. Most of the tropical forests in northern Sumatra have been invaded by loggers. The government has been working to ensure that logging licences are not renewed. The country has to ensure that they do not allow rezoning which will lead to destruction of the forests. The critical ecosystem must be protected through all means (Fennell, 2014). The number of production forests has to be reduced to ensure that the ecosystem is protected. UNESCO world heritage sites in Indonesia have been under protection to ensure that they are not encroached. Rapid deforestation and peat land degradation accounts for over 75% of Indonesia greenhouse gas emissions (Harvey, 2013). Status of ecotourism in Indonesia In Indonesia, ecotourism employs more local people than the mainstream tourism. There is also less loss of revenue as evidenced by mass tourism. Mass tourism only focuses on economic returns and fails to look at conservation. Nature and culture are the two distinct features of Indonesia ecotourism. Indonesia ecotourism have 60% nature and 40% culture. This is due to fact that Indonesia is culturally rich. In Bali, cultural attraction is very high than other areas. In order to protect and preserve ecotourism, there is need for the local values to be more adopted and used effectively. There is need for more guidance and legal framework which will help in ensuring ecosystem is protected. All relevant groups need to be well explained if ecotourism is to be successfully adopted. This is due to fact that understanding of ecotourism varies based on the stakeholders. Those engaging in mainstream tourism in the country need to explore ecotourism in order to understand it. Lack of involvement for all major parties in ecotourism has posed a major threat in further development of ecotourism (Klotz, 2015). (Mass tourism has already done a lot of destruction to the environment. The focus on economic aspect of tourism poses a real danger to ecosystem and biodiversity. It is time we support ecotourism to ensure that there is sustainability.) . References Butarbutar, R. R., Purnomo, M., Hakim, L., & Rochdjatun, S. I. (2014). Strategic development of nature tourism based on plant species at the Mahawu mountainous region, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences (JBES), 5(5), 241-252. Fennell, D. A. (2014). Ecotourism. Routledge. Hakim, L., Soemarno, M., & Hong, S. K. (2012). Challenges for conserving biodiversity and developing sustainable island tourism in North Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. Journal of Ecology and Environment, 35(2), 61-71. Harvey, G. (2013). Can Ecotourism Save Indonesia’s Disappearing Forests? The Diplomat, Retrieved 29th July 2015 from http://thediplomat.com/2013/05/can-ecotourism-save-indonesias-disappearing-forests/4/ KEHATI, (2015), protecting Community Based Ecotourism in Indonesia: Information sheet, Retrieved 29th July 2015 from, www.kehati.or.id Klotz, D. ( January 2015), Indonesia’s Indigenous Communities Use Ecotourism to Secure the Rights to their Land, National Geographic, retrieved 29th July 2015 from, http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2015/01/23/greenindonesia/ Mendez, J. P., & Gunawan, M. P. (2011). Emergence of Ecotourism in Indonesia: A National Park Case Study. Jurnal Perencanaan Wilayah dan Kota, 5, 33-44. Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, (2015), Ecotourism in Indonesia, Wonderful Indonesia: Retrieved 29th July 2015 from www.indonesia.travel Pamungkas, R. N., Indriyani, S., & Hakim, L. (2013). The ethnobotany of homegardens along rural corridors as a basis for ecotourism planning: a case study of Rajegwesi village, Banyuwangi, Indonesia. J. 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