20th of October 2019

Too often we are feeling the doom and gloom of news in the world of conservation, but it’s not all bad news! A local success story, Bali’s Benoa Bay has been declared a conservation area to protect it from reclamation.

Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister confirmed the decision last week, which has meant a reclamation project in the bay area has ended, This is following years of negative commentary from the public. The decision was made following much communication with local communities and the provincial government.

Now that Benoa Bay, covering over 1,200 hectares, has been designated as a conservation area, it will be protected from ecological damages, which is great news for the marine ecosystem. The area will hopefully be part of the government’s “national strategic areas”, providing it with more official protection in the future.

The original reclamation project started seven years ago with the intention of providing investors an opportunity to develop a tourist resort and racing circuit. However, since then there has been growing resistance from both environmental activists and local residents, leading to the eventual protection of the bay.

Did you know that Indonesia has over 200 Marine Protected Areas?

Indonesia is a country of much beauty! It has many protected areas of land and ocean, which has been increasing with time. On land, there are over 500 protected areas, including 50 national parks covering over 16 million hectares, and over 500 reserves covering nearly 30 million hectares. That’s a whole lot of land! There are also over 200 Marine Protected Areas. The more land and ocean protected, the better.

News like this makes us happy! It leaves us feeling positive about the outlook for our local environment, and the future health of marine life, corals and the whole ecosystem. More news like this, please!