Even though the past week has been very quiet on campus because of the holidays to celebrate the end of Ramadan I've had some busy days away from campus. On Saturday 3rd August Jaya and Purwi Pramono arrived at 6:30am to take Laurel (my colleague and fellow volunteer) and me to the mangroves area at Benoa Bay. The early start was necessary to catch the high tide.
Benoa Bay is the large estuary on the south eastern coast of Bali where the land narrows into the neck which connects the main part of Bali to the Bukit Peninsula. On the western side across this narrow strip of land is the Ngurah Rai International Airport. The runway starts out in the sea on the west and extends almost across the isthmus. The main commercial and fishing ports for southern Bali are found in Benoa Bay.
Although the hustle and bustle of city, tourist centres, docks and airport is not far away, the mangrove area in the bay was peaceful and relaxing.
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| Local fishing boats moored in the inlet |
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| Fishing boats, pleasure craft and passenger boats at the small pier |
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| This is Bali - there's a small shrine everywhere |
At a small pier we read the displayed material about Pokmaswas, a local marine environment monitoring group before boarding a small boat and setting off along the channels through the mangroves.
The mangroves provide a breeding ground for many types of marine life, and above the water the bushes are home to many kinds of birds, including the large white heron.
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| Yes, that's a large white heron |
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| Cruising quietly along the channel between mangroves |
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| Jaya and Purwi Pramono. The new bridge and tollgate can just be seen in the background. |
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| A section of walkway through the mangroves |
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| We prepare to go below the new bridge across the bay |
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| On the bridge's carriageway even the light poles have a local Balinese touch |
The new bridge carrying a toll road will open soon to link the airport, Sanur Bypass and Nusa Dua areas, thus reducing travel time between those places. It will also reduce congestion in the Jimbaran area by removing a great deal of through traffic.
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| Fisherman and bridge with tollgate |
The "Bali Post" has recently carried several articles about local protests against the misuse of the area and the plans to reclaim an area for use as a luxury tourist and residential development. There is even legal action by environmental NGOs against the Governor of Bali for permitting development (seen as "exploitation") of this area.
On June 23rd, the day after I arrived in Bali, soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo visited the area in his role as a special "Mangrove Ambassador" for the Mangrove Care Forum of Bali (MCFB). Some information about the MCFB is included below. The full article is available on Wikipedia (see reference below).
Paul in Bali
Footnote:
Mangrove Care Forum Bali (MCFB), also known as Forum Peduli Mangrove Bali (FPMB), is formed with the aim to protect, preserve, rehabilitate, replant and educate, as a concerted effort to save the mangroves. Supported by the Artha Graha Peduli Foundation, the team at the Mangrove Care Forum Bali draws from 16 years of experience the foundation has in caring for and operating the Tambling Wildlife Nature Conservation Park, located at South Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, within 356,000 hectares of Tropical Rainforest and 21,600 hectares of Marine Nature Reserve.
The mangrove forest under the care of The Mangrove Care Forum Bali is located in the Ngurah Rai Grand Forest Park, a 1,373.5 hectare mangrove forest at the Benoa Bay Area in Bali. The mangrove forest suffers from severe pollution and misuse, and debris and rubbish from nearby villages. Deforestation of trees and littering its grounds are a common sight. The focus of the Mangrove Care Forum Bali is to involve the communities surrounding the mangrove and enlist regular help to clean up and create a safe environment for plants and marine life to thrive. A further goal is to prevent further abrasion of coastline and to regrow the affected areas to lush mangrove vegetation.
Great post on the mangroves Paul, enjoyed reading and learning more about this area. Nice pictures, especially enjoyed seeing the colourful fishing boats again.
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