SANUR, Bali (BPN) – Deputy Governor of Bali Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati or Cok Ace said that the island continues to recover its tourism and the transition period for the return of tourists to Bali must be balanced with the readiness of tourist destinations including cleanliness.
This was said by Cok Ace while attending a seminar on managing marine debris to create sustainable tourism, in Sanur, Saturday (12/10/2022).
“To take care of the environment has long been the responsibility of the Balinese people to protect Balinese wisdom. However, along with the transformation of livelihoods, there was a responsibility vacuum. This obligation needs to be remembered and re-implemented in the present time,” he said.
Cok Ace explained that to respect the environment has always been Bali’s local wisdom. Environmental problems can not only be solved through Sekala (the seen) basis but also require Niskala (the unseen).
“Before the tourism industry developed as it is now, Balinese people were agrarian, farmers, traders, and fishermen,” said Deputy Governor.
Cok Ace said that an agricultural life makes the Balinese people maintain the harmony of nature, and this local wisdom is the main strength of Bali tourism.
“Beaches in the East Indonesian Regions are more beautiful, but Bali is different because of the local wisdom that continues to exist today,” said Cok Ace.
But the irony, when tourism in Bali is growing, the waste produced by the industry dominates environmental problems in Bali.
Meanwhile, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Salahudin Uno who followed the seminar virtually, said that according to the Sustainable Travel Report, 83 percent of tourists consider sustainable travel important and 62 percent of global tourists prefer destinations and accommodations that are certified as environmentally friendly.
Sandi said that the Ministry is trying to respond to the changes in global tourism trends by developing smart-green destinations.
“The imbalance between socio-culture as well as the economy and the environment is the homework, where one of them is responsible waste management. To realize the real action, it needs to be completed through a process of communication, information, education, and socialization,” Sandiaga Uno said.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of Bali’s waste-care journalist network (J2PS) Agustinus Apollonaris K. Daton explained that media is the place to spread messages to the wider community to provide education and socialization regarding waste management.
“We have to support the publications to deliver the solutions presented by the industry and fellow activists. However, on the one hand, the government also needs to act decisively in implementing rewards and punishments towards regulations on waste management activities,” Apollo Daton said.
At this seminar, Deputy Cok Ace also handed over the newsmaker award to five environmental fighters in Bali.
The five waste care fighters who received the newsmaker award are Agustinus Apollonaris K. Daton, Chairman of J2PS, I Made Aditiasthana, Founder of the Kaki Kita Sukasada Foundation (YKKS), Anastasia Olive as Director of Bali Waste Cycle (BWC), I Wayan Mertha as Bandesa (cultural head) of Kedonganan, and Eka Pande Mahendra, a volunteer with disabilities who cares about waste.
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