For the founders of three of Indonesia’s dive resorts, the mission was clear: Protect the region’s natural resources by providing economic, educational and environmental benefits while empowering residents to participate in the process. These visionaries blazed a path for a “blue economy” — ensuring sustainable use of ocean resources while promoting economic growth and improved livelihoods for the people who live there.
RESOR LEMBEH, SULAWESI UTARA
Solusi Berkelanjutan
“Konservasi, keberlanjutan dan komunitas are three words that Lembeh Resort has always been passionate about,” said Danny Charlton, co-founder of the resort’s on-site dive center, Critters at Lembeh Resort.
From the beginning, founder Alex Rorimpandey provided training and employment for people living in nearby villages on Lembeh Island. “We encourage villagers to cherish the natural environment, both above and below the sea, as well as their traditional cultures,” Charlton said, adding that the resort staff also have the opportunity to get certified as divers. “We hope it will cultivate a greater appreciation for our unique and precious underwater ecosystems.”
Sejarah yang Sedang Dibuat
Dua puluh tahun yang lalu, Rorimpandey, seorang penduduk asli Sulawesi Utara dari Tondano, membangun sebuah pondok yang menghadap ke Selat Lembeh. Dia bermaksud membangun rumah liburan untuk keluarganya, tetapi pada Desember 2002, properti ini memiliki tiga pondok tamu. Para kru di Lembeh Resort mulai mengajak para tamu menyelam di selat.
Rorimpandey juga menyumbangkan material untuk membangun gereja lokal di dekat Pintu Kota Kecil, yang menjadi dasar bagi ikatan yang kuat antara resor dan masyarakat Pulau Lembeh.
Warisan Abadi
Rorimpandey meninggal pada bulan Juli 2003, tetapi istri dan putra-putranya tetap memegang kepemilikan resor dan saat ini masih aktif terlibat dalam pengelolaannya. Operasi penyelaman ini dikelola oleh Charlton dan istrinya, Angelique, yang berasal dari Sulawesi Utara dan merupakan putri dari almarhum Dr. Hanny Batuna dan istrinya, Ineke, yang mendirikan Murex Dive Resorts.
“Murex Resort Manado, Murex Bangka and Lembeh Resort have cooperated for almost 18 years, and our staff is like family,” Charlton said. “Many of our staff have been with the company for years — decades in some cases.”
Lembeh Resort provides electrical power for the church and Sunday school, which is at the heart of the community on the island. It also hosts barbecue parties for its guests, during which children from the Sunday school provide musical performances. “Guests can buy a recording from the choir, and proceeds go to the Lembeh Foundation,” Charlton said.
Lembeh Resort guests contribute in other significant ways by bringing school supplies, such as crayons, paper, colored pens, pencils, English dictionaries and books, and sports accessories. “School uniforms are mandatory in Indonesia, and a complete set costs US$55 on average,” Charlton said. “This expense is quite difficult for some families to afford, so we accept donations to help them.”
What’s Next
The nearest village, Pintu Kota Kecil, is populated with small-scale fishers, subsistence farmers and employees of local dive resorts. “Through the Lembeh Foundation, we have constructed a trash bank that people can use to generate income,” Charlton said, “and we are building a learning center with a green library, which we are hoping to complete soon.”
Despite the pandemic, the resort has remained open. “We remain committed to continuing to employ and assist as many people as possible,” Charlton said.
* * * * * *
RESOR MISOOL, RAJA AMPAT
Kemitraan yang Kuat
In many ways the founding of Misool Resort is a love story. Soon after meeting, co-founders Andrew and Marit Miners went on a very special third date — a scuba diving trip to Raja Ampat. While there, they explored the remote island of Batbitim and discovered a recently abandoned shark-finning camp. Shocked, they vowed to protect this place with which they had fallen in love.
Sejarah yang Sedang Dibuat
Membangun sebuah resor tidak termasuk dalam rencana awal mereka. Pada tahun 2005, Andrew menghubungi suku-suku setempat dan meminta izin untuk membuat zona larang tangkap dan pusat konservasi. Pasangan ini mendapatkan restu dari para pemimpin suku setempat dan menyewa sebuah area yang telah berkembang menjadi sembilan pulau besar tak berpenghuni dan hak atas bentang laut seluas 460 mil persegi di sekitarnya. Menyadari bahwa resor pulau pribadi dapat mendanai pekerjaan konservasi yang sangat ingin mereka lakukan, pasangan ini membujuk para investor untuk berbagi visi mereka.
Before construction work could begin, however, details of the lease agreement had to be hammered out, said Jo Marlow, marketing and communications manager of Misool Resort. “The boundaries of the leased area came from a series of town hall meetings. The agreement included that the no-take zone should be far enough away from the villages so that their traditional fishing grounds were still available but close enough that artisanal fishers would benefit from the spillover effect of resurging fish populations. The parties agreed on an area that had historically been fished illegally by outside fishermen, including shark-finners.”
On paper it looked good, “but the community lacked the resources and infrastructure to intercept the poachers who were decimating their natural heritage,” Marlow said. A locally staffed ranger patrol was created, and “today the Misool Marine Reserve is a bright beacon of hope.”
Warisan Abadi
In 2019 Misool Resort donated $358,950 to the Misool Foundation, which is enough to operate the ranger patrol. The resort also donates $100 on behalf of every guest and encourages visitors to match the donation. Together the two organizations employ more than 169 staff, 95 percent of whom are Indonesian. “We estimate that these salaries support 650 people from the local community,” Marlow said. “We provide English lessons and job training. We also offer open-water dive training to interested staff from all departments.”
With support from Seacology, the Misool Foundation built a kindergarten in 2011. “Our commitment to education extends to the villages of Yellu and Djabatan,” Marlow said. “We employ seven local teachers, pay their monthly salaries and provide material support to four local schools.”
What’s Next
Resor ini berkomitmen untuk mengurangi jejak karbonnya dan sekarang mendapatkan 60 persen energinya dari sumber terbarukan. Resor ini juga mengoperasikan kebun hidroponik di lokasi, yang diharapkan dapat menghasilkan hampir dua ton sayuran organik pada tahun 2021.
“The resort’s mission to protect the world’s richest reefs is meaningless if we do not take immediate and decisive action to reduce our carbon dioxide emissions and their resultant effects on climate change,” Marlow explained. “Our goal is to become carbon neutral by 2025.”
The resort would also like to increase its educational support of local children. “It’s often hard to find teachers who are willing to commit to long-term placements in these remote locations,” Marlow said. “Our education program is a long-term investment in the future of Raja Ampat. We hope that increased access to education will better equip the next generation to take on leadership roles that preserve their natural and cultural heritage.”
* * * * * *
RESOR SELAM WAKATOBI, SULAWESI TENGGARA
Komunitas Kolaboratif
“Wakatobi Resort is surrounded by some of the most pristine and best-protected reef systems in the world,” said Karen Stearns, director of marketing and media relations for the resort. “In addition to preserving the region’s high biodiversity, the resort’s groundbreaking collaborative conservation program has become a model for sustainable ecotourism.”
Sejarah yang Sedang Dibuat
Before founder Lorenz Mäder opened the southeastern Sulawesi resort in 1995, he met with local fishers and village elders from surrounding communities and offered a unique proposal. In exchange for agreeing to honor a no-take zone on nearly 4 miles of reef, the residents of 17 area villages would receive direct lease payments from Wakatobi. Since then, the initial no-take zone has expanded to cover more than 12 miles of reef and is now one of the world’s largest privately funded marine protected areas.
“These zones replenish fish populations by serving as safe breeding grounds, which in turn boosts sustainable harvests in areas outside the reserve,” Stearns said. “The same fishermen who were initially skeptical of the program are now some of its most vigilant enforcers.”
Warisan Abadi
Wakatobi Resort telah menempatkan pelampung tambat di semua lokasi penyelamannya dan menyediakan tambatan tambahan di pelabuhan terdekat untuk melindungi lebih banyak area di dasar laut. Resor ini juga memasok air bersih dan listrik ke desa terdekat, menyelenggarakan seminar kesadaran masyarakat, serta membeli dan mendistribusikan perlengkapan pendidikan ke sekolah-sekolah di sekitarnya.
The resort employs more than 100 people from the surrounding villages, and local people hold about 90 percent of the jobs at the resort. “These jobs include hospitality workers, chefs, maintenance and groundskeepers, and boat captains, crews and divemasters who have earned their credentials through our training programs,” Stearns said.
Wakatobi mensponsori kegiatan bersih-bersih desa mingguan yang melibatkan hingga 100 warga setempat dan bekerja sama dengan masyarakat dan pemerintah setempat dalam hal pengelolaan sampah. Resor ini menyediakan tempat sampah, mengatur kendaraan pengumpul sampah dan mensponsori penyimpanan sampah tambahan untuk pulau Tomia yang berdekatan; resor ini juga mendanai sebuah tim yang terdiri dari 20 pemimpin dan individu-individu yang dihormati untuk membantu mempromosikan praktik-praktik yang berkelanjutan. Orang-orang ini menggunakan status sosial mereka untuk meningkatkan kesadaran publik tentang konservasi terumbu karang dan pengelolaan limbah.
What’s Next
Wakatobi’s legacy to the community is sustainable fisheries and economic prosperity. “The resort has continued its monthly compensation payments to local villages, even during the pandemic when we’ve had no guests,” Stearns said. “Those who visit here can witness how positive change can be economically beneficial as well and share our founder’s vision of creating benefit for all parties. Tourists learn to appreciate a living reef and understand what has been lost in other places. They contribute by visiting and spreading the word to others. Seeing the difference they make motivates others to actively protect reefs around the globe.”
* * * * * *
BILIKIKI LIVEABOARD, KEPULAUAN SOLOMON
Resor berbasis lahan bukanlah satu-satunya entitas yang bekerja sama dengan penduduk desa untuk memberikan insentif ekonomi dalam melindungi sumber daya lokal. Resor berbasis lahan Bilikiki liveaboard has been operating since 1998 in another Coral Triangle hot spot, the Solomon Islands. Traditionally, the local tribe owns all land and adjoining reefs and the tribe’s chief controls them. Since the beginning, the company that owns Bilikiki telah membayar untuk menyelam di terumbu karang yang dikunjunginya. Pembayaran tersebut telah mendorong kepala suku setempat untuk melindungi terumbu karang mereka.
Panduan Bilikiki Rencana perjalanan termasuk kunjungan ke Marovo Lagoon, tempat penduduk desa setempat memproduksi ukiran kayu yang indah yang dapat dibeli oleh para tamu. Sejak pelayaran pertamanya, perusahaan ini telah membagikan benih dan kemudian membayar hasil panen yang ditanam oleh penduduk desa setempat, yang mengirimkan sayuran dan buah-buahan segar ke Bilikiki menggunakan kano tradisional.
“There are remote areas where people rely mostly on growing crops and catching fish, so to be able to introduce some small form of mutually beneficial economy is helpful to everyone,” said Sam Leeson, managing director of Bilikiki Cruises. “It makes the local people as happy to have us around as we are to be there.”
Sebuah Uluran Tangan
The three resorts accept donations to fund their conservation work and community initiatives. Here’s how to help:
- Yayasan Lembeh, lembehfoundation.org
Yayasan Lembeh menerima donasi umum, tetapi Anda juga dapat menentukan sumbangan Anda untuk sekolah, rumah tangga, keluarga, atau staf resor. - Yayasan Misool, misoolfoundation.org
Yayasan Misool menggunakan dana untuk program daur ulang dan mendukung Patroli Ranger Misool. - Program Konservasi Terumbu Karang Kolaboratif Wakatobi,
Donasi membantu menyediakan sumber pembayaran sewa rutin yang berkelanjutan bagi penduduk setempat.
Jelajahi Lebih Lanjut
Yayasan Misool, Yayasan Lembeh, Program Konservasi Terumbu Karang Kolaboratif Wakatobi dan Bilikiki liveaboard membantu upaya konservasi dan mendukung masyarakat setempat.
© Penyelam Siaga — Q2 2021