Les and Serangan Beyond Adaptation to Climate Change

For coastal and fishing communities in Indonesia the real and present danger is not future climate change induced impacts, but the current direct anthropogenic-induced destruction of the ecosystem. Addressing the latter, Les and Serangan Villages in Bali have actually offered a solution for and beyond what the global talks have identified as the adaptation to climate change, and the reasoning of the Coral Triangle Initiative.
The United Nation Convention on Climate Change Bali conference has ended. Along with it, the media hyper coverage of climate change has also ended. The Bali UNFCCC made a decision called the “Bali Action Plan”. It made Adaptation to climate change one of its top priorities. The Bali Action Plan calls for “enhanced action on adaptation” that would consider international cooperation to support urgent implementation of actions of adaptations, risk management and risk reduction strategies. Part of the strategy would include risk sharing, disaster reduction strategies and means to address loss and damage associated with impacts of climate change. It would seek methods to strengthen the catalytic role of the UN Convention in supporting economic diversification to build resilience and in encouraging multilateral bodies, civil society, the public and private sectors. It would rely on the synergies among activities and processes in a coherent and integrated manner.

Another piece of activities that caught media attention was the launching of the Coral Triangle Initiative, covering vast exclusive economic zones of Indonesia (Central and Eastern), Timor Leste, the Philippines, Malaysia (part of Borneo), Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. The existing threat in the marine sector to marine life and its habitats that needs urgent attention and mitigation is one of the main agenda of this initiative. The Jakarta Post recently published an Op Ed by Prof. Syamsul Maarif and Dr. Indroyono Soesilo “Safeguarding Rich Marine Resources” (The Jakarta Post, 7 January 2008). In it, the writers explained that a set of five broad goals were agreed for the Coral Triangle Initiative, including application of an "ecosystem approach" to managing fisheries (e.g. tuna, reef fish) and implementation of strategies that allow marine resources to adapt to climate change.

The question is; are we coping and going beyond what is being called for? Are we showing the world an example?

In a micro perspective there are two villages in Bali that can be cited as an example that are unknowingly contributing to the efforts and goals of both the UNFCCC’s Bali Action Plan and the Coral Triangle Initiative. These villages are addressing this in their own way. They not only cope and adapt but went beyond adaptation with what they have been doing.

Les, a coastal village in Buleleng Regency in the northern island of Bali, and the island Village of Serangan in Denpasar, Bali have gone into something bold and pioneering. It can be a model for some other island and coastal villages to emulate. It deals with human needs and at the same time removes the threats to the marine habitat where they derive their livelihood. It addresses problems of human destruction of environments due to dire economic needs in a direct manner.

The Village of Les has high concentrations of fisherfolks. The main livelihood of 120 fishermen in this village is collecting marine ornamental fish. The problem is that to collect these exotic species they used cyanide, a deadly poison that even in small quantity kills coral reefs, larvae and other fishes that resides in these reefs. Not only that. It also eventually kills the targeted fish that are stunned by this poison. The length of time it takes for these targeted species to die depends on how much poison they use. Cyanide is a silent deadly killer. By using cyanide they cut off the food chain affecting other fishermen in their own and nearby villages that relies on these habitats for other means of marine livelihood. The coral reef dies and crumbles, removing natural barriers that prevent disaster and erosion.

In the year 2003, after several years of working together with NGOs, these fishermen stopped using cyanide and converted to environmentally friendly nets. They formed a local fishermen association, Mina Bhakti Soansari. This association is instrumental in preventing any backslide to destructive fishing and extraction. The Mina Bhakti Soansari together with the aid of the “Desa Adat” (Head of the Indigenous Village Institution) established a village-level community-based coastal resource management and protected zone and a total ban on cyanide fishing; all of which has been decreed under the local customary-indigenous law. Local indigenous laws are highly observed, respected and followed by the villagers. To keep ahead in safeguarding their source of revenue and be well informed, they learned how to do participatory resource assessments. This lets them know how effective their coral rehabilitation are and the state and health of their marine resources. Responsible actions that allow specific reef areas a respite from fishing activities that minimizes stress so more fish and corals can aggregate and recruit. And they did not stop there. In a very bold move they established a community-owned ornamental fish export company to take advantage of a big growing market in the developed countries. The export company, PT Bahtera LEStari, has since then been shipping out best quality marine ornamental fish from Indonesia. Exporting needs some science application that has to be understood to keep the fish alive and healthy, including the mechanics of water quality and stress related triggers that weaken live tropical fishes and invertebrates. The villagers cope and learn how to substitute and use local materials instead of complicated expensive high tech equipments that needs to be imported. Science converted into uncomplicated terms that ordinary laymen can understand is one of their strength to implement their activities effectively. Not rocket science but it is still something that needs to be understood for them to be able to work and get to their goals the right way. The village also undertakes a small eco-tourism project, “Adopt the Coral”. That is the village of Les.

Serangan village is an island near the world famous Kuta of Denpasar, Bali. Just 10 minutes away and connected by a bridge so one can conveniently drive over. Problems abound brought on by land reclamation, coral mining and cyanide fishing. The reclamation in Serangan was not done properly and without taking time to do studies on its effects to the ecosystem. It is a disaster in the making. It endangers the survival of coastal dwellers where this is being done since these dwellers depend for their subsistence the use of these marine resources that are being destroyed. Add to that coral mining that is being use as construction materials and the ornamental trade. Then there was also cyanide fishing. All these together formed a cocktail recipe that is very volatile and destructive. There are no words that can describe what those centuries old coral reefs look like at present in Serangan Island because of these problems.

In Serangan village there is a group of local fisherfolks that are coping with the situation and making a dent in addressing the environmental problems while dealing with their economic situation at the same time. They formed their own group called Kelompok Nelayan Pesisir Karya Segara. From the year 2000 up to date this group has come a long way. They have become the catalyst to reforms in their village. Coral mining has ceased. Cyanide fishing has stopped and fishermen have been converted to the use of nets. What is commendable is they are addressing both the anthropogenic destruction and their economic condition at the same time. The group established a community-owned coral farm for rehabilitation and for coral export. What is different here is that they fragment corals and make them into their needed brood stock so they do not have to fragment from the wild. Fragments from their brood stock multiply their supply of corals in the farm. By their own initiatives they set aside 40% of this to rehabilitate several hundreds square meters of destroyed reef area as their rehabilitation zone. For them this is just a beginning. They then established a cultured coral and base rock export company PT Poros Nusantara Utama. What it has achieved so far is addressing the market needs and demand for ornamental base rocks by creating their own base rock out of cement. Again, a bold pioneering and novel approach to help in marine conservation and local economic empowerment.

These two villages have a bigger vision and a more far reaching goal than just focusing in their villages. That is destructive fishing reform. These fisherfolks understands that anthropogenic problems are faster in destruction than climate change and if it continues the effects of global warming will be more rapid and devastating. They realize the danger of not being able to cope and adapt when the impact is more severe. They fear their next generation will be at a loss and helpless to the effects of climate change if they do not act now and help out. Both villages also want to influence others in different islands of Indonesia to do what they are doing, and therefore help preserve the 600 coral species, 3,000 fish species, and the world greatest extent of mangrove forests of any region found in the Coral Triangle. Many villages are now following the example of Les and Serangan, often on their own initiative and resources.

Non-governmental organizations, namely Telapak, which has its main secretariat in Bogor, in partnership with other local NGOs and a Philippine-based East Asia Seas and Terrestrial Initiatives (EASTI), have key roles in bringing about the changes in Les and Serangan. They have been developing the methods, manuals, and approaches basing everything from long field experiences and valuable lessons that are continuously being learned. With advices on science from resource group of scientists in the developed countries they helped implement hands-on “reef to market pilots”, seeing to it that the quality of product and conservation is given top priority by the stakeholders. The unique thing is that all of these activities were done and achieved together with the villagers as highly active partners. In return the stakeholders are benefitting from access to market, technology, information and expertise. These two villages in Bali have also been successful in attracting support from various donors, including most notably the Small Grants Programme of the Global Environment Facility (the same Global Environment Facility which has been invited by the UN climate change conference to provide secretariat services to the Adaptation Fund Board).

What the people of Les and Serangan have shown is a pioneering approach to address some of the challenges which will be posed by climate change: ecosystem degradation and the chain of negative effect of poverty, ignorance and lack of education within the society. This is pioneering because while some components of the approach have always been favorite topics in international talks, they are not yet common locally done and acted on and resulting in positive impacts.

The communities of Serangan and Les have finally benefitted from access to technology, information, and expertise needed to synchronize collection and harvest techniques while dealing with their fragile marine environment. The community has experienced micro-economic development through their community-based enterprises in which reef fishes from a guaranteed cyanide-free environment, and cultured corals and base rocks are directly exported to aquarium trade buyers. The community benefits from the direct business management of its natural resources, and realizes a comparatively larger profit than before. This is probably as close as one can get to answer the “Bali Action Plan” on adaptation, especially those on risk sharing, technology transfer, and preparing to address loss and damage associated with impacts of climate change and building resilience through economic diversification. It directly addresses problems of human destruction of environments due to dire economic needs.

As you look at what these two villages have done; the bold move to go for export and deal with the intricacies of international trade is unthought-of of since that is the role of the “Establishment” in this trade. Only well finance educated businessmen are supposed to do exports. Middlemen are well established in this kind of lucrative trade. Even in the West there is an unspoken set arrangement that buyers do not cross. There are negative ripples in the pond that can be felt but the positive ripples will come in waves if replication can be achieved. This method has never been done before and no one expected it to succeed and last, but it is succeeding and it is expanding. The road is not smooth but these fisherfolks are getting to where they want to go. These villages have prepared their people for coping with climatic changes that have brought in environmental and natural destruction and threats to livelihoods of their own coastal communities.

Being Balinese, apart from their wish for their children to go to school and enjoy continued education, to never have to worry about what to eat and what to wear, and to have a decent place to shelter their family, their aspiration is having enough to offer to their faith and the need to practice the Tri Hita Karana: harmonious and balance living in the relationships between human and the Gods, the nature, and fellow human beings. Being Balinese enables them to address mitigating and adaptation challenges that are being brought out now by climate change euphoria. Their ability to cope and adapt to the real and present danger of anthropogenic-induced destruction will also serves as their social and knowledge capital in dealing with much latter climate change-induced destruction. This, I believe, is just what the world needs in regards to adaptation to climate change and meeting the goals of the so called “Coral Triangle Initiative”.

(The writers are President and Member of Telapak, respectively. Based in Bogor, Telapak (www.telapak.org) works with indigenous people, farmers and fishers towards ecological justice, economic empowerment, and cultural integrity).