Animal conservation is not something usually associated with Asian countries. However the forward looking views of a Lombok veterinarian almost five years ago has seen the turtle population around the northwest gilis (island in Bhasa Indonesia) of Air, Meno and Trawangan increase to the levels they are now.
Over the years Dr Gde Sudiana, head of the department of Animal Services for West Lombok, estimates he has helped in the incubation and release of more than 3,000 turtles.
According to Dr Gde, in 1995 there was very few turtles in the waters around the three gili’s and after reading reports on the plight of the turtles he and an English biologist friend started a small-scale breeding program.
“We bought 50 eggs and buried them in sand and left them alone. It was very much a matter of trial and error and only about 30 per cent hatched. These we kept for six months feeding them a special diet based on fish and then released them at a quiet beach on Lombok opposite Gili Air.”
Subsequent attempts saw more turtles being released, but a lack of funding has seen the program end.
“The turtles must be kept for six months before being released and it costs around Rp30,000 (about US$3.00) per day in food for every 100 hatchings,” Dr Gde said.
While the turtle hatching program ended several years ago, the results are enjoyed by all visitors to the three islands with snorkelers able to swim with turtles on all three islands almost every day.
Though not able to fund the program from his own pocket, Dr Gde then turned his attention to the Timorenses deer that once were common throughout Lombok.
Using some land he owned just outside of Mataram, Dr. Gde commenced a conservation reserve with the aim of breeding and one day releasing into the wild the endangered species.
“Different people gave me deer that they found injured, or young deer who had no parents. From nine deer around four years ago, Dr. Gde today has 23.
In the near future he plans to release a pair of the deer on Gili Trawangan with the hopes that the two will start to establish a small herd of the species on the island.
Again, no funding is available for the project and Dr Gde is seeking interest from people establishing a trust to develop a larger scale breeding and release program.
Every year divers from all round the world head to Indonesia to explore the pristine waters surrounding the 16,000 islands forming the Indonesian archipelago.
While the island resort of Bali plays host to many of these tourists, along with Sumatra and Sumbawa, the three islands off the North-West tip of Lombok, Gili Air, Meno and Trawangan, have in the past enjoyed a particularly good reputation.
Known world-wide for exceptionally clear water and an area where visitors can see more varieties of fish, including giant manta rays, than any other location in the world, the three Gili’s host thousands of divers a year.
While fish species still abound in the area, the effects of el Nino in 2000, as well as the now banned practice of dynamite fishing damaged much of the hard coral formations in the area.
In an attempt to return the waters around the island back to their natural state, Villa Ombak Diving Academy on Gili Trawangan, in conjunction with a bio-engineering company, are encouraging rapid coral regrowth using 20th century technology.
A year ago Villa Ombak Diving Academy deployed the first of a planned series of electric reefs, or BioRock’s, in the waters in front of its diving school.
The BioRock consists of a steel cage on the ocean bead fed with a low voltage electric current designed to stimulate limestone formation through mineral accretion and attract microscopic coral polyps..
A year after deploying the first BioRock and with signs of good coral development, Villa Ombak Diving Academy recently installed a second cage structure.
The installation gave Thomas Goreau, one of BioRock’s creators, the opportunity to inspect the results of the first installation.
According to Mr Goreau, the results are extremely good. “After a year we have a five centimeter build up of limestone over the entire structure, while the coral fragments we attached to the first structure are well established and showing good growth.”
To encourage a denser coral regrowth and improve rigidity the second BioRock had additional steel cross-members fitted to it and within a few hours of being placed in eight meters of water and having the current switched on, was already coated in a thin layer of white limestone powder.
Over two days more than 200 coral fragments were collected by Villa Ombak diving school students and staff from local dive sights and these were then transplanted onto the new structure.
Mr Goreau said samples taken from the first BioRock would later be analysed to see how many naturally recruited coral polyps were contained in the limestone.
According to Villa Ombak Diving Academy staff, the coral regrowth project is extremely encouraging, with a range of fish species including lionfish, Indian walkman, blue spotted puffer fish, trigger fish and others adopting the BioRock as a new home
Because the BioRock’s are located in only eight metres of water the regrowth project is readily accessible by PADI open water certified divers, or even snorkellers.
At night the location of the two BioRocks is an interesting spectacle with the water above the two structures glowing in a phosphorous haze.
While other diving schools on the three islands are monitoring the Villa Ombak experiment, none have as yet followed suit with similar projects.
With Villa Ombak already seeing solid results from the first BioRock though, it can only be a matter of time before other diving schools in the area follow suit.
Conservation; Gili Trawangan; Indonesia; Lombok; Tourism/travel; Indonesia tourism; Indonesian travel; Diving in Lombok; Gili Trawangan; Global Warming; Mataram; Climate change; Villa Ombak Diving Academy; Biorock; Nusa Tenggara Barat
Visitors to Indonesia in the month following the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan might be forgiven for thinking the whole country has gone marriage crazy.
These thoughts are only half incorrect as following the fasting month, in which Muslims abstain from eating, drinking and smoking, as well as emotional actions such as open signs of affection or anger between sunrise and sunset, is peak wedding time throughout the country.
Almost immediately after the Idul Fitri celebrations that mark the end of the fasting period are over young couples free of the restrictions Ramadan places on them use every available opportunity to marry their loved ones.
For tourists to Indonesia the “wedding month” provide an excellent opportunity to gain an insight into the various traditions and culture of Indonesia and its people as the wedding ceremonies differ throughout the country depending on ethnicity of the region.
Irrespective though of ethnicity or region, all Indonesian wedding ceremonies are colourful, elaborate and full of festive goodwill.
Tourists should therefore not be surprised if they are invited to join in the wedding celebrations and even asked to have their photographs taken with the bride, groom, family members or other guests.
In Lombok with its mix of Sasak (Lombok’s indigenous inhabitants) and Hindu populations and cultures, it’s not unusual to come across half a dozen or more wedding parties on the same day.
This is especially the case if the Hindu calendar denotes a specific day as being particularly lucky for marriages.
While Indonesia is home to the world’s largest Muslim community, its population blends the Islamic wedding ceremony with the rituals, traditions and cultures of each regions indigenous population.
In Lombok the initial Islamic wedding ceremony is usually held within three days of the bride being “abducted” from the home of her parents.
The “theft” of the bride is a modern adaptation of an ancient ritual forming part of the Sasak wedding ceremony.
In pest era’s when arranged family marriages were common, woman were literally stolen from their village if a suitor from another village wanted to marry a woman and the woman’s family did not agree.
Nowadays the “theft” of the bride by the groom and his friends is supposed to signify that the woman is so valuable that she has to be “stolen” away from her parents.
Once the bride is “captured” she is usually kept at the home of the potential grooms’ family and the head of the grooms village notified. He in turn notifies the head of the brides village who in turn notifies the family of the bride.
While most times the family of the bride is well aware of the plans by their daughter to marry ahead of her “abduction”, elopements are not unusual.
In rare occasions where the family of the bride disagree with the potential groom problems and fights between villages can occur if the friends and the family of the bride try to steal her back.
However in most cases the brides family agrees and a delegation from the family of the brides family meet with the grooms family to make the arrangements and discuss the dowry to be paid to the bride, though has usually been agreed in advance.
Barring any problems the Muslim wedding ceremony, called Akat Nikah, is held at the local mosque and this is followed by the traditional Sasak Nyongkoi ceremony.
For visitors it is the Nyongkoi which provides the opportunity for colourful photographs as the bride and groom, along with their families, extended families, friends and the obligatory gamelan music troupe, all attired in traditional Sasak dress, make a procession through the streets to the home of the bride’s family.
To the sound of drums, cymbals and electric keyboards and singers, amplified over a portable loudspeaker, the procession winds its way through the streets to the home of the bride.
The female family and friends of the bride and groom, as well as the bride, lead the procession, followed by the male family and friends of the groom and the groom, with the music troupe bringing up the rear.
Both the bride and groom walk beneath tall, colourful Balinese umbrella’s – a legacy of when the Balinese monarchy ruled Lombok.
The Balinese legacy is also reflected in the headdress of the bride and groom, along with the design of much of the traditional Sasak clothing.
While Sasak wedding receptions can end rather quickly and often take place in the afternoon, wedding receptions in Java tend to be in the evening and can run until quite late at night.
For tourists who may be invited to attend an Indonesian wedding reception, it is best to take the lead from other guests and keep a close eye on what is happening as one minute you can be amongst a group of hundreds, and ten minutes later only a few dozen people remain.
While tourists might feel somewhat uncomfortable being invited to a strangers wedding, the hosts will generally do as much as they can to make visitors feel at home.
While language might be a difficult barrier in some areas, people will practice what English they know in an attempt to put visitors at ease.
And don’t feel embarrassed at not having brought a gift. Throughout Indonesia it is not usual for those attending a wedding reception to purchase gifts to present to the bride and groom. As in other parts of Asia the appropriate gift is an envelope with money.
For tourists who are unexpectedly invited to a wedding not having an envelope on hand will not be viewed with disappointment.
A request to any of your hosts will usually result in an envelope being found if you want to make a contribution to the future of the bride and groom, with anything between Rp20,000 and Rp50,000 (US$2 to $5.00) per person being appropriate.
The hospitality of Indonesian people is greatly underestimated by many who only visit the tourist areas and it is during festive periods such as weddings that the true culture of Indonesia comes to the surface.
Tourists lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time should not be reluctant to accept offers to participate when invited to do so.
Indonesia; Lombok; Tourism/travel; Mataram; Indonesia tourism; Indonesian travel; Indonesian wedding ceremony; Idul Fitri; Sasak ceremony; Muslim wedding ceremony; Nusa Tenggara Barat; Akat Nikah ceremony
