Collaborative Initiative
Being located right on the gate to the preservation boundary of Bali Barat National Park, Mimpi Resort has played an important role in founding a community-based conservation initiative locally called FKMPP (Forum Komunikasi Masyarakat Peduli Pesisir or Communication Forum for Coastal Care Community). It all began in mid 2001 when local community leaders of three villages gathered in Mimpi Resort. The issue was complex as local fisherman are often viewed and blamed as contributing damages and destruction as far as conservation in the park water is concerned. Apart from natural disaster like the 1997 El Nino break, human interest has been defined to mainly cause pressure and damages in many parts of the park water including Menjangan island.
Every single act of conservation begins with a conflict to sort out. It is also the case in Bali Barat. It comments a basic conflict of interest involving preservation mandatory by the park authority and life-earning demand of its neighboring villagers. Most villages around the park have dry land which only appeals to practice seasonal-farming during the short rainy season from December to March. The majority grow corn, chilly and some cultivate local grape. For the rest of the year, life much goes to sea. In the community where this is the livelihood issue, conservation by imposing legal bills will only create new conflict which at the end does not necessarily protect the environment itself.
The approach must be changed. Community villagers must be made part of conservation act itself. As a sustainable alternative for this is by creating employment and education opportunities through encouraging responsible conservation-linked life-earning practices. WWF through its Friends of the Reef (FoR) program came to facilitate further development of this approach in Bali Barat. After several meetings with community leaders and all stakeholders, the initiative was finally declared on August 21, 2002 within the spirit of a community-based collaborative board. Eleven stakeholders are part of this collaboration including three local community villages locally called Desa Adat, three fishing unions or Kelompok Nelayan , three resorts and other businesses operating in the region. Mimpi Resort is actively within this initiative board.
Several urgent agendas are immediately identified and made into act which aim at eliminating further stress to the environment along the park water. Using a boat donated by WWF, a self-funded marine patrol is regularly conducted minimum 4 times a month involving all members of the initiative. The patrol activity has been recognized and voted the 2006 best by POKMASWAS of Bali which to be further contested to a national level. Beach and underwater clean-up is also regularly conducted combined with reef-check and monitoring activities supervised by WWF. Sponsored by USAid, a big clean-up activity and campaign was carried out in April 2002 at Gilimanuk ferry harbor. The main target was to promote rubbish control in all ferry-linked operations and to ban polluting sea through law enforcement. The main energy is however not put on all these, but instead on creating responsible employment opportunities for villagers so as to promote a sustainable understanding towards the need for conservation.
With an early funding by AusAID, seaweed-farming program was chosen to start in September 2003 as an alternative. The water along the villages of Pejarakan and Suberkima was finally chosen simply because it lies outside the park reserve boundary. Now the farming has made an average production of 8 tons per month employing approximately 480 villagers across three local villages who previously worked as fisherman. The males work to grow the seaweed and the females take care for its post-production into various home-made products. Yet most production is still sold as dry seaweed to various distributors. Business unit was later set up to further encourage variety of post-production.
Along with the development of tourism in Bali Barat, Mimpi Resort assisted to build and set up another entry point to Menjangan island in Banyuwedang bay. The target of this project is to create a new employment alternative for villagers especially fisherman by becoming part of a responsible conservation-linked tourism activity. In a short time, the project has contributed a significant switch for many local fisherman in the village of Pejarakan to become boat operators and dive porters. About 30 boats are now operating to transport visitors and divers to the island giving life to more than 100 villagers with their families. Taking part to protect the reef and fishes are now becoming an important issue for them. Divers will stop coming if the reef are damaged and the fishes are gone. If no one needs to be transported, no rupiah could be made.
