Restoring peatlands

Central Kalimantan, home to the largest remaining peatland forests in the country, has three million hectares of peatlands that store more than 6 billion tons of carbon dioxide - the main contributor to global warming. The Jakarta Post's Adianto P. Simamora visited the Sebangau National Park conservation area last week to observe peatland restoration projects that are aimed at preventing emissions from being released into the atmosphere.

Kusnawi, a resident of Sebangau, sat in a base camp at the entrance to the Sebangau National Park and watched visitors arriving at the area, which is located 55 kilometers south of the Central Kalimantan provincial capital of Palangka Raya.

He reminded them not to start any fires in the highly inflammable forest.

"My job is to check water levels in the canals every day," said Kuswadi, a father of two. He spends three weeks a month in the park.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Indonesia has developed several conservation projects in the area and hired Kusnadi in 2005 to monitor the daily condition of the peatlands and to water seeds that were planted to restore the degraded park.

The Forestry Ministry designated Sebangau, which covers more than 568,700 hectares and is more than 10 meters in some places, as a national park in 2004.

Currently, 66,000 hectares of the reserve have been classified as "degraded" and have no big trees.

"As of today, we have only managed to restore 850 hectares by planting trees," Sebangau national park management unit head Rosdy Abaza told reporters.

The project was hampered by a lack of funds, he added.

"We only have Rp 8 billion *US$880,000* in the annual budget, which includes salaries. It's much lower than the estimated minimum budget of Rp 80 billion," he said.

Sebangau National Park has 46 employees.

Located between the Katingan and Sebangau rivers, Sebangau used to be a logging concession granted to 13 forest concession holders, despite its rich biodiversity.

The concession holders left behind thousands of canals in the peatland forest, which drained the area.

Canals were previously used as waterways which ran deep into the forest to transport illegally-logged timber.

"We have to block the canals to stabilize the water level. It's the cheapest way to restore the peatland," said Rosdy.

More than 200 dams have been built this year to block water flow, at a cost of Rp 20 and Rp 80 million per dam, to allow the water table of drained peatlands to rise.

The reserve and WWF Indonesia plan to block 400 canals this year, he added.

"Before trees can be planted to restore function of peatland, the water level must be raised," WWF Indonesia's Central Kalimantan chapter program manager Rosenda Kasih said.

If new trees are not planted and canals are blocked, emissions will continue to be released from the peatlands, she added.

The park is located near the abandoned "1 million hectares peatlands project" (PLG) developed under former president Soeharto.

There are also thousands of canals in the area.

Peat is an early form of coal that develops over thousands of years.

As plants in peat swamp decompose they produce a brown mass of twigs, branches and leaves, which in turn traps tons of carbon emissions.

When it's draining, the peat turns into a highly combustible material, prone to fires in the dry season.

Central Kalimantan suffered massive fires due to the forest conversions and peatland exploitation in 2002, 2005 and 2006.

The discussions of the role of peatlands are taking center stage in line with climate change talks that have called for a moratorium on peatlands conversions.

Experts say peatlands forests store about 50 times as much carbon dioxide as other tropical forests.

A study by the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) says that Indonesia's peatlands contribute 1 billion tons of emissions per year, or half of the country's total emissions.

Indonesia, which has pledged to cut carbon emissions 26 percent by 2020, has also promised to stop conversions of peatlands.

A draft presidential regulation proposed a five-year moratorium on peatland conversions and promised a review of concession permits to mitigate climate change.

Currently, peatlands with a depth of less than 3 meters can be converted from residential to business purposes for oil palm or mining companies.

Industrial timber concessions, forest concession holders to oil palm companies have been running business on peatland in Central Kalimantan and elsewhere in the archipelago.

Rosenda warned that although the government has designated Sebangau as national park, threat of forest fires and the expansion of oil palm plantations remained in place.

"What's worrisome is the Central Kalimantan administration's plan to reduce the area of Sebangau national park to allow oil palm companies to expand," she said.

"The future of Sebangau National Park will depend on whether the Forestry Ministry will approve spatial planning revisions in Central Kalimantan."

The WWF Indonesia is currently conducting a preliminary study of 50,000 hectares of Sebangau National Park as part of a pilot project for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.

"We are in first stage to prepare baseline to count the carbon emissions in the peatlands. The study will determine total of emissions that could be protected if the water level rises," she said

The Dayaks live

Our river, our life: Residents cross the Mendalam River in West Kalimantan on a motorized wood raft. Members of several local Dayak communities that live along the river said that deforestation has led to regular flooding and murky waters. JP/Evi Mariani Our river, our life: Residents cross the Mendalam River in West Kalimantan on a motorized wood raft. Members of several local Dayak communities that live along the river said that deforestation has led to regular flooding and murky waters. JP/Evi Mariani

For members of the Dayak Iban community, the kampung where the clear water flows into the river, the plenitude of trees grow and the fertile fields yield rice is Sungai Utik, their home for centuries.

One day in October 2007, a representative of companies that claimed to have permit from the forestry ministry came to Sungai Utik said the kampung was part of a 88,000-hectare area called “Unit 1”, where the company could log.

Two months previously, former forestry minister Malam Sambat Kaban came to Sungai Utik and gave the community an eco-label certificate for preserving their natural forest.

The contradiction puzzled the residents of Sungai Utik.

“It was as if the minister’s visit earlier meant nothing. On the map, there are no signs that they recognize that there are human beings here,” said Raymondus Remang, the head of Rantau Prapat village, which administers Sungai Utik.

Raymondus said the company’s permit was issued by the Forestry Ministry.

“To them, there are monkeys and birds here — not human beings. Maybe to them we’re monkeys,” said Apai Janggut, a respected figure in Sungai Utik.

“Once, they came here to log the trees. We told them about disasters and diseases that come from destroyed forests. They did not understand. In the end, they are the monkeys.”

For generations, people in Sungai Utik have cleared some forest land to grow rice for themselves.

Residents keep half the kampung, which is comprised of 3,667 hectares of natural forest, as a protected area and reserve the other half as their customary forest, where they hunt boars and clear some forest for their personal needs. “The customary law says a family cannot log more than 30 trees a year. In reality, however, a family cuts no more than five trees on average. Some haven’t cut any trees for years,” Raymondus said.

Forest living: Residents of Benua Tengah village sit in a traditional long house made from wood taken from a forest reserve established and maintained by the community. The house has been renovated several times, but its supporting beams, which were made from dozens of tall trees, were built by their ancestors almost a century ago. JP/Evi Mariani Forest living: Residents of Benua Tengah village sit in a traditional long house made from wood taken from a forest reserve established and maintained by the community. The house has been renovated several times, but its supporting beams, which were made from dozens of tall trees, were built by their ancestors almost a century ago. JP/Evi Mariani

In a participatory mapping made in the late 1990s, the residents decided to set aside more than 2,000 hectares for government’s production forest. However, they prefer to keep all the forests in a good shape.

Apai Janggut, 96, had an experience working in logging companies throughout Kalimantan during his younger years, which gave him knowledge about what a forest destruction could bring to communities like Sungai Utik.

“When they cut the woods, they logged earnestly, leaving nothing but bare forest,” he said. “That forest-destructing diseases, there’s no cure, no doctor for those who want instant wealth. We have to prevent ourselves from getting the diseases.”

Apai said he experienced enough not to want such destruction happened to Sungai Utik.

From stories of other kampung whose forests have been damaged, Sungai Utik residents knew they had to preserve the forests. Dayak Kayaan residents of villages along Mendalam River, however, knew the disasters first hand.

For 30 years, since the 1970s, a logging company has cut the forests on both sides of the river. When the company came, they promised welfare from the employment and economic boost from the activity. What the Kayaan Mendalam residents got instead were meager salary plus new environmental, social and health problems.

“I once worked for them. But locals here could only get to peel off the outer part of the wood. No one could climb the career to be a supervisor,” Gregorius Ding said. His wage back then was Rp 3,500 (40 US cents) per day, not enough to support a decent life, he said. Obviously, such amount of money would not be enough to pay for the environmental damages in the villages.

The residents said from January to June this year alone, the Datah Diaan village had experienced nine floods. “It rains for an hour and the river rises so fast,” Agustinus Haang said. When it rains, water of Mendalam River gets murky with soil it brings from the upstream. “But today, even during the dry season, the water is not as clear anymore.”

They also have to hunt for boars farther and need motor boat for fishing. “Then, our grandfathers and fathers only had to paddle to fish,” Haang went on.

After the forests were cut clear, the number of malaria cases in the villages increased.

Another problem is the higher number of single mothers with fatherless children who have to survive after their husbands, mostly are outsiders who work for the company, abandoned them after the woods had all been gone.

Wonderful, dark and deep: The Sungai Utik’s backyard is a forested area. To reach the kampung’s primary forest of 3,700 hectares, people must pass through the Dayak Iban’s indigenous reserve forest and walk for three days deep in the woods. JP/Evi MarianiWonderful, dark and deep: The Sungai Utik’s backyard is a forested area. To reach the kampung’s primary forest of 3,700 hectares, people must pass through the Dayak Iban’s indigenous reserve forest and walk for three days deep in the woods. JP/Evi Mariani

When a new company came to the Kayaan community, the situation got heated and emotional. The residents pulled all the stops to block companies that want to take away what is left from Mendalam forests. “Legal or illegal, it doesn’t matter, we don’t want them,” they said.

Since 2006, the villagers have traveled as far as to Jakarta to assert their will: They want the remaining forests to be preserved. But they have been ping-ponged from the regency office to the Forestry Ministry office. They have also met with the Kapuas Hulu Council. So far, no one has given any significant support.

“Every election, we voted. National legislative body, local council, president, governor, regent, we always voted [for them]. Those who we had voted for, always the ones winning. But nothing changed. Now we have been exhausted, we don’t want to deal with the government anymore,” Ding said.

When the residents met with the local district heads recently in June, they no longer expected for a sincere support from them. What they wanted was to make it clear to the district heads that all Kayaan Mendalam residents reject any companies that wanted to clear the remaining forests.

One of the district heads, Alfiansyah, told the visiting residents that the government acted based on regulations. “The government does not see borders. What the government knows is that Mendalam is a production forest. That’s the regulation,” he said, while with his right hand gesturing a movement of “the government” seeing a land from above. “I’m here to help enforce the regulations, that’s what a district leader should do,” Alfiansyah said.

But regulations are not always right, Dayak Kayaan indigenous leader Ignatius Sebastianus Faranli replied. The residents were witnesses of floods, diseases, climate change and scarcity of fish, he said.

“As a district leader, you don’t take sides. We understand. But as a human being, deep inside your heart, you should know what is right.”

“If you don’t stand on the veins of the tree you cut, you don’t know anything. But we, who live under the thickness of the leaves, know what’s right. Our environment is something we must protect,” he concluded.

Go Away..

For more than a century, the Kutai community of East Kalimantan has been organizing the Erau Tempong Tawar ritual to cast out evil and bad luck.

Erau, a festive celebration, is a cultural icon for the Kutai ethnic group. This ceremony, important for local people, has long attracted interest among domestic and foreign tourists, even being attended by representatives of Southeast Asian member nations of ASEAN in the 1990s.

This year’s Erau, which ran from July 26 to Aug. 3 at a cost of about Rp 4.5 billion, was held at the Tenggarong Seberang Stadium in Kutai Kartanegara regency in East Kalimantan, with around 2,000 spectators from Indonesia and other countries.

Windfall: The weeklong Erau festival is good business for local entrepreneurs selling traditional handicrafts. JP/Nurni S.Windfall: The weeklong Erau festival is good business for local entrepreneurs selling traditional handicrafts. JP/Nurni S.

“Erau is one of East Kalimantan’s cultural assets that enrich our national culture,” said East Kalimantan Deputy Governor Farid Wadjdy. “We should therefore preserve the Erau Festival for future generations. I feel very grateful to the Kutai Kartanegara sultanate, Kutai Kartanegara regency and people as well as all relevant parties for the success of the celebration this year.”

The weeklong festival is marked by an opening and a closing ceremony, all related to the Ayu, or the pillar of the throne, of the Sultanate.

The opening ceremony begins with the erection of the Ayu by the Sultan of Kutai Kartanegara ing Martadipura XX H. Adji Mohammad Salehoeddin II in the court of Kutai Kartanegara, or Mulawarman Museum, in Tenggarong. It is also marked by the ritual release of jagau or roosters into the air by the Sultan and regional officials.

To close the celebrations at the end of the week, the Ayu is removed.

Next in line: Youths in traditional costume guard the entrance to the royal palace as the king takes his bath. JP/Nurni S.Next in line: Youths in traditional costume guard the entrance to the royal palace as the king takes his bath. JP/Nurni S.

While the Ayu is in place, the Sultan is not allowed to step foot on the ground in order to remain blessed.

During this weeklong period, the Sultan is required to shower at a fixed time each day in front of
the court, thus open to public view, to a distance of two to three meters only.

While this bathing ritual, called beluluh, is being performed, nobody may pass before the Sultan. After he is bathed, visitors can approach and collect some of the colored rice – tambak karang – used by the Sultan in the ritual.

The tambak karang rice offering, which is believed to bring benevolence or good luck to those who observe it properly, is prepared every year for the Sultan’s beluluh ritual. The colorful rice is arranged on yellow cloths to produce decorations in the form of dragons.

As always, the rituals that marked the peak of this year’s Erau festival were mengulur naga (lowering of the dragons) and belimbur (the sprinkling of sacred water).

In the dragon-lowering ceremony, the Sultan and his relatives lower from their position a pair of ornamental replica dragons, one male and one female. The two dragons, each 10 meters long, had been previously placed on either side of the court in the Mulawarman Museum.

Among those attending the dragon ritual were Sultan Kartanegara H Adji Salehoeddin II and his wife, East Kalimantan Deputy Governor Farid Wadjdy and Acting Kutai Kartanegara Regent Sjachruddin.
Before the dragons were removed, Asmuni, a royal family member, read the story of the Erau dragons. The dragon procession was preceded by Tempong Tawar, a ceremony to dispel evil and attract virtue for the entire Kutai community; this was conducted by Adipati Praboe Anoem Soerya Adiningrat.

Praboe Anoem then led the procession carrying the dragons to Kutai Lama village in Anggana district, which was the site of the first capital of the Kutai Kartanegara kingdom.

As the dragon parade left, the Sultan sprinkled sacred water, known as air tuli, from Kutai Lama to start the belimbur. At the wail of a siren, all those present began sprinkling each other with the water.
During the festival, other rituals and traditions were also performed. Among these were menjamu benua (offerings of lavish meals); Kutai’s traditional jepen dance and oral narrative art; seluang mudik (encircling the Ayu); belian (healing), besaong manok (cock fighting) and menjala (coin tossing). There was also a pilgrimage to Kutai Lama (Old Kutai) and to the tomb of Aji Imbut, the founder of Tenggarong.

A grain of luck: Women arrange the tambak karang rice into colorful motifs. The rice is used during the king’s bathing ritual and later will be thrown to waiting members of the public as a sign of good luck. JP/Nurni S.A grain of luck: Women arrange the tambak karang rice into colorful motifs. The rice is used during the king’s bathing ritual and later will be thrown to waiting members of the public as a sign of good luck. JP/Nurni S.

Originally, Erau was held for the succession or coronation of a sovereign. The first such festival marked the initiation of five-year-old Aji Batara Agung Dewa Sakti, who was the first king of Kutai Kartanegara (1300–1325) and his coronation.

The tradition continued and, as it grew, Erau also included the conferment of titles by the king on community figures for their meritorious deeds for the kingdom.

In 1960, when the kingdom of Kutai Kartanegara was made into an autonomous region, Kutai regency, the Kutai people continued the ritual as a popular celebration and cultural festival, included
even on the agenda of the regency administration.

Erau also served to commemorate the anniversary of the founding of Tenggarong (on Sept. 29, 1782) as the capital of Kutai (now Kutai Kartanegara) regency. Later, Erau was held every two years.
Erau in the style of the Kutai Kartanegara sultanate was last held in 1965, when the sultan’s son Aji
Pangeran Adipati Praboe Anoem Soerya Adiningrat was inducted. In later years, Erau took its place as Kutai’s cultural festival and customary ritual.

In 1971, under the initiative of then Kutai regent Achmad Dahlan and the last sultan before autonomy Sultan A.M. Parikesit, Erau ceremonies began to be handled by the Kutai regency with some exceptions such as the conferment of titles.

For five years from 2003, however, there was no Erau. Following earnest petitions by the Kutai people, Erau was resumed last year. The Erau Cultural Festival is now included in the tourism office’s calendar of annual events.

Acting Regent Sjachruddin said Kutai Kartanegara regency would fully support future Erau events.
“Erau has become a cultural icon of East Kalimantan to be conserved for posterity,” he said. “It also has a major tourism potential that merits due attention today.”

The ancient game of thieves

The people of Tenganan Pengringsingan caught two thieves red-handed on a Saturday afternoon.

The pilferers, Kepra and Beben, were too busy stealing slices of pork meat dried on the village’s open community hall Bale Agung to notice the villagers had embushed them. The two youths tried to run away, but the villagers cornered them before they had any chance to escape.

As a punishment, the villagers forced the suspects to apply makeup on their faces. Slices of pork meats were tied to their heads, waists, wrists and ankles. The suspects were told to wear odd-looking crowns made up of dried coconut leaves and skirts out of dried banana leaves. The villagers finally colored the suspects’ bare chests with markers.

When they were done with the suspects, Kepra and Beben could have passed for transgender members of royalty from the Kingdom of Loonies.

The punishment didn’t end there. The suspects were escorted across the village, providing ample opportunities for villagers to mock them. Local residents, who lined the street, also had the right to add “fashionable” items to the suspects’ already bizarre costumes.

By the end of the march, the suspects met their heaviest penalty; Tenganan-style forced labor. The villagers had free reins to ask the suspects to do any chore as long as it was related to the preparation of the village’s major religious ritual.

“The suspects must perform whatever tasks the villagers require of them,” the village chief I Komang Karyawan said.

The catch? Kepra and Beben were not real thieves. These innocent young men were handpicked to impersonate thieves in the village’s ancient game of thieves.

Known as Maling-malingan, derived from the word maling (thief), the game is an integral part of the village’s annual religious festival Usaba Sambah, held on the fifth month of the Tenganan calendar, or June in the Gregorian calendar.

“The game is an annual ritual, which has been carried out over centuries,” Karyawan said.

Playtime: Young women in Tenganan play on the Ferris wheel-like, sacred wooden structure during the Usaba Sambah festival.Playtime: Young women in Tenganan play on the Ferris wheel-like, sacred wooden structure during the Usaba Sambah festival.

Karyawan didn’t know precisely when the first Maling-malingan was held. Local folklore only detailed the nature surrounding the first Maling-malingan.

“It was first held several centuries ago during a Usaba Sambah,” he said.

It is believed several villagers stole the meats reserved for sacred offerings during that festival. Locals then devised the game as a way to punish perpetrators.

“It was a sort of collective punishment aimed at humiliating the thieves,” he stressed.

This collective punishment still exists today. Citing an article in local customary law, Karyawan stated a thief would be given the same punishments as in the Maling-malingan.

“Fortunately, we haven’t witnessed any thefts for decades,” he said.

Tenganan Pegringsingan, located 70 kilometers east of Denpasar, is an ancient village home to Bali Aga, a term generally used to refer to indigenous Balinese although it literally means the mountain people of Bali.

Tenganan Pegringsingan’s Bali Aga observe different rituals and hold different religious beliefs from the majority of Balinese. While the large majority of Balinese follow the Trimurti concept of Hinduism, with its three main gods, Brahma the Creator, Wisnu the Sustainer and Siwa the Destroyer, cultural artifacts suggest the people of Tenganan are the last remaining worshippers of Indra, the lord of the sky and thunder in the Hindu pantheon.

The villagers observe strict monogamy. Those who marry outsiders or practice polygamy are banished from the village and stripped of all hereditary rights. The community owns most of the land and property, and the village vehemently protects the forest around the village.

The village is one of the island’s main tourist attractions, providing visitors with a chance to see the weavers of rare double ikat cloth Geringsing in action, as well as the Perang Pandan, during which local youths partake in a duel using clubs of thorny pandanus leaves.

Who moved my meat?: A villager from Tenganan, Bali, who was handpicked to play the Maling-malingan game of thief, is covered in makeup and wears a crown with pieces of meat hanging from it.Who moved my meat?: A villager from Tenganan, Bali, who was handpicked to play the Maling-malingan game of thief, is covered in makeup and wears a crown with pieces of meat hanging from it.

HELP..USSSSS

Aftermath: Rescuers and residents walk on a road covered by rocks and mud near a collapsed building after a mudslide triggered by heavy rains in Zhouqu county, in northwest China's Gansu province, Monday. Rescuers searched Monday for an estimated 1,300 people left missing after rubble-strewn floodwaters tore through a remote corner of northwestern China, just one of a series of flood disasters across Asia that have plunged millions into misery.

Please Invite Me ; For Fast-Breaking..Do you Mind??

For many Jakartans, the holy month of Ramadan means better scheduling of weekends and leisure time, what with the endless invitations to buka puasa bersama, or communal fast-breaking.

These events usually involve meeting up at restaurants or an acquaintance's house to break the fast.

"I've already received seven invites to different buka puasa bersama events so far," Merry Dianty, a secretary and a mother of one, tells The Jakarta Post. The invitations came pouring in from her clusters of acquaintances, ranging from those in her teen years to the ones from her married life, Merry says.

"I've had invites from primary school friends, Koran-recital club friends, old buddies from my former and present university, my extended family, and my husband's extended family," she says.

"When Ramadan approaches, I prepare the money I'll spend eating out during these events."

Nevertheless, she attends all the events with pleasure.

"I like going to the events, because they're a form of silaturrahmi *keeping in touch and maintaining good relations*, and I get to meet friends whom I hardly see for the rest of the year," Merry says.

She even organized a few of the events she attended this year.

"My husband and I arranged a get-together for his extended family," she explains. "We felt that as the youngest couple in the extended family, we should take the initiative."

Even non-Muslims also find themselves attending such events.

"I consider going to these events an invite to dine out," says Josephine Kartini, a Christian, adding she has attended one every couple of days this Ramadan. "Basically, I just like dining out, so I enjoy these get-togethers, especially if it involves my close friends."

"Some of the people who invite me don't even fast," graphic designer Hendra Tohjaya laughs.

The invites often come from acquaintances who are slightly closer than former school friends, he adds.

"When I take the train to visit my girlfriend on weekends, I often run into the same guys, who are all in long-distance relationships and are visiting their girls too," he says.

"And wouldn't you know it, we end up holding the get-togethers as well!"

Marry Me...

Twenty couples given marriage licenses


PURWOKERTO, Central Java: Twenty couples, who had earlier been married unofficially under the Islamic law (nikah siri), were given official marriage certificates during a mass wedding ceremony on Tuesday.

The couples, several of whom were over 50 years of age, were given the certificates during the event organized by Ajibarang district in Banyumas, ahead of the fasting month.

Ajibarang district head, Darwoso, said there were hundreds of couples who had been living together without official marriage certification.

“Because of limited funds, we could only provide certificates for 20 couples today,” he said.

Rare Sumatran tiger kills a teenager

Conservationists say a rare Sumatran tiger has killed a teenager in western Indonesia.

Ahmad Rafi was mauled while he and his parents were tapping rubber trees in their plantation in Rimbo Melintang, a village in Riau province.

Hutomo, the head of local conservation agency, said Tuesday the 17-year-old boy's mangled body had been recovered and that tiger had been chased away by frightened villagers.

Indonesia is home to around 250 Sumatran tigers. Their habitat is threatened by rampant deforestation. Tigers are also hunted for use of their body parts in traditional medicines, health tonics, decorations and even for fashion.

As their habitat diminishes, many of the endangered animals roam into villages or onto plantations in search of food, setting off conflicts with humans.

Spiritual tourism in Sidoarjo

Holy Sail: Throngs of fishermen sail to Dewi Sekardadu’s tomb. JP/Alpha SavitriHoly Sail: Throngs of fishermen sail to Dewi Sekardadu’s tomb. JP/Alpha Savitri

Sidoarjo regency is more likely to evoke painful thoughts of thousands of Lapindo mudflow victims still left in limbo rather than instill a desire to take a leisurely stroll around the area.

But aside from attracting attention as a prime location for natural disasters and man-made catastrophes, Sidoarjo has also become an increasingly popular destination for spiritual tourism.

In Kepetingan, Sawohan, Sidoarjo, East Java, there is a tomb believed to be final resting place of Dewi Sekardadu, the mother of Sunan Giri, one of the Wali Sanga - the "Nine Saints" responsible for spreading Islam across Java.

The most common way to reach the tomb is a 90-minute trip by motor boat from one of the small piers in Bluru Kidul village near the Fish Market on Jl. West Circle, or from Karanggayam village. It is also possible to reach the tomb overland, however the route is quite risky during the wet season, as it follows paths criss-crossing a number of ponds.

Despite being relatively difficult to reach, the tomb is nevertheless attracting an increasing number of pilgrims. According to Haji Waras, a community leader in the village of Kepetingan, pilgrims are usually made up of fishermen, cultural experts, spiritual figures or tourists who have heard about the tomb through word of mouth.

In the 1980s, one or two visitors came to visit the tomb each week. Today, individuals and groups come to pay their respect to Dewi Sekardadu. "The number of visitors increases around the time of the nyadran ceremony, which is held twice a year," Haji said.Fishing communities from around Sidoarjo revere Sunan Giri's mother's grave.

Marching on: Boys carrying offerings walk to the tomb of Dewi Sekardadu, the mother of Sunan Giri, one of the Wali Sanga – the “Nine Saints” responsible for spreading Islam across Java. JP/Alpha SavitriMarching on: Boys carrying offerings walk to the tomb of Dewi Sekardadu, the mother of Sunan Giri, one of the Wali Sanga – the “Nine Saints” responsible for spreading Islam across Java. JP/Alpha Savitri

Every Islamic new year (which this year fell in March), and near Ramadan, fishermen from Sidoarjo and their families get together to celebrate nyadran, which consists in thanking God for health and prosperity provided by the sea.

"Fishermen from villages in the area hold melarung ceremonies. They throw some tumpeng *cone-shaped rice dishes served with meat and vegetables* into the sea, and also take some more *tumpeng* to Dewi Sekardadu's tomb, where the fishermen and their families will eat it together.

But where does nyadran originate from? It is said the celebrations are related to Dewi Sekardadu's tomb. The story of the tomb is rich in legend.

He who holds the key: Samadi, the gatekeeper for Dewi Sekardadu’s tomb. JP/Alpha SavitriHe who holds the key: Samadi, the gatekeeper for Dewi Sekardadu’s tomb. JP/Alpha Savitri

The sacred site's custodian, Samadi, explains that Sekardadu was the daughter of King Menak Sembuyu, the 14th century ruler of Blambangan, Banyuwangi, East Java. According to legend, the area of Blambangan suffered outbreaks of diseases.

The king sought famous shamans to devise cures but to no avail.The king then organized a contest, promising his daughter's hand to whoever could cure her. But no one could heal the princess.

One night, King Menak dreamed the only person who could save his daughter was Islamic leader Syeh Maulana Iskak who had settled in Gresik, East Java.

He quickly summoned the preacher, who managed to cure the princess and took his prize.After tying the knot, they lived in Blambangan, where residents listened to Syeh Maulana preach.

One by one, villagers left their belief in Hinduism, and turned to Islam.This enraged members of the kingdom's powerful elite including, eventually, the king himself.

Even Dewi Sekardadu began to resent her husband. Syeh Maulana finally left the palace to preach elsewhere, leaving his wife, who was pregnant by then.

The baby, who was born in 1365 AD and named Raden Paku, was kidnapped by power hungry officials and placed in a box then nailed and threw into the sea.

Upon learning that her son had been thrown into the sea, Dewi Sekardadu attempted to swim after him but drowned as the box floated away.Fishermen from Balongdowo found the body of a beautiful woman, who they believed to be Sekardadu, floating in the sea.

The body was brought to shore, and then given a proper burial.It turns out Sekardadu's baby, Raden Paku, ended up surviving. A fishing boat rescued him, who today is known as Sunan Giri, one of nine saints of Islam.

- Photos by JP/Alpha Savitri

Where the dead lie

Trunyan: Where the dead lie
Simon Marcus Gower,

The island of Bali is generally thought of as an island full of life. When and where death does encroach, it often becomes a spectacle of cremations and elaborate ceremonies.

One small part of Bali however upholds an unusual and apparently quite ancient tradition pertaining to death.
Sitting at the edge of Lake Batur in Northern Bali is a small cemetery known as Trunyan, where people from the nearby village of Kuban “bring” their dead to rest on top of the ground.

This unusual practice has become something of a macabre tourist attraction. Perhaps it is not really an “attraction” but a place that pricks peoples’ curiosity. The local people, though, have clearly become used to tourists coming to this site and so haggling and near constant pestering for “donations” has to be dealt with.

Unusual ritual: Flimsy bamboo cages and cloths cover up the deceased. JP/Simon GowerUnusual ritual: Flimsy bamboo cages and cloths cover up the deceased. JP/Simon Gower

One can only reach this site by boat, a small fleet of which awaits visitors at the end of a wooden jetty where the stunning Mount Batur looks on.

Crossing the lake to Trunyan takes between 20 and 30 minutes and upon arrival a small huddle of men awaits any arriving boats.

The cemetery is small and there is little need or sign of maintenance. Although this is the final resting place for a number of people, a sense of respect for the dead does seem to be in short supply here.

Human skulls are lined up on stonewall shelves, which makes for a quite eerie sight to begin with but then the men here will invite visitors to pick a skull up and presumably pose for a photo; all of the visitors to this site on this occasion were quite quick to decline this invitation.

The views across the lake to Mount Batur are quite stunning and despite the annoying attendants, this is a peaceful place.

In this final resting place, the bodies of the deceased are just covered in cloth and rudimentary bamboo cages. These cages are flimsy and practically leave the body out in the open to the elements.

This creates an obvious concern; dead bodies left out in the open will of course decompose and the potential for unwelcome odors and even health concerns is real. However here, apparently, the presence of a banyan tree, described as holy, has warded off such concerns.

The huge banyan tree seems to stand as a guarding and protective figure of this cemetery. Its leafs carpet the ground around the gravesite and presumably this is part of the way in which the tree keeps the area free from unwelcome odors and so on.

Even with the hassle and haggling from the people that wait and wander about the cemetery, this is still a peaceful place that enjoys beautiful and powerful scenery. The lake dazzles in the Balinese sunlight and Mount Batur watches somewhat broodingly in the distance.

Returning across the lake local people are travelling by boat to the cemetery, it seems to pay their respects to the dead. They smile and wave as their boat glides on by; they seem to realize what a pleasant part of the world they live in and may rest in peace in one day.

Netherlands offers $20 million grant for free basic education

The Dutch Embassy in Jakarta has called on school administrators, teachers and parents to ensure a US$20 million grant from the Netherlands for the School Operational Aid (BOS) program be put to good use.

Ad Koekoek, the embassy's deputy chief of mission, said the grant, to be disbursed through the World Bank, was meant to support the Indonesian government's efforts to provide free basic education through to ninth grade for all children.

He added it would be used to inform the public about the purpose and function of the BOS program, strengthen the program's implementation at the school committee level, and ensure adequate monitoring and evaluation of the program.

"Of course it needs active parental and committee monitoring," Koekoek said during the awarding of the grant at Gunung Elementary School in South Jakarta on Monday.

The school is one of hundreds across the country that receive operational aid from the government.

"We are strongly committed to working together with the National Education Ministry to improve access to quality education for all children in Indonesia," Koekoek said, adding he was confident about the monitoring of the fund.

"The participation of parents and school committees will help to find whether the fund reaches the destination or not. We also hope the money not only really reaches the students, but can be effective," he said.

World Bank managing director Juan Jose Daboub said the World Bank and the Netherlands were working together in new ways with Indonesia through their support of an existing government program.

"The program represents an investment in the future of young Indonesian people," he said.

Bambang Indriyanto, secretary of the education ministry's directorate general of basic education, said the BOS program was a major element of financial support in education.

"We plan to boost the program's budget by 40 percent next year," he said. "The additional funds will be used for textbooks and school operational budgets."

In 2009, primary schools in municipalities will receive Rp 400,000 per student, and elementary schools in regencies Rp 397,000 per student, Bambang said.

"Junior high schools in municipalities will receive Rp 575,000 per student, while those in regencies will get Rp 570,000."

The current aid per student ranges from Rp 254,000 to Rp 354,000.

The Netherlands has previously given Indonesia more than Rp 570 billion for various programs in the education sector.

Arnold van Der Zanden, the Dutch Embassy's first secretary of education, said his government had also provided 200 scholarships for Indonesian students through the StuNed program. The embassy has increased the 2008/2009 budget for the scholarship by 2.7 million euros, a recent press release said. (naf)

Aiming high for the Island of the Gods

Aiming high for the Island of the Gods
The Jakarta Post, Denpasar | Thu, 06/17/2010 8:19 AM | culture
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President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has an elusive dream — developing Bali as one of the world’s art and cultural center.

Carrying tradition: Male dancers from Bangli regency perform a traditional dance during the opening of the annual festival.JP/Stanny Anggono Carrying tradition: Male dancers from Bangli regency perform a traditional dance during the opening of the annual festival.JP/Stanny Anggono

“If the international community has an annual World Economic Forum, it should also create an annual World Cultural Forum here in Bali,” Yudhoyono said during the opening of the annual Bali Arts Festival last weekend.

The annual arts festival, initiated by noted scholar and former Bali Governor Ida Bagus Mantra in 1978, has been a showcase for the island’s rich culture and tradition.

However, it will take more than organizing an art festival to develop the island into an international art venue.

Bali still lacks professional art management and international-standard art venues including well-equipped theater stages and concert halls. Supporting infrastructures are badly needed to make the island a world-class art venue.

The Art Center complex in downtown Denpasar — which is currently hosting the art festival — is no longer adequate to accommodate colossal art performances.

Furthermore, many artists and scholars have strongly criticized the festival committee’s lack of professionalism in handling the event.

The art festival, which created a Rp 5 billion hole in the provincial budget, has turned into a traditional market rather than a sophisticated art event.

Every Sekehe (community-based art troop) complained it could do much better if it had enough money to support artistic endeavors. Improving the management of the annual Pekan Kesenian Bali (PKB) Arts Festival could be the key to making the president’s dream come true.

Ready to dance: Female dancers are ready to perform at the 32nd Bali Arts Festival in Puputan field, Badung, Bali, on Saturday. About 3,000 artists from Bali and seven countries are participating in the cultural fiesta, which is taking place between June 11 and July 11. JP/Zul Trio AnggonoReady to dance: Female dancers are ready to perform at the 32nd Bali Arts Festival in Puputan field, Badung, Bali, on Saturday. About 3,000 artists from Bali and seven countries are participating in the cultural fiesta, which is taking place between June 11 and July 11. JP/Zul Trio Anggono

The local administration, with financial and technical support from the central government, should be able to turn this annual art event into international scale art gathering, by taking a closer look at how our neighbor Singapore handles annual festivals for example.

The one-month long festival, started from June 11 through July 11, has the potential to become one of the island’s most popular tourist attractions since it is held during school holidays and summer holidays for overseas visitors.

Kadek Suartaya, an art lecturer and expert in traditional music instruments, was of the opinion that PKB had become a significant secular cultural activity that could draw thousands of spectators if it wanted to.

“This [the festival] is the most awaited event for the majority of Balinese artists and commoners alike,” wrote Suartaya. Both amateur and professional artists see the festival as a landmark for their artistic careers.

PKB features more than three hundred performing arts — theater, dance, traditional and contemporary music and more importantly the island’s ancient and rare arts, preserved so well by its talented and dedicated artists.

Watching the two-kilometer long art procession prior to the opening of the festival on Saturday afternoon was thrilling.

It was a real multicultural event, a window into Balinese arts and culture as well as the culture of other ethnic groups of Indonesia. The active participation of seven foreign countries such as the United States, Sweden, India, Singapore and Japan further enriched and colored this festivity.

Who says you can’t laugh: Comedy dancers entertain spectators during a Calon Arang folklore performance in Denpasar.JP/Zul Trio AnggonoWho says you can’t laugh: Comedy dancers entertain spectators during a Calon Arang folklore performance in Denpasar.JP/Zul Trio Anggono

Under the sub-theme Bhuana Kerti, the purification of the Universe, the procession started with a special ritual carried out by Governor Made Mangku Pastika.

Beautiful and handsome musicians and dancers performed Adi Merdangga bale ganjur traditional percussion followed by Siwa Nata Raja dance theater.

Clad in glamorous and glittering Balinese traditional costumes, hundreds of artists mesmerized distinguished guests and spectators.

Delegations from the island’s eight regencies and representatives of artists from 20 provinces in Indonesia and seven foreign countries participated in the procession.

The festival itself is more than just a joyous art activity. It is a search for spiritual enlightenment. This year’s festival bears a specific theme Sudama: Searching for the purity of our conscience.

For the next 30 days, Bali will host hundreds of quality art performances that will enrich anybody watching them.

For Indonesians fed up with the current media hullabaloo, the Bali Arts Festival might just be the perfect antidote — an artistic as well as spiritual oasis.

Lake Sentani plans festival to bridge gap

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 02/01/2010 10:52 AM | National
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Want to know how Papuan “female divers” smoke while diving, or how to call a crocodile out of a river by whistling, or any of the other unique local wisdom of the Sentani people?

Then don’t miss the Lake Sentani Festival, Jayapura Regent Habel Melkias Suwae says.

Delivering his address at the opening of a Sentani photo exhibition here Friday, Habel said the festival, the third such festival since 2008, would be held from July 19 to 23 this year, and was
targeting not only to attract more foreign and domestic tourists to the regency, but also to improve ties between Papua and Indonesia’s other provinces and peoples.

“Ethnically we are different. You are part of the Melayu ethnicity, but we are Melanesian. However,
we are one in Indonesia. This festival is really a means to introduce Papuan people and our culture to you. We need to get to know each other better to strengthen our big national family and to build
mutual trust,” said Habel, wearing a Batik shirt.

The exhibition displayed hundreds of shots taken by freelance photographer Toni Sri, depicting the cultures and daily lives of 24 Papuan ethnic groups living around the lake. The exhibition was aimed to attract Jakartans to visit Papua during the upcoming festival. “Two eyes are not enough
to see and shoot the richness of Papuan culture and its beautiful panorama.”

Freelance writer Anto Dwiastoro also launched Doors to the Unknown: The story of Sentani in the Papuan regency of Jayapura, a book with photos, covering Papuan culture, environment and historical sites around Lake Sentani.

While the Lake Sentani Festival had cost Habel a lot to organize, he said he was proud of it and many other Papuan festivals.

The funding was peanuts in comparison to the cultural value and “political benefit” it had for the whole nation, he said.

“In 2008, the first festival attracted only around 2,000 foreign and domestic tourists, but the second brought in around 5,000. With the third we hope to see up to 10,000, because of the numerous pre-festival events both at home and overseas.”

Habel, a former elementary school teacher and local Golkar Party chairman, said that unlike other festivals, the Lake Sentani Festival would present guests with dance performances, local customs and antiques, as well as sightseeing tours to historical sites and a tourist village near the lake.

“We have prepared 1,500 dancers from 24 villages around the lake... while villagers have been prepared to accommodate guests in their own homes to show our sincere hospitality,” he said.

Festival promotions manager Mian Simanjuntak said his team was working to promote the festival through hotel associations and airlines, both at home and abroad, at cultural events in Australia, Japan, South Korea, Europe and the US.

The Gaza massacre and global amnesia

Donny Syofyan, Padang | Fri, 06/04/2010 11:22 AM | Opinion
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Again and again, Israel violated international law as it had shown off its flagrant aggression upon humanitarian aid boats in the past few days. Israeli commandos boarded the flotilla about 80 miles from Gaza’s coast, part of international waters.

Citizens of the world have been on the streets, opposing furiously and urging retaliation against the intentional massacre. Many international figures and organizations, such as United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, EU president Herman van Rompuy, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the UN Security Council, have called for a broad and fair investigation.

Unfortunately, US President Barack Obama simply came up with mild response, sorrow for the loss of lives on one side and expressing the importance of immediately learning all the facts and circumstances around the tragic events.

The Palestinian issue is a never-ending humanitarian catastrophe. There seems to be a tendency that it is no longer typically a Muslim concern, the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic

Conference. Rather, Palestinian calamity turns into the world’s concern regardless of religion and nation.

As for the flotilla, this is evident seen from various volunteers and passengers on board, including Swedish author Henning Mankell and the Irish Nobel peace laureate Mairead Corrigan-Maguire to mention just a few.

However, following long US support on Israel through its veto power in the UN for more than fifty years, the Palestinian issue has been and is always being neglected by the world. Indeed, it is subject to global amnesia at least for two reasons.

First, the Palestinian issue failed to establish global solidarity of Muslim countries, especially Arab countries. Arab governments have no great leader capable of unifying trivial splits among themselves, like what Gamal Abdel Nasser achieved during Arab-Israeli War in 1967.

This is not to mention that Muslim organizations such the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference are more like toothless tigers.

Waves of demonstrations in Arab countries and around the world now are more organized and carried out by Islamic or Muslim and human right organizations for fundraising. At the government level, Arab countries are only busy in condemning only, or publicly known as “NATO” (No Action Talk Only). They must go beyond their traditional stands, such as imposing economic embargoes on Israel and urging Egypt to open its border with Gaza Strip to channel humanitarian aid.

Second, the Palestinian issue is always associated with blaming the victims, not the aggressor. The humanitarian aid, including the six-boat flotilla, is necessary for Gaza because Gazans received nothing from the months of ceasefire. There was no restoration of a dignified existence. A couple of days before the flotilla tragedy, the UN Refugee Works Relief Agency’s (UNWRA) operations head for Palestinian refugees, John Ging, expressed that supplies were already restricted to the point where Palestinians were left in a very vulnerable and precarious position with very little food left.

It is ironic that humanitarian aid from the international community for starving Gazans are regarded by the Israeli government as delegitimizing its existence and endorsing terrorist, that is to say, Hamas.

Does it make sense that supplying the hungry Gazans means helping terrorists? Why is Hamas named a terrorist organization while it was democratically elected? How can we be in favor of Israel’s actions spurning Palestinians by dividing Gaza and the West Bank, co-opting Mamoud Abbas, inciting Fatah against Hamas, isolating Gaza, and pursuing a policy of aggression, killing, targeted assassination, mass incarceration, and torture with full support from Washington and the West?

Israel is a serial aggressor. Hamas responds in self-defense as international law allows. Article 51 of the UN Charter permits the “right of an individual or collective self-defense [against an armed attack] until the Security Council has taken measures to maintain international peace and security”.

Any attempt to stop Israel’s aggression is a must, not only to shape peace in the Middle East but also to pave the way for friendly relations between Islam and the West. Scapegoating Palestinians as victims and supporting Israel in an unconditional manner is nothing more than celebrating the birthday of a state founded on terrorism, massacre and the dispossession of more people from their land.

At last, the failure to figure out the Gaza tragedy on a fair footing will make dreams of global solidarity and integrity in the future even more unknown, unheard or unheeded.

The writer is a lecturer at Andalas University, Padang. He graduated from the University of Canberra, Australia.

Will Indonesia allow expats to own houses? Maybe after uphill battle, says VP

Andi Haswidi, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua | Mon, 05/31/2010 9:25 AM | Headlines
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At an international property industry gathering in Bali last week, Indonesia was presented as an emerging market with great potential and growing demand for development in the real, residential and commercial property sectors.

Indonesia is doing what it can to open its real estate market to foreign ownership, Vice President Boediono said to delegates from more than 60 countries at the opening of the 61 world congress of the International Real Estate Federation (Fiabci).

However, it will be an uphill battle, he added.

Foreign ownership of property is impossible under Indonesian law. Non-nationals can now rent real estate for 25 years and may extend leases two subsequent times, for 20-and 25- year periods respectively.

Investors may lose the value of their investment over long-period leases, and many foreigners complain about corrupt offi cials and Indonesian bureaucracy when processing lease extensions.

Public Housing Minister Suharso Monoarfa said the bureaucratic issue stemmed from the regional governments’ narrow perspective on ways to generate government revenue from the property market.

A permit goes through layers of approvals, which makes the process subject to abuse by corrupt offi cials, he said.

Suharso said the central government was attempting to raise awareness among governors and regents of generating real estate revenues and regional economic growth through more creative ways, such as simplifying procedures and providing clear city planning.

Regional governments should also be open to foreign ownership, which will result from Indonesia’s
agrarian reform program, he added.

“This is the era of globalization. People move freely across the globe. Limiting foreign ownership is no longer the right approach,” Suharso said.

He said that opening Indonesia to foreign ownership would generate investment between US$3 billion
and $6 billion per year.

The government is drafting a regulation that will partially open the market to foreign investment in
certain types of real estate, such as luxury apartments and high-value properties.

The proposed regulations will permit foreigners to initially lease real estate for up to 70 years, instead
of extending the lease two additional times.

However other countries in the region allow foreigners to lease land for up to 90 years.

The government’s draft regulation will face a huge stumbling block because it must adhere to the agrarian and foreign investment laws, legislator Ganjar Pranowo of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) told The Jakarta Post in a telephone interview.

“The government tried a similar approach to manage investment by foreign corporations in 2008. They tried to simplify the land-use extension, but [the effort] was rejected by the Constitutional Court,” he said.

Ganjar said that the House of Representatives did not oppose foreign investment in the property market, but investment must be in-line with the national interest, which is defined by multiple parties.

See you leather, alligator

A worker picks up a saltwater crocodile (crocodylus porosus) at a crocodile breeding facilty in Jayapura, Papua, on Friday. The facility is breeding some 7,500 crocodiles for their valuable skins to make leather products for export to countries such as Singapore, Japan and Italy.

Only foreign retirees can buy landed houses

As a response to a growing demand for allowing foreigners to own a property in Indonesia, the Public Housing Ministry says that foreign retirees will be the first to be allowed to fully own a landed house in the country.

Minister Public Housing Suharso Monoarfa said a regulation was now being prepared to allow foreign
retirees to buy landed houses for residence.

The plan was meant to enable retirees to enjoy their retirement, and to get benefits from their stay in Indonesia, he said.

The plan would allow foreign retirees to use bank credits to finance up to 50 percent to pay for the house and to repay with installments over a maximum of three years.

“We want to prevent speculation in the country’s property market,” Suharso was quoted by Kontan business daily as saying.

He, however, said that if the foreigners’ purchase is meant for investment, they will be allowed only to buy apartments on condition that they pay cash, not using bank credits.

Commenting on the plan, property analysts said that these plans were confusing.

“The government’s plan to allow only foreign retirees to buy landed houses is going to mean a difficult task,” Arief Rahardjo of property consulting firm Cushman and Wakefield told The Jakarta Post on Monday. He added it would be very difficult to distinguish between those who wanted to invest and those who wanted to stay in Indonesia.

Chairman of the Real Estate Indonesia association of developers Teguh Satria told the Post that the proposed regulation was still not clear.

“The criteria of elderly or retiree and the considerations behind the plan are not clear yet,” Teguh said.
About the planned requirement for foreigners to pay cash to invest in apartments, Arief said that such a requirement was not hard for foreigners to fulfill because apartment prices in Indonesia were lower than in other countries.

“But how about those who want to use the apartment for residence?” he asked.

The ministry also plans to revise the regulation that allows expatriates ownership for up to 70 years.

At present, foreigners are only allowed to hold leasehold title for 25 years, which can be renewed for 25 years, and then another 20 years.

“We are considering whether we will prolong the leasehold title for expatriates but the tenure will not be 70 years,” he said.

Teguh acknowledged that the 1960 Basic Agrarian Law allowed foreigners to use land for no longer than 70 years, and scrapping the “25-25-20” scheme therefore would be the best possible option.

“It will be easier if we give expatriates the right for 70 years from the beginning,” Teguh said.

Teguh compared the regulation with those in other countries in the region like Malaysia and Singapore, which allowed 99 years of foreign leasehold title.

“This is actually the right time to attract foreigners to buy property in Indonesia since our financial condition is stable,” he said. (not)

If the foreigners’ purchase is meant for investment, they will be allowed only to buy apartments under certain conditions, for cash.

Tulamben, scuba diving heaven

Underwater playground: Scuba diver is seen near the Liberty wreck. Courtesy of Tulamben Wreck DiversUnderwater playground: Scuba diver is seen near the Liberty wreck. Courtesy of Tulamben Wreck Divers

Tulamben, known in the diving world as one of Bali’s premier dive locations, preserves a piece of history as its visitors and residents protect its marine life.

On Jan. 11, 1942, the USAT Liberty started sinking after a Japanese torpedo struck it. Towed to the shore by the American destroyer USS Paul Johns, the Liberty was brought to Tulamben to unload its cargo and supplies since the Singaraya harbor was too full.

It remained in the small village of Tulamben partially submerged in water. Then in 1963, Mount Agung erupted and the lava and earthquakes pushed the ship further down into the water, where it rests on the ocean floor parallel to the shoreline.

Now scuba divers gear up to swim into an underwater playground, where the coral grows on the ship’s 120-meter frame and where marine life includes schooling jack fish, barracuda, napoleon wrasse, humpback parrot fish, white and blacktip reef sharks, as well as pigmy seahorses.

Marine life: Large varieties of tropical fish charm divers in Tulamben Bay, one of Bali’s main dive sites. Given the number of visitors to the bay, protection of marine life is critical.Marine life: Large varieties of tropical fish charm divers in Tulamben Bay, one of Bali’s main dive sites. Given the number of visitors to the bay, protection of marine life is critical. JP/Todd Teetzel

There are also nudibranches, many kinds of shrimps and crabs, octopus, hard and soft coral. Divers can place their hands on the helm of the ship approximately 13 meters deep. Meanwhile, snorkelers and free divers can marvel at the wreck by swimming 30 meters to the bow and peer down three meters below the surface.

A handful of resorts cater the tastes of guests – divers and non-divers alike.

“Tulamben is a very quiet place with a strong focus on leisure and unwinding, and diving of course,” says Axel Schwan, owner of Tauch Terminal Resort.

While diving at the wreck is the main attraction, guests can also enjoy spa services and scenic spaces to unwind. The black stone beaches might not be ideal for beach-bound sunbathers, but the resort pools and decks all but kiss the ocean and offer a serene setting to capture some rays.

Day trips to Tulamben in East Bali are possible from Kuta, Legian, Seminyak, Sanur, Jimbaran, Nusa Dua and Ubud, for an additional cost. A daytrip from the south of Bali to Tulamben with Tauch Terminal Resort is €72 (US$105) including equipment, two guided dives, lunch and drinks, return transfer and insurance.

Most diving schools offer three leisurely days of classes, theoretical and practical, for those wanting a scuba diving certificate. Certification types vary according to diving organizations (SSI and PADI), which offer anything from beginner courses to professional diving.

Given the number of visitors who journey to Tulamben for extended stays or day trips, protection of marine life is critical.

Tauch Terminal Resort is one of Tulamben’s resorts committed to environmental protection. Since their “eco” initiative began, they have installed solar heaters for water, separated waste, and engaged in educating employees on the importance of environmental protection. In collaboration with a professional company in Gianyar, they endeavor to reduce the general waste load and avoid uncontrolled waste burning, especially plastic littering.

“We see more and more positive response and participation here,” Schwan affirmed. For continued success, the cooperation of all parties is needed.

“All together locals, businesses and guests understand today how important it is to take care of nature,” he added.

Green investments are proving to be worthwhile.

“If I save energy replacing all possible light bulbs with energy saving ones, It is costly in the first place, but I save on electricity in the long run. If we replace all our diving torches with rechargeable led torches, we first have to spend serious money buying them, but in the long run we save so much on batteries that it pays off again,” said general manager of Tauch Terminal Resort, Andreas Wittig.

The same goes for their installation of water filters since they can save on the cost of buying and transporting gallons of water.

Wittig sees the potential and the challenges in cooperative efforts.

“It was very interesting to see our staff slowly but surely change their attitude in that matter. We still have a long way to go, but seeing them really participate, or sometimes even take the initiative, only confirms our efforts.”


He added that “the most important point is that every single issue assures a healthier environment, which provides us with the resources to care in the first place.”

Mimpi Resort in Tulamben stocks rooms with tips for protecting life on land and in the sea. Tulamben remains a no-fishing zone. Any time fishing or other illegal activity is spotted, it is immediately reported and the perpetrator is penalized.

Leaders in the field of fish ichthyology estimate there are 500 species of reef fishes just around the wreck environment, states Mimpi Resort’s website.

The porters hired by dive operations to transport the air tanks also help keep the beaches clean and watch for illegal activity, according to Wayan Ambek of Tulamben Wreck Divers.

Tauch Terminal Resort’s overarching “eco” goal ensures the resort keeps investing in sustainable initiatives. That goal is “to keep Bali clean, to keep the environment healthy and balanced, and to preserve Bali’s beautiful nature for following generations,” said Wittig.