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SUMMARY OF ECOTOURISM RESEARCH IN THE WAKATOBI MARINE NATIONAL PARK IN 2002
Dr Julian Clifton, University of Portsmouth & Angela Benson, Southampton Institute
Background:
For
some time now, Island Tourism has been high on the list of academic debate, it
is clearly acknowledged that the demands placed on small islands due to the
limited supply of resources, often make it difficult for the island paradise to
continue retaining its pristine beauty. However,
this concept of island paradise is often what has attracted tourists to it in
the first place and with its loss, due to rubbish, overcrowding, problems of
water consumption and many more issues, the tourists soon move on to new
pristine islands. The development
of planned ecotourism will often deflect these problems.
Whilst
there is much debate about a definition of ecotourism there is a general
consensus that ecotourism implies conservation, education, responsibility and
community involvement. In addition
to this, it is necessary to ensure that ecotourism maintains the balancing act
of maximising economic benefits for the community on one hand, and to minimise
the environmental impacts and socio/cultural issues on the other.
Operation
Wallacea has been operating in the park area since 1995.
During this time it has successfully brought paying volunteers to Hoga
Island, with numbers steadily growing over the years.
Whilst, Operation Wallacea is not the only organisation on Hoga, it is
still the largest, the other tourist operations are small-scale backpacker
resorts.
Part
of the ethos of Operation Wallacea is to promote the economic benefits of
ecotourism amongst neighbouring villages on Kaledupa in order to raise local
communities’ awareness of the long term benefits of environmental protection.
Whilst the advent of the Research Center on Kaledupa undoubtedly provides the
initial step in ensuring that economic benefits reach other locations apart from
Hoga, it is also important to assess the environmental attractions of Kaledupa
and begin to identify means by which local communities can market natural and
cultural attractions to visitors from Hoga. Complementary to this project is the
need to establish the extent to which basic needs of local communities on
Kaledupa are being met in terms of health care, education and employment, as
this will influence the extent to which local people are willing or able to
invest resources in new activities based upon the possible benefits of
ecotourism on Kaledupa. The base in Kaledupa also offers a valuable opportunity
to begin to assess the reactions and opinions of local fishing communities to
the recently agreed ‘stakeholder zone’ plan which is intended to provide a
basis for co-management of local fisheries, as this is a fundamental objective
of Operation Wallacea’s long term plans for marine conservation in the
Wakatobi.
With
these principles in mind, the following objectives have been set:
Objectives:
Methods:
Structured
and semi-structured interviews were carried out with:
The
Director and other staff from Operation Wallacea including the Indonesian staff
employed
Key stakeholders from the community including the Camat of Kaledupa and the Kepala Desa from Ambeau, Buranga, Sampela and Sombarno
Local
people from the villages of Furake on Hoga; Ambeua, Buranga, Pajam, Sampela and
Sombarno on Kaledupa
Focus
groups
with representatives of the local women’s organization (PKK) in Ambeua and
Buranga.
Questionnaires
were used to determine the views of volunteers regarding their motivations,
perceptions on culture and the environment and their willingness to purchase
locally-made handicrafts
Observation
techniques were
used to support
other
methods as appropriate
Progress
to date:
Firstly,
it is important not to take the plan out of context: it was prepared, in haste,
for a meeting that Operation Wallacea staff had with regional government
officials. For this reason, it would have been impossible to undergo a lengthy
consultation process with all local stakeholders. In addition, the plan is not a
strategic one as such, it is more of a document that outlines broad objectives
for the future. Still, it is
obvious in this preliminary analysis stage that there is no clear consensus
between Operation Wallacea and the local people as to what the future holds.
Many Operation Wallacea staff believe that the local people do not grasp the
complexity of the issues involved. On the contrary, the majority of local
stakeholders interviewed clearly understand the difference between ecotourism
and regular tourism and have good suggestions for a sustainable way forward.
Objective
2
Preliminary
findings suggest that one of the largest motivating factors of volunteers
joining the Operation Wallacea Project is being given the opportunity to conduct
primary research in the field. Other highly ranked motivators were to increase
their knowledge of the natural environment and to enjoy nature. To have fun and
make new friends also ranked highly. The attitudes towards the environment study
has shown that the majority of volunteers are aware of the negative impacts that
tourism brings to the environment and are keen to keep these to a minimum. The
attitudes towards culture study have shown a more mixed response. The majority
of volunteers have a general idea of what the local community may find
offensive, however there are differing opinions as to what extent volunteers
should make an effort to respect local cultures in their day to day activities
whilst on site.
The
initial results show that the numbers of visitors on Hoga obviously detracts
from the wilderness feel experienced on the island.
However, this does vary significantly between the different areas of the
island, as the previous statement applies predominantly to the South West corner
of the island where Operation Wallacea is based.
The same cannot be said for much of the rest of the island as it is
inhabited only along the West coast and the centre of the island is virtually
impenetrable. Generally speaking it
was found that visitor expectations did not coincide with their perceptions on
arrival, in particular many thought that the island would be less westernized,
with lower visitor numbers, and a greater degree of wilderness feel.
It
should be noted that tourism is not the only factor, which is having an
influence over the host community. They
all seem to at least have access to a television even if they do not own one
themselves. Most of the communities
have at least one member of their family who work abroad in places such as
Malaysia and Singapore, which would indicate that they have had their own
multi-cultural experiences and shared these with their families. Furthermore,
the degree of interaction between visitors and local communities varies
significantly, with informal cultural exchanges taking place far more frequently
in Ambeua and Sampela than Laulua or Sombarno.
The
results also illustrated that locals who work for Op Wall have been influenced
in a number of different ways unlike the rest of the community. Approximately
35% of locals actually worry about foreigners’ dress code and drinking alcohol
in public areas, which they regard as bad example for young generations. There
is a difference in perceptions between villages, as those that work closely with
Operation Wallacea have better English language skills, are more tolerant of
western behaviour and are keen to be involved in the future of tourism in the
Kaledupan area. Villages with
little or no contact with volunteers from Operation Wallacea are more
traditional in their ways.
Although Operation Wallacea has guidelines for volunteers with regard to dress code and general behaviour, the implementation and monitoring would appear to be unsatisfactory at times. The volunteers believe that the guidelines should be implemented and the only reason they do not follow them is because they are allowed to get away with it. They would also not object to slightly stricter guidelines if they were warned previously in the U.K. before coming to Indonesia.
On
the positive side, the
main perceived socio-cultural benefits related to extra work opportunities,
education in marine subjects, environmental protection and English and new
village development.
Since
there was no existing map of the island illustrating its physical geography, it
would have been impractical to try to identify sites via general exploration of
the island. For this reason it was decided that a participatory approach (ie use
of local knowledge) to identify potential sites would be a much preferred method
and would yield more useful results. A basic outline map of the island was
created by scaling up from a Dutch sea chart, political features such as
villages and existing roads/tracks were added with the advice of the village
head of Ambuea (the principle village on the island), a local ojek driver and
another elder member of the local community. A
total of 11 sites were identified and visited in order to assess their potential
as tourist attractions with reference to criteria in the literature. Overall, it
was apparent that natural attractions were relatively limited owing to the lack
of distinctive flora and fauna and the absence of distinctive locations in terms
of geology or outlook. Consequently, the study incorporated some historic
attractions relating to the military history of the island which complemented
the existing natural attractions. Management recommendations based upon site
characteristics were made and the overall results will be used to produce a
guide to visitor activities on Kaledupa which will benefit a wide section of the
local community.
From
research conducted into the potential development of arts and crafts, it is
apparent that there is a considerable potential demand amongst volunteers on
Hoga to purchase local handicrafts but this is not yet matched by the supply of
such goods. On average, individual volunteers were prepared to spend around
Rp150,000 each on these products during their stay on Hoga. However, the present
supply of such goods is limited to items imported from Bali, despite the
presence of numerous sarong manufacturers on Kaledupa and some individuals
skilled in wood carving or painting. The main obstacle to furthering this market
appears to be the high level of uncertainty with regard to the total value of
items sold during the main volunteer season set against the investment of time
and resources in their manufacture. It is possible that some form of
co-operative could be established with the help of the Operation Wallacea Trust
which could alleviate some of these problems. Another option could be to raise
local awareness of the value of traditional handicraft manufacture through
organizing training classes run by local people for Operation Wallacea
volunteers.
This research revealed distinctive problems affecting the four villages studied, reflecting historical factors as well as basic resource issues. As the former capital of Kaledupa, the village of Buranga exhibited problems associated with educational facilities, unemployment and health care. However, the functions of this village with a major jetty and natural harbour offset the economic problems to some extent in comparison to the village of Sombarno, which possesses no such facilities, has poorer road access and suffers more severe problems than those afflicting Buranga. These include shortages of potable water in the dry season as well as higher crime rates. Ambeua, by contrast, is characterized by a generally higher standard of living reflecting its status as the administrative centre of the island. All these data must be contextualised in light of the economic crisis following the devaluation of the rupiah in 1998, which resulted in drastic and ongoing reductions in the amount of government money going to local economic development activities. It is considered that tourism could evidently play a part in boosting local village economies, but the priorities in terms of local villagers may not coincide with such a policy and may well exacerbate economic contrasts between villages.
This
area of research was developed as the initial step in canvassing the opinion of
local fishing communities following the airing of the proposed ‘stakeholder
zone’ on the east coast of Kaledupa. Such a proposal must incorporate the
needs and wishes of local stakeholders if it is to succeed and would require the
active co-operation of both fishermen and park rangers. Interviews revealed a
widespread consensus that fish catches were declining and that more effective
management actions were required. However, the responses amongst the Bajau and
Kaledupan fishing communities differed in some respects with regard to the
effect of more efficient fishing techniques and the consequences of increasing
areas devoted to agar cultivation. The fact that these differences became
apparent after interviews in just three out of the thirteen fishing villages
participating in the stakeholder zone proposal underlines the degree to which
opinion within and between local communities can vary. The research undertaken
to date should not be seen as reflective of wider opinion until further surveys
can be completed but it is evident that the outcomes will need to be included in
the further development of the stakeholder zone.