This article - Rubbish tsunami swamps Bali beach front - in The Age on January 25, 2014 prompted this post.
In 2013, the Governor of Bali proposed all foreign
tourists “make a US$10 donation which would
be used to finance cultural heritage and environmental efforts across the
island.” Effectively this is a tax - a good tax. Tight Arse Travel supports
this measure, as it would ensure every foreign tourist contributes directly to
the cultural and environmental upkeep of the island from which his or her pleasure
is derived. We would go further and suggest that arriving travellers are made
aware of the effect of tourism. They should also be made aware of how the tax
is being used to support and enhance the culture and environment of the island.
The irony of this situation is the rubbish generated servicing
tourists is coming
back to bite them, turning their tropical playground into a rubbish dump. Unfortunately,
most tourists are blissfully unaware that the rubbish is dumped in waterways in
places where they rarely go … or see. The annual monsoon rains flush the
waterways into the sea; the tide and wind do the rest, delivering the rubbish back
to the very beach where some of it was produced.
This situation highlights the slow pace of much needed infrastructure
to keep up with tourist development on the island. Some rapacious land
developers gain approval for new hotels and restaurants by greasing the right
palms. Planning rules – if they exist – are often flouted, or just plain
ignored. This goes to the old hoary chestnut of short-term gain winning over long-term
vision. Selfishness beats sagacity.
There are environmental groups pointing out the problems
with Bali’s current
growth spurt; that unless it is slowed to allow infrastructure to catch up,
the problem will continue to grow exponentially to the point where the tourists
may stop coming. Tourists may find the next best place to holiday and spend
their hard earned – moving on, and leaving the Balinese to wonder how it all
went wrong. The green group’s voices struggle to be heard over the deafening clatter
of the jackhammer and beep-beep-beep of reversing cement trucks.
Although numbers of tourists arriving continue to grow
every year, they are not completely to blame. Bali’s own population is on the
rise - climbing by 20% in the last decade. This adds pressure to an ailing
electricity grid - which draws all of its power from the neighbouring island of
Java - and the water supply network. Ironically, Bali is blessed with abundant
rainfall, and has one of the oldest and most sophisticated distribution systems
designed to ensure all rice farmers get a fair share of the available water.
Tourists, and especially Australians who make up the vast
majority go to Bali for various reasons; sun, surf, sand, and sex is the usual
image of Aussie tourists, but many eschew the tourist strip of
Kuta-Legian-Seminyak with its knock-off DVD stores and happy-hour sports bars
for quieter
pleasures. They head inland to savour the arts and crafts, or to unwind at
a yoga retreat or spa. Others with a more adventurous bent head to the
mountains for trekking, mountain biking, white-water rafting, or canyoning. Yet
others head to the coastal towns and villages for snorkelling and SCUBA diving.
Whatever they come for, one thing is for sure, they come because it is cheap.
