At the start of last month a video of demolition work taking place on the picturesque cliffs of Uluwatu went viral on social media. The Uluwatu escarpment, which is synonymous with surfing in Bali, looked more like a construction site than a natural wonder – something we have become accustomed to seeing on the Island of the Gods. Although no proper environmental impact study was released, the public was told the machine-powered ‘cliff-calving’ was an essential part of a project that involved building a 25-metre seawall and coastal road, designed to protect the nearby Pura Luhur Temple.
Earlier this year the Indonesian Government announced a 78.6 billion rupiahs (roughly $5 million USD) project to protect the ancient Pura Luhur Temple, which has been rendered insecure by a crack along the southern cliff face.
Extreme concerns have been raised by surfers and those working in the environmental space about the potentially negative impact the project could have on the waves that sit below the cliffs at Ulu’, and the surrounding marine life.
While a number of people have voiced their opposition to the plans, many ex-pats have been reluctant to go on the record. Tracks approached several people living in Bali for comment, however most refused to speak publicly due to fear of backlash and the threat of deportation. The Indonesian government is historically well-known for its heavy-handed tactics and it continues to instil fear in locals and expats alike.
Some Balinese locals have also been reserved in their views because of the religious sensitivities surrounding the topic. The government cites religious and culture reasons as the motivation behind protecting the temple. According to a local source, this is forcing a number of Balinese surfers to keep quiet as they don’t want to be seen as religious dissidents, despite the fact they privately oppose the construction of the sea wall.
However, local surfer Piter Panjaitan believes that the government is using religion as an excuse to cover up a ‘hidden agenda’.
Piter is originally from North Sumatra but has lived in Bali since 2000, when he came to study. He, alongside his son and daughter, now call The Bukit their home.
“It’s not about religion to them. You speak to engineers and they say that there are other options for carrying out the works but the government says that other options would be more expensive, but is that the case? It creates a lot of questions around a hidden agenda, could they use a road to charge people entry or to make a beach club?”
“I think the situation is a dilemma for the local people. There is a lot of higher officials who are families with the local people. There is a dilemma and anxiety about posting it online.”
When Tracks first published an article on the situation, we raised the question; are we witnessing the impending death of Uluwatu? Piter believes we are three quarters of the way there.
“They are repairing one cliff by destroying another. They cut out three quarters of the cliff already and as you have seen they have been throwing all the limestone into the ocean which is killing our marine life.”
Interestingly, the people in charge of the operation are not even Balinese. The contract for the works went to a company based in Java. Java and the rest of Indonesia is made up of mainly muslims, whereas the majority of Bali, including the temple at Uluwatu, is Hindu, making it an anomaly.
Tracks recently spoke to Gibran Putra Wirjawan who grew up between Java and Bali, and is currently editing a documentary titled Samudra, which explores the role surfing plays in Indonesia. When asked about the recent development in Uluwatu, Gibs framed the issue in a broader context.
“Wherever we went in Indonesia, there’s like three main components. There’s like the locals, there’s the foreigners, and there’s the government. You know, there’s these three people that will have either conflicting or shared views, or just different opinions. And from the local perspective, it’s like, how can the government just do that without any consent? The people that grew up for generations on this land, and one day it is just taken away like that.
“And then there’s the expats who are also vouching for that type of anger towards it. But then it goes into backlash, because the locals go to the expats, ‘You do that to us anyway. How good is your word? What say do you have?’ … So sometimes it feels like the expats and the government versus the locals and this and the other. On every island that I’ve explored, there’s always these three different parties in conflict with one another. And with this specific cliff thing, it is much more of a government run thing.”
Emmett Balassone from the Saves the Waves Coalition echoed the pair’s thoughts on the matter.
“There’s definitely the fear of backlash. This project is very sensitive because it involves the government, local leaders and the temple.”
Saves the Waves Coalition have started a petition calling for an environmental impact assessment to be conducted on the project to guage how ‘Uluwatu’s biodiverse surf ecosystem’ could be impacted. At the time of writing the petition has garnered over 17,200 signatures.
“The petition aims to show decision-makers how many people value the protection of Uluwatu’s natural ecosystems,” explains Emmett. “Having an Environmental Impact Assessment is necessary to understand the true impacts of this project. A local contact of ours has been sharing the petition with local politicians. The Attorney General’s office of Bali has launched an investigation into the permitting of the project and the police conducted interviews with leaders involved with the project. The results of that investigation have not been released yet. However, we believe the project may be breaking Indonesian Law No. 32 of 2009 on Environmental Protection and Management because no EIA(AMDAL) was released prior to the start of construction,” said Emmett.
“Save The Waves has been in contact with locals on the ground who are concerned about the impacts this project could have on the environment and the waves. We started our campaign and petition at the request of locals who asked for our help to spread awareness about what was going on. Our Uluwatu social media posts and petition have been shared by thousands of people around the world including locals, professional surfers, and even an Indonesian senator.”
The reef structure is said to be an important breeding ground for dugongs and certain types of sharks.
As Piter Panjaitan explains: “In Bali what we sell is culture, community and nature, our tourism is based on this. I don’t think we can stop this project as so much of the cliff is already gone, it is now about trying to save what we have left and it sends a message so that those involved will think ten times harder before they act on their next project.”
Despite almost two months having passed since we first shared this potentially devastating news, it seems like we are yet to realise the full extent of the impact this project could have on Uluwatu. Demolition has continued on the cliff but the excavating equipment has yet to reach the water. Behind the scenes, many continue working tirelessly to tackle the problem and we hope to keep the surfing world updated as we learn more.
