{"id":27025,"date":"2019-10-25T08:01:05","date_gmt":"2019-10-25T06:01:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/?p=27025"},"modified":"2024-05-06T12:02:11","modified_gmt":"2024-05-06T10:02:11","slug":"bali-problem-sustainable-traveler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/2019\/10\/bali-problem-sustainable-traveler\/","title":{"rendered":"The other side of paradise. Environmental problems Bali is facing, and what can you, as a sustainable traveler do about it?"},"content":{"rendered":"

While the tourism industry is boosting the Indonesian economy, solving the arising environmental issues proves to be challenging for the island of Bali.<\/h2>\n

The diverse landscape with rivers and volcanoes and the flora and fauna make the island of Bali a proper destination for some adventure. The island has marvelous beaches for surfing, snorkeling or even just to enjoy the ever-beautiful sunsets. Or would it be the enchanting local culture that attracts millions of tourists to the island each year? \u00a0Anyway, \u00a0the tourism industry is boosting the Indonesian economy, while solving the arising environmental issues proves to be challenging.<\/p>\n

The problem<\/h2>\n

In the past, more and more people have recognized what Bali<\/strong> has to offer, making it an alluring tourist destination. Six million tourists<\/strong> visit the island each year, 2 million foreign, the rest are domestic travelers from the surrounding Indonesian islands. The massive number of visitors stress of the island’s water, energy, and food supplies to its limits. The picturesque, quiet beach villages are transforming into overcrowded areas, and the development of new resorts and hotels endanger the water supply<\/strong> of traditional farming. The farming, that once was enough to support the large part of the local diet. The previously sufficient road systems are becoming traffic hubs due to the hundreds of all-wheel-drive SUVs that most tourists are being carried around in. Causing pollution and difficulty to get around on the island.<\/p>\n

\"Plastic
Plastic bottle in the ocean, Gili Islands, Indonesia. Picture by: Brian Yurasits, via: Unsplash<\/div><\/div>\n

Still, it may be the amount of plastic that Indonesia generates that it’s the most horrifying. The country is currently amongst the top 5<\/a>, where waste disposal is the most mismanaged. Without proper waste recycling systems,<\/strong> the rubbish from Bali and the surrounding islands ends up in the nature. EcoBali<\/a> is currently the only provider of responsible waste management on the island, working towards achieving complete reusability.<\/p>\n

Last year, a diver, Rich Horner<\/strong> has published a shocking video of himself, swimming through tons of plastic waste at the Manta Point, just 20 km from the coast of Bali. The eye-opening recording of a current hoarding this much garbage is uncommon but evidently represents what kind of damage humans can cause to the oceans’ habitat. Other divers added that the area was clean the day before and after the footage was recorded, and that is usually a well-preserved coast<\/strong>. Proving, that the current called Indonesian Throughflow<\/strong>, that connects the Pacific and the Indian Ocean collects most of the waste that Indonesia is depositing, and rapidly transfers that further into the open waters.<\/p>\n