15 years ago, things were very different. The village’s house reef was a wasteland of broken coral, having been severely damaged by dynamite fishing and poisoned by cyanide, a technique used to stun fish so they can be easily caught for the aquarium and live reef fish for food trades. As if that wasn’t enough, the 1998 El Nino weather event, which killed off a whopping 16% of corals around the globe, caused water temperatures to rise decimating the few corals that remained as they succumbed to bleaching. A thriving coral garden that had sustained the livelihoods of the village and given pleasure to the few visitors who ventured to this far flung northern shore were gone, seemingly forever.
But in 2000, the Pemuteran village community decided they had to turn things around. With the help of a local business initiative and the Global Coral Reef Alliance, a non profit that specialises in reef regeneration and protection, they decided to turn to a cutting edge but relatively low cost technology to try to resore their reefs. The community installed a series of ‘Bio-rock’ coral nurseries; an innovative artificial reef technology that uses a low voltage electrical current to enhance coral growth and survival rates.
Celia Gregory, Coral Goddess artist.
Photo by Taya Uddin
The process began with a small group of local divers collecting fragmented and broken corals from the outer reefs. These were then planted onto sunken steel frames wired up to cables carrying an electrical current from the shore. Through a process of electrolysis, calcium carbonate is attracted from the sea water onto the metal, thus fusing the corals to the frames and at the same time helping them grow. Fish also love the postive charge and within a very short period, the artificial reefs were establishign themselves as thriving new ecosystems.
Galvanised by the immediate success of the artificial reefs, the community set about making sure they were safe and preventing the kind of destruction they’d witnessed previously. They realised they’d have to establish strict enforcement of local laws against destructive fishing practices and that the best way to acheive this was at the local level. They began by empowering the pecalang, a sort of traditional police force that operates at the village level. The pecalang were charged with protecting the newly installed reef restoration project and were given the authority to confiscate illegal fishing equipment. This way, the newly established ecosystem had a fighting chance of recovery in the newly created sanctuary. The Karang Lestari (Sustainable Reef) project was truly underway.
In 2002, Karang Lestari got a further boost when Agung Prana, a Balinese social entrepreneur who owns the local Taman Sari resort took an interest in the project, realising the value it brought to the whole area. He provided seed funds for a workshop to organise and train community members in the construction and installation of Bio-rock reefs. Under the expert guidance of Biorock inventor Wolf Hilbertz and his scientist colleague Tom Goreau, a young local named Komang Astika became the first Balinese to fully grasp the application of Biorock technology. Today, he’s the manager of the Pemuteran Biorock centre.
Passionate about the environment, it is his dedication along with several key figures including Rani Morrow Wuigk, a conservationist and underwater photographer, who have provided the on-going commitment required to manage the Karang Lestari project. As of spring 2014, the project has 70 Biorock reefs in Pemuteran, which together total half a kilometre in length.
Financing for the project has been entirely community-driven and locally raised: The structures used in the Biorock technology are funded by sponsors, ecotourism revenues from donations and though the Sponsor a Baby Coral program created by Wuigk.. Sponsors can have their names sculpted in wire by the local team that runs the Biorock centre. They are then attached to a Biorock nursery along with a baby coral to get the process underway.
In 2011 Celia Gregory, an artist from the UK who specialises in underwater sculptures as well as mosaic pieces offered to create a special installation in Pemuteran. The Coral Goddess, a sculpture inspired by sacred Balinese iconography, became not only the first Biorock artpiece, but thanks to its beautiful aesthetic also managed to generate international press coverage. It continues to draw visitors to this day. The Coral Goddess was the first Biorock installation to be powered by solar and wind energy and was the first step in an ambitious programme to power the entire colony of Biorock reefs using green energy.
In 2012, the Pemuteran Biorock project won the prestigious Equator award run by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The prize money went to the village - but some was set aside to build a floating pontoon that allows guests to swim out and sun bathe amongst the shallow Birock corals - alongside more than 10 solar panels.
The Coral Goddess inspired Made, one of the employees at the Biorock centre, to create some of his own artworks including seahorses, whales and even a panther. Bali is famed for the artistry of its people and Made’s wonderful sculptures reflect this. Guests are welcome to drop by the Pemuteran Biorock centre any time. Members of the team often visit schools to talk to children about the project and about marine ecosytems and conservation in general.
The Biorock coral garden is rigorously looked after by the team, who inspect it every day, removing predators such as crown of thorns or drupadi snails that eat the coral. They also check the power connections are in working order both underwater and on the land. And of course they take guests out to inspect the corals - even those who don’t snorkel can enjoy what the team fondly call the ‘fish bank’ courtesy of the the glass bottomed boat
As coral reefs around the world decline in health, the Pemuteran Birock project is a shining example of the way in which local reef ecosytems can be improved by local communities with a little help and expertise. The increase in fish numbers around the Biorock reef has a knock on effect on outlying reefs, which means increased catches for local fishers. Tourism also brings in revenue, serving to educate a wide audience about the central role that coral reef ecosystems play in our lives. The Pemuteran Biorock project really is a win win for everyone the fish, the coral, tourist and the local community.
