An Overview Of Our Solution
The Gili Eco Trust
Who is this solution impacting?
Ecosystem
Océanos/Costas
Community Type
Rural
Additional Information
- Population Impacted:
- Continent: Asia
Problem
Describe the problem
The fishing practices in Gili Matra(GM) have changed over the past 15 years. In the 1990's fishing practices readily included dynamite and cyanide fishing. GM now has an agreement with fishermen designating legal fishing areas and appropriate methods. The Gili Eco Trust(GET) has 2 boats to patrol and monitor the fishing. To increase the health of the ecosystem and preserve the existing reefs GET installs moorings for boats and utilizes a reef restoration technique called Biorock. In order to make proactive changes in the local community the GET creates awareness through education and scientific studies. Through all these efforts the GET has made a direct impact, however, needs to increase and enforce patrolling, continue reef restoration and build more awareness by education.
Biodiversity Impact
GM currently is designated as a Marine Protected Area which allows 2 fishing areas in GM. The GM is patrolled by 2 boats 20 days/month. We would like to increase this to full time patrolling and have nighttime security as that is when the majority of illegal fishing occurs. We need to install more moorings so the local captains have no need to drop their anchor and cause further damage to the rehabilitating corals. The limited amount of fishing areas creates sustainable fishing by limiting the amount of fish to be taken from these specific areas, however, fishing is occurring in prohibited areas due to the lack of patrol. The fishermen are limited to fishing with nets and spearguns. Compared to 15 years ago when the GM had no regulation on fishing practices the GET has made significant headway, however, there is more regulation needed. The regulation of the fishing practices and the Biorocks increase the health of the ecosystem. Biorock is an artificial reef technology that uses simple electrolysis that creates calcium carbonate for corals to grow on steel structures. This technology helps the coral growth rate 2-6x faster. There are currently 64 Biorock structures around GM which enhance the ecosystem by promoting new habitats for damaged corals that would not survive well if they are left unattended. The survival rate of the corals on Biorock is 50-70% times better. The Biorocks serve as havens for fish and other aquatic life as they are attracted to the calcium carbonate and other particles they feed on – the positive impact they have on the ecosystem is visibly evident. // The Gili Matra is an area approximately 3,000 hectares. It is composed of 3 small islands off of the northwest of Lombok in Indonesia. Lombok is apart of the Nusa West Tengarra province of Indonesia. Only a short boat ride away from Bali, this area has received the overflow of the tourism from there. This area of Indonesia was uninhabited until the 1950's. The first settlers on the Gili Matra were local fishermen from Lombok. This area remained purely inhabited by local Indonesians until tourists discovered the area in the late 1980's. Once the western influence was introduced there was a shift in the economics of the area. Westerns brought more money to the area through tourism and efficiency in operations management. Western products became readily available - such as plastic and other packaging materials. However, the education of how to dispose of this material was nonexistent. So, the locals treated these products the same as they did the banana leafs that they were used to throwing on the ground. Hence the area has become saturated with rubbish both in the sea and on land due to ignorance.
Solution
The Gili Eco Trust increases biodiversity by acting as a shepherd to all types of environmental efforts in this area. Not only limited to helping protect the ecosystem underwater there are many land based environmental projects as well. In regards to the aquatic realm biodiversity is protected by allowing only surface nets in allocated areas and local fishermen are compensated for catching aquatic mammals. For example, if a zebra shark is caught by a local fisherman the Gili Eco Trust will pay him to release the shark. This is based on premise that a zebra shark is more valuable to the diving tourists and the ecosystem at large. The use of the Biorock technology helps increase biodiversity by increasing the coral reef growth and in succession all of the marine plants, fish and mammals that are connected to the corals in the aquatic food chain. The Gili Eco Trust works on creating awareness through education to the local people. This is helping to support biodiversity by teaching that the ecosystem is delicate and vital to our survival . The GET acknowledges that one of the biggest obstacles to overcome is ignorance about the environment. Staff from the Gili Eco Trust teach environmental education classes at the local school to create more knowledge to the future generations increasing awareness of the sea ecosystem and the whole environment.
Replicability
How many years has your solution been applied? 12 years // Have others reproduced your solution elsewhere? No // The Gili Eco Trust has one western coordinator, Delphine Robbe. The remainder of the staff includes 12 part-time local staff who work on patrolling, rubbish collection, school renovation and maintenance, administration and governmental coordination . Throughout the year there are several volunteers who come and aid the Gili Eco Trust's efforts. Considering the scope of the projects and the amount the Gili Eco Trust has grown there will be a necessity to increase the staff to properly manage all of the environmental efforts for the organization in the future.
Human Well Being and Livelihood Impact
The Gili Eco Trust has impacted the livelihood, health and education of all of the local residents in the Gili Matra. The largest and most populated island, Gili Trawangan, has approximately 3,000 residents and the entire Gili Matra has roughly 5,000 persons. Raising awareness to the locals about the importance of coral reef health and how the economic condition for all persons can be increased by selling snorkeling and diving trips to tourists rather than feeding them fish can increase their quality of life. The Gili Eco Trust spreads knowledge of ecotourism and environmental education to the local elementary and highschool and students in the nearby universities. However, the scope of the Gili Eco Trust efforts is not limited to residents. Gili Matra is a highly trafficked tourist destination. Gili Trawangan alone gets on average 700 persons per day visiting from Bali. As the awareness of the Gili Eco Trust's efforts are spread to visitors the importance of coral reef preservation is spread to a much wider audience. The Gili Eco Trust has gotten a recent amount of press through newspaper, magazines and TV medium so the awareness spreads to more Indonesians and international audiences. // The GET has support from the local community and government. The director of the Gili Eco Trust is heavily involved in the political and government coordination of the projects. Gili Matra is apart of the West Nusa Tengarra Province which includes Lombok, Sumbawa and Flores Islands. The regional reigning authority is North Lombok and the overall governmental decisions are directed from there. Five part-time employees act as consultants with the coordination of the government as does the director. On a local scale the Gili Matra is governed by a head chief and more specifically Gili Trawanagan has a head village chief. All of these offices and authorities are working directly with the Gili Eco Trust efforts and support the conservation and preservation programs. With the support of the local authorities more validity is recognized by local residents and tourists alike. Current efforts of the Gili Eco Trust has been to make sure a clear understanding for all the people about the role of Gili Eco Trust, specifically what are the sources of funding and all of outsources that the Gili Eco Trust organization. Explication of the answer "no" to question 11: No, there is no other Marine Protected Area (MPA) that covers the same amount of area that has the same scope of environmental projects as the Gili Eco Trust including: Biorock reef restoration, rubbish and recycling program, boat and fishing patrol, mooring buoys, horse and cat clinics, monthly "Green Days" for planting trees, monthly community trash pick-up and environmental education.