Before. Photo: Project Clean Uluwatu
For decades, surfers everywhere have been fighting an uphill battle against relentless developers with heavy pockets. The foundation of once-epic spots like Killer Dana in California, Mundaka in Spain, and Harry’s in Northern Baja have experienced irreversible damage at the hand of man. The sad truth is that these are just a few examples among hundreds of spots that have spoiled in the name of “growth.” Today, Bali is under siege, as development threatens to destroy yet another one of the region’s finest waves.
Back in 2012, the Kempinski Hotel in Nusa Dua constructed four rock walls in the lagoon. According to locals, the walls interfered with the flow of sand, but still made the outside wave ridable. However, last February they began extending the northern most jetty by a few hundred meters and finished it off with an artificial island that sits in the impact zone of the Nikko, a decision many are saying is destroying the wave entirely.
“They worked quickly and illegally, taking advantage of Indonesia’s disorganized bureaucracy,” said Project Clean Uluwatu, a non-profit organization that advocates sustainable development and environmental solutions for waste management.
After. Photo: Project Clean Uluwatu
“When you pass by the area by boat, it looks like a virtual Deathstar of construction sites. As such, these hotels are competing with one another to outdo each other in creating something unique. In the case of Kempinski, they wanted to create beach/harbor at the expense of destroying one of Bali’s best surf spots.”
“At the end of the day we just want our surf spot back, if that’s even possible now,” Project Clean Uluwatu continued. “We’re not trying to shame the Kempinski organization. It’s understood that the majority of the work was completed by a third party design/construction team working independently from their corporate office. However, they Kempinski is an internationally branded hotel, and just as they will be taking credit/profit from the completed work of their contractors, they also need to be responsible for their contractors mistakes. As they claim on their website, regarding corporate responsibility, they hold themselves to a higher level for integrating into the local community and society. Surely this does not include taking advantage of third-world bureaucracy and doing whatever they please.”
One can argue that the foreign and domestic investment that has poured into Bali’s tourism sector in recent decades has contributed to an increased standard of living. The merits of it are extensive. But at cost? What more will be sacrificed? When do we say enough is enough? If you don’t like what you see feel free to give a holler to the Public Relations Department for Kempinski Hotels:
Kerstin Heinen, Director of Corporate Communications
kerstin.heinen@kempinski.com
