Jamie O’Brien visited the controversial Uluwatu construction project in his latest video. Photo: Jamie O’Brien // YouTube
Jamie O’Brien has become the latest surfer to decry the ongoing construction at Uluwatu. In between sessions, he visited the site in person and lamented the situation unfolding before him, before calling on his viewers to act.
The update came from the most recent leg of O’Brien’s current Indonesian tour. After an extended stay in the Mentawais, the YouTuber recently packed up and shipped out to Bali. There, he took a moment to comment on the ongoing situation at Uluwatu, before getting out in the water. “They just absolutely destroyed the whole cliff. This is so sad,” He said, as he walked along the still-active construction site. Later on, he added, “The worst part is, there’s all this rock and limestone falling into the ocean and it’s killing the marine life and the reef.”
The highly controversial construction project began about a month ago. The project was a response to cracks that began to appear on the cliff face under a well-known temple. Soon after, Balinese officials set into motion a project to build a coastal road and seawall at the cliff base. Since then, locals, surfers and activist groups have sounded the alarm, claiming the project threatens not only the nearby surf break, but also wildlife.
Before returning to his regularly scheduled surf content, O’Brien called on his viewers to join the chorus of voices speaking out against the construction. “This is not right,” he said, “We can all voice our opinions and I think this is super sad. I don’t know, I just kind of wanted to show you what was happening a little bit before we go for a surf.”
