BANGLI HILL ECOTOURISM

ECOTOURISM DEVELOPMENT 

IN BANGLI HILL AREA

By :

I Wayan Wiwin

The economic significance of tourism has meant that its ecological and socio-cultural impacts are often ignored. Since the late 1970s and early 1980s, however, the negative consequences of tourism have increasingly been recognized and intense debate about the ecological and social costs of tourism development has ensued. At first, this primarily ecologically orientated tourism critique was an attempt to address the problems of unlimited growth and unrestricted mass tourism. Later, however, alternative approaches to tourism development have been increasingly discussed, creating a diversity of terms and concepts for new directions in tourism development. Ecotourism are the more popular ideas heading this debate. These involve multiple actors, ranging from politics, society, and economy, sometimes with conflicting interests, and leading to conceptions with a variety of facets.

Ecotourism development has also been strongly pushed by governments through the development of policies and strategies. Their support for the concept is based on its potential as a job and income generator, particularly for local communities and therefore as an effective means of regional development. Too often, however, the tourism industry and governments adopt a narrow product-centered perspective only, without accepting ecotourism as a paradigm for sustainable tourism development in natural areas.

Environmentalists and conservationists, on the other hand, advocate the concept mainly as a channel through which to promote conservation and a sustainable management regime restricted not just to protected areas. They hope that this idea of “protection through usage” will lead to a generally more ‘green’ tourism industry and an increase in the ecological and socio-cultural awareness and behaviour of tourists.

Concidering these diverse approaches to the concept, it is not surprising that there is some discrepancy over its objectives. Definitions are always a matter of perspective, interests, and values which ultimately lead to distinct and often conflicting perceptions of a complex and dynamic concept, such as ecotourism. Since multifaceted interests are involved, all embracing this idea as a desirable goal for tourism development, various interpretations of the concept have emerged from this vigorous and powerful debate. With the discussion becoming increasingly refined, however, a prevalent understanding of ecotourism as the intersection of nature-based tourism and sustainable tourism has developed. The term cannot therefore simply be used synonymously with nature-based tourism, since the former concept is sustainable tourism in natural areas, embracing the values of sustainability.

Ecotourism is closely linked to the concept of sustainable tourism and should therefore be consistent with the principles of the parental paradigm of sustainable development, balancing economic, ecological, and social aspects as an integrated whole. This understanding highlights the significant relationship between ecotourism, sustainable tourism, and sustainable development.

Three core elements can be distilled from the many attempts that have been made to define ecotourism (David Bruce Weaver, 2001). First, the focus af attractions is natural environments (e.g. a rainforest or a grassland) or specific components thereof, such as a particular type of animal or plant. Ecotouriam is therefore essentially a form of nature-based tourism. Second, ecotourism emphasizes learning as an out-come of the interaction between ecotourists and the natural environment. In this way, ecotourism is differentiated from nature-based tourism activities that are more leisure based (such as the classic “3S” vacation of sea, sand, and sun) or those that are adventure oriented (such as trekking, climbing, or rafting). The motivation in those latter pursuits is either to enjoy the hedonistic experience of relaxing in the sun and gaining a tan or to have a memorable experience that offers some degree of risk and personal challenge. The natural attraction in either case serves as asuitable venue that allows these motivations to be played out. Finally, ecotourism should be sustainable. This follows logically from the second criterion, in that the desire to understand and appreciate natural attractions implies a desire to ensure that the integrity of those attractions is not undermined.

These three criteria can be combined to form the following working definition of ecotourism is a form of nature-based tourism that strives to be ecologically, socio-culturally, and economically sustainable while providing opportunities for appreciating and learning about the natural environment or specific elements thereof (David Bruce Weaver, 2001).

One’s of potential tourist attractions in Bangli Regency is Bangli Hill area, about 2 Km north of Bangli town centre, and about 45 Km from Denpasar.

The finding shows that Bangli Hill area is very potential to be developed as an ecotourism area as it has many natural and cultural aspects which are very enchanting and attracting for the people, physically and non physically. The physical potencies such as : the variety of it’s flora and fauna, the existence of some temples with their religious nuances, it’s beautiful scenery and also the existence of IHDN as a centre of Hindus cultural and education development. The non physical ones are : the social cultural relationship among the societies who have the responsibility of the temples/the worshippers of the temples, piodalan ceremony in each temple and also the social cultural activities among the societies.

Based on the identification of tourism potencies had by Bangli Hill area and in accordance with the policy of tourism development in Bangli, the ecotourism development in Bangli Hill area can be organized as follows : (1) As a centre of ecotourism with spiritual nuances, (2) As a centre of conservation and the development of social culture plant, and (3) As a centre of Hindus cultural development. To reach that purposes, some development programs, physically and non physically, can be made. The physical programs including : the building of some infrastructures that can support tourism aspect, the organizing of holy areaa, the organizing of production area, the organizing of conservation area, the building of some rest areas, the building of meditation area, the building water basin area, the rehabilitation of some temples, and the building of Hindus centre. Non physical programs including : the training of tourism industry mangement, giving the information about the conservation area and  it’s environment, giving the information about agriculture, the forming and building of some home industry groups, and the forming and building of traditional art groups. 

 Keyword : ecotourism