The Jakarta Globe 11 Dec 09;
Denpasar. The island of Bali is not only Indonesia’s best international tourism destination but is also home to Asia’s best mangrove forests, a local forestry official said on Friday.
“As the best in Asia, the lush mangrove forests have become the destination for comparative studies by experts from various countries,” said Anak Agung Ngurah Buana, who heads the Bali Forestry Office.
He said Bali was home to 1,346 hectares of mangrove forest, all managed under the Ngurah Rai Forest Park, and that visiting experts had come from countries such as Japan, Germany, the Philippines, Italy and the United States to study the forest as a model for similar developments.
Buana said that the Suwung mangrove forest in South Bali had been a model in mangrove management as a result of an agreement between the Ministry of Forestry and the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
He said the project, which started in 1993, was considered to have been fairly successful in cultivating and preserving a number of mangrove variants, some producing substances that may be developed into medicines.
Footpaths connect one part of the forest to another, making it a favorite tourist destination for local and international visitors.
Local communities often fish for recreation in the forest, which stretches along the coast from Benoa Harbor to the Ngurah Rai International Airport in Tuban.
The forest is managed by 42 workers, half of them technical staff from the Mangrove Management Agency and two experts from Japan.
Buana said that the forest saw a continuous planting of new seedlings and a constant maintenance program in the hope that it would act as “lungs” for the city of Denpasar.
Antara
