I remember my first time snorkelling on Gili Trawangan in 1991. Wading just a few metres out from the white sand, the reef was so close to shore that I had to lie down in waist-deep water to avoid stepping on the corals. In the clear turquoise water before me shimmered corals of every hue imaginable, teaming with schools of bright coloured tropical fish.
Every year when I returned to Lombok, a snorkel on Gili T was a must. And so it went, visiting this magical underwater world until, in mid-1998, I returned to find huge beds of coral missing… others laying broken and grey/white, dying in the warm water. Unable to believe so much destruction could have occurred in such a short time, I finned up and down the coast, searching for the scene I remembered so well. Then I trailed out of the ocean, sat on the beach and cried my eyes out.
What had happened? A combination of factors, both natural and man-made, had wreaked destruction on Gili Trawangan’s reefs. Firstly, the Indonesian practices of dynamite and cyanide fishing, driven by the desperate circumstances of the locals during the 1997 Indonesian economic crisis, had decimated parts of the reefs all around Lombok. Secondly, the effects of El Nino in Indonesia between 1997 and 1998 had warmed the shallow waters around the Gili’s that crucial few degrees, baking the coral and wiping out the natural habitat of the marine life.
Fast forward to 2008 and things are looking much better in all three Gilis, especially Gili Trawangan, thanks to the efforts of the Gili Eco Trust and their Biorock® programme. The Eco Trust, established in 2002 by local dive companies, working with SATGAS and government agencies, is managed by Delphine, Anna, Rais, Usman, Sarro and Subaere and is funded by dive operators on the Gilis. Donations are collected from visiting divers and snorkellers (Rp 40 000 for divers and Rp 20 000 for snorkellers) and special projects are funded by western business operators on the island.
The Biorock® method was invented, developed and patented by the late Prof Wolf Hilbertz and Dr Thomas Goreau and uses low voltage electrical currents to grow solid limestone minerals on conductive surfaces. The method being used in the Gilis involves welded steel frames submerged at varying depths in the ocean, through which a small electrical charge is run, generating mineral growth on the frames. These solid surfaces then become the framework, or artificial reef, on which corals can anchor and grow.
Hard and soft corals have been observed to grow on Biorock materials at extraordinary rates, with hard corals growing at between 2 – 6 times faster than controls (depending on species and conditions), and are exceptionally brightly coloured and densely branched. The corals heal from damage at least 20 times faster, have 16 – 50 times higher survival rate, and show rates of new coral recruitment hundreds to thousands of times higher than previous studies.
Not only do the Biorock structures regenerate reef systems quickly, they provide safe habitats for marine life and foster juvenile fish populations at an extraordinarily fast rate. They also provide effective breakwaters to reduce beach erosion from waves and unusual tides, buffering the shore from the ocean’s actions.
To date around 33 Biorock reefs have been submerged in the waters surrounding Gili Trawangan, with 15 new structures placed in December 2008. Earlier reefs created in 2004 and 2006 are now well established and show amazing rates of growth. Divers can visit the Biorock reefs and see the corals and fish populations thriving there, in addition to the natural reef systems that make the Gili islands so popular with divers.
The Gili Eco Trust is just one example of how, working together, communities can reverse the mistakes of the past and set sustainable systems in place for future generations.
