At first glance, the landscape of Nusa Penida, located to the south-east of Bali, seems to have little to offer. The hills have virtually been stripped bare of all trees, leaving behind a bizarre moon-like landscape of barren hills covered with alang-alang grass. Boulder are scattered around natural stone-walled pastures, and the tall vegetation gives off a lovely and all-pervading smell of lime. There appears to be not a great deal of adventure ahead for a true fan of unspoiled tropical surrounding.
First impressions, however, are deceiving. The silence one finds on this island, the absence of noise and strangely comforting cool air in the higher regions, make the experience a special one. The views from such high vantage points as Puncak Mundi and Tunjuk Pusuh are breathtaking. One cannot help but feel elated at this sight, so close and yet so eternally far away from the hustle and bustle of mainland Bali glimmering in the distance.
Afterhaving conquered a few miles of surprisingly smooth if, at times, frightfully steep and narrow tarmac roads leading to the interior, one discovers that the hills are, after all, not that blatantly naked. There are quite number of undisturbed, pristine pockets of forest on the island. The total size of the forest on the island is 1,048 hectares, a mere 5% of Nusa Penida. Not something to boast about, but in reality there is much village forest still in good condition, sprawled out between farming areas, such as the forests near Tembeling, Tunjuk Pusuh and Puncak Mundi. The tiny hamlet of Penida in the far southwestern corner of the islands is an absolute beauty, with not only pristine forest but a freshwater pool at the beach of Crystal Bay as well. One other fine example of natural and unspoilt forest is to be found near the village of Sekartaji, in the remote southeastern corner of Nusa Penida.
Sekartaji is also the home of the lesser sulphur-crested cockatoo. At present, there are only four of these birds on the island, and three of them live in a gigantic, bright-red plowering “Stinky Sterculia”, a sacred tree just next to one of the temples. According to the local community, in the 1980s there were still quite a few of these birds around this village. However, the number of cockatoos dropped drastically since the bird was considered a pest. Scarce food crops such as corn were systematically plundered by large flocks of cockatoos.
At Tembeling, a long stretch of lush rainforest meanders down through the hills, from an altitude of around 200 meters towards the sea. One can start this walk from the back of Tembeling hamlet, where a spacious release enclosure for the Bali Starling was set up. From their home perch in a tall tree, two Rainbow Bee-eaters tumble down and nimbly snatch insects in mid-air. After a walk down through thick foliage along a narrow path, it is a true joy to bathe in the cool and shaded ‘temple’ pond fed by fresh water filtered through the limestone.
Raptors like the Brahminy Kite and the majestic white-bellied Sea-eagle are to be admired on top of the cliffs at Banah Point,on the south-west coast. The views from the steep cliffs over the ocean, with the waves down below breaking against the rocks, are spectacular. Birds-of-prey soar alongside the cliffs, virtually at eye level. In addition, there’s the Black-winged starling, once thought to be endangered, now to be found in their hundreds around the mangroves on Lembongan and elsewhere on Nusa Penida.
Amongst these birds, the Bali Starling is no doubt the most important representative of Bali’s fauna. To salvage this only Balinese endemic, and critically endangered bird, the Nusa Penida Bird Sanctuary has successfully introduced a conversation program. The Sanctuary hosts breeding facilities for the Bali Starling, and has seen an incredible rate of chicks born in captivity. Up to the time of writing, a total of 50 birds born in captivity were released on Nusa Penida where they now are breeding in the wild.
The first generation of seventeen wild birds is gaily populating their new habitat. It is a truly magnificent project that has deliberately opted for an alternative approach in protecting this vulnerable bird species against poachers, human greed and forest encroachment. The Bird Sanctuary has, in fact, chosen a radically new conservation approach.
The natural habitat of this gem amongst birds is the West Bali National Park, not Nusa Penida. Many former conservation programs have failed to succeed in preserving the Bali Starling in Bali and numbers in the wild dwindled to about five. These deploring results have inspired Bayu Wirayudha, Director of Friends of the National Parks Foundation and Begwawan Giri Foundation, with the idea of tackling the problem in rather a revolutionary way: a fully integrated approach that combines nature conservation and community development backedup by the islands traditional “awig-awig” laws.
In 2005, an all-encompassing agreement was reached between the conservation foundation, the religious authorities, the provincial government to implement an adapt law that ordains a total ban on hunting birds on Nusa Penida. The link between religion, adat and strongly felt support given to the population of the island, has, in other words, created the ideal circumstances for this project to succeed.
The Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo and the endangered Java Sparrow both get a chance of survival of this ‘reinvented’ natural environment. All of these feathered friends find a new and safe haven on Nusa Penida, and perhaps thanks to the Sanctuary’s ’holistic’ approach, the Bali Starling is again thriving.
Presently, around 60 birds inhabit the island. Moreover, the birds are happy to see that the conservation program recently received a warm welcome by various institutions and officials, including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who has confirmed his personal interest in this project by releasing 12 birds last April. This way, the once ill-fated island now seems to be on its way to becoming a better place for the local community and a natural haven for the birds.
TRAVEL AND ACCOMMODATION
Nusa Penida can be reached by ferry from Padangbai, with one crossing a day aboard the ’Nusa Jaya Abadi’. It carries some 400 people and a limited number of vehicles. Alternatively, fast boats leave regularly from Sanur and Benoa to Lembongan, with further connections to Nusa Gede.
Accommodation of the island is scarce and basic with losmen in Batumulapan, Toyapakeh and the harbor at Sampalan. Alternative lodgings, comfortable if more expensive, are available at Lembongan and Ceningan. In addition, there is basic and inexpensive accommodation at the Nusa Penida Bird Sanctuary.
For more information on a visit you may want to contact the sanctuary prior to departure
They can be reached at via the Friends of the National Park Foundation
(www.northernmagic.com/fnpf)
Jl. Bisma 3, Ubud
Phone 0361-977978
e-mail fnpf@dps.centrin.net.id
The writer is a freelance writer on Indonesian culture and nature conservation based in Ubud, Bali. He began working in Indonesia in 1996 and now divides his time between Bali and Holland.
He can be contacted at g.dijkman@gmail.com