November 19, 2021
New highway project threatens subak + Planners discuss garbage on Bali beaches + Tabanan ready to vaccinate kids, waiting for govt directions + Weekend reads + more
Good morning!
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Weather & Tides
Today’s Weather for Southern Bali
Today’s Tides
Meteorology, Climatology & Geophysics Council (Link)
Tide table from Tide-forecast.com.
Daily Covid Update
National Figures
Local Figures
The Big News
“Highway Project Sparks Concerns About Agriculture and Conservation” from Mongabay: Concerns over a major highway project in Bali are mounting, with a new study revealing how the road would affect the island’s signature farmlands. The idea of building a second toll road on the island, bounced around for years before materializing in August 2020, when the plan entered the first stages of a feasibility study. In a report released October 31, the Indonesian Forum for the Environment pinpointed the agricultural areas in danger of being cleared for the project. Walhi contends the road will shatter Bali’s centuries-old irrigation system, known as subak. The system is an integral part of the “cultural landscape of Bali” that UNESCO in 2012 inscribed as a World Heritage Site. The toll road, scheduled for completion in 2024, will cover roughly 96 kilometers from Gilimanuk to Denpasar. The NGO says 481 hectares of rice fields would be breached by the project, including 34 subaks in Jembrana, 54 in Tabanan and nine in Badung.
“Planners Discuss Garbage on Bali Beaches During Rainy Season” from Tribun Bali (Indonesian): The problem of garbage continues to be a problem in Bali every rainy season. The reason is the coast of Bali is usually always flooded with garbage from the sea that comes from various areas around Bali. To anticipate this, the Bali Regional Development Planning Agency held a Focus Group Discussion on Thursday. The FGD was attended by various relevant stakeholders consisting of elements of students, communities, and related institutions. The Main Planning Expert Functional Officer of Bappeda Bali, Putu Astawa said that in dealing with the waste problem, a solution was needed. Based on existing studies, the source of waste in the coastal area of Bali comes from the current flow of the Bali Strait which carries garbage from outside and from Bali itself. “There is a lot of trash leaking into the sea in the rivers in Jembrana and Tabanan areas. So that it is necessary to install garbage traffic in these rivers,” he said.
Context: SungaiWatch is an organisation already installing garbage barriers in Bali’s rivers. They have regular volunteer cleanups and you can find out more details on their Instagram page.
“Tabanan Ready to Vaccinate 29,000 Aged 6-11 Years, Waits For Govt Directions” from Tribun Bali (Indonesian): The Education Office and the Tabanan Health Office are preparing the implementation of the Covid 19 vaccination for children aged 6-11 years in Tabanan Regency. However, the relevant agencies are waiting for directions from the Central Government for implementation. In addition, the regions are also coordinating with pediatricians regarding vaccine side effects if given to children aged 6-11 years. The head of the Tabanan Education Office, I Gusti Ngurah Darma Utama, explained that his party has now collected school data and also the number of targets for the Covid 19 vaccination for children aged 6-11 years. "We have done the data collection and we have submitted the data to the Health Office as well. This means that this data collection is carried out as a preparatory step only when there are instructions from the central government to vaccinate these elementary school children," explained Darma Utama on Thursday.
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Other Headlines
“Bali Is One of Sweden's Favorite "Backpacker" Destinations” from Antara Bali (Indonesian): Bali has become one of the favorite tourist destinations for tourists from Sweden, especially those who travel briefly with only backpacks. "In general, Swedes love to go to Bali, especially backpackers," said Swedish Ambassador to Indonesia Marina Berg on Thursday. Marina said that the average Swedish people like to travel and the islands of Bali and Indonesia are one of their favorite destinations. He believes Swedish tourists have missed spending time on the island after the pandemic has had a major impact on the world tourism industry due to restricted travel. Marina also believes that the situation in Bali is safe enough for travel. Sweden is one of the countries permitted by the Indonesian government to make international flights to Bali.
Context: Pre Covid-19 Sweden was not one of the top 20 sources of international tourists to Indonesia. It sent just over 50,000 tourists to Indonesia in 2017.
Vaccination Update
“People's Pickiness Over Vaccine Brands Hindering Covid Vaccinations” from Antara: The decline in vaccination rates in the past seven weeks has been triggered by some people and local governments being picky over vaccine brands, an official from the Ministry of Health has said. "They are delaying vaccinations waiting for a certain brand," spokesperson for COVID-19 Vaccinations for the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said on Thursday. Among the reasons several people are being picky about vaccine brands are hoaxes, she added. Meanwhile, some regional governments are being picky because they are afraid they will not get the target recipients, she added. According to Tarmizi, to boost public participation in the national vaccination program, people should be educated that the best vaccines are those that are currently available. Thus, they should not be picky, she added.
Context: In yesterday’s news, officials in Lombok noted Mataram had yet to receive any Pfizer doses (Indonesian).
More...
Nation: “Booster Vaccine Safe Says IDI COVID-19 Task Force” from Antara
Nation: “Vaccination Coverage Still Low in Four Provinces” from Antara
Nation: “China Supports Indonesia to Build Original Vaccine Manufacturing Hub” from Antara
Health Protocols (Prokes) & Health Services
“The Spread of Health Workers in Bali Is Not Evenly Distributed” from Bali Express (Indonesian): Even though the existing health facilities in Bali are able to accommodate the entire population in Bali, with a ratio of 1:1000 population, the world of health in Bali according to the Head of the Bali Provincial Health Office, dr. Ketut Suarjaya, still has a problem—the distribution of health workers is lacking. Dr. Suarjaya said that there are still Puskesmas in Bali that have not been able to meet the quota for basic health workers, such as doctors, dentists, nurses, midwives, health promotion, health care professionals, nutritionists, pharmaceutical workers and medical laboratory technology experts. When viewed from the percentage of completeness, dr. Suarjaya said that of the nine regencies/cities in Bali with 120 Puskesmas units, only Denpasar City, with 11 Puskesmas, had complete basic health personnel. The reason for the uneven distribution of health workers in Bali is because according to Dr. Suarjaya there are still many specialist doctors who are reluctant to practice outside the city of Denpasar.
More...
Nation: “Beware of Surge in Covid-19 Cases” from Antara
Badung: “Officers Hold Prokes Patrol at Benoa” from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Economy & Infrastructure
“Bali’s Economy Contracts, Here's the State of Savings and Credit” from Bali Bisnis (Indonesian): Balinese people's deposits and credits continued to grow amidst the contraction of economic growth in the third quarter of 2021 by minus 2.81% on an annual basis. Based on data from the Financial Services Authority, the collection of deposits or third party funds in Bali reached 3.15% per quarter III/2021 compared to the same period last year to Rp115.81 trillion. The increase in third party funds was also followed by credit growth of 2.42% in the third quarter of 2021 to Rp94.68 trillion. Head of OJK Regional 8 Bali and Nusa Tenggara Giri Tribroto said the growth of bank credit in Bali even exceeded the national data. Moreover, Bali's economic growth, which contracted in the third quarter of 2021, did not affect the growth of deposits and credit, which continued to grow positively. According to him, the continued growth of credit and third-party funds in Bali is related to public optimism and expectations for future economic recovery.
More...
Province: “New 'Super Air Jet' Airline Serves Domestic Flights to Bali” from Nusa Bali (Indonesian)
Buleleng: “New Bali Airport Project Warning Not to Disturb Conservation Areas” from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Bali Reopening
“Pandemic Opens New Opportunities for the Tourism Sector” from Detik (Indonesian): The Head of the Public Communications Division of the COVID-19 Task Force, Hery Trianto, said that the tourism sector affected by the pandemic must find relevant ways to serve tourists. Moreover, the current trend of traveling has changed. "Currently the trend of traveling has changed, with or without PPKM, people currently prefer to travel in nature or open places and stay in separate places," said Hery on Thursday. Hery also said that a new trend should be an opportunity for business actors. In this case, they can develop their tourism business while waiting for the pandemic to be better controlled.
More...
“Task Force Hopes Tourism Managers Understand End of Year PPKM” from Antara Bali (Indonesian)
“Mataram Hotels Fully-booked For WSBK” from Antara: One day before the World Superbike race, hotels in Mataram city have reported full occupancy, the city's tourism office head, Nizar Denny Cahyadi, said. He pegged the number of hotel rooms in Mataram city at 4,077 units. However, only 2,777 rooms are available for use—including the ones at the three hotels previously designated as COVID-19 emergency hospitals, he said. The remaining 1,300 rooms are being used by a local mining enterprise for isolating its employees, he said. The international racing event at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit in Central Lombok district, NTB, has had a positive impact on the tourism sector in Mataram city, he said.
Context: Media also covered the need to follow health protocols, the over 300 SMEs who received assistance to sell products at WSBK, the benefits to greater tourism in the area and a ban on umbrellas (Indonesian).
Weekend Reads
“Fighting Plastic Waste: Voluntary Initiatives No Longer Enough” from The Jakarta Post (Metered Paywall)
“Will Indonesia Become a New Frontier in the Space Race?” from The New York Times (Metered Paywall)
“Rising Religious Radicalism in Indonesia: Roots and Shoots” from New Mandala
Of Interest
“Rehabilitation Required for 701,000-ha Mangrove Areas in Indonesia” from Antara
“Police Should Not "Over Act" the Perpetrators” from Antara Bali (Indonesian)
“Bali Police Monitoring Drugs at Nightclubs” from Antara Bali (Indonesian)
“On Karma Kandara Licensing, Management Meets with Satpol” from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
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How You Can Help Bali
Due to the collapse of the tourism sector in Bali, tens of thousands of families have found themselves with a greatly reduced income—if any. If you’d like to support organizations working to help those in need, you can see a list of some here.
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