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During the last few days, there has been a debate in West Sumatra, and Indonesia wide, on whether or not an island can be sold (to foreigners). This topic stemmed out from the news covered by various mass media outlets about allegations that three islands in Mentawai Archipelago had been “sold”, based on ads posted on www.privateislandsonline.com , based in Toronto, Canada. The website explicitly offered the Islands of Siloina, Kandui, and Macaroni, under the tagline ‘Islands for Sale in Indonesia’. Prices labeled for Siloina Island, Macaroni Resort, and Kandui Resort were, respectively, US$ 1, 6 million, US$ 4 million, and US$ 8 million (for 50% share).
Before answering the question raised in the title of this article, it may be helpful to get familiar with marine tourism activities that have taken place in Mentawai up to this point.
Mentawai Archipelago is a district in West Sumatra Province, Indonesia, possessing huge potential for tourism, particularly marine tourism. After gaining recognition from the surfing world, this region continues to dominate as one of the preferred surfing destinations for international surfers. Among those who have come to enjoy the waves and test their abilities were Kelly Slater, Joel Parkinson, Taj Burrow, CJ. Hobgood, Mick Fanning, Tom Carrol, Tom Curren, and Andy Irons. In the recent past there have been tens of thousands of foreign surfers visiting and surfing the waves in Mentawai. Mentawai has special characteristics and potential because of: - The presence of numerous wave spots, categorized as excellent for surfing.
- Mentawai remains secluded and less crowded, which makes surfing more enjoyable.
- The living environment in Mentawai is still natural, and remains uncontaminated by modern western culture.
- The islands enjoy a long surf season throughout the year.
These strong potentials attracted businessmen to invest in the marine tourism sector over the years, and some of them have made many millions of dollars for themselves. As the Indonesian adage points out, “ada gula ada semut“ [where there’s sugar, there are ants] This is beyond dispute and it proves to be very true in Mentawai. Countless newcomer businessmen have been drawn to Mentawai to grab a part of this opportunity to invest in marine tourism. Regardless of its potential, all tourism development (in Mentawai) should adhere to the principles of sustainability taking into account the following elements:
1. Participation
Local community should supervise or control the tourism development through their involvement in defining the tourism vision, identifying which resources need preserving and improving, and upgrading goals, as well as strategies for the development and management of tourism attractions. The community should also partake in implementing the existing strategies as they were drawn up.
2. The Involvement of Stakeholders
Stakeholders involved in the development of tourism include non-governmental groups or institutions [NGOs], volunteers, Regional or District Government, local tourism associations, business associations, together with influential parties with interests who will be impacted by tourism activities.
3. Local Ownership
Tourism development should be able to offer quality employment for local communities. Local communities should have been able to develop and maintain the supporting tourism facilities such as hotels, restaurants, etc. Experiences reveals that in realizing the issue of local ownership, local business operators/entrepreneurs desperately need education and training to facilitate their access (to the industry). It is vital that linkages between business operators and local communities should be fostered in the effort to support local ownership.
4. Sustainable Use of Resources
Tourism development should be able to utilize the resources in a sustainable manner, meaning that the activities conducted should avoid excessive use of resources especially those that are non-renewable. This aspect should also be supported by the involvement of local people in the planning, development, and implementation phases, which will help bring about equal distribution of benefits. On the implementation level, tourism activities should guarantee that both natural and artificial [man-made] resources and facilities should be maintained and restored according to international criteria and standards.
5. Capacity
What needs to be taken into consideration is the carrying capacity of locations. This includes physical, natural, social, and cultural capacities. The development and expansion should agree with local and environmental limits. The plan and operation need to be subjected to regular evaluation, so as to enable the determination of any required adjustment or reparation. The scale and type of tourism facility should reflect limits of acceptable use.
6. Structuring and Regulating of the Environment
Particularly for surfing tourism, where the activities take place at sea, the ocean and its marine environment should always be maintained and preserved appropriately. Direct impact related to the sea and coral reef occurs when charter boats drop anchor. This is known as a primary cause of damage to coral reef and marine ecosystems. The seabed also serves as spawning area for valuable species of fish.
7. Accommodating Community’s Goals
In order to establish harmonious relationships between tourists, locations, and local communities, it is advisable to integrate the objectives of the community in all tourism activity. An instance of this would be collaborative cultural tourism.
The present situation and those who are actively involved in marine tourism activities are:
A. Local Population
In some areas of Mentawai, such as North Sipora and South Siberut, several community members have taken advantage of the tourism potential by modifying their houses into inns for surfing and other types of tourist. This additional source of income provides the local people with good revenue, because aside from the rooms the innkeepers also offer meals for the tourists. The tourists pay the room and services with foreign currencies [dollar, Euro, etc.]
B. Marine Tourism Companies
Ever since the issuance of Regional Regulation of Mentawai District No.16/2002, concerning Marine Tourism and Retribution, the District Government of Mentawai has granted five companies with permits to perform marine tourism activities. As stipulated in this Regional Regulation [Perda 16, 2002 Kab Kep Mentawai], the range of activity performed by those companies is as follows
- Resort
A Resort is defined as a land based business, providing various facilities, including lodging, restaurants, and other services. This business also incorporates the provision of equipment for marine tourism activities. At present, the growth of resort development in Mentawai is rising, starting from the small scale up international standard. [or full service].
Companies possessing marine tourism permits in Mentawai, either domestic investment [PMDN] or foreign investment [PMA] status, usually lease the land for the construction of proposed resorts for 20 or 30 years. This is mode of contract takes into consideration to desire to maintain existing traditional rights over clan or community land. However, some companies, usually foreign investment companies, purchase community land. The purchased land is registered under the companies’ name. Consequently, the land status will become a Corporate Ownership [Hak Guna Bangunan] for 30 years, which can be extended.
- Yachts/Charter Boats
Generally, companies that are granted with permits to perform marine tourism activities by the District Government also operate yachts or charter boats. Typically, each boat carries 8 to 12 passengers for a 10 to 14 day surfing trip in Mentawai. All facilities are provided on board [accommodation, meals, drinks, etc.]. These charter boats serve as “floating accommodation. Normally, these companies hire expatriates, acting as their Marketing Managers, to facilitate the marketing of tourism packages to the international world through Internet, surfing magazines, or directly to international surfing communities.
Mentawai marine tourism operators have formed the Mentawai Marine Tourism Association in collaboration with the District Government to develop appropriate marine tourism. Regional Regulation No. 16/2002 standardizes the acceptable operational number and capacity of passengers to be carried (on boats) by companies owning the necessary permit. Every company is entitled to operate six charter boats. The list of 23 authorized boats can be found in MMTA website, www.mmta-mentawai.org
The operation of resorts or boats present different dynamics, levels of operational difficulties, and profits. However, the similarity is that every business must perform their respective obligation to contribute to the local government and community according to the Regional Regulation on Marine Tourism and Retribution. The amount of retribution that a company has to pay to the District Government of Mentawai is US$ 3 [Rp. 30,000] per person/day for every passenger who surfs.
C. Seasonal Boats
Aside from boats operated by companies owning the necessary permit, there are many other different types of boats, ranging from wooden fishing boats modified into surf charter boats, to luxurious yachts owned by foreigners. These boats operate marine tourism activities in Mentawai. Usually, these lavish yachts sail in directly from countries such as Australia, Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia.
Even though these yachts are not operated by authorized companies [ones with Marine Tourism Permit], they carry foreign passengers freely to surf in Mentawai waters, without encountering significant obstacles from related authorities. Despite the collaborative efforts by the Mentawai District Government and MMTA to find solutions in resolving this situation, there have been no appropriate measures, so far, that have proven effective in dealing with this kind activity. Boat owners take cover behind the authority exercised by the Harbormaster Office, who issues a Sailing Permit, and they believe that the Sailing Permit is valid for this kind of purpose throughout Indonesian waters. In publishing such a permit, the Harbormaster Office is not obliged to consider the Mentawai District Regional Regulation on Marine Tourism and Retribution, they merely concentrate on sea navigation regulations.
When Mentawai District Government attempts to take action against these seasonal boats, the boat operators argue that their boats can simply sail to wherever they want to in Indonesian waters as long as they have the Sailing Permit [SIB]. As a matter of fact, SIB only serves the purpose of carrying passengers from one port to another, and is legally not intended to cover the carrying of tourists engaged in marine tourism activities within Mentawai Archipelago where the jurisdiction of Mentawai District Government includes the waters up to four-miles from the coast.
The surfing season in Mentawai runs from April to October and usually lasts for about 7 months. Following the end of the season, these parasitic seasonal boats leave Mentawai or Indonesia and head out to other countries where they can operate. The list of these 22 boats can be found in this website: http://76.162.48.220/index.html
  HANDICAPS & CONSTRAINTS:
- One of the significant obstacles that is creating unfair business competition and conflict in the area is the large number of seasonal boats that engage in marine tourism activity in Mentawai without restraint, whereas according to the implementation aspects of Regional Regulation No. 16/2002, this kind of activity is clearly categorized as illegal.
- The Regional Regulation No. 16/2002 is the legal basis for marine tourism activities in Mentawai. So far supervision and implementation of these regulations has not been effective in the field and everyday the number of unauthorized operators engaged in marine tourism activity in Mentawai increases correspondingly. Those activities can be qualified as illegal tourism, heavily affecting the authorized companies that are paying all kinds of taxes and levies, while these unlawful (parasitic) boat operators are evading such expenses and selling the tour package significantly cheaper.
- In general, marine tourism business in Mentawai is predominantly run by foreigners, if not westerners, due to several factors:
a. Marine tourism, chiefly surfing, is a special domain of interest because the target markets are foreigners. It can be stated with authority that Indonesian tourists do not visit Mentawai to go surfing.
b. The absence of decent public facilities and infrastructure in Mentawai means that companies require considerable funds, boldness, astute business techniques and leadership to run these businesses.
c. Surfing is an activity full of physical risks. In Mentawai, it is not unusual to hear of or witness accidents, resulting in severe injuries, paralysis, or even death. Foreign surfing operators understand how to deal with this kind of issue better because they have international medical rescue networks in place.
Having been informed of the above constraints, there are a number of things that must be observed and emphasized, with the intention of accelerating the development of tourism, especially Mentawai marine tourism, and they include:
A. Companies are granted with a (Marine Tourism Operators) permit by the District Government of Mentawai based on the fact they perform real investment (on land). These legitimate operators deserve protection from companies or individuals, native or foreign, who refuse to be involved in any form of long-term investment, particularly those who own freeloading seasonal boats with foreign flags, and those who do not commit to any investment at all (in RI). They are no more than boat owners or operators, and they can, at any time, sail away from Indonesia. Ironically, during their operation in Mentawai, these boats, for the most part, are navigated by foreigners.
B. The importance of the positive contributions by various parties, companies or individuals, who have designed clear and comprehensive development concepts for the area should be recognized. Some of these development concepts have been implemented in Mentawai, but it will take time and solid progress to achieve the desired targets... and, in the mean time, uninformed people have made negative comments about these agents for change, even accusing them of playing the part of brokers. The fact is that, this small group have significantly contributed to the promotion of Mentawai marine tourism to the world. It is obvious that the implementation of these development concepts will require huge investment, and there is no way that this group can carry out the investment component on their own. Assistances from other investors, local and international are needed as encouraged by current investment regulations.
C. When talking about ”concepts“, we need to consider the growth of the global business world, especially IT. One good example is Google. What Google has to offer is a ”concept“ [software], so their corporate value is far higher than the value of any ”real“ investment [hardware]. Countless other companies have followed Google’s path in their focus on ”concepts“ or ”software“. Let’s apply this business yardstick to the group of people who have been contributing concept after concept in developing marine tourism in Mentawai. Not only do these people contribute the concepts but they also implement the concepts, for instance; operating charter boats, establishing locations close to some surf locations, etc. In general, this group are the true pioneers of the surfing industry in Mentawai.
D. Limited facilities and support to date from the National Government, which, in turn, has handicapped the Regional Government’s ability to implement investment plans and effectively regulate and manage the marine tourism sector in particular due to a lack of transportation, infrastructure, telecommunication, and IT. Furthermore, there is not yet any unification of land ownership that takes into account the pattern of land use in Mentawai and at the same time protects the traditional rights of communities in Mentawai.
E. Law No. 27/2007 concerning Management of Coastal Areas and Small Islands is yet to be implemented in this area. The law specifically empowers the Governing or Authorization Rights of Coastal Waters [Hak Penguasaan Perairan Pesisir], which is in this case the domain of marine tourism activities. If this law can now be enforced, the area will enjoy very favorable conditions and bring it into line with the regulation of coastal areas throughout Indonesia. - Returning to the title of this article it is clear after reviewing the facts that no deals have been consummated involving the sale of islands in Mentawai. What has happen in fact is the sale and exploitation of ”waves“ and the natural beauty & natural resources of the Mentawais. As pointed out clearly above, more attention needs to be focused on the (foreign and local parties) who refuse to observe the local government regulations, and who have engaged actively in the business of “selling” waves. In other words, in Mentawai the real assets being sold (legally or illegally) to foreigners are marine tourism products, such as surfing, diving, fishing, and eco-tourism.
- The Agrarian Regulations in Indonesia do not enable any individual to sell an island. In most cases what has happened in Mentawai is that foreign investors have offerer shares to the (foreign) public, or domestic investment companies have offerer shares to domestic investors.
This brief article cannot cover this subject comprehensively but it gives a basic outline of the marine tourism industry in Mentawai. It is our collective responsibility to find solutions to the challenges we face here.
Padang, August 28, 2009 |
