SWAP - Indonesia

Some of the best waves in the world happen to be located in areas with the most severe environmental and social issues. This is the case for the Mentawais and each year hundreds of surfers visit the islands usually via a charter boat without even touching foot on land. Often surfers remain unaware of the issues and are unable to participate in any projects that are attempting to tackle the problem. Mentawai adventure is the only foundation offering volunteering placements in the area.

For more information on the Mentawai Islands Click Here

Siloinak Resort

Siloinak Resort is built on a 30 acres deserted island, with 900 meters of coconut palms fringed beaches and a wonderful lagoon, ideal for swimming among tropical fishes.Built in an authentic Mentawai spirit and architecture, the Resort offers a unique Mentawai experience of peace and relaxation, sometimes animated by beach BBQ and epic evenings at the bar.

Siloinak Resort is composed of a large 16 seat restaurant, established in the largest "uma" (the Mentawai long house) in the whole Mentawai archipelago and 12 bungalows hosting one or two surfers. Roofs are made of palm leaves and the complex is entirely built with local tropical red wood. The 8 showers and toilets, with hot and cold water, are located outside the bungalows. Siloinak Resort caters to a maximum of 12 surfers.

The Environment

Rapid economic growth over the last three decades has improved the quality of life and provision of basic services to most Indonesians. However, a number of environmental problems are threatening the country's environmental sustainability, foremost among them being a rapid and generally unsustainable rate of natural resource exploitation. Areas of particular concern include forests and fisheries.

Deforestation and Biodiversity Loss

Indonesia faces a challenge of staggering proportions over the coming years in managing its rich forests and conserving their biodiversity. This resource not only supports economic growth by generating foreign income, but it also supports much of the country's poor rural population. Seventy-five percent of Indonesia's poor live in rural areas, and about half of these are affected by the degradation of forestlands, which make up 60 percent of the country's land area. This is definately the case in Sumatra where the palm oil industry continues to domintate the landscape.

High rates of deforestation are a result of poor governance and failure to properly regulate forest access and use. The situation has been further compounded by excessive capacity in the wood processing industry, which is artificially stimulating wood demand. As a result, some of the world's most biologically rich and diverse forests, are being degraded at dramatic rates. Forest loss and degradation are also undermining forest ecosystem services, such as slope stabilization, watershed protection and carbon sequestration.

Palm Oil

Palm oil is now considered as a major source of income for Indonesia and for more than 3.5 million people working in this sub-sector. But this expansion is coming at a heavy price. Where plantations are created in areas of high conservation value forests (HCVF), this has led to the complete loss of forest ecological functions and socioeconomic benefits for local people.

Palm oil is an incredibly versatile vegetable oil derived from the fruit of the oil palm tree Elais guineensis. In central Africa, where the oil palm originated, it is a staple crop central to the livelihoods of millions of small-scale farmers. But elsewhere in the world palm oil is big business. Commercial oil palm plantations have spread throughout the tropics.

The spread of oil palm plantations is a major driver of tropical forest destruction in some of the world's most biologically diverse areas. The plantations decimate the local wildlife, wiping out 80-100 per cent of birds, reptiles and mammals, and putting extra pressure on already threatened species like the Orang-utan and Sumatran tiger. In Indonesia, where tropical rainforest is disappearing at a rate of over 2 million hectares a year, mature oil palm acreage increased by 118 per cent from 1995-2003. According to the industry, 48 per cent of Indonesian and Malaysian palm oil plantations are created on primary (largely undisturbed by humans) or secondary forest land, and field observations in these countries suggest the figure could be much higher. The use of fire to clear the land was a major cause of the forest fires that ravaged Indonesia and cast an almighty smog over the entire region in 1997. Malaysia was again shrouded with thick haze from Indonesian forest fires this year, largely caused by Malaysian owned plantations in Indonesia using fire to clear brush and rainforest remnants for oil palm plantations.

Many areas of rainforest are protected, but the laws are weak and easily buckle under the demands of oil palm companies for more land. In Indonesia, where thousands of local communities and indigenous peoples have displaced from their traditional lands to make way for plantations, the oil palm business is a byword for corruption, bribery, human rights violations and violent conflict.

At least one in ten supermarket products marketed in Europe and one in three food products on supermarket shelves in the UK. It is an ingredient in biscuits, chocolate, frying oil, instant noodles, muesli, ice cream, crisps, chips, sauces, mayonnaise and margarine, to name but a few, and its derivatives are used in soaps, shampoo, cosmetics and detergents, as well as in the metal and leather industries.

Another cause of Indonesia's massive rate of deforestation is global demand for timber. Approximately 80% of timber production in Indonesia is considered to stem from illegal logging which continues to persist as a major problem.

SWAP provides opportunities to get involved in community projects that tackle environmental concerns such as deforestations and biodiversity loss. If you wish to submit an article regarding any environmental concerns please email us at mail@swaptravel.org

Notes courtesy of the World Bank and FOE: www.worldbank.org, www.foe.org.uk

The Proposed Projects...

Mentawai Adventure Foundation strives for the preservation of this long-established culture. Mentawai Adventure is wishing to particpate in the reconstruction and repari of the homes in the Mentawai islands by reviving the traditional method of building, a nearly forgotten technique, replaced by more expensive and western-style housing using concrete and other non-traditional materials. However this traditional method over the years has proved to be fully seismic, cheaper and far more sustainable to live in. Mentawai foundation has opened a ''Forest job school' to allow young Mentawai people to be trained by their elders in the art of traditional building and the sustainable use of the forest. The picture below represents the first 'uma' built by Mentawai Adventure. The construction involved 40 young Mentawain and caused the re-discovery of long forgotten techniques and now all as a result have jobs. Volunteers will participate in the building of one monumnetal 'uma' or a series of smaller 'ruzuks'.

Coral Regneration Scheme

Mentawai Adventure wants to revive the coral in the Mentawais, thanks to a revolutionary technique which by low level electrification of the waters allow the re-growth of coral at a rate 10 fold its natural regeneration speed. With 30 acres of land and 60acres of coral reef, Sioloinak is a perfect area to develop a pilot-project for this technique which could be applied all over the world. The island has gained classification as a marine reserve through cooperation with the Mentawai authorities. The technical and legal framework is all finalised and the project is ready to go. As a volunteer you may be asked to carry out duties such as collecting the coral and trying it on underwater metallic structures for investigation. You may also be asked to use diving equipment and a former scuba diving experience would be particuarly useful.

Turtle Rehabilitation Centre

One of the most endangered marine species within the Mentawais is the turtle which populations have recently diminshed, due to overfishing and poaching of the eggs. Mentawai adventure plans to build a turtle hatchery and rehabilitation centre within the lagoon where the coral regeneration project takes place. Volunteers will assist in a range of activities i.e. collecting eggs, taking care of the young turtles, feeding and counting them and building any necessary infrastructure.

Surf Job Schools

Mentawai Adventure is in the early stages of developing a school to train and educate promising young Mentawai surfers to be professional surf guides. This project is beginning to develop and could help support the young Mentawai surf generation to create a living from the surf industry as a sustainable alternative to logging or overfishing, therefore saving the forest and the seas. As a volunteer, you could be asked to build the infrastructure for the school, assist in the training of the local mentawai people and even be one of the surf-guide instructors, if you possess the relevant skills.

What do we want from the volunteers?

Mentawai Adventure are looking for indiviudals from a range of backgrounds, whether just graduated from high school or being in work for many years. The following skills or experience in these areas are particuarly useful within the projects and other duteis on the island:

Diving qualificaiton/experience, Tradesmen i.e. carpenters, electricians, plumbers, gardeners, builders; solar energy technicians/research experience; maine/environmental background (academic and work experience); Chefs: Experience in tourism/travel industry; Marine engine mechanics/research experience; Diesel mechanics.

Aside from having relevant skills, we ask our volunteers to be flexible, able to work overseas in a tropical climate on a range of projects and have a sense of humour!

Interested? Contact Mentawai Adventure at info@mentawaiadventure.com