DragonFyre: Gili Air beach erosion

Gili Air Eco-Issues


	About 10 meters were lost in 2008 on the neighboring island of Gili Trawangan. Gili Air has lost similar coastline but due to the lack of bungalows and beach structures, it is not as obvious..

	The remains of dynamited coral. These chunks can be concreted back together for use as a large surface area for BioRock Coral Reef Eko Technology coral regrowth (requires electricity).

	The sandy area shows where the Gili Air beach was before erosion. 1,600 kg concrete blocks washed away in the 2008 storms.

A Personal Note
Paul A. Falworth
DragonFyre Founder

Beach Erosion has been quite severe in 2008. Gili Air lost 7 meters near the surf break. 1,600 kg concrete blocks simply washed away in the storms.

Dynamited Coral Reefs & Poisoned Fish are hopefully a thing of the past. It may take over 100 years for the coral to grow back naturally. However the successful BioRock Coral Reef Eko Technology on Gili Meno illustrates that electricity grows coral much faster than by nature alone.

Fish populations were decimated by coral loss as well as by the local fishermen's poisons. The ones remaining love eating bananas (from snorkeling trips) while the coral ecosystem grows back.

Beach Reclamation is possible though an expensive option. 10 meter wide hemp-net carpets, up to 30 meters long. barged from Lombok can be tethered to Gili Air's high shore and unrolled. Layers of sand and nets, all criss-crossing, can create a stable shore.

Irrigated with native plants and bamboo above high shore, the new root systems knot the sand back together. A 3% Isles tourist tax is needed to fund it for all the isles.

Low Lying Atolls risk tidal and storm surges. Gili Air is no exception. Raise the island 2 meters over 20 years? That's a lot of barges and wheelbarrows of sand. But doable.

Lack of Jobs for Gili Air is no exception. As Oberoi and Sheraton hotel chains hire, they backfill from Bali. DragonFyre would hire locally and supports the Gili Air Development Council ensuring education funds and medical clinic expansion.

Endemic Corruption (as assessed by Global Integrity.org) ranks Indonesia on the 'weak' side. This may pose hardships for the construction of an eco-lodge and other island initiatives.

Gili Isles Export-Business Cooperative should offer free Internet access for local islanders' businesses. Web-branding them on Quest-designed eco-systems will assist in their export growth. Island red rum arak eco-drinks for 7/11 export to Shinjuku, Japan are possible.

Further Exports of hand-blown glass rum flasks and copper starfish fund eco-awareness beyond Gili's fair shores and those of Lombok and Bali as well as the 501c3 eco-trust in California, United States. (in-process 2008)