New Petition Calls For Transparency of Uluwatu Development's Environmental Impact

As the development in Bali around the Pura Luhur Uluwatu Temple continues, a cry for more transparency around the project's environmental impact is being raised. At the center of the development is the ancient Hindu temple and efforts to protect and preserve it. But as footage showing massive boulders falling into the ocean as a result of the construction of a nearby road has got viral, concerns about how this will impact both the surf at Uluwatu and the vibrant marine ecosystem are being raised.

Surfing environmental advocates Save The Waves Coalition have launched a petition on Change.org calling for the local government to release the formal Environmental Impact Assessment.

"It is concerning that this project is advancing without appropriate analysis and public transparency regarding the potential risks to the environment and the surf, especially in such a sensitive and biodiverse area," reads the petition. "That is why we feel an EIA(AMDAL) should be completed and presented to the public so that the project's full environmental implications are known."

The situation in Bali goes back to a 1992 earthquake that left the temple with a large crack running through it. More than a thousand years old, and visited by thousands every year, the aim was to shore it up from further degradation. The Badung Regency government announced in April that they would be starting the approximately $5 million project, which includes construction of a road and seawall.

Related: Watch: Gabriel Medina vs Italo Ferreira at Uluwatu. Who Wins?

Meanwhile, Save The Waves reports that surf tourism contribute upwards of $35 million to the local economy with over 235,000 surfers visiting the area. Among them, world champs Gabriel Medina and Italo Ferreira , who were just enjoying the long, wide-open lefts of Uluwatu.

"Save The Waves acknowledges the spiritual, cultural, and economic significance of the Pura Luhur Uluwatu Temple to the Balinese people," continues the Save The Waves Petition.

However, like many others throughout Bali and around the world, we are alarmed by the potential environmental risks this project poses to the surrounding marine and surf ecosystem. To our knowledge and to that of our local partners, no Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been conducted for this proposed road project. Without such an assessment, it is impossible to gauge how Uluwatu’s biodiverse surf ecosystem might be affected," they add.

Read the petition in full here .

Related: Save The Waves Sounds the Alarm on Uluwatu Construction Project

Related: Uluwatu Concrete Seawall Construction Underway, and the Video Is Alarming