Bali Update: Pushing for Action, Not Talk
A solar taxi arrived Friday at the climate talks in Bali. (Credit: Courtesy of IISD / Earth Negotiations Bulletin)The diplomats and officials gathered in Bali to shape talks leading to a new climate treaty are beginning to feel the heat. In public conference rooms and private hotel suites, they are (in theory at least) trying to prepare a two-year “road map” for updating the faltering 1992 Framework Convention on Climate Change, the world’s first experiment in common action to limit global warming.
But they are outnumbered by armies of observers, including climate scientists, college students in polar bear costumes, and gray-suited lobbyists for companies that stand to win or lose big in a world shifting away from fossil fuels. (Potential winners: manufacturers of wind turbine blades and nuclear power plants. Potential losers: companies dealing in coal and oil or products that depend on those fuels.)
On Thursday, a delegation of scientists released a “Bali Declaration” in which more than 200 experts in climate, energy, ecology and other related fields called on the negotiators to commit to concrete steps to cut emissions promptly and sharply. This is a big departure from the work of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change over the last 20 years, in which scientists have periodically laid out “what if” scenarios for emissions, warming, impacts and responses, but avoided defining how much warming is too much.
The declaration said that the I.P.C.C. and other studies pointed to clear-cut ecological and social dangers above a threshold of about 3 degrees Fahrenheit of additional warming. The only way to avoid that threshold, the scientists said, is to cut global greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050 from their levels in 1990. And the only hope of doing that lay in starting now, they said.
“For climate negotiators to do their job, they have to realize what climate science is telling them: climate change is real and urgent and requires strong action now,” said one of the signers, Richard Somerville, a climate scientist at the University of California, San Diego, and an I.P.C.C. author.
Other observers are acting as a sort of truth squad, revealing back-corridor maneuvers that clash with their goals. Green campaigners handed out their latest set of “Fossil of the Day” awards to countries they accuse of trying to prevent any treaty addendum that includes binding limits on greenhouse gases.
In an e-mail message a short while ago, Jamie Henn of the Step it Up 2007 organization ran down the award “winners” for Friday:
“Third place went to the U.S. and Canada for refusing to accept a draft proposal from the G77, a group of developing countries, for technology transfer as a key component of future discussions. Second place was scooped up by the U.S. as well, this time for re-opening the Major Emitters (or as they call it, Major Economies) negotiations in the midst of the Bali negotiations, distracting from the process at hand. And the first place prize went to, drum roll please, Canada, for refusing to take on absolute emissions reductions targets unless developing countries do so as well — ignoring Canada’s historical responsibility and its vastly higher per capita emissions compared to developing countries.”
Hotel Performance In Bali Since The October Attacks
Posted by justbaliisland on May 20, 2008
First Update On Hotel Performance In Bali Since The October Attacks | Deloitte Reports
On 1 October 2005, just days before the start of Ramadan, the tourist-dependent resort island of Bali suffered a terrible blow. Exactly three years on from the October 2002 terrorist attacks, this unique island in the heart of Indonesia was a target for terrorism once more, killing 25 people and injuring more than a hundred. The long-term future of the island’s tourism industry remains uncertain as preliminary October 2005 results from the HotelBenchmark™ Survey by Deloitte show that revenue per available room (revPAR) has dropped 30% to US$34 compared to October 2004.
Indonesia’s number one destination
Bali is one of Indonesia’s most precious cultural and tourism assets. In 2004, two years after the first terrorist attacks, the island set a new record in visitor arrivals which increased to 1.5m. According to the Bali Tourism Authority (BTA), this was an increase of 3.2% over the island’s previous best performance in 2000. Over 50% of all visitor arrivals to Bali originate from Asia Pacific. Japan remains the largest inbound market from the region, followed closely by Australia, Taiwan and South Korea.
In an economy that is dependent on tourism, accounting directly for over two-thirds of economic activity, the impact of these recent attacks will no doubt have a detrimental effect on the livelihoods of many Balinese people. From a total population of 3.3m, 1.3m Balinese people are employed in the tourism sector. What impact the October 2005 bombings will have on this idyllic island still remains unclear, however reviewing how the island dealt with the 2002 attacks and how long it took to recover, may shed some light on how Bali can start to rebuild confidence among tourists once again.
Eleven months of double-digit declines
The first attack on 12 October 2002 ripped through a busy nightclub in the resort area of Kuta, killing 202 people, mainly tourists. Kuta is a budget accommodation area and the centre of mainstream tourism to Bali. The militant group of Jemaah Islamiyah, linked to the al-Qaeda network was said to be responsible for the attacks, which saw tourists evacuate the island en masse, devastating the economy.
After the bombings in Kuta, Bali’s international airport saw arrivals drop from an average of 5,000 visitors a day to less than 1,000. Ten days after the bombings, the number of arrivals had dropped by 82% compared to the day of the attacks, according to the Bali Hotels Association. The graph below shows that the month after the attacks Bali saw the total number of visitor arrivals fall to 31,000 – a decline of almost 60% compared to the previous year.
Visitor arrivals to Bali January 2000 – August 2005
In the immediate aftermath of the 2002 attacks, hotel performance in Bali plummeted. In November 2002, occupancy dropped a staggering 64.6% to just 13.9%, dragging revPAR down to US$11. This dramatic fall was just the beginning, as hotel performance reported double-digit declines for the following 11 months. In an attempt to lure back tourists, hotels slashed their room rates. By November 2003, average room rates had dropped to an all time low of US$77, some US$21 down on October 2002 results.
Economy struggles
The impact on the economy was also severe, with significant falls in employment and income. A report from the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank in 2003 showed that household incomes in Bali fell by 25% after the first bombings. The report concluded that the island was too reliant on tourism, making it vulnerable to such attacks and recommended that the government promoted reforms to build a more diverse and sustainable economy.
However, these reforms became a low priority, as tourists began flocking back to the island. Although total arrivals to Bali fell by 22% in 2003, visitor arrivals reached record highs of 1.5m in 2004. The strong growth continued into 2005 as Bali benefited from being 3,000km away from the areas worst hit by the Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004. However, visitor arrivals do not tell the whole story. Although tourist numbers have been breaking records, hotel performance paints a slightly different picture.
Two years and counting
By reviewing hotel performance on a rolling-twelve basis (which mitigates the impact of seasonality) we are able to evaluate how long it took Bali to recover from the 2002 attacks. Occupancy levels in Bali showed signs of recovery by October 2003. However it took a further 12 months for occupancy to reach the same levels it had recorded prior to the 2002 attacks. The recovery of average room rates was considerably slower. Even, before the second wave of attacks, average room rates just US$1 below those achieved in October 2002.
Rolling-12 analysis of Bali’s hotel performance - January 2000 – September 2005
Bali takes another hit
On 1 October 2005, Bali once again suffered at the hands of terrorists. A series of bombs ripped through restaurants in the resort areas of Jimbaran and Kuta, killing 25 people and leaving many wounded. Although no one has claimed responsibility for the bombings, they bear the hallmarks of Jemaah Islamiyah. The group is also thought to have been behind the 2003 bombing of the JW Marriott Hotel and the 2004 bombing of the Australian Embassy; both in Jakarta.
According to the Bali Hotels Association, 10 days after the attacks, the number of arrivals to the airport fell 63%. Although significant, the decline was not as great as those experienced after the 2002 bombings. However, since the previous attacks in 2002, the world has become a very different place. Madrid, Turkey, Thailand, the Philippines and London have also been targets of terrorism and with this has come the realisation that the threat of terror is truly worldwide.
Hotel performance on the rocks
Unsurprisingly, hotel performance has suffered. Latest preliminary results from the Asia Pacific edition of the HotelBenchmark™ Survey show significant declines in hotel performance for October 2005. Although average room rates have increased slightly to US$78, occupancy has plummeted 32.4% to 43.6%. However, the true impact of the bombings may not become apparent until the end of the year when the holiday season peaks in Bali.
Australia’s concern
Since the attacks, many travellers have cancelled their trips, particularly those from Bali’s two main inbound markets, Japan and Australia. The Australian government is especially concerned after the latest series of attacks. Not only is Bali a major tourism destination for Australians, accounting for 18% of all arrivals to the island in 2004, but it is also an important stopover for flights between Europe and Australia.
The impact of the bombings on neighbouring countries such as Australia is already evident. From 10 November 2005, Australian Airlines suspended some of its services to Bali due to a decrease in demand following the attacks. The airline has suspended its two-weekly services from both Perth and Melbourne until the end of January 2006. Despite this, the airline will continue its three services each week from Sydney.
Australia is not the only country expressing its concerns. Delegates attending a United Nations World Tourism Organisation conference in Argentina shortly after the attacks urged the world not to abandon Bali. However, the response has been mixed. While support has poured in from many countries, the governments of Australia, New Zealand and South Korea have issued travel warnings against Bali.
Wake up call
In the light of these recent attacks, it is necessary for the government to sit up and take action. Now that the island has been a target for two terrorist attacks within a three-year period, they will come under increasing pressure both domestically and internationally to tighten security across Indonesia.
It is therefore essential that the government reacts quickly to the bombings to restore confidence among tourists. The government has recently enforced a new system to monitor newcomers to the island. Domestic arrivals must register within three days or receive a penalty and anyone who rents out a room has to report the information, which will be fed into a central database. Furthermore, all hotels, restaurants, shops and public places must now install closed circuit television.
The Bali Tourism Board has also planned several road shows over the next couple of months to some of the island’s major inbound source markets. As the most sensitive market, Japan is the first on the agenda, followed by Australia and China. While it takes time for confidence among tourists to be restored, inevitably hotel performance will suffer.
Paradise lost?
The recent wave of bomb blasts on the island of Bali, demonstrate that the terrorist threat remains. The biggest hurdle Bali faces in the coming months is to ensure that it is perceived as a low risk destination. However, as Bali may now be seen as a regular target for terrorism, this may be an uphill struggle. Although visitor arrivals may not initially be declining as quickly as in the aftermath of the 2002 bombings, there is a danger that the number of tourists may fall significantly in the long term. Even though tourists are becoming more resilient to terrorist attacks, there is also strong competition from neighbouring islands in Asia Pacific which may be deemed safer. It is also not advisable for hotels to discount as heavily as they did previously, as it may take the hotel industry longer to recover.
Contact
Tina Wanstall
Phone: +44 (0) 20 7007 0981
Email: twanstall@deloitte.co.uk
Organization
STR Global
http://www.strglobal.com
Blue Fin Building | 110 Southwark Street
London, SE1 0TA
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 20 7922 1930
Email: HotelBenchmark@strglobal.com
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Extra Flights Bali-Lombok-Bali
Posted by justbaliisland on May 20, 2008
BREAKING NEWS:
Extra Flights Bali-Lombok-Bali By Garuda Citilink Mataram - Lombok (10/09/05)
Starting from October 30th onward, Garuda Citilink will serve a new flight for Bali-Lombok-Bali daily with bigger aircraft (Boeing 737) with capacity of 145 seats available.
Starting from October 30th onward, Garuda Citilink will serve a new flight for Bali-Lombok-Bali daily with bigger aircraft (Boeing 737) with capacity of 145 seats available.
In addition, there will be 1 (one) extra flight added for SUB-AMI-SUB (Surabaya-Mataram-Surabaya) from 2 daily flights to be 3 daily flights.
This is a very good news for Lombok who wish to see more visitors continue visiting Lombok and Indonesia.
Garuda Citilink will served twice daily flight for Bali-Lombok, Lombok-Bali V.V Tightened security
Since Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono became Indonesia’s President over a year ago, the government applies a “zero tolerance” to any perpetrator of terrorism acts. Following Bali’s tragic bombing on October 1st, the government is more than ever committed to make Indonesia a safe destination for both its population and its visitors. Tightened security at airports, hotels, shopping centres as well as main tourist areas already exist for over three years but will further be reinforced and extended to more areas in the country. Lombok and the rest of Indonesia has also not been affected and is still open for tourism”, explains Thamrin Bachri, Director General for Marketing at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Bali Update !!
Bali Update: ‘Non Paper’ a Nonstarter for U.S.
The Japanese environment minister, Ichiro Kamoshita, cutting the birthday cake for the Kyoto Protocol’s 10-year anniversary. (Courtesy of IISD/ Earth Negotiations Bulletin)It has taken me years to get comfortable with some of the terms thrown around during international treaty negotiations. One phrase that still jars is “non paper.” This is text that doesn’t exist, but does exist, that is designed as a starting point for discussions leading toward formal language in a final document, but doesn’t bind anyone to anything.
In the early stages of climate-treaty talks in Bali, conference leaders scurried among delegations and came up with a document called “Non-Paper by the Co-Facilitators.”
The document (with a title printed in a pale gray suitable for something nonexistent) was intended as a template for what the United Nations hopes will, by Friday night, be a two-year road map for talks leading to a meaningful update to the faltering 1992 climate treaty, the Framework Convention on Climate Change.
But late Tuesday, Bali time, the United States bluntly refused to consider language — even in the nonbinding preamble — that included any specific numbers for how much overall emissions from wealthy countries would need to be cut to have a chance of avoiding the worst climate dangers.
The numbers floated by the organizers were ambitious. They largely reflected the view held by Europe, many environmental groups and lots of scientists that a threshold exists, somewhere around 3 degrees Fahrenheit of further warming, beyond which lies true climate cataclysm.
Here’s a bit of that language to give you the idea (a pdf of the nonpaper is at the bottom of this list of agendas and documents). Farther down this post, I’ve included a few comments on a day marking the 10th anniversary of the Kyoto Protocol, the first (and also faltering) attempt to update the 1992 treaty. I was warned nearly 20 years ago when I started writing about global warming that this is a 100-year story. On days like this, it certainly feels that way.
The conference of the Parties,Guided by the ultimate objective of the Convention and the need to ensure its achievement, as well as by the principles and commitments of the Convention,
Responding to the unequivocal scientific evidence that preventing the worst impacts of climate change will require Parties included in the Annex I to the Convention as a group to reduce emissions in a range of 25– - 40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020 and that global emissions of greenhouse gases need to peak in the next 10 to 15 years and be reduced to very low levels, well below half of levels in 2000 by 2050,
Recognizing that current efforts in implementing the Convention will not deliver the required emission reductions and resolving to do more nationally and through international cooperative action….
1. Decides to launch a process to [Option 1: develop a comprehensive international framework for long-term cooperative action beyond 2012] [Option 2: advance long-term cooperative action to address climate change for the period beyond 2012 by enhancing the implementation of the Convention], addressing, inter alia….
Central London Memorial for Bali Bomb Victims
Posted by justbaliisland on May 17, 2008
(6/6/2005) Plans have been announced to erect a permanent memorial in St. James Park in London for those who died in the October 12, 2002, bomb blast at a Bali nightspot.
The memorial, in the form of a 5 foot globe with 202 engraved doves – one for each of the victims – will commemorate the those of 21 countries who died in the terrorist attack. 26 Britons were among the 202 who perished – the third largest national grouping after the 88 Australians and 38 Indonesians who also died. The monument, scheduled for completion before the 3rd anniversary of the event, will also bear a plaque with the names and ages of all 202 victims.
Susanna Miller, the spokeswoman for the UK Bali Bombing Victims Group told the press that the memorial would serve both as a “tribute to those we have lost and a warning to governments and the wider world community.”
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BOMB
 |   |
UK eyewitness videoThree bomb attacks in two tourist areas on the Indonesian resort island of Bali have killed at least 26 people - among them foreign nationals.
More than 50 others were injured as blasts ripped through three restaurants - two in the Jimbaran beach resort, the third in Kuta 30km (19 miles) away.
Indonesia’s president said terrorists were to blame for the bombings - the second such attacks in three years.
Bombings in Kuta in 2002 killed 202 people, many of them foreign tourists.
Local TV has been showing pictures of bloodied and confused survivors and collapsed buildings.
|   The noise was deafening - like 1,000 fireworks going off at one time  James Hughes UK tourist |
Local media said police had found a number of other unexploded devices.
No group has claimed the attacks.
However, BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says the finger of suspicion is already pointing towards the extremist regional group Jemaah Islamiah (JI) which was blamed for the 2002 bombings.
Bali - a predominantly Hindu island popular with Western tourists - represents a soft and tempting target for Islamist extremists linked to al-Qaeda, our correspondent says.
‘Chaos on streets’
Police say there were three blasts, which happened almost simultaneously just before 2000 local (1200GMT) on Saturday.
A British tourist who was in a building next door to the restaurant that was hit in Kuta said there was a “thunderous boom” that caused all the shop’s windows to blow out.
“It was just chaos,” Daniel Martin told the BBC.
He said there were people lying in the streets with serious injuries, with everyone pitching in to help.
Journalist Maris Bakkalupulo told the BBC that Raja’s noodle and steak restaurant at Kuta was completely gutted.
“Everything has been blasted out of the building, which is very mangled,” she said.
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In Jimbaran, two outdoor beach restaurants about 100 metres (yards) apart were targeted.
Dutch student Chris van der Draai described the panic that ensued.
“We had a bit of panic, everybody panicked,” he told the BBC, “but I think, with the first bomb, many people just stood up and everybody ran down to the beach… and the second bomb went off, so I think some people were very lucky that… both bombs weren’t exploded together.”
Initial reports suggest that Indonesians bore the brunt of the attacks, but casualties also include Australian, US, Japanese and South Korean nationals.
“These are clearly terrorist attacks because the targets were random and public places,” said Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
“We will hunt down the perpetrators and bring them to justice.”
Official statements from the US and UK have condemned the attacks and expressed support for the people of Bali.
Warnings
The blasts come less than two weeks before the third anniversary of massive bomb attacks that killed 202 people - including 88 Australians.
JI, the group blamed for the 12 October 2002 bombings, is also suspected of being behind a suicide bombing at the Marriott hotel in Jakarta in 2003, and a suicide bombing at the Australian embassy last September.
The authorities had warned that militants had been planning further attacks on Western targets in Indonesia, although there had been no particular alerts over the past few days.
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IT’S JUST BALI DEAR !
Posted by justbaliisland on May 17, 2008
ndonesia might seem a nice place to visit but infact its a dirty corrupt place run by very corrupt ruthless people.
The masses are keep in poverty so they instinctively learn at an early age to lie and steal especially to and from travellers. The police will steal from you, extort money from you, right on the side of the road, the richer you look, the more they take from you.
Without a doubt, the police and other government officials in Bali are the root cause for most if not all of the problems on the island. Some police officers in Indonesia openly admit corruption.
Every government officer in Bali, including at the very top, Governor Ida Bagus Oka, is likely to be extremely corrupt.
Indonesia has a legal system not a justice system, they are different. In a justice system you are innocent until proven guilty, your defence lawyers even get to pick the jury, but with the Indon legal system you are presumed guilty unless you and your lawyers alone can prove your innocence beyond reasonable doubt and the Indonesians won’t allow a jury to help you, you are literally on your own at the mercy of the Indonesian prosecutors and judges, and yes, they do lie in court about you in their own language and theres nothing at all you can do about it.
Judge Sirait particulary prides himself in never having acquitted anyone in over 500 trials, even if the defendant is innocent beyond reasonable doubt. Sirait is the devil in disguise.
Travellers, For your personal safety, its best suggested to avoid travel to Bali or Indonesia anywhere, its just not a safe place to go, you do not want to be robbed, jailed or murdered, so don’t go there and risk it, as the way it is currently for Western travellers particularly is that Indonesia could be a death trap.
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