SSI ITC Dive Resort Oceans 5 Gili Air Blog Posts
SSI ITC Dive Resort Oceans 5 Gili Air Blog Posts
Responsible Divers Nine Indonesian university students have begun their Conservation Internship at Oceans 5 Gili Air. Over the coming months, they will collect underwater data inside the Gili Matra Marine Protected Area and gain practical experience that can help prepare them for careers in marine …
The Main Legal Framework The protection, management and responsible use of Gili Matra are supported by several layers of Indonesian law. Together, these regulations govern conservation zoning, coastal development, environmental protection, wastewater and pollution, business activities, public access and the use of small islands. Among …
When comparing scuba-diving prices, it is tempting to choose the lowest number.
A fun dive is a fun dive, right? You receive a tank, join a boat, go underwater and return to shore. Why pay more when another dive centre appears to offer exactly the same experience for less?
The reality is that two dives at the same dive site can be completely different experiences. The advertised price does not tell you how large your group will be, who will guide you, how the equipment is maintained or what safety procedures are followed.
You are not only paying for your time underwater. You are paying for everything that makes that time safe, comfortable, enjoyable and environmentally responsible.
Before comparing prices, check what each dive centre includes.
A low advertised price may not include:
A slightly higher price may already include several of these services. Once all additional charges are added, the difference between two dive centres may be much smaller than it first appeared.
Ask for the complete price before booking. A professional dive centre should be able to explain clearly what is included and which optional charges may apply.
Group size is one of the biggest differences between an inexpensive dive and a high-quality diving experience.
A guide supervising eight divers cannot offer the same level of attention as a guide responsible for four. In a large group, divers can become separated, photographers may feel rushed and less-experienced divers may struggle to keep up.
Smaller groups allow the guide to:
At Oceans 5 Gili Air, we take a maximum of four certified divers per guide. We also try to match divers according to their experience, certification, air consumption and interests. A new Open Water Diver may want a different type of dive from an experienced underwater photographer—and both deserve an enjoyable experience.
The personality and experience of your guide can have more influence on your dive than the name of the dive site.
A good guide does much more than swim in front of the group. Your guide should understand the currents, know suitable entry and exit points, monitor the group’s air consumption and adjust the route when conditions change.
The guide should also recognize signs of stress before they become serious.
Local knowledge is especially important around the Gili Islands, where currents can vary between dive sites and may change during the dive. An experienced local Divemaster knows where turtles often rest, where reef sharks may be found and which smaller creatures are easily overlooked.
Oceans 5 works with certified local SSI Divemasters who know the Gili Islands and their changing conditions. Supporting trained local dive professionals also ensures that tourism creates meaningful employment within the community.
Imagine joining a group in which one diver has completed six dives, another has completed 600, one wants to photograph nudibranchs and another wants to cover as much distance as possible.
Nobody is necessarily doing anything wrong, but it is unlikely that everyone will enjoy the same dive.
A quality dive centre spends time asking about:
This preparation requires more organization, but it helps create safer and more enjoyable groups.
The cheapest operator may simply place everyone who has booked the same departure together. That keeps costs low, but it does not necessarily provide the best experience.
Rental equipment is another cost that is largely invisible to customers.
Regulators, buoyancy compensators, cylinders, valves, masks, wetsuits and dive computers all require inspection, cleaning, servicing and eventual replacement. A centre that maintains its equipment properly has continuing operational expenses.
Before diving, your equipment should fit correctly and function as expected. You should also receive enough time to check it before leaving the dive centre.
A cheaper dive becomes poor value very quickly when an uncomfortable mask, leaking regulator or badly fitting BCD affects the entire experience.
Do not be afraid to inspect the equipment or ask when it was last serviced. Responsible dive centres understand why these questions matter.
You may never need emergency oxygen, first aid or an emergency action plan. That does not mean they are unimportant.
Dive safety includes much more than having a certified guide. It involves:
Divers Alert Network recommends confirming that sufficient emergency oxygen is available and stresses the importance of a clear emergency action plan. These systems cost money to establish, maintain and practise, even though guests may never see them being used.[1]
At Oceans 5, our dive boats carry oxygen, first-aid equipment, communication equipment and emergency signalling devices. Before departure, we complete a roll call, and divers perform a pre-dive safety check before entering the water.
Safety should never be the hidden discount behind a cheap dive.
Some dive operations mainly offer two-dive or full-day packages. These can be convenient for divers who want to complete several dives, but they are not ideal for everyone.
You may only have time for one dive. You might want to rest between dives, spend time with your family or decide how you feel after the first dive.
Oceans 5 offers separate scheduled departures during the day. Divers can book one dive or join more than one departure without automatically committing to a full-day package.
Value is not only about paying less per dive. It is also about paying for the experience you actually want.
Every dive operation depends on a healthy marine environment. However, not every operator invests the same amount of time, training or money in protecting it.
Responsible diving includes:
Green Fins explains that environmental briefings can improve diver behaviour and reduce damage to coral reefs. Dive guides also influence guests by demonstrating responsible behaviour underwater.[2]
Oceans 5 has organized weekly beach clean-ups on Gili Air since 2010. We are an SSI Blue Oceans centre and the first Reef Check centre established on Gili Air. We support marine research, university students and conservation activities within the Gili Matra Marine Protected Area.
These efforts are not separate from diving. Protecting the environment is part of operating responsibly in a marine park.
A low price does not necessarily mean that a dive centre is unsafe or unprofessional. Some operators keep their prices competitive because they have efficient systems, own their equipment or operate in locations with lower expenses.
Likewise, a high price does not automatically guarantee excellent service.
The important question is not simply, “Which dive is cheapest?”
Ask instead:
What am I receiving for the price, and what might be missing?
Read recent reviews, visit the dive centre, look at the equipment and speak with the team. Ask about group sizes, safety equipment, dive planning and additional charges. A reputable operator should welcome informed questions.
At Oceans 5 Gili Air, good value means providing more than a boat ride and a tank.
It means:
We may not always be the cheapest option on the Gili Islands—and being the cheapest is not our goal.
Our goal is to provide a safe, personal and well-organized diving experience that divers consider worth returning for.
Scuba diving requires trust. Once you enter the water, you depend on your equipment, your guide, the boat crew and the systems operating behind the scenes.
A small saving may appear attractive when you book. But the cheapest dive offers poor value if the group is too large, the equipment is uncomfortable, the briefing is rushed or the experience does not meet your expectations.
Compare prices, but also compare what matters:
Group size. Professionalism. Equipment. Safety. Flexibility. Local knowledge. Environmental responsibility.
The best-value dive is not necessarily the one with the lowest price. It is the one that leaves you feeling safe, relaxed and excited to enter the water again.
Prices reflect differences in group sizes, staff experience, equipment maintenance, boat operations, safety provisions, environmental programmes and what is included in the advertised rate.
Complete recreational scuba equipment is included for guests diving with Oceans 5. Optional upgrades or extras, such as Nitrox or a 15-litre cylinder, may carry an additional charge.
Oceans 5 takes a maximum of four certified divers per guide. Groups are also matched as closely as possible according to experience, certification and diving interests.
Yes. Oceans 5 operates separate dive departures, allowing you to book one dive or select several departures according to your plans.
Ask about group size, equipment rental, additional fees, guide qualifications, boat safety equipment, emergency oxygen, dive times and how groups are organized.
No. Price alone does not guarantee quality. Look at what is included, speak with the staff, inspect the facilities and equipment, and read recent reviews before deciding.
Cannot Control Their Buoyancy A scuba certification gives someone permission to dive within the limits of their training. But does a certification card automatically prove that the diver is currently capable of diving safely? The honest answer is no. Some certified divers return to the …
Using Air Faster Than Your Buddy? You finish a beautiful dive around the Gili Islands and look at your pressure gauge. You have 50 bar remaining. Your buddy still has 90 bar, and the Divemaster appears to have barely used any air. Does that mean …
Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan are not simply three popular holiday islands. Together with their surrounding waters, they form Gili Matra, a nationally protected marine conservation area.
That distinction matters. A marine park is not only the water below the high-tide line. What happens on the beach and along the coast can directly affect water quality, coral reefs, seagrass, turtles and the natural movement of sand. Development on land and protection underwater cannot be treated as two separate issues.
According to information shared with local stakeholders, on 27 and 28 August a national environmental law-enforcement team was scheduled to conduct a field survey connected to the pollution and environmental concerns involving PT Tiara Citra Nirwana (TCN) on Gili Trawangan. The company’s seawater-reverse-osmosis project and the installation of offshore pipes have been the subject of official action and public concern since 2024.[1][2]
The visit is important, but its results have not yet been published. It is therefore too early to say what the investigators found, who may be legally responsible or what action will follow. The investigation must be allowed to establish the facts. Hopefully, it will not only identify possible violations but also help define how damaged areas can be repaired and how similar harm can be prevented.
Gili Matra has had protected status since 1993 and was designated as a national Marine Tourism Park under a ministerial decision in 2009. The conservation area covers approximately 2,954 hectares and includes Gili Air, Gili Meno, Gili Trawangan and their surrounding marine ecosystems.[3]
Its national importance was reinforced in 2017. Decision of the Director General of Marine Spatial Management No. 7/KEP-DJPRL/2017 classified ten National Marine Conservation Areas for nature-based marine tourism. The Marine Tourism Park of Gili Ayer (Gili Air), Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan appears as entry No. 3 and was awarded Category A, the highest category used in the decision.[4] This means Gili Matra was officially included among ten nationally classified conservation areas for marine nature tourism; the list itself was not a ranking from first to tenth.
Its importance extends beyond North Lombok. Gili Matra is part of a National Tourism Destination and lies within the Lesser Sunda seascape, a priority area under the Coral Triangle Initiative.[5] In 2024, the International Maritime Organization also designated Gili Matra and Nusa Penida as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area.[6]
These titles should mean something in practice. A protected area needs clear rules, effective monitoring and consistent enforcement. Without those, conservation status risks becoming little more than a label used to promote tourism.
Rules governing construction, coastal use, wastewater, conservation zoning and business permits have existed for years. Yet enforcement on the Gili Islands has often appeared inconsistent. Some businesses may lack knowledge of the regulations, but others seem to have calculated that the commercial benefit of building first is greater than the risk of being stopped later.
That gamble becomes attractive when illegal or non-compliant structures remain in place for years, penalties are limited, and enforcement happens only occasionally. Responsible businesses then face an unfair choice: respect the rules while competitors gain more beachfront space, or copy the behaviour and hope there will be no consequences.
This is how isolated violations can gradually become normalised.
There are now signs that the climate may be changing. The 27–28 August TCN survey brings national environmental law enforcement back to Gili Trawangan. The North Lombok Government has also announced another beach-clearance operation for next month, recalling the large removal of structures from public coastal land that began in 2017.[7]
Together, these developments suggest that the authorities may be losing patience with continued violations. However, a two-day investigation and a one-time clearance will not be enough.
Buildings and infrastructure on the shoreline can have consequences far beyond the footprint of a business.
Beach walls and other hard structures can interrupt the natural movement of sand. Although a wall may protect one property temporarily, it can shift wave energy and erosion to another part of the coast. Illegal boat-landing cuts or channels can disturb shallow reef and seagrass habitat and alter the shoreline. Excessive artificial light and noise near nesting beaches may discourage turtles from nesting or disorient hatchlings.
Poorly designed, leaking or overloaded septic systems are another serious concern on small coral islands. Nutrients and pathogens can move through porous ground into coastal water, reducing water quality and potentially encouraging algal growth. However, the causes of any particular algal bloom—including the recent Halimeda expansion—must be established through proper water-quality monitoring and scientific research. Changes in pH, nutrients, temperature, currents and other conditions should be measured rather than assumed.
That distinction is essential. Calling for accountability does not mean deciding the scientific or legal outcome before the evidence is available. It means demanding that the evidence is collected, published and acted upon.
Gili Matra has seen enforcement before. Authorities began clearing structures from the beaches in 2017.[7] Yet, over time, construction returned to parts of the coastline.
If authorities remove an unlawful structure but impose no meaningful consequence, rebuilding can become just another business expense. The message is effectively: build now, profit while possible and start again after the officials leave.
That approach does not protect a marine park. It rewards those prepared to take the biggest gamble and leaves the public—and the environment—to carry the cost.
Enforcement should therefore go beyond removing physical structures. Where violations and environmental damage are proven through a fair legal process, the response should be strong enough to prevent repetition. Depending on the law and the evidence, this could include substantial fines, restoration orders, recovery of clean-up costs, suspension or revocation of permits, and regular compliance inspections.
The principle should be simple: the polluter and the party responsible for proven damage should pay—not the local community, not responsible businesses and not future generations.
This is the question that can no longer be avoided.
If a business has illegally damaged reef habitat to install infrastructure or create a boat landing, who pays for ecological assessment and restoration? If a coastal wall contributes to erosion elsewhere, who pays to repair the beach? If wastewater from a property is proven to have polluted groundwater or the sea, who pays for monitoring and remediation? If nesting habitat is lost, how is that ecological damage addressed?
Removing the offending structure may stop part of the problem, but it does not automatically restore what was lost. Coral reefs grow slowly. Beaches can take years to recover. Once turtle nesting habitat disappears, bringing it back is far more difficult than protecting it in the first place.
Serious fines should not be viewed as hostility toward business. Fair and predictable enforcement protects responsible operators from unfair competition. It also protects the natural asset on which almost every business on the islands depends.
Tourists come to the Gili Islands for clear water, beaches, turtles, coral reefs and island character. Hotels, restaurants, dive centres, transport providers and local families all depend on that appeal.
If the coastline is hardened, the beaches disappear, water quality declines and the reefs continue to deteriorate, the tourism economy will eventually pay the price. Marketing cannot compensate indefinitely for environmental decline.
The 27–28 August survey should therefore be seen as more than an investigation into one company or one incident. It is a test of whether protected-area rules will finally be implemented consistently.
The announced beach clearance next month will be another test. Will it be a temporary clean-up followed by rebuilding, or the start of continuous monitoring and real accountability?
The way forward should include:
Businesses should be given clear information and a reasonable path to compliance. But once the rules and deadlines are clear, repeated violations should have serious consequences.
Gili Matra does not need another cycle of concern, clearance and rebuilding. It needs enforcement that lasts after the officials have left.
The future of tourism on Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan depends on a healthy marine park. Protecting it is not anti-development. It is the only form of development that can survive.
What Divers Should Know Before Entering the Water The equipment is ready. The tanks are on the boat. The water looks inviting, and everyone wants to start diving. Then the Divemaster begins the dive briefing. For some experienced divers, this can feel like information they …
The Best Dive Site in the Gili Islands “What is the best dive site in the Gili Islands?” It is one of the questions we hear most often at Oceans 5 Gili Air. Some divers arrive with a famous name already written in their logbook: …
When people hear the words marine conservation, they usually look toward the ocean.
They think about coral restoration, turtles, sharks, plastic pollution, fishing, anchor damage and divers touching coral.
But there is a fundamental problem with that way of thinking:
The ocean does not start at the shoreline.
What happens on land eventually influences what happens underwater. Wastewater can travel through groundwater. Rain can carry sediment and pollutants toward the sea. Construction can change drainage. Removing vegetation can destabilize sand. Building seawalls can interfere with natural coastal processes.
For a small coral island such as Gili Air, the connection between land and sea is particularly difficult to ignore.
Gili Air is not simply an island surrounded by a marine protected area. It is part of the Gili Matra Conservation Area, together with Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan. The current conservation area covers approximately 2,248 hectares and is managed through different zones designed to protect ecosystems including coral reefs and seagrass.[1]
So a question needs to be asked:
How can we claim to protect the marine park while allowing activities only metres away on land that may negatively affect it?
The Gili Islands have already experienced a major confrontation over development on their beaches.
In 2017, authorities began removing buildings from the beachfront on Gili Trawangan. Contemporary reporting described bars and restaurants situated only around 5–10 metres from the shoreline, with authorities saying that the developments violated local rules and restricted public beach access.[2]
Gili Air subsequently experienced its own beach-clearing operation.
For people who lived and worked on the islands at the time, the message appeared clear: the beach was not simply empty land waiting to be commercialised.
Permanent structures, concrete buildings, restaurants, bars and associated infrastructure had expanded onto an environmentally sensitive and publicly important part of the island.
Buildings were removed. Concrete disappeared. Businesses moved backwards.
For a while, Gili Air’s coastline had space again.
Then came COVID-19.
Tourism stopped, businesses struggled and investment slowed dramatically. When tourism returned, investment returned with it.
But something else happened.
New businesses appeared. New investors arrived. Beachfront land became extremely valuable again. Structures gradually moved toward the sea.
Today, once again, we can see businesses building extraordinarily close to the shoreline.
And sometimes the next step is almost predictable.
First, we build too close to the sea.
Then the sea threatens the building.
Then we build a wall to protect the building from the sea.
And then we wonder why the beach changes.
There is an important distinction that needs to be made.
Coastal erosion is natural.
Beaches move. Sand moves. Waves change with the seasons. Currents redistribute sediment. Storms remove sand and calmer conditions can return it.
A healthy beach is not a concrete floor with a permanent boundary.
It is a dynamic ecosystem.
Problems arise when we place permanent infrastructure inside that dynamic environment and then expect nature to stop moving.
A restaurant or hotel built far enough away from the active shoreline may allow the beach to naturally migrate.
A building constructed extremely close to the water cannot.
Eventually the owner may conclude:
“We need a seawall.”
But the real question should perhaps have been asked years earlier:
Why was permanent infrastructure allowed to be built so close to a naturally moving shoreline that it required a seawall in the first place?
From the perspective of a business owner, a seawall can appear perfectly logical.
Waves are approaching your restaurant, hotel or bar. You have invested money. You want to protect your property.
Build a wall.
Problem solved.
Except the problem may only have been transferred.
NOAA describes shoreline armouring—including seawalls, breakwaters and rock revetments—as structures intended to protect coastal property from erosion. But NOAA also warns that armouring can restrict the natural movement of sediment, affect intertidal habitat and contribute to the loss of beaches as coastlines naturally retreat.[3]
This does not mean that every seawall automatically causes the same amount of erosion. Coastal processes are site-specific, and impacts depend on waves, currents, sediment supply, shoreline shape and the design and position of the structure.
But it does mean that building a wall is not environmentally neutral.
A wall changes the boundary between land and sea.
Waves do not disappear because concrete has been placed in front of them.
Water continues moving.
Sand continues moving.
Energy continues moving.
And the consequences may occur somewhere else.
That is especially important on an island the size of Gili Air.
Imagine ten neighbouring beachfront properties.
Property number five builds too close to the shoreline.
Erosion threatens the building, so the owner constructs a seawall.
The wall protects that particular property.
But coastal processes continue around it.
If erosion or sediment movement changes beside the structure, properties four and six may become more vulnerable. They may then decide that they also need walls.
Eventually:
one wall becomes three, three become five, and a natural beach slowly becomes an engineered coastline.
This process is known internationally as coastal armouring.
Research and coastal-management experience show that shoreline armouring can cause beach loss, interfere with sediment movement and degrade coastal habitat.[3][4]
And that creates an uncomfortable question for Gili Air:
Are we protecting buildings from erosion, or are we creating a future in which we need to protect every building because we allowed too many buildings in the wrong place?
Indonesia’s national regulatory framework recognises that coastlines need space.
Presidential Regulation No. 51 of 2016 concerning coastal boundaries defines the coastal setback (sempadan pantai) as land along the coastline whose width is proportional to the physical form and condition of the coast, with a minimum reference of 100 metres from the highest tide point toward land. The regulation requires local governments to determine coastal setback boundaries through spatial planning.[5]
That does not mean that every existing building within 100 metres is automatically illegal; local spatial plans, permits, existing rights and other regulations matter.
But the principle behind the regulation is extremely important.
The coastline needs room.
And on Gili Air there is another layer of responsibility: we are living and operating beside a nationally recognised conservation area.
The Gili Matra management framework specifically identifies coral reefs and seagrass as conservation targets and requires activities within the conservation area to comply with applicable regulations and avoid damaging the conservation area’s primary functions.[1]
This should influence how we think about development on the island as well.
Draw a line on a map around a coral reef and call it protected.
Then imagine what happens directly beside it.
Hotels increase groundwater extraction.
Restaurants increase wastewater production.
Septic systems are installed close to the coastline.
Vegetation is removed.
Concrete covers permeable ground.
Construction sediment enters the water.
Beach walls alter the shoreline.
Boat channels are created through shallow reef areas.
Tourism increases faster than sanitation infrastructure.
Can we then genuinely say that the ecosystem is protected simply because fishing, anchoring or diving is regulated inside a coloured zone on a marine-park map?
Of course not.
Marine ecosystems do not recognise administrative lines.
Water connects everything.
Wastewater may be one of the least visually attractive conservation subjects.
A turtle is easy to photograph.
Planting coral looks good on Instagram.
A septic system does not.
But wastewater management can be every bit as important to coral conservation.
The US Environmental Protection Agency identifies sewage, including wastewater treatment systems and septic systems, as potential sources of nitrogen and phosphorus entering coastal waters. Excess nutrients can stimulate algal growth and create conditions that disadvantage corals.[6]
UN Environment has similarly identified wastewater, nutrients and sediment from land-based activities as significant threats to coral reef health.[7]
This matters enormously for small islands.
If you operate a hotel, restaurant or beach bar beside a coral reef, what happens to your wastewater is not merely a plumbing issue.
It is potentially a marine conservation issue.
If a septic tank is positioned close to the coastline, we should be asking serious questions about design, capacity, groundwater movement, maintenance and leakage.
Not because we want to attack businesses.
Because the reef is immediately next door.
Construction does not have to occur underwater to affect coral.
Land clearing and construction can increase sediment entering coastal waters. Sediment can reduce light reaching corals and seagrass, interfere with coral feeding and growth and, in sufficient quantities, physically smother coral.[6][8]
That means development decisions on Gili Air should not end with:
“Do I have enough land to build this?”
They should include:
What happens when it rains?
Where does the wastewater go?
Where will the sand go?
Will this development eventually require a seawall?
How close is it to the high-tide line?
What ecosystem is immediately offshore?
What happens to the coastline five or ten years from now?
That is what developing inside and beside a marine conservation area should mean.
This is perhaps the most uncomfortable part of the discussion.
Why are we repeating mistakes that the Gili Islands already addressed in 2017–2018?
There may not be one simple answer.
Some investors may genuinely not understand coastal processes.
Some may not know Indonesian coastal regulations.
Some may not understand that Gili Air is part of a nationally managed conservation area.
Some may receive incomplete information when purchasing or leasing land.
Some may assume that because neighbouring businesses have built something, they can do the same.
There may also be confusion between different levels of regulation and responsibility. Research published on Gili Matra has identified inconsistencies between marine spatial-use rules and conservation-management frameworks, as well as weaknesses in coordination among institutions.[9]
Education and clearer coordination are therefore part of the solution.
But ignorance cannot explain everything forever.
At some point, businesses also have a responsibility to investigate the rules governing the place where they choose to invest.
And there is another possibility that should not be ignored:
short-term commercial interests can sometimes be stronger than long-term environmental responsibility.
Beachfront space is valuable.
A restaurant directly on the sand may sell more cocktails.
A hotel room overlooking the ocean may command a higher price.
A larger building may generate more revenue.
A seawall may protect an investment.
The financial benefit belongs primarily to the business.
But if that development contributes to beach loss, wastewater pollution, sedimentation or reef degradation, the environmental cost is shared by everyone.
That is the fundamental imbalance.
The profit is private. The environmental damage is public.
There is an irony here.
Why do tourists come to Gili Air?
They come for the beaches.
They come for clear water.
They come for turtles.
They come for coral reefs.
They come to snorkel.
They come to dive.
They come because Gili Air still feels like a tropical island.
And then tourism development gradually replaces the very environment tourists travelled here to experience.
Beach becomes restaurant.
Sand becomes concrete.
Vegetation becomes accommodation.
Natural shoreline becomes seawall.
Quiet roads become infrastructure corridors.
And eventually we risk creating something very strange:
an island that destroyed part of its natural character in order to accommodate people who travelled here because of its natural character.
That is not sustainable tourism.
At Oceans 5 Gili Air, we believe marine conservation must go further than what happens underwater.
We support reef monitoring, research, marine education, beach clean-ups and conservation activities.
But there is little logic in restoring coral while ignoring the pressures coming from land.
Imagine continually repairing a leaking roof without ever fixing the hole causing the leak.
That is what conservation becomes when we focus entirely on restoration.
Coral restoration has value.
Beach clean-ups have value.
Turtle conservation has value.
Reef monitoring has value.
But conservation also requires prevention.
Sometimes the best coral restoration project is preventing the coral from becoming damaged in the first place.
There is another reason preventative conservation receives less attention.
It can create conflict.
Removing rubbish is popular.
Planting coral is popular.
Releasing turtles is popular.
Questioning coastal development is different.
Suddenly conservation intersects with land ownership, permits, investment, restaurants, hotels, construction companies, government departments and powerful economic interests.
Preventative conservation does not always create beautiful photographs.
Sometimes it creates uncomfortable conversations.
But if conservation organisations, dive businesses, tourism operators and other stakeholders only speak when conservation is easy and popular, who speaks when the actual source of environmental pressure is economically powerful?
A marine protected area needs more than people willing to restore what has already been damaged.
It needs people willing to ask why the damage happened.
And this brings us to perhaps the most important question.
Suppose a business constructs permanent infrastructure extremely close to the shoreline.
Years later it requires a seawall.
Suppose scientific monitoring eventually demonstrates that shoreline modification contributed to erosion elsewhere.
Or suppose poorly managed wastewater from a property can be linked to declining coastal water quality.
Or construction can be demonstrated to have damaged seagrass or coral habitat.
Then what?
Who pays?
The community?
Government?
Conservation organisations?
Dive centres?
Future investors?
Or should the business that created the impact carry responsibility?
This is where the polluter-pays principle and broader concepts of environmental liability become important.
But responsibility cannot simply be assigned because somebody believes a business caused damage. Environmental impacts must be demonstrated with credible evidence, monitoring and an appropriate legal process.
That is why baseline data are so important.
We need shoreline monitoring.
We need historical imagery.
We need water-quality testing.
We need groundwater monitoring.
We need coral and seagrass surveys.
We need documentation of coastal construction.
We need records of seawalls and shoreline modifications.
Without data, arguments become opinions.
With long-term data, changes can be measured.
Potentially, yes—but this is ultimately a legal and evidentiary question, not something a dive centre or conservation organisation can decide.
To establish responsibility for environmental damage, authorities would generally need to determine matters such as:
That distinction is important.
Oceans 5 should not point at an individual restaurant, hotel or investor and declare them responsible for reef degradation without evidence.
But we absolutely should be asking whether a system exists to investigate responsibility when evidence demonstrates that development has damaged a protected ecosystem.
Because without accountability, environmental regulations become little more than suggestions.
Gili Air does not have to choose between tourism and conservation.
Tourism is one of the foundations of the island’s economy.
Hotels are necessary.
Restaurants are necessary.
Dive centres are businesses too.
Oceans 5 is part of the tourism industry.
The question is not whether development should stop.
The question is:
What kind of development belongs on a small island surrounded by coral reefs and located within a marine conservation area?
Development should respect the coastline.
It should respect Indonesian regulations.
It should respect zoning.
It should manage wastewater responsibly.
It should avoid unnecessary shoreline armouring.
It should consider groundwater.
It should consider carrying capacity.
And most importantly, investors should understand that buying or leasing land on Gili Air does not separate that land from the ecosystem surrounding it.
You are investing inside an ecological system.
With that opportunity comes responsibility.
The Gili Islands already received a warning in 2017–2018.
Buildings were removed.
Beaches were reopened.
The coastline was given breathing space.
If, less than a decade later, we allow the same pattern to return, what have we learned?
Do we wait until authorities once again arrive and remove buildings?
Do we wait until seawalls line significant sections of the island?
Do we wait until beach erosion becomes impossible to ignore?
Do we wait until water-quality monitoring shows a serious problem?
Do we wait until coral restoration becomes more difficult and more expensive?
Or do we act before that happens?
That is the difference between reactive conservation and preventative conservation.
When Oceans 5 talks about overdevelopment on Gili Air, it is not because we are against tourism.
We are tourism.
Our existence depends on people travelling to Gili Air.
But our future also depends on Gili Air remaining worth travelling to.
The reef cannot be separated from the beach.
The beach cannot be separated from development.
Development cannot be separated from wastewater.
Wastewater cannot be separated from groundwater.
Groundwater cannot be separated from the sea.
It is one connected ecosystem.
That is why marine conservation must start before we enter the water.
It starts with where we build.
It starts with how we build.
It starts with where our wastewater goes.
It starts with whether we allow the beach to move naturally.
It starts with understanding the consequences before constructing another wall.
And it starts with accepting a simple principle:
If you choose to make money from a protected natural environment, you also have a responsibility not to destroy the environment that makes your business possible.
The ocean doesn’t start at the shore.
And neither should marine conservation.
Yes. Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan form the Gili Matra Conservation Area. Its management framework uses different zones and identifies ecosystems including coral reefs and seagrass as conservation priorities.[1]
Not necessarily. Indonesian Presidential Regulation No. 51 of 2016 defines the coastal setback using a minimum 100-metre reference from the highest tide point, but implementation involves local spatial planning, permits, existing rights and other applicable rules.[5] The legality of a particular building therefore needs to be determined by the competent authorities rather than assumed from distance alone.
They can be. Seawalls can protect individual infrastructure, but coastal research shows that hard shoreline armouring can interfere with natural sediment movement, restrict landward beach migration and contribute to habitat and beach loss. Effects vary depending on local coastal conditions and the structure involved.[3][4]
Potentially. Poorly designed, overloaded or leaking wastewater systems can introduce nutrients and contaminants into groundwater and coastal waters. Excess nutrients can encourage algal growth and reduce coral-reef resilience.[6][7]
Yes. Sediment, wastewater, nutrients and altered drainage from land-based development can reach coastal waters. Sedimentation can reduce light, interfere with coral growth and, at sufficiently high levels, smother coral.[6][8]
No. Oceans 5 is itself a tourism business. The issue is not tourism versus conservation. The issue is whether tourism development respects the ecological limits, regulations and conservation status of the island and surrounding marine environment.
That depends on Indonesian law, permits, evidence and the circumstances of the individual case. A credible process would require proof of environmental damage and evidence connecting that damage to a particular activity. This is why scientific monitoring and proper enforcement are essential.
Preventative conservation tries to remove or reduce environmental pressures before serious damage occurs. Wastewater management, coastal setbacks, responsible construction, water-quality monitoring and protection of natural shorelines are examples. Reef restoration addresses damage; prevention attempts to stop some of that damage from occurring in the first place.
[1] Directorate General of Marine Spatial Management / Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries. Management Plan for the Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan Conservation Area 2023–2042, including the Gili Matra zoning and conservation objectives.
[2] The Jakarta Post (2017). “Buildings demolished as Gili cleanup starts.” Contemporary reporting on the removal of beachfront businesses on Gili Trawangan and the enforcement of shoreline rules.
[3] National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). What is shoreline armoring? Explanation of seawalls, breakwaters, revetments and their potential effects on beaches, sediment movement and coastal habitats.
[4] NOAA, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The Impacts of Coastal Protection Structures in California’s Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Discussion of beach loss, passive erosion and ecological consequences associated with shoreline armouring.
[5] Republic of Indonesia. Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 51 of 2016 concerning Coastal Setback Boundaries (Batas Sempadan Pantai). The regulation remains in force and establishes the national framework for determining coastal setback boundaries.
[6] United States Environmental Protection Agency. Threats to Coral Reefs. Overview of threats including coastal development, sedimentation, sewage, septic systems, nutrient pollution and physical damage.
[7] United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Wastewater Pollution on Coral Reefs: Science-to-Policy Brief on Managing Wastewater to Support Coral Reef Health and Resilience.
[8] United Nations Environment Programme. Scientific synthesis on wastewater, sediment and coastal-development impacts on coral reefs, including reduced light penetration and sedimentation affecting coral and seagrass ecosystems.
[9] Sidqi et al. Marine Spatial Utilization for Ecotourism Based on Ostrom’s Rules-in-Use in Gili Matra Conservation Area. The study identifies regulatory inconsistencies and institutional coordination challenges affecting sustainable ecotourism management within Gili Matra.
Shark Etiquette Shark encounters are one of the highlights of diving around the Gili Islands. For many divers, seeing their first shark underwater is an experience they will remember for the rest of their lives. Around Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan, divers regularly …