Kuta in Bali has long been known for being a popular surf destination and it was even listed in third place on a CNN news story about the best surf spots in the world. However pro surfer Kelly Slater has urged the Balinese to do something about the pollution situation both on and around Bali’s beaches before it soon becomes impossible to surf in the area.
Speaking to over 11,000 Twitter followers on Sunday, Slater said the problem was the worst he had ever seen and urged people to #DoSomething. When asked to further elaborate on the state of the beaches and the surf Slater said that he had seen needles, medical waste, and plastic all of which are hazardous to both humans and marine life.
Bali based surf operator Lee Walsh said that pollution has been a problem on Bali for a long time. He claims that the worst areas at present are on the western side of the island which includes everything from Kuta Bay up to Canggu. Mass overbuilding has been happening in these two places to try and cater to higher levels of tourists however all of the waste from the building projects is being returned to the sea which is ruining the once extremely popular surf destination.
A spokesman for the South East Asia branch of Quiksilver, Holly Monkman, has also blamed the pollution on Bali’s tourism boom however she claims that the situation is not as bad as it is being made out to be. She claims the Quiksilver company is running education programs for locals as well as actively helping to clean the beaches on a daily basis and that “Bali is still the best island for fun and surf”. We can’t help but wonder what she sees that nobody else does?
What we do know is that Bali’s tourism figures have quadrupled in the last five years and if something isn’t soon done about the problem, the devastation that is unleashed may be horrific. Have you visited Bali’s beaches recently or do you live on the island? Please let us know what you think about the pollution situation in the comments below.
