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Channel: Gili Eco Trust - About BioRock Project on Gili Islands in Indonesia
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Situation on Gili and Objectives

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Biorock technology was invented by WOLF HILZBERG and TOM GOREAU (www.globalcoral.org).

We have now more than 120 Biorock structures around the 3 Gilis plus Tugu Hotel in North Lombok and in Senggigi Bay.
It is a lot of work to supervise and maintain but we accept volunteers to help us out and do some research and studies on these amazing reefs. Volunteers need to follow a 2 weeks course first to learn about reef ecosystems, identification, reef gardening, designing and building their own Biorock, and learning about all the maintenance aspects of the Biorock technology.
After the course, the Gili Eco Trust provides the diving gear for the maintenance. Best is to already have your snorkeling gear as many thing can be done from the surface of the sea!
Contact us at info@giliecotrust.com for more information.


Here are some facts about the 3 Gilis:

The Gili’s islands:

Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan, called Gili’s, are three lovely islands located between Bali and the North West coast of Lombok in Indonesia.

The largest of the three islands, Gili Trawangan attracts the majority of visitors, it is around thirty minutes boat ride from the northwest mainland of Lombok and regular daily boats depart Bali directly to Trawangan.
The beaches of the Gili’s are powdery white, the water a beautiful clear blue and they are positioned perfectly for sunsets over Bali’s Mt Agung and sunrise over Lombok’s Mt Rinjani.

Forty years ago, the Gili islands were uninhabited and only discovered by the seafaring Bugis people from Sulawesi. It was only a matter of time before the more adventurous backpacker types discovered the islands and developed Trawangan into a hippy party paradise destination.

Gili Trawangan now identifies itself as a great holiday destination suitable for families of all ages. Various new hotels, luxury villas, and boutique bungalows now cater to children and offer good value. Some have baby-sitting services, and with lots of activities on the islands families are sure to enjoy their beach holidays to the full.

Unique to the Gili’s all forms of motorised transport are still not allowed - meaning the only way to get around is on foot, by bicycle and in pony carts known as Cidomos.
ATM machines are everywhere on the islands now.

Most visitors stay on Gili Trawangan for the facilities and make the short hop out to the dive sites. Each dive centre has its own fleet of traditional outrigger boats that ferry divers offshore to the walls and reefs where the best diving is to be found.

RESTORING CORAL REEFS USING BLUE RENEWABLE SUSTAINABLE ENERGY

For many years we have been thinking of how to make our successful reef restoration more sustainable. We have tried using solar panels on a barge but they are difficult to maintain and get stolen easily out in the sea. As we are scuba diving around the three Gili islands but also all over Indonesia, we are so aware of the strength and energy that the marine currents have in this region. So we would like to build a tidal energy turbine following the work of Dr. Gorlov with local equipment, material and manpower. We have tried to get funding for the last 4 years to import a tidal energy turbine but it is very difficult to import such technology in Indonesia without paying a lot of tax and it is also difficult to get funding for a very expensive turbine, which will produce way more energy that a Biorock reef needs. Moreover we want to use local knowledge, local material and our experience to build a turbine, which will produce the electricity needed for a Biorock reef and give the best example of how the electricity should be produced in Indonesia instead of using oil. Tidal power has great potential for future power and electricity generation especially in Indonesia which would be able to use its main wealth, the ocean.

We built a tidal turbine prototype which worked but the rotation of its fan was too slow. We are currently working with engineers from the ARUP to improve its efficiency and to build a new prototype.
More than that, of course we want:
  • More better protection of coral reefs.
  • More Biorock structures and reefs all around the three islands.
  • More awareness of swimmers and snorkelers about importance of corals and its protection (PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH OR STEP ON CORAL!)
  • More companies and tourists involved in our Biorock workshops
  • More moorings buoys around the protected areas
And…
MAKE THE THREE GILIS A NATURAL RESERVE!

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