The collection of these tiny islands is considered an easily reached utopia from Bali and Lombok. If you’re looking for the ultimate bliss of a pollution free environment and an Eco friendly atmosphere, the Gili islands maybe your ideal getaway.
Many adore the island for its dedication towards their environment and preserving its natural beauty. This can be observed through the replacement of cars with bicycles and Cidomo’s (traditional modes of transportation), the slow pace of life, and the community coexist in this serene sanctuary.
The Gili islands are far less developed compared to Bali. With the island not allowing motorized vehicles, possessing powdery white sand and pristine waters, it seems like an untouched paradise. However, that is changing. More and more people visiting Gili are lacking respect for this small island giving a large strain on the environment. If you’re just as concerned as we are about restoring the Gili islands, here are 5 ways on how the Gili community and you can act towards keeping the island unspoiled:
How people living in the Gili islands are contributing?
- Weekly beach clean ups: Environmental agencies and the village head organize a beach clean up every Friday. These environmental agencies invites willing tourists and the local community from Gili to collect rubbish washed up on the beach and reward you with a FREE beer at the end!
- Recreational centres and restaurants spreading awareness: Most hotels and restaurants raise awareness about environmentally sustainable practices such as replacing plastic straws with re-usable ones, providing an Eco-friendly handbook in each hotel room, and encourage people not to waste water and electricity.
There are also organic and environmentally friendly built restaurants and hotels scattered in Gili.
Hotels: Karma Reef, La Cocoteraie
Restaurants: Pearl Beach Lounge, Scallywags Organic Beach Club
These places are developed to keep the feeling of serenity in nature and maintain the integrity of the island. - The iconic Deus motorbike sculpture: The Gili islands are famous for its amazing snorkeling and diving and the myriad of mystical marine life. With this spirit in mind a collaboration was born between the Marine Foundation, Deus and the Bio-rock restoration method. A custom motorbike was assembled in the Deus ‘Temple of Enthusiasm’ in Canggu and transported over to Gili, where it was submerged at a depth of five meters off the beach. This installation is maintained and managed by The Gili Eco Trust. Hoping the sculpture will spread awareness of the ocean under constant threat from damage and degradation to increased tourist numbers, pollution, boats, storms and minor environmental factors. They check and ensure that the sculpture is working correctly and providing a sanctuary for the fish that have taken up residence.
Be a responsible islander!
- Say NO to plastic straws! Most of the straws you drink your cocnuts and cocktails will make their way to the sea where they take forever to degrade. Visit a beach bar that provides reusable steel straws or bamboo straws. These alternatives are worth making and even consider it easier to produce! This also shows that they are educating their staff making them more eco concious.
- Refill your water bottle: Stay hydrated is essential when you’re in the tropics. But drinking the minimum of 3 litres a day means 4 single use plastic bottles each time. If you’re a traveler carrying a water bottle, there are lots of clean water refill stations on the island that charge you less than purchasing a bottle. Be a good budget traveler as well as an Eco conscious one.
We can all get on board with keeping things green, even regarding to boating. Bluewater Express tries in everyway to support an environmental friendly approach to transport our fastboats to Gili. This involves choosing a non hazardous paint for our fast boats which can be toxic to the ocean and maintain the fast boats condition with soft cleaning solutions. Having a boat, especially multiple boats is a big responsibility. At Bluewater Express, we want our guests to know that we are concerned about the environment and believe that there are great ways of connecting with nature while maintaining a conscious level of respect and harmony.
