WASH issues and climate challenges in the tourist destination of Labuan Bajo, Indonesia

A group is assembled indoors with a row standing and a row sitting, they are participants in the local stakeholder training on GEDSI WASH in Labuan Bajo

Participants in the local stakeholder training on GEDSI WASH in Labuan Bajo (Udayana University) 

 

This Water, WASH & Climate story was authored Ni Made Utami Dwipayanti (Udayana University), Anindrya Nastiti (Institute of Technology Bandung) and Bronwyn Powell (International WaterCentre, Griffith University)

 

 

The importance of tourism in Indonesia, and some challenges that come with it

 

Tourism in Indonesia is a major contributor to economic growth. In the Labuan Bajo - one of Indonesia’s ‘super premium’ tourism destinations – growth has been especially rapid.  The expanding facilities to support tourist activities and the fast rise in visitors are straining the environment and infrastructure. The tourism sector is a major water user and is also affected by climate change.

 

The connection between tourism and WASH

 

The Water for Women  research project Engaging Corporate Actors for Inclusive WASH has found that interactions between the tourism sector and the local community are sometimes strained. With this comes a growing tension over inequitable WASH access. There is a big difference between the WASH services provided for tourists and those available to local community members. Negative impacts from inadequate WASH facilities in public places and homes have also been experienced by women and girls, people with disabilities and other marginalised groups. The situation is likely to get worse, especially if tourism continues to develop at a rapid pace and does not consider inclusive development processes and WASH access issues.

 

 A toilet with limited water supply and lack of privacy in a village surrounding Labuan Bajo exemplifies the local WASH experience

A toilet with limited water supply and lack of privacy in a village surrounding Labuan Bajo exemplifies the local WASH experience

(Udayana University) 

Co-designing inclusive WASH guidelines

 

Through our Water for Women project we have been collaborating with governments, the private sector and communities to explore water scarcity and stewardship, WASH access and tourism issues. We co-designed inclusive WASH guidelines with local government, hotels and tourism associations to help people better understand the challenges being faced and strategies to overcome them. Through this collaborative process we continue to strengthen and broaden WASH and tourism stakeholder networks to achieve inclusive WASH in Labuan Bajo.

A large room with people gathered around a table working on something. Local stakeholders participate in a consolidation workshop for an Action Plan for GEDSI WASH in Labuan Bajo

Local stakeholders participate in a consolidation workshop for an Action Plan for GEDSI WASH in Labuan Bajo  (Udayana University)

 

Priority issues for inclusive WASH in tourist destinations

 

Through this research, priority issues and ways to address them were identified. Some priorities include:

  • addressing water conservation and extraction issues to ensure sustainable water supply for the whole destination
  • ensuring inclusive WASH, especially acknowledging the negative impact on women from water scarcity and need for toilet access for people with disabilities
  • the benefits of multi-level and multi-stakeholder collaboration for broadening the benefits of tourism growth.

 

Resources available from this research project

 

We have co-designed and developed the following inclusive WASH-at-Work guidelines (also available in Bahasa):

 


 

 

This story was first shared as part of the This is Water, WASH & Climate: Stories from Practice, on 22 June 2022 during the Water, WASH & Climate Virtual Symposium. It has since been edited with permission.

 

An inclusive community is an essential building block of a climate resilient community. In an uncertain and rapidly changing world, there is no greater priority than ensuring that water and WASH systems are future-proofed for climate resilience, social cohesion, accountability and wellbeing. Embedding the voice of women and marginalised people in water and WASH systems is one of the most effective pathways to strengthen equity and inclusion, so that the ‘invisible’ becomes visible, and valued. Valuing diversity, and diverse perspectives, strengthens prospects for a more climate resilient and socially cohesive future.

For more information about the session and Water & WASH Futures events visit https://washfutures.com/. Key Water and WASH Futures partners are the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the International WaterCentre, Water for Women, the Asian Development Bank and the Australian Water Partnership.

To learn more and continue the discussion on how to achieve SDG 6 in a changing climate, join us in Brisbane at the Water and WASH Futures Conference 13-17 February 2023.

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