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Mr. Bapak Agung Prana's
Opening Remarks, His Excellency the Indonesian Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mr. Gede Ardika, The Mayor of North Bali, Mr. Bagiada The chairmen of Bali Tourism Board, Indonesian Hotel Association, The Association of Indonesian Travel Agency (ASITA), Bali Guide Association (HPI) Ladies and gentlemen, distinguish guests Om Swasti Astu, We are most grateful that we have with us today many honorable guests attending the opening ceremony for the Biorock Seminar on Reef Building and Ecology. This workshop will take place at Taman Sari Bali Cottages for 12 days, from January 12 to the 24th, 2004. The honorable participants are :
The Objective of the workshop:
We also have present during the occasion:
The coral conservation project was developed and integrated in the area of West Bali, the village of Pemuteran, and has reached a certain level of its success. The project is based upon an unusual concept and strategy:
The workshop is organized and funded by the village and Industry (resorts and dive shops) and also supported by volunteers and scientists such as:
If we recall, in early 1988, Pemuteran village was characterized by:
The founding father and the pioneer of this area of Bali are the three musketeers—myself, Chris Brown and Diana. Together, we created the mission impossible Our commitment to restore and preserve nature paid off. We are pleased it was blessed and supported so much by super-natural and spiritual beings. We believe the key factor of our success was the “Community” and its participation in our project. After about eight months, we suddenly became the Pemuteran villagers’ teachers, giving them basic knowledge about tourism and of English, as means of communicating with our guests. We are here to share our experiences and views about the positive aspects of tourism. The statement of Mr Ardika impressed us that tourism, developed and managed correctly, could form the best tool for conservation of the environment The project:
Bapak Agung Prana is the owner of Taman Sari and President of the Bali Hotel and ASITA, Association of Indonesian Travel Agents and a United Nations Sasakawa Environmental award nominee |
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