Many eco-resorts have been hit particularly hard by the recent pandemic. Relying heavily on incoming tourists, often situated in remote areas with relatively limited connectivity and supply chains, many have been left out on a limb. One dive resort in West Papua has taken the pandemic as an opportunity to relook its overall approach to sustainability. By Jeremy Torr.

Gam, West Papua. December 2020. “Sustainable means to continue to function and thrive in perpetuity - through all types of conditions,” say the founders of the Raja Ampat Eco Resort, Patricia Sanz and Reynaldo Corral. This, they say, includes not just the normal predictable lives we lead, but the extraordinary too.

“This pandemic can serve as a moment in time when all of us step back and ponder our long-term goals.”  As part of this philosophy, Sanz and Corral have modified their business and booking approach to offer both a degree of flexibility to people who want to sample their island idyll, as well as maintain the integrity of the local community that the resort depends on and offers employment to.

“These circumstances are difficult for all of us, and affect all sectors of the economy,” they note. “But we would like to invite you stay positive and remain grateful/thankful if you have not suffered any deaths.” Both Sanz and Corral come from countries that have been hard hit – Sanz from Spain and Corral from El Salvador. Nonetheless, they encourage customers to day positive. “While you are in lockdown, keep dreaming, staying focused on positive aspects that make your life important such as travelling, reefs, contact with nature, and remoteness,” they insist. “Fight and don’t let the extreme news and conditions take your dreams away.”

The Raja Ampat ethic is based firmly around its ongoing sustainability ethic. The staff and managers constantly remind visitors that although it is difficult to imagine the magnificent Coral Triangle ecosystems being significantly eroded during our lifetime, it is a scientific reality. “It is unfortunately all too easy for us to put the idea on the back burner, after diving in such healthy and vibrant dive sites. It is much too easy for us to turn our backs on something we don’t actually see falling apart with our own eyes,” they say.

Consequently, the resort emphasises the “walk the talk” approach that uses traditional Indonesian “mandi” bucket showers instead of wasteful running water. Instead of paint, used oil from generators and dive compressors is used to protect wooden structures, and dive compressor carbon runoff is made into bricks. Buildings use locally-sourced, traditional Papuan building materials. Coconut oil for cooking is bought from local producers. But all this needs people, not the usual commercial supply chains – and some 95% of the Raja Ampat Eco Resort employees come from nearby villages. And all this demands that the cashflow keeps going.

So Sanz and Corral have come up with a deferred booking system that hopefully will keep the resort viable until the tourists come back. Intending visitors now only need pay a 10% deposit on booking, with the balance then paid 30 days prior to the arrival date. If things look poor in terms of being able to travel internationally, guests can re-book up to a month in advance at no extra cost, or surrender a modest 20% of the original 10% deposit if they cancel.

“We are supporting our staff financially by still paying their salaries because unemployment benefits do not exist in Indonesia,” say Sanz and Corral. “We have kept most of our staff employed (but not on-site), because through this they still have access to health insurance, as well as being able to support their families during these difficult times.” They have also retained the same rate structure as last year to avoid a price rise issue when potential visitors are booking.

Sanz says the pandemic can be used as a catalyst to “apply the principles and practices that allow us as (eco-friendly) organisations to sustain happy, healthy, and purposeful lives.” She notes that although guests are sometimes shocked when they come to Raja Ampat and find plastic bottles discarded on nearby beaches, it is not just these things we all need to worry about. And visiting the resort can potentially help change behaviours.

“What about nuclear waste, houses that are air conditioned 24 hours a day, outsized automobiles, driving instead of walking, and so on?” she asks. “Just because we don’t see (plastic pollution) at home, doesn’t mean that advanced nations aren’t responsible. We need to ask what we are really doing to help the environment.”

“So instead of cancelling, postpone your dates to suit,” she urges. “Your bucket list destinations will still be there for you to visit, and if Raja Ampat Biodiversity is one of them, we hope to still be here to educate and welcome you!”