Jakarta, IO – Recently, Indonesian social media has been awash with petitions rejecting the beach club construction project owned by artist Raffi Ahmad in a Gunungkidul beach, Yogyakarta.
According to the blueprint, the project named Bekizard Beach Club in Kemadang village, Kapanewon Tanjungsari, will have 300 rooms, sitting on top of 20 hectares of land with breathtaking views of the ocean, per Detikcom, Thu (13/6).
But the project faced public opposition as it was deemed detrimental to the environment and local community. Moreover, it has yet to obtain an environmental impact assessment (Amdal).
It also has yet to receive permit from the Yogyakarta Provincial Administration, even though Gunungkidul regent Suryananta was present at the groundbreaking ceremony.
Demands for the project to be stopped were made through petitions on change.org and social media. Besides public opposition, the plan was also slammed by the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi).
The non-governmental organization considered it inappropriate because it was going to be built in the Gunungsewu Karst Natural Landscape Area (KBAK), designated as a protected natural area.
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This means that the development can potentially damage the area which is also a groundwater protection zone which provides water reserves for local residents. This case drew the attention of the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry, which issued a reminder that tourism must be sustainable, both economically and environmentally.
The opposition movement gained traction and eventually forced Raffi Ahmad to abandon the plan on June 11. (un)