Bangka in July or not anymore?

[Dor1813]

Hi all

I was thinking to dive Bangka and Pulisan/Lembeh in July but from FB updates, "Big barge with lots of huge rocks arrived today on Bangka, ready to dump the rocks at the reefs to build "floating" jetty for the mining company.":sad::sad::sad:

Does anyone here have more updates on the diving in Bangka at this point of time and how bad it will be in the next two months? Or should I go somewhere else to dive ... ?

 

[diverjen]

I would also really like an update on how Bangka is doing. We were hoping to do a Lembeh/Bangka combo trip next summer but am wondering if we now need to look elsewhere....

 

[boletus1973]

hello .. I'm in bangka from July 20 for 10 days, I believe that in July it will all be ok .. this bad news does not involve the whole island ... but only a small part of the reef ... the big problem will be when they begin to dig and debris will end up in the sea, we will see in the future .... :depressed::depressed:

 

[ocdiver1]

I just returned from an Indo trip that included a liveaboard out of Bangka and was there 10 days ago. While we only did several days worth of diving actually on Bangka, I noticed no difference anywhere we dove and the island to me remained just as beautiful as it always has been. I spoke with the owner of Blue Bay, Anke, briefly about the proposed mine, and she said the court battle to block the mine had been won, there were just some issues with local enforcement. She remained very hopeful about the future, and shared some plans that the coalition of dive ops allied against the mine were implementing including buying up random plots of land to block any future attempt by any other mining interest.

It would seem your planned July trip would be unaffected and there would be no reason not to go and enjoy Bangka.

 

[astralmind]

Wow 2 other board members visiting Bangka in July? Cool!

Where will you guys be staying at? We'll be at Nomad from the 7 to the 23

 

[Dor1813]

Thanks so much for all the encouragement. It's been decided except for where to base myself ... Bangka island or Pulisan. For Bangka, i am looking at Mimpi Indah and Coral Eye.

If anyone has stayed at Pulisan Jungle resort, appreciate if you could share your experiences diving with them. Is their dive centre and boats "photographer friendly"?

---------- Post added May 17th, 2014 at 05:43 PM ----------

Wow 2 other board members visiting Bangka in July? Cool!

Where will you guys be staying at? We'll be at Nomad from the 7 to the 23

I maybe staying at Murex from 19 to 26 July.

 

[highdesert]

UPDATE DIRECTLY FROM BANGKA

Below is a portion of an email exchange I had yesterday with someone very close to the Bangka issue. They said that those who are actively involved in the opposition may have trouble obtaining necessary permits from the government in Manado to do business in the area, so I could post this much if I kept them anonymous for now:

"Here are the facts about the mining :

- Higher court in Indonesia has ruled that the mining on Bangka is not allowed.

- Almost the whole population on Bangka is against the mine and have fought this continuously.

- The local government is still pushing for the mine to start, goes against the verdict of the higher court and is still backing up the mining company.

- Several weeks ago, with the help from the riot police, the Chinese mining company landed with heavy machinery (excavators and big trucks) on the island to start preparations and explorations to find out if there is iron ore at Bangka Island.

- Since 2 days ago a barge started dumping rocks on a part of the reef to make a jetty. The mining company promised a floating jetty!


This jetty is being made on a site away from all the other dive sites. Although it's very, very sad that his is happening, only a small part of the reef is being affected. If the mine starts operating on a full scale then the whole area will be affected by this but this is still far away and most likely will not happen this year, if it will happen at all. At the moment there is still a fierce fight against the mining company going on and hopefully they will be able to stop the mining company. Several large environmental institutes are involved in this and hopefully they will be able to stop this madness that's going on. In the end it will all have to come down to the islanders and the other locals to stop this. As long as the locals show that they are against this mine then there is still hope of stopping this.


This is a much as we know at the moment. We hope and pray for the best and that the mining company will be stopped before they will destroy the whole Bangka area and maybe even more. Local and international activists are working hard to stop them."

If/when I get permission to post more, I will.

 

[Dor1813]

Thanks so much for the updates.

 

[Pillpusher]

Glad to hear the good guys are *somewhat* winning for once... Hopefully they'll be able to stop it when all is said and done. I'll be there in July as well, but splitting my time between KBR and Cocotino's Manado/Wori, and am hoping to get a day trip or two up to Bangka from Cocotino's.

 

[highdesert]

Another article about the mining. It appears to be an uphill battle trying to stop corruption in the local government and beyond.

Mining paradise