INDONESIA: Bali fears economic downturn after birdflu deaths
Updated
The economic fallout following the deaths of two women from bird flu on the Indonesian island of Bali have already begun causing economic hardship for some. At least 6,000 chickens and poultry have already been culled by animal health workers. That's hitting poultry farmers, and meanwhile hotels and restaurants are taking chicken off the menu, in the hope of maintaining confidence in the island's crucial tourism industry.
Presenter: Girish Sawlani
Speakers: Agung Suryawan, Chairman of Research Centre for Culture and Tourism and Udayana University, Bali and customary head of the Sesetan village in Denpasar; Dr. Ngurah Mahardika, head of Animal Biomedical and Molecular Biology laboratory, Udayana University, head of Avian Influenza research team in 2005.
SAWLANI: Avian Influenza or Bird Flu has already claimed two lives in August and the culling of more than 6000 fowl. The outbreak has also led to the ban in import of chickens from East Java while local poultry farmers have been told by authorities to keep their chickens in the pens. This according to the Aging Suryawan, the chairman of the research centre of culture and tourism at the Udayana University, is causing hardships to poultry farmers in East Java and in the Jermbrana district of Bali.
SURYAWAN: They suffer much because the production is weak as they cannot supply to Bali, so they have to keep the chickens and keep feeding them. So they still have to spend money to buy the chicken feed, but they cannot sell the chickens, at least in the next three months. So they have to maintain their production but they don't get any money from selling.
SAWLANI: Mr Suryawan, who is also the customary head of the Sesatan village in Denpasar says that the Balinese government has been providing adequate compensation to farmers who have not been able to sell their poultry.
SURYAWAN: The government already provides special practice funding for them. For example the government asked them to destroy or kill all the chickens. The government will give money for compensation to them. The government of Bali will provide sufficient funding to give the farmers the compensation for their chickens.
SAWLANI: Despite fears of a potential epidemic, Mr Suryawan says that the local community is uniting behind the Balinese government and community leaders to help stop the spread of Bird Flu.
SURYAWAN: We have started since four years ago, village officials and the community leaders come to every member's house and asking whether or not they've got chickens. And if they got them the official will take them and kill them and burn them and they will be given compensation. At the moment the community who have got chickens are willing to give their chickens to the staff to be killed.
SAWLANI: So it's a pretty united effort by everyone in Bali?
SURYAWAN: Yes, united effort by everybody.
SAWLANI: Despite the outbreak, Mr. Suryawan says that the problem has barely had any impact on Bali's tourism industry.
SURYAWAN: At the moment so far according to the bookings and the arrivals, there is a normal situation. Up till now there is no cancellation for bookings, and arrivals are normal. So far there is no significant impact on tourist arrivals in Bali.
SAWLANI: As part of preventive measures to stop the further spread of bird flu and maintain confidence among tourists, many hotels and restaurants have taken chicken off their menu, leading to a decline in demand for poultry. But Dr. Ngurah Mahardika, head of the Animal Biomedical and Molecular Biology laboratory at Udayana University says that the initiative was not necessary.
MAHARDIKA: It's not a good move for the tourism, for the people, again we think the meat especially, not raw meat, but cooked meat is not dangerous at all, not risk at all. So I think the development by the hotel industry, of restaurants, by taking out all the chicken meat from the menu is not a good way to ensure the security of the tourists who come to Bali. But I think because the bird flu cannot be transmitted through food, it's not food-borne disease.
SAWLANI: In fact Dr. Mahardika sees the bright side of the whole issue. He says that the Bird Flu outbreak presents an opportunity for Bali to be better prepared for future disease outbreaks.
