Residents of Four Villages in Balikpapan Bay See Ecotourism as a Positive Force

Image: article cover, from Sayektiningsih et al. (2019), Jurnal Wasian, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

A research team from the Forest Resources Conservation Technology Research and Development Centre has studied community perceptions of the impacts of ecotourism in the Balikpapan Bay area of East Kalimantan. Published in Jurnal Wasian in 2019, the study involved residents of four villages bordering the bay: Maridan, Telemow, Binuang and Mentawir. The findings show that residents consider ecotourism capable of bringing positive benefits to their villages and communities.

The study also found that perceptions among residents of the four villages did not differ significantly. In other words, the view that ecotourism is beneficial tends to be uniform across the area. In addition, the research team noted a link between responsible behaviour towards ecotourism and respondents' sex. This finding indicates that community involvement in ecotourism management is not entirely uniform and needs to be taken into account in planning.

For forest-dependent communities and local government, these results offer important input. Positive community perceptions are an initial asset for developing sustainable ecotourism in Balikpapan Bay. However, the study stresses that ecotourism development must consider residents' behaviour and involvement, including differences between groups, so that its benefits can be felt more evenly.

Source and how to cite

This story is based on the research article Community Perceptions of Impacts of Ecotourism and Its Implications on Ecotourism Development in the Balikpapan Bay, East Kalimantan by Tri Sayektiningsih Sayektiningsih, Ardiyanto Wahyu Nugroho Ardiyanto, Ishak Yassir Ishak, Ulfah Karmila Sari Ulfah, Amir Ma'ruf Amir, Mukhlisi Mukhlisi Mukhlisi, Adi Surya Adi and Suryanto Suryanto Suryanto, published in Jurnal Wasian Vol. 6 No. 1 (2019). The full article is free to read on the Jurnal Wasian website.

Cite the original article (APA 7):

Sayektiningsih, T. S., Ardiyanto, A. W. N., Ishak, I. Y., Ulfah, U. K. S., Amir, A. M., Mukhlisi, M. M., Adi, A. S., & Suryanto, S. S. (2019). Community Perceptions of Impacts of Ecotourism and Its Implications on Ecotourism Development in the Balikpapan Bay, East Kalimantan. Jurnal Wasian, 6(1), 57–67. https://doi.org/10.62142/221nxp84

If you use these findings in coursework, a thesis or other writing, cite the original article above, not this news story. The original article is licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.