‘Kaombo’ Protects Binongko Seas

The night before, a smuggler almost succeeded in entering the marine region that is protected under the village’s customary laws.

Kompas/Ichwan Susanto

A diver floats along a coral shelf in the waters of Wali village Kaombo, Binongko island, Wakatobi, in the Sept. 26 file photograph. Since 2015, the people of Wali village have closed their waters from overfishing and other exploitative marine activities. The kaombo protected area can help restore the condition of the local ecosystem, which had been damaged by fish bombing.

Lakona, 72, swiftly rowed his boat towards shore. He has lived on the beach for a month to protect the kaombo waters off Wali village in Binongko district, Wakatobi, Southeast Sulawesi.

Approaching the rocky beach, Lakona approached Jaenuddin, 52, and spoke in the local tongue. He told Jaenuddin that they would need more buoys to mark the kaombo boundary. He also reminded Jaenuddin that it was important that the kaombo information board faced outward, to the sea.