A clean environment is closely related to the comforts of life and welfare of the community."
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Nambo beach, a popular marine tourism object in Kendari district, Southeast Sulawesi, is being cleaned up to make it more attractive to both local and foreign tourists.

Aiming to keep the Nambo beach in Kendari clean is a matter of pride to ensure that residents, tourists, businesses, and visitors can enjoy a clean environment and good sanitation facilities.

Cleanliness along the beach should be the fundamental responsibility of every individual in Kendari as collective responsibility actually means that no single person is held accountable.

The residents of Kendari are aware of the importance of cleanliness and also realize that it is everyones responsibility, though in reality, they have little time to ponder over these matters.

"We are currently cleaning up the Nambo Beach of garbage in commemoration of Indonesia Garbage Care Day 2016," the head of Southeast Sulawesi Environment Agency, Haku Wahab, remarked in the provincial capital of Kendari on Saturday (Jan. 30).

He called on the Nambo Beach Tourism Management Board to keep the beach area so it is not contaminated by plastic waste or marine plants that can disturb the comfort of visitors.

Wahab noted that to make the visitors feel comfortable, the cleanliness of the beach must be maintained, especially of plastic waste and the rubbish of marine plants that smells unpleasant.

"If Nambo beach is polluted by various plastic waste, or waste of marine plants that smell unpleasant, it is certain that the visitors to the beach will be disturbed or feel uncomfortable," Wahab noted.

Southeast Sulawesi Environment Agency officials, non-government organizations activists, and journalists from different mass media on Saturday cleaned up the Nambo beach.

Various kinds of rubbish, especially of plastic waste and that of marine plants were successfully removed from the shoreline of Nambo, and then transported outside the beach area by garbage trucks.

He said garbage clean up activities by the local environment agency was done not only limited to the tourist areas but also at settlement areas.

According to him, creating and maintaining cleanliness is very important because a clean environment can provide a comfortable life for citizens.

"A clean environment is closely related to the comforts of life and welfare of the community," Wahab noted.

Further, he also urged the Kendari city administration to participate in maintaining the cleanliness of Nambo beach resort so that it becomes more attractive to tourists.

Head of Kendari Culture and Tourism Office Baiduri Nehru has remarked as an oceanfront city, Kendari offers a variety of tourist attractions, and one of them is Nambo beach.

He said calm atmosphere, cool weather, soft white sand, and surrounding beautiful landscape can add up to the attraction of this beach.

According to local residents, the location of this beach was once a fairly dense mangrove forest.

Until one of the local entrepreneurs found a stretch of white sand in the middle of the mangrove forest cover.

The businessman then bought some land there, which previously was owned by local communities, and then developed into a tourist attraction site.

Mangrove trees in the middle of the ocean are cleaned so that there are no obstacles between the boundaries with the blue sea horizon view of the sky.

Parking area, gazebo and public bathrooms were started to be built by the local government.

Now there are many coconut trees that grow as marched to meet the shoreline at this beach location.

In addition to adding beauty of the beach, the coconut trees along the beach can also be used as a shelter when the sun hits.

Nehru said Nambo beach is popular marine tourism object in Kendari, which is located some 12 kilometers from the city, and can be reached in about 30 minutes.

"The trip to Nambo beach is fun. Visitors can go along the Kendari strait while enjoying the mangrove forests and also fishermen villages," he said.

The beach has the stretch of white sand for about 300 meters with calm and crystal clear water that invites many visitors on Sundays and holidays.

A member of the Kendari Regional Legislative Assembly (DPRD), Yasin Idrus, has called on the Kendari city administration to optimize the management of tourist attractions in the area.

"All tourists attractions in Kendari must be managed optimally in order to boost local revenue," Idrus remarked in Kendari some time ago.

He pointed out that the local revenue generated from Kendaris tourism sector was still low despite the citys huge tourism potential.

"Therefore, the city administration should optimize the management of the areas tourism potential," he said, adding that several tourist attractions in Kendari that could be managed optimally to boost local revenue are the Nambo beach, and Bungkutoko island.

Located just at the mouth of Kendari Bay and off the coast of Kendari city, Bungkutoko Island is easy to reach, but hard to forget.

With its beautiful beaches, abundant native wildlife and pristine waters, this island has long been a beloved destination for visitors and local residents alike.

Spending just one or two days on the Bungkutoko island is not enough for the visitors to enjoy the hospitality of the local community with its interesting culture and traditions, or to relish the beauty of nature at sunrise.

In addition to the natural panorama of the coast, the underwater world of Bungkutoko island is also appealing, with various types of coral reefs, species of fish and other marine biota.

Therefore, the Kendari city government is making every effort to develop the 500-hectare island of Bungkutoko as a tourist attraction by promoting it through a variety of tourism activities aimed at domestic and foreign tourists.
(TO001/INE/KR-BSR)

Reporter: Otniel Tamindael
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2016