STRESSES ON AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPES IN BALI

- The water temple irrigation system-

Brief Background:- ~ 4 million inhabitants

- 92% of Balinese Hinduistic

- Main source of income = agriculture

- Tourism sector steadily growing

- Balinese societal structure:

● Banjar - lowest administrative level in Bali

● Pemaksan - regulation for religous rituals

● Subak - regulation of irrigation modalities for rice fields

System Description: The water temple irrigation system

SUBAK:

● Most effective traditional irrigation system on the planet!

● Socio-religious irrigation society● Subak-members assemble in water temples● Subaks are socially connected with each

other through geography or water temples● Greatly affected by the Green Revolution in

the 1970s

Source: Geografika Nusantara, 2011

System Description: The water temple irrigation system

SUBAK:● Most effective traditional irrigation system on

the planet! ● Socio-religious irrigation society● Subak-members assemble in water temples● Subaks are socially connected with each other

through geography or water temples● Greatly affected by the Green Revolution in

the 1970s

System Description: Relevant ACTORS and INSTITUTIONS

System Description: LOCAL scale

Household = Basic productive unit- Communal obligations- Farm work → Livestock

→Rice fields → Outsourced labour

- Off-farm work → PRIORITYGender differences:

System Description: Relevant ACTORS and INSTITUTIONS

System Description: REGIONAL scale - Management system

● Technical Work Group (TWG ) - Established for the WH application process → brought together stakeholders from different backgrounds and levels

Bridging Organization:Promotes social learning and multi-directional information flow, fostering socio-ecological resilience

● General Assembly → Established by TWG to ensure successful adaptive co-management of WHS after being accepted, legally defines high priority of protecting water temple system & subaks

Has 6 working groups concerned with different management issues → members from subaks and village households outnumber government representatives → community-based management approach guaranteed

● Munduk: Subunit of subak (15ha / 35 members)○ Munduk heads Community obligations / land○ Subak heads○ Farmers Water distribution

System Description: Relevant ACTORS and INSTITUTIONS

System Description: REGIONAL scale - Religious system

Ulun Danu Batur - master temple, located at Bali’s freshwater source→ pest control, establishment of new subaks and irrigation channels & tunnels

Ulun Swi - higher order temples in which members of several subaks meet→ irrigation issues are coordinated here

System Description: Relevant ACTORS and INSTITUTIONS

● Indonesian Government: ○ Last 40 years: Attempt of formalization and simplification of the system for control○ 2008 Framework for governing future of WHS

System Description: NATIONAL & GLOBAL scale

● Tourists: ○ Increased regional development○ Decreased agricultural sector (25% between 1976 & 2008)○ Diversification of labour → Aging farmers

→ Insurance against crisis

● UNESCO:○ WHS in 2012 ○ UNESCO and academic consultants: Participate in managing the WHS for capacity building

and evaluating the state of the site.

Capacity to deal with change:

● Highly resilient system for the past 1000 years

● Tourism economic incentive for conservation, although work is still needed!

● System’s characteristics: ○ Self-organization○ Cooperation - Rapid info exchange○ Equity - Close relation to environmental problems○ Sense of belonging○ FLEXIBLE/ADAPTABLE

● WHS designation: Improved social network = Higher resilience

Generalizability:

● Like other traditional systems, the water temple system is threatened by modernization and globalization

● Good example for other communities on how to exert Adaptive Governance

● The community was integrated at last:

→ key in managing sustainability and tapping into local knowledge

Conclusions:

● Outside driver (application for WHS) brought stakeholders together

● realization of government that temple water system and subaks in their current state are

a) important for the man-made ecosystem on Bali

b) a valuable source of income for Bali

● not all ecosystem feedbacks on Bali known yet● existing adaptive co-management plan is however exceptional

and should ensure successful management in the future