Bali Worries ‘Unstoppable Flow’ Of Tourism Negatively Impacts Environment

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Communities and traditional leaders in Bali are raising concerns about the impact of mass tourism development on the environment. In areas like Canggu and the villages surrounding Ubud, building development for rental homes, guesthouses, and hotels for tourists and longer-term international residents have often been built on productive farmland.

Anthropologists, conservationists, and traditional Balinese leaders are voicing their concerns for the environment and the future of tourism on the Island of the Gods. 

Following a discussion at the Community Hub House in Denpasar on Sunday, 18th September, local communities have spoken to reporters about their experience of tourism development. The event was titled ‘G20 and the Future of Bali’. Balinese culturalist I Wayan Westa shared his observations of the rapid development on the island over the last two decades.

He explained that he sees Bali as an ‘open fortress’ inviting in an ‘unstoppable flow’ of tourism. He said that these massive developments have bought undeniable positive impacts on the economy but that he fears that the focus on developing the tourism sector has led to the ‘sacrifice’ of agricultural land. 

In calm and respectful opposition to Governor Wayan Koster, Westa suggests that more robust policies on environmental protection would benefit the island and the tourism sector in the long run. With less and less agricultural land, food scarcity may become a greater issue, as well as the increasingly visible issue of water scarcity in Bali.

Last week, Governor Koster spoke to the media about his vision for sustainable tourism development and food security. He believes that ‘the solution to building tourism while maintaining food security is to build monumental and fundamental infrastructure, as well as tourism that [promotes] local agricultural production’.

Monumental infrastructure is not the angle that Westa is taking. He told the press that future-proofing the island must be conducted with an environment-first approach. He said, ‘How much land do we have left, how many rivers do we have left, and how many water sources have we saved? Then map out how Bali will be in the future’.

During the discussion, the Chairman of the Indonesian Conservation Foundation, Iwan Dewantama, shared his insights. The issue of coastal erosion and tourism development on fragile coastal ecosystems. He explained, ‘Of the nine regencies-cities, five regencies-cities have experienced seawater intrusion. What does that mean? Namely, seawater enters the aquifer in Bali, where the aquifer should be filled with fresh water, meaning that there is a large-scale extraction of our groundwater. For example, how do hotels and villas take our underground water? It’s not controlled’. 

Dewantama urged the government to pay greater attention to the matter, using the example of sinking Jakarta and Semarang. He suggested that tidal flooding events could quickly become the norm if the issue is not tackled more fully and urgently. He said, ‘Though the conditions in Bali’s forest area is not ideal, the lake is polluted, seawater intrusion occurs, water pollution. [These are the] facts that must be a measured of where Bali will go in the future’.

Deputy Governor Cok Ace attended the event and echoed the sentiments of the panel discussion speakers. He said that all future development must ‘be in favor of nature conservation, cultural strengthening and improving quality [of life] for Balinese people’.

The Chairperson of the PHRI (Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association) concluded by stating, ‘Save nature, culture, and people, because that’s the only wealth we have. If we realize that tourism development is damaging these three things, we should stop it immediately’. 

Though no policy changes were announced, there are hopes from local communities that these kinds of events will bring their experiences and observations to the attention of decision-makers so that tourism development can be sustainable and that suitable measures are taken to tackle the environmental issues they have highlighted.