Bali Leaders Confirm Uluwatu Cliff Project Will Not Impact Galungan Festivities

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As the holy Balinese festival of Galungan kicks off across the island, leaders have given assurances to the local community that construction work on the Uluwatu Sea Wall project will not affect ceremonies at Pura Luhur Uluwatu or the surrounding villages.

Galungan and Kuningan is a Balinese Hindu festival that celebrates the triumph of good over evil; this year’s festival will be observed from the 25th of September to the 5th of October. 

The Caretaker of Pura Luhur Uluwatu, also referred to as Uluwatu Temple, Jro Mangku Gede Wayan Santana, has spoken to reporters regarding the festival and ongoing construction work at the Uluwatu clifftop.

He confirmed that all traditional ceremonies set to be held at Pura Luhur Uluwatu will go ahead, noting that “including at the Galungan moment this year, there are no special arrangements.”

He confirmed that throughout Galungan and Kuningan, worshippers would be able to access the Jero Pura area and that tourists and visitors would only be permitted to visit the Jaba Sisi area of the temple, as has been the case since 1995 when the temple first permitted non-worshippers to visit. 

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Santana also spoke of the highly contentious Uluwatu Sea Wall project. He told reporters that the work is essential and that the plan had been on the cards for five years but had been delayed due to the pandemic.

He explained, “This is a large-scale effort to save the cliff and the temple. So it’s not for tourism purposes, but later, the road will be closed to the public.”

Santana also told reporters that as part of the long-term vision for the project, parts of the landscape affected by the construction works would be restored, and a forest of bakul trees and fruit trees would be planted to support the resident troop of monkeys in the area.

Though he did not comment on the impact the project is having on the monkey habitat in the short term.

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However, these comments counter recent updates from Badung Regency Department of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) published by regional newspaper NusaBali.

The updates stated that the Uluwatu Sea Wall project is not only emergency work to handle the crack in the cliff that has been present since the 1970s, but will also include roads to the beach, coastal revetment, handling of the cliff under Pura Luhur Uluwatu, and renovation of Pura Beji. 

This was the first acknowledgment that ‘beach access’ would be created, not only an access road to be used by construction teams for the duration of the cliff stabilization works. 

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The comments from Santana echo sentiments previously shared by the Head of Pecatu Village, which is the local administration of the resort area of Uluwatu, Made Sumerta, who has spoken with the press regarding the long-term vision for the initiative.

In early September, during a public outcry session regarding construction teams dumping limestone debris from the sea wall project directly into the ocean, Sumerta said, “We are clear: there is no commercial interest here.”

“The gift of Ida Bhatara that we have through tourism has given us a lot of prosperity. We will not exploit this nature for commercial purposes. This activity is purely for protection and security.”

Yet, if the road that is currently being constructed allows any kind of public access to the beach below or neighboring beaches in the long or short term, this would constitute a commercial value to the project, which has not been communicated to the public or the run past community.

The Uluwatu community has expressed deep concerns that the Uluwatu Sea Wall project has been allowed to start without the government publishing an environmental impact assessment known as an AMDAL. 

On the 25th of September, views over the construction site clearly show that two-thirds of the cliffside had been excavated to make way for the new road.

The rapid pace of the excavation and the sheer volume of the cliff face that has been broken down has made many residents concerned that the project is deeply counterintuitive.

Many concerned Bali lovers, tourists included, have been vocal online and within the community of Uluwatu that the project has destroyed a huge portion of the cliff face in order to ‘save’ the cliff from future erosion.