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Water Conflicts among Different User Groups in South Bali, Indonesia

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Abstract

The overexploitation of water resources in the region of South Bali, near one of the island’s tourist centres, is exemplified by a subak in Sanur at the tail end of an irrigation system. Tensions between the social institutions for local water management and powerful, state-backed stakeholders in water distribution from the river Ayung have caused rural–urban water conflicts for the last 10–15 years. The case presented here illustrates how water shortages are ascribed to the dominance of the tourism industry, private companies selling bottled drinking water and regional water delivery services, all of which peasants hold responsible for crop failure in dry years. I focus on the emic perspective of the subak members on water scarcity caused by a lack of coordination between privatized and previously centralized water resource management based on economic priorities for the tourism sector and urban regions and water use for agriculture.

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Notes

  1. Subak are defined as “all rice terraces irrigated from a single major water canal (tebalah gde)” (Geertz 1972:27). Subak communities follow customary law (adat) and religion to administer the land and the irrigation water from a common water source (see Peraturan Daerah Propinsi Bali tentang Irigasi Bali 1972, § 4 as cited in Bundschu 1987: 38–39). The term comes from the Balinese word seuwak-uwak - “distribution of irrigation water in a good and equitable manner” (Bundschu 1987: 37, my translation).

  2. For a more detailed analysis of the fieldwork results see Strauß 2006.

  3. The names of the subak, munduk and peasants have been replaced by pseudonyms.

  4. A five-month ethnographic fieldwork period cannot provide information on a complete process of change. Here I present the analysis of a cross-section extract of a long-term development.

  5. For a detailed discussion of subak rights and functions see Bundschu 1987 and Hobart et al. 1996.

  6. In pre-colonial times, water was allocated by the reigning lords and their officials, but the actual irrigation management was carried out by the subak (Bundschu 1987: 37; Hobart et al. 1996: 93; Hauser-Schäublin 2003: 160–1, 2005).

  7. The priests in Batur temple reported that nowadays some subak substitute cash payments for actual participation at the ceremonies. Every subak in this ceremonial web is notified of the required payment in cash or kind via the Ministry of Public Works (PU). According to the temple priests, the latter has taken over the control of water allocation (Interview 19th June 2009).

  8. Since the first version of this article in 2007, a lot has changed in the agricultural policy under the President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The Ministry of Agriculture has launched programmes for organic agriculture and new agricultural subsidies since 2004 to increase the efficiency and productivity of Indonesian agriculture.

  9. Until 2000, the development of natural resources and tourism planning was controlled by the National Planning Board for Development (BAPPENAS). Subsequently the Regional Planning Boards for Development (BAPPEDA) gained more influence in cooperation with offices of provincial administration (GTZ 2003). Because of problems in the water sector and hindrances to (sustainable) economic development, a structural reform (WATSAL) enacted a new water resource development law according to principles of democracy, decentralization and transparency, giving responsibility for water resource management to provinces and to urban municipalities or district administrations within them (Bappenas 2005). How far this altered water resource planning has to be clarified by further research.

  10. In principle, all peasants of a subak should get the same amount of water in relation to the size of their land parcels. However, in dry periods the last fields in the run of irrigation sometimes do not get as much as the first. Equitable distribution is very difficult to control in the dry season and can lead to disputes within or between subak.

  11. Two of these three peasants were members of wealthier households and had access to a pump for additional irrigation.

  12. “Last year (2005) I did not harvest anything.... The problem here is the water source at the Wongan: the water is distributed for other purposes first, after that it is dry and there is nothing left for us.” (Pak Mangku Merta, interview 13th Febr. 2006)

    “Last year (2005) I didn’t have any problems with the irrigation, because my ... neighbour also has a pump, which I can use to pump water directly from the canal into my fields. Without this, I would also have problems with the irrigation water..... Not every member of our subak has access to this pump, I’m very lucky. I still had three harvests during the last 18 months.That is a very good result. In general the water is decreasing here.” (Pak Ketut Jaya, interview 14th Febr. 2006)

  13. Many of the younger generation are seeking full-time employment in Sanur where there are many opportunities available for the better educated, especially in the tourism sector.

  14. The literature available on PDAM and Aqua is sparse. What is presented here relies mainly on Internet sources and field data.

  15. In comparison, in Germany, the daily per capita consumption in households is about 160 l (Waldner 2000:36).

  16. The role played by the industrial sector is only marginal in the water conflict and is therefore not elaborated on here. (For further information see Martopo and Rahmi 1995:203–208.)

  17. Reliable consumption data for an up-to-date comparison of all sectors is not available. An overview of all water amounts taken out of the Ayung River could not be obtained from the authorities (PU, DAS Ayung) during a later research stay in 2009/2010.

  18. Reliable data on tourist water consumption is often not available to hotel owners because of use of more than one water source for one accommodation facility, for instance the PDAM and deep wells (Waldner 1998:251).

  19. A joint Indonesian/Canadian study for sustainable development in Bali (see Martopo and Rahmi 1995; Nash 1996:199–140).

  20. Before the JICA report, this was carried out by Martopo and Rahmi (1995), but up to now the exploitation rates have risen.

  21. A conviction voiced strongly and regularly in local newspapers, for example with the call for “eternal agriculture” (pertanian abadi) for Bali (Bali Post 6th March 2009).

  22. Although there are no published data available for the subak under study, the farmers’ statements are supported by Suasta (2001). For information on Gianyar see Bali Post 26th March 2008.

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    Sophie Strauß

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Strauß, S. Water Conflicts among Different User Groups in South Bali, Indonesia. Hum Ecol 39, 69–79 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-011-9381-3

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