High in the hills of Kintamani, Bali is at the centre of something\nextraordinary.<\/p>\n
The ceremonies of Madewasraya are not an annual festival, nor\nsomething staged for visitors every full moon during Peak Season. Held\nonly once every five years, the month-long sequence of ceremonies\ncentred on the temple of Pura Tuluk Biyu and Mount Abang (Gunung Abang)\nin Kintamani brings together priests, communities, and thousands of\nworshippers in a process concerned, at its deepest level, with balance.\nMore specifically, restoring balance by remembering what balance\nmeans.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a balance between human beings and nature. Between the sekala,\nthe world we can see, and niskala, the world we cannot. Between what is\ntaken and what must be returned. On the 21st of September, as part of\nthis year\u2019s Madewasraya, Taur Labuh Gentuh, a ceremony to restore\nharmony between humanity and the natural world, and Mapekelem, in which\nsacred offerings are returned to the lake and mountain, were conducted.\nIndonesia\u2019s Directorate General of Hindu Community Guidance described\nthe rituals in unusually contemporary language: as an expression of\necotheology and a commitment to the conservation of Lake and Mount\nBatur.<\/p>\n
That connection is worth reading again. Because down the mountain,\nbeyond the fields of marigolds and orange groves, beyond the incense and\nofferings, Bali has a problem. Not simply a tourist problem. Not just a\nrubbish problem, water problem, traffic problem, or development problem.\nAnd certainly not something that can conveniently be blamed on whichever\nbadly behaved foreigner happens to be going viral on social media this\nweek.<\/p>\n
The uncomfortable possibility is that these are symptoms of something\nlarger. Bali may have outgrown the model that created its exceptional\nsuccess.<\/p>\n
Too Much of a Good Thing?<\/p>\n
According to Statistics Indonesia (Badan Pusat Statistik or BPS),\nalmost seven million foreign tourists arrived directly in Bali in 2025\u2014a\nrecord by all accounts. But when you add the 9.6 million domestic\nvisitors, the total is more than 16.5 million tourist visits in a single\nyear. Remember, that\u2019s on an island with a resident population of\nroughly 4.5 million.<\/p>\n
There is no question that tourism has brought enormous benefits to\nBali. It provides employment, supports families and businesses, attracts\ninvestment, and connects a relatively small Indonesian island with\nvirtually every corner of the world.<\/p>\n
The argument is not that tourism is bad. It\u2019s whether more tourism is\nautomatically better tourism.<\/p>\n
For decades, success has largely been measured numerically: arrivals,\nhotel rooms, occupancy, investment, return on investment, tax revenue,\nconstruction, and expenditure. If seven million foreign visitors are\ngood, presumably eight million are better. Right?<\/p>\n
But there is another balance sheet. It contains water, land, waste,\ntraffic, infrastructure, culture, community, and quality of life. And on\nthat balance sheet, the numbers tell a different story, and they\u2019re not\nso easy to ignore. The severe floods of September 2025 provided one\nwarning. Sixteen people died after torrential rain inundated Denpasar\nand other parts of the island. I Nyoman Gede Maha Putra, an urban\nplanning expert at Warmadewa University, told Reuters that rapid\ndevelopment had prioritised tourism and investment without sufficient\nattention to infrastructure and disaster preparedness. Bali Governor\nWayan Koster disputed the suggestion that conversion of agricultural\nland was responsible.<\/p>\n
The disagreement illustrates the larger question Bali now faces. How\nmuch development can an island absorb before development begins to\ndestroy the very thing being developed?<\/p>\n
The Water Beneath Our Feet<\/p>\n
Water may ultimately provide the clearest answer.<\/p>\n
Water in Bali is not merely a commodity. It sits at the heart of one\nof the island\u2019s most celebrated cultural institutions: the subak\nirrigation system, through which farming, community, religion, and\nlandscape have been interconnected for centuries. Water is also a\ncritical element of the Madewasraya ceremony.<\/p>\n
Every hotel room, villa, swimming pool, landscaped garden,\nrestaurant, and laundry adds to demand. So does Bali\u2019s rapidly growing\nresident and expatriate population.<\/p>\n
And this isn\u2019t simply perception. Research by Udayana University has\nalready classified Denpasar as being in water deficit, while another\nstudy of 60 wells in North Kuta found evidence of seawater intrusion\naround Petitenget and Batubelig. Peer-reviewed research has warned that\ncompetition for water is contributing to environmental problems and\nputting agriculture under pressure.<\/p>\n
The subak is not simply an ingenious irrigation system. UNESCO\ndescribes it as a network connecting rice fields, farmers, temples,\ncanals, and entire watersheds, based upon Tri Hita Karana: the\nrelationship between the spiritual world, humanity, and nature. There\nare around 1,200 such water collectives across Bali.<\/p>\n
And this is where philosophy and physical reality meet.<\/p>\n
The same idea of balance expressed through Madewasraya is written\ninto the landscape through subak. The relationship between people,\nnature, and the spiritual world is not simply an abstract Balinese\nphilosophy. It determines where water flows, which fields survive, and,\nultimately, whether communities built around them survive too. And when\nthat relationship is disturbed, the consequences can be measured in\nwells, aquifers, rice fields, and water shortages.<\/p>\n
Yet UNESCO is now warning about pressure from land conversion and\ntourism development on the subak landscape, particularly around\nJatiluwih. In 2024, it went so far as to request information from\nIndonesia about the loss of rice fields and its impact on the system. A\nluxury villa can be Instagrammably \u2018Balinese\u2019 with stone walls, tropical\ngardens, and a strategically positioned Ganesha, while consuming\nresources in ways that are anything but traditional.<\/p>\n
This is where the conversation about sustainability can become\nuncomfortable, because it\u2019s easy to ask hotel guests to reuse their\ntowels and use paper straws, but much harder to question whether another\nvilla development or shopping mall should have been built in the first\nplace. Water exposes the fundamental weakness in an economic model based\nupon endless expansion: Bali is finite. Its aquifers are finite. Its\nagricultural land is finite. Its roads are finite. Its coastline is\nfinite.<\/p>\n
Truth is, there is no infinite version of Bali.<\/p>\n
The Mountain at Suwung<\/p>\n
Then there\u2019s the rubbish.<\/p>\n
For years, the vast landfill at Suwung, just south of Sanur, became\nperhaps the most literal monument to Bali\u2019s consumption economy: a\nmountain created from everything the island no longer wanted. In April\nthis year, new restrictions stopped Suwung from accepting organic waste,\nlimiting disposal there to residual waste as part of a shift away from\nthe old collect-transport-dump system. Now, the Indonesian Ministry of\nEnvironment says the objective is reduction and sorting at source,\ncombined with more sustainable processing. In July, construction also\nbegan on a waste-to-energy facility in South Denpasar as part of an\nattempt to reduce Bali\u2019s dependence on landfill.<\/p>\n
These are important changes, yes, but they only address one end of\nthe equation. The other side is consumption. Seven million international\nvisitors consume things. So do 9.6 million domestic visitors. So do the\nplaces they stay and eat in. So do the people who live here.<\/p>\n
Bali\u2019s rubbish problem was not created exclusively by foreigners, any\nmore than its traffic problem was. That\u2019s important because blaming\ntourists can become another way of avoiding the more difficult\ndiscussion.<\/p>\n
The Bad Tourist<\/p>\n
There are, unquestionably, bad tourists. Foreigners have been\nphotographed behaving disrespectfully at sacred sites and driving\nrecklessly, while others have been working illegally and overstaying\nvisas. As crazy as it sounds, foreigners have also been accused of\nkidnapping and premeditated murder.<\/p>\n
Bali has responded.<\/p>\n
Governor Koster\u2019s 2025 code of conduct for foreign tourists requires\nvisitors to respect temples, religious symbols, ceremonies, customs, and\nlocal traditions; dress and behave appropriately; obey traffic laws;\nstay in licensed accommodation; and refrain from working or conducting\nbusiness without the appropriate permits.<\/p>\n
Immigration enforcement has also intensified. During the first six\nmonths of 2026, Bali immigration authorities deported 342 foreign\nnationals for visa violations, while the Dharma Dewata task force\nstepped up enforcement. There is nothing unreasonable about that.<\/p>\n
A guest is expected to respect the house. But there is a danger in\nallowing the \u2019bad tourist\u2018 to become the entire story. It clearly isn\u2019t.\nA foreigner riding a motorcycle without a helmet is easily and highly\nvisible. It gains traction on social media. But an illegally constructed\nvilla, poorly regulated development, an inadequate sewage system, or a\nslowly depleted aquifer is considerably less photogenic. Which\nultimately causes greater damage to Bali?<\/p>\n
Respect must work on several levels. Visitors must respect Bali.\nBusinesses must respect Bali. Developers must respect Bali. Government\nmust respect the limits of the island it administers. And Bali must\nrespect itself enough to decide that not every rupiah of investment is\nnecessarily worth having.<\/p>\n
From Quantity to Quality<\/p>\n
This may be where the idea behind Madewasraya becomes surprisingly\nrelevant, because balance does not mean stopping change. Bali has never\nbeen static. Its culture has survived precisely because it has\nrepeatedly absorbed outside influences and made something distinctly\nBalinese from them.<\/p>\n
Turning against tourism doesn\u2019t make much sense. The paradigm shift\nwe\u2019re exploring here is subtler. It means moving from quantity towards\nquality. From extraction towards stewardship. From measuring investment\nsimply by its monetary value to considering its cost in land, water, and\ninfrastructure. And perhaps from seeing environmental protection as the\nprice of economic development to recognising that, in Bali, the\nenvironment and culture are themselves the economic assets.<\/p>\n
There is already movement in this direction.<\/p>\n
Bali\u2019s foreign tourist levy is explicitly intended to fund the\nprotection of culture and the natural environment. The provincial\ngovernment talks increasingly about \u201cquality and dignified tourism.\u201d\nWaste policy is shifting towards processing at source. Immigration\nauthorities are making it clear that laws cannot be ignored.<\/p>\n
The same rethink is beginning to reach foreign investment.<\/p>\n
In July, Bali blocked foreign-owned companies from obtaining licences\nin 18 business classifications considered important to protecting local\nsmall and medium-sized businesses. The numbers behind that decision are\nrevealing. According to the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board\n(Badan Koordinasi Penanaman Modal or BKPM), the Ministry of Investment\nand Downstream Industry, Bali accounted for 72% of all projects\nregistered nationally under the business classification covering owned\nor leased real estate. Authorities are also targeting nominee\narrangements, fictitious companies, and foreign businesses operating\noutside the activities for which they were licensed.<\/p>\n
But policies don\u2019t qualify yet as a paradigm. A paradigm shift\nchanges the way we understand the problem itself. And when that happens,\nquestions change too. Instead of asking, \u201cHow do we accommodate another\nmillion tourists?\u201c it asks, \u201cShould we?\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead of asking how another development can be supplied with water,\nit asks whether the development belongs there. Instead of cleaning\nrubbish after it has been produced, it asks why so much waste is being\ngenerated. Instead of advertising Balinese culture while simultaneously\neroding the communities and landscapes that sustain it, it recognises\nculture as a living system rather than a tourism attraction.<\/p>\n
That would be a much more profound change.<\/p>\n
What Must Be Returned?<\/p>\n
There is a principle embedded in ritual that modern economies\nsometimes struggle to understand. You cannot endlessly take without\nreturning something. Madewasraya expresses that idea spiritually. Modern\nBali faces essentially the same thing in material form.<\/p>\n
Tourism takes something from the island: water, land, road space,\nenergy, and resources. In return, it brings employment, opportunity,\ninvestment, cultural exchange, and prosperity. For many years the\nexchange worked remarkably well. But there are increasingly persuasive\nsigns that the balance has shifted. Perhaps that\u2019s why a ceremony to\nhelp us remember how important balance is feels particularly relevant\nright now.<\/p>\n
To be clear, this isn\u2019t an argument against foreigners. It\u2019s not\nagainst tourism. Not against development. Not against the government.\nBut against the assumption that more must always mean better. Bali has\ntested that assumption for long enough. It has spent decades asking how\nmuch the world wants from the island.<\/p>\n
Perhaps the next chapter begins by remembering and asking how much\nthe island is willing to give.<\/p>\n
For more insights, feel free to reach out to Seven Stones Indonesia\nvia hello@sevenstonesindonesia.com<\/p>\n
Photo by Tom Fisk on Pexels.<\/p>\n
Sources:<\/p>\n
Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs\u2019 Hindu Affairs Directorate,\nBPS Bali, Reuters, Bali Government Tourism Office, Rudenim Bali,\nEnvironment Ministry, UNESCO, Stroma Cole \/ Annals of Tourism Research,\nBKPM<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/remembering-the-question-of-balance-1791474620", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }