Spoiling Bali<\/p>\n
Recently the magnificent calm and beauty of the Ayung Valley,
\nwest of Ubud, Bali, has been ruined by the construction of a new
\nFour Seasons Hotel. The pristine valley, bisected by the Sungai
\nAyung, and home to numerous birds and reptiles, is now scarred
\nwith bright orange and blue plastic and walls of scaffold; the
\ndesign philosophy of Frank Lloyd Wright giving way to the tacky
\n\"edifice complexes\" of Indonesian hotel developers.<\/p>\n
The construction is not only ugly and out of keeping with the
\nfeeling of the area, but it breaches the regulations which
\nconserve greenbelts in Bali. The blatant flouting of regulations,
\nenvironmental and aesthetic concerns, we have come to recognize,
\nare sure fire signs that the arrogantly well-connected are at
\nleast partial owners of the site.<\/p>\n
Building regulations stipulate a distance of 50 meters be
\nmaintained from rivers. As well as being good for the
\nenvironment, any developer with a modicum of sense would design
\nwith a thought to freak weather conditions. Imagine the mighty
\nAyung spewing through the honeymoon suite or washing away diners
\nabout to indulge in dessert. This hotel sits about 10 meters from
\nthe bank! Roll on flash floods!<\/p>\n
Remarkably the manager of Four Seasons was reported as saying,
\nthat this was a \"green development\" and that if the contractor
\nwas caught cutting down trees he would be fined US$500 per tree.
\nWell bring out your checkbook boys, as we who live alongside this
\ndevelopment, saw at least 60 trees cut down. This was after all
\njalur hijau (greenbelt) and farming land.<\/p>\n
The most offensive thing about what is happening in Bali, is
\nthat with the systematic privatization of the beaches and rivers
\nfor hotel and villa development, the Balinese are gradually
\nlosing their access to water for upacara (ceremonies) such as
\nngaben (cremation) and those associated with the subak
\n(agricultural farmers organization). Several people from our
\nvillage expressed the fear that their sacred places are being
\nbuilt on, or polluted by the human waste from these building
\nsites and hotels.<\/p>\n
What does one have to do to make oneself heard? The Balinese
\ncomplain (if they are not scared), tourists complain, foreign
\nresidents and businesses complain. The site is illegal even under
\nflimsy Indonesian town planning regulations. Despite presidential
\nand gubernatorial decrees prohibiting development in Bali in
\ngeneral, and Ubud in particular, hotels continue to rise like
\ntriffids, claiming the pura (temples) and kuburan (cemeteries)
\nwhich stand in their path. I have been told that two more hotels
\nare mooted for the valley. An Oberoi and a Serai. The
\n\"commodification\" of nature and a living culture is now almost
\ncomplete.<\/p>\n
The valley, like so many pristine and natural places in Bali,
\nis to be uglified, and dominated by humans in the name of
\ndevelopment. So what happens when the tourists stop coming
\nbecause the place they loved no longer exists? Will it be
\n\"Welcome to Baliworld -- the Theme Park?\"<\/p>\n
MELODY KEMP<\/p>\n
Sayan, Bali<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/spoiling-bali-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }