Regional autonomy may lead tourist industry into the twilight

By I Gde Pitana

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): Tourism has been inseparable from the life of most Balinese and has become a revenue generator in the economic development of the island.

In l998 alone, tourism absorbed around 52 percent of the total workforce in the island.

Despite its success story, tourism has actually created a number of problems of its own .The centralized tourism policy, which allows officials in Jakarta to make all the decisions concerning tourism in Bali, is no longer appropriate.

That's why Bali wholeheartedly welcomed the implementation of the law on regional autonomy.

The policy is expected to speed up the development of the tourist industry as local officials, who supposedly understand the local problems better, will make most of the important decisions.

In reality, the policy imposed under Law No. 22/1999, effective since January 2001, is not all positive.

When the regional autonomy issue was being debated, local scholars and related parties carried out a series of discussions to provide the provincial government with the necessary input.

The discussions centered more on the potential impact of regional autonomy on the local culture, economy and environment.

There was a suggestion that Bali should implement regional autonomy only at the provincial level. The arguments were based on several facts.

First, Bali is just a small island with limited natural resources. If regional autonomy is implemented at the regional level, it may be vulnerable to irregularities in various development projects. Each regency would propose its own development plan. The worst thing that can happen is that the regional administrations fail to have a comprehensive development plan and succumbs to the demands of investors.

Second, the new paradigm of regional autonomy should emphasize more on public service improvement than increasing regional revenue. This is because there is a fear that regional authorities, instead of improving public service, may focus on generating as much as revenue as possible from development projects.

Since tourism is the island's economic backbone, each regency might push itself to transform its territory into a glittering tourist destination. The regional authorities might build many hotels and tourist facilities to increase their profits and tax revenue without considering the sociocultural and environmental impact.

If this happens, Bali will be seriously threatened as it may not be able to have a sustainable growth.

Third, each regency may impose various taxes and fees on hotels, restaurants and tourists. One such example is the fee visitors pay when they come to view the Batur mountains and lakes in Bangli regency.

It is feared that other regencies will follow suit. Tabanan regency, for instance, may impose a fee on those visiting the Beratan lake in Bedugul. The same thing might happen in Buleleng regency, where the Buyan lake is located. Even people passing the terraced rice fields in Ubud, Gianyar and the fertile salak (fruit a with snake skin-like outer covering) plantations in Karang Asem, East Bali may be charged.

It may also come to the mind of regional officials to build a bus terminal in their area to earn higher revenues. This may create traffic chaos.

Fourth, regional autonomy could heighten interregional conflicts concerning the preservation and maintenance of natural resources such as water, forests and rivers in bordering areas.

Fifth, the social and economic gap between the rich and poor regencies will likely widen. People from poorer regencies may become frustrated when they see regencies such as Badung and Denpasar enjoying greater financial benefits from tourism.

As a result of the unequal financial distribution, poorer regencies may resort to extreme measures such as closing their borders or imposing high entrance fees on those entering their territories.

Unequal regional revenues (PAD) of the regencies are vividly illustrated in the following data: In 2000, Badung regency with only 326,771 population received about Rp 217.5 billion in revenue compared to Buleleng (565,162 population) with only Rp 6.41 billion. One of the poorer regencies, Bangli, received only Rp.2.17 billion or 10 percent of Badinage's revenue.

Historically, the old Bali during the Gelgel Kingdom, between the 13th and 14th century, was far more prosperous than contemporary Bali. When the Dutch invaded the island, the kingdom was divided into smaller royal houses.

Each kingdom then had its own territory and authority. The division of Gelgel alienated the kingdoms and the once united royal family became enemies.

Reality

Nevertheless, like it or not, Bali must accept the present concept of regional autonomy. The province is now witnessing what was forecast above. There is a possibility that each of the eight regencies in Bali will transform itself into a "small kingdom".

They will regulate their own taxation and implement their own development plans. Unfortunately, not all the regencies have a detailed master plan.

Investors are already being invited to develop the respective areas, ignoring the social and environmental impact.

If this continues, it will ruin the environment, deplete the natural resources as well as create social and cultural problems.

A poor development plan can cause serious problems to the locals, in particular, and the agrarian society of Bali, in general.

To attract more investors, the regional authorities may sacrifice the traditional land use system, for example sacrificing fertile rice fields to make way for various development projects. This can lead to a marginalization of the farmers and local residents.

The authorities may not realize that they are changing the social and cultural systems, which support the island's agrarian life.

The existence of Subak (an organization of farmers that own adjacent rice fields), for instance, will certainly be threatened by uncontrolled development projects.

Subak, which decides on all matters concerning irrigation, rice growing and ceremonies, has long been recognized as a significant force in safeguarding Bali's Hindu religion and culture.

In the Balinese context, the use of land is always associated with nonphysical and physical elements. It embodies relations between man and nature. The land use in Bali is closely related to Subak, Desa Adat (social and religious traditions of villages) and pemaksan (an organization or individual responsible for the maintenance of religious properties).

Every rice field in Bali belongs to a Subak society. Each Subak has its own pura (temple), which is supported by its members. If a rich field is transformed into a tourist or business center, who will take care of the temple?

Transfer of property and transforming the land will upset the people's relationship with the supernatural, and their religious beliefs and values.

The Balinese people deeply believe in three elements, locally known as Tri Hita Karana, which gives them genuine happiness. These elements are the relations between man, man and nature, and man and his Creator.

Poorly managed development projects will disturb the social and cultural lives of the Balinese people, who actually have the cultural capital to boost tourism.

Bali has been trying to develop a cultural tourist industry with its local culture as its primary asset.

Literally, the Balinese culture can be defined as one that embodies both religion (Hindu) and tradition.

Any development project must support the island's tourism and at the same time preserve the culture. The tourist industry must promote the local culture and vice versa.

As Bali's tourist industry relies on its cultural capital, any disturbance to the existing culture will definitely affect the industry.

Experts have raised concerns that the implementation of regional autonomy may have negative repercussions on both the local culture and the island's tourist industry.

Bali's image as a paradise island can quickly change into one that is expensive, uncomfortable and environment unfriendly.

In the early period of regional autonomy, Bali may experience rapid development in tourism, particularly in terms of physical development. But, in the long run, there may be a stagnant period and this can lead to its destruction. According to the Butler theory (l980), when tourism declines, it will be difficult to rejuvenate it.

The implementation of regional autonomy, which allows uncontrolled development in the regencies, threatens Bali's entire cultural and tourism potentials.

If the present trend in development continues, Bali may soon become overburdened and worn out, and its tourist industry be prepared to enter its twilight.

The writer is a researcher at Udayana University's Center for Cultural and Tourism Studies.