Bali Endangered Paradise? Tri Hita Karana and the Conservation of the Island’s Biocultural Diversity
Anak Agung Gde Agung conducted PhD research in Bali, Indonesia from 2001-2005 on the cosmology of Tri Hita Karana and its Role in the Conservation of the Island’s Biocultural Diversity under the auspices of the LEAD Programme at Leiden University.
His study focuses on the rapid bio- and cultural erosion which has accelerated ever since the mid-seventies when the island of Bali started to become Indonesia’s tourist icon number one, and the pressure on its rich bio-cultural resources became increasingly felt. This pressure spiraled to an almost unacceptable level when the Government of Indonesia in its quest for revenues to finance its national development programme, facilitated the unrestricted influx of tourism. Large hotels, tourist attractions and related infrastructure emerged throughout the island, introducing a modern life style not only alienating farmers and communities from their land, customs and traditions, but also threatening local peoples knowledge and practice of sustainable conservation of the island’s rich natural and cultural resources.
His study is based on the specific ‘Leiden Ethnosystems Methodology’ to combine qualitative and quantitative research methods and techniques to provide the participants’ view on development and change, highlighting the the role of the peoples cosmology of Tri Hita Karana as a major determinant of their utilisation and conservation behaviour of their bio-cultural resources which enabled them to live and survive over many generations on the island. The study also formulates practical recommendations to integrate global and local knowledge systems in order to realise the sustainable conservation of bio-cultural diversity within the context of community development in the future in the research area and beyond.
He was granted a PhD Degree at Leiden University on 3 November 2005 by his Promotor: Prof. Dr. L.J. Slikkerveer. The PhD Committee included Prof. Dr. L.J. Slikkerveer (promotor), Prof. Dr. V. Heywood, Prof. Dr. R.E. Leakey, Prof. Dr. P. Baas, Prof. Dr. W.T. de Groot, Prof. Dr. K.R. Liebenga, Prof. Dr. R. Schefold, Prof. Dr. G. Persoon.
Anak Agung Gde Agung, Bali Endangered Paradise? Tri Hita Karana and the Conservation of the Island’s Biocultural Diversity. Tri Hita Karana and the Conservation of the Island’s Biocultural Diversity. PhD Dissertation Leiden University, LEAD Studies No. 1, Leiden University. xxv + 464 pp. ill., 2005.