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Cultural Landscape of Bali Province: the Subak System as a Manifestation of the Tri Hita Karana Philosophy

Indonesia
Factors affecting the property in 2019*
  • Changes in traditional ways of life and knowledge system
  • Governance
  • Housing
  • Identity, social cohesion, changes in local population and community
  • Land conversion
  • Management systems/ management plan
  • Society's valuing of heritage
Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports
  • Changes in traditional ways of life and knowledge systems (Vulnerability of the Subak system)
  • Identity, social cohesion, changes in local population and community (Lack of support for traditional farming systems and of benefits that would allow farmers to stay on the land)
  • Land Conversion (Protection of the setting of the landscape to protect the water source that underpins the Subak system)
  • Housing (Development pressures)
  • Governance, Management systems/management plans (Lack of functioning governance system to implement the Management Plan, Absence of a strategic tourism plan)
  • Society’s valuing of heritage
International Assistance: requests for the property until 2019
Requests approved: 1 (from 2001-2001)
Total amount approved : 30,000 USD
Missions to the property until 2019**

January 2015: Joint ICOMOS/ICCROM Advisory mission

Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2019

On 29 November 2018, the State Party submitted a report on the state of conservation, which is available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1194/documents/ and provides information on the following:

  • The continued implementation of Committee decisions has been based on consultations with stakeholders, including members of the subaks;
  • Measures to improve the financial sustainability of the subaks, including incentives for subak farmers, will be implemented at the district level in 2019, providing funds to the pekaseh for the maintenance of fields and to organize ceremonies. In addition, Gianyar Regency is planning to introduce regulations to reduce taxes for three subaks, and Tabanan Regency has provided support for works at Subak Catur Angga Batukaru;
  • The State Party acknowledges the importance of effective coordination within and between the national, provincial and Regency levels of government and the need for bottom-up problem solving for the cultural landscape. At the national level, a Coordination Team for the Conservation and Management of Indonesian Cultural and Natural Heritage was established according to a 2016 decree to ensure cross-agency coordination at the national level. This is being revised to include a greater number of ministries and agencies. The national Coordination Team is also tasked with supporting the operationalization of the Coordination Forum for the property, established by the Bali Province in 2014. The State Party reports that this mechanism requires assessment and strengthening;
  • While no timeframe is indicated, the State Party reports that the property will be designated as a National Strategic Area once the relevant Presidential Decree is finalized. The State Party has also provided updates to the national legal protection framework: Law No. 5 of 2017 concerning the Advancement of Culture, Presidential Instruction No. 7 of 2017 on the Supervision and Monitoring of Policy Implementation of the Ministries and non-Ministerial Institution level, and Regulation No. 13 of 2017 which updates Regulation No. 26 of 2008 regarding the National Regional Spatial Plan (which relates to the spatial planning and designation of the property as a National Strategic Area);
  • There are various laws and regulations for the assessment of development proposals, which are considered sufficient to ensure the protection of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property.
Analysis and Conclusion by World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies in 2019

The State Party and the Bali Province and Regency governments have continued to make progress towards the implementation of previous Committee decisions and the recommendations of the 2015 joint ICOMOS/ICCROM Advisory mission.

Progress on the development of financial measures to support subak farmers is welcomed, although continued monitoring of outcomes will be necessary. It is noted that there are differences in the mechanisms provided by the two Regency governments that administer the areas in which subak components are located. It is therefore recommended that the Committee encourage the State Party to monitor the outcomes of financial incentives, ensuring that all subaks within the inscribed property have full and equitable access to them (including tax relief and other concessions offered by the Regency governments).

The designation of the property as National Strategic Area is considered beneficial to strengthen spatial planning for the property, as it provides an integrated approach to catchment management, to the management of natural resources that are essential to the functioning of the subaks, and to the conservation of cultural heritage. It is recommended that the State Party be encouraged to finalize this process as soon as possible.

It is noted with appreciation that the State Party has provided an English-language version of Decree No. 20 of 2016, which establishes the national Coordination Team for the Conservation and Management of Indonesian Cultural and Natural Heritage. The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies consider the effective operation of the Coordination Forum that was established by the Governor of Bali Province in 2014 to be an essential component of the management system for the property. The implementation of the Management Plan and other parts of the management system depends on the participation of subak farmers in the formal processes for the conservation and management of the property in a manner which can sustain their traditional practices as well as their economic and social needs. Accordingly, it is recommended that the Committee welcome the intentions of the State Party to strengthen this mechanism, including the monitoring of its effectiveness.

In relation to the Committee’s request to develop and implement Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) processes for the property, it is noted that there are a range of impact assessment arrangements in place at the national level. However, based on the information provided by the State Party, there is concern that these mechanisms are not specifically oriented toward the protection of the OUV of Indonesian cultural World Heritage properties, and that they are not directly linked to the management system. Given the need for sustainable development and the ongoing pressures of development inside and beyond the boundaries of the inscribed components, it is recommended that the Committee encourage the State Party to develop and implement HIA processes for the property, using the guidance provided by ICOMOS and IUCN, and that HIA information be provided to the World Heritage Centre for all new development projects, for review by the Advisory Bodies, before making any decision that would be difficult to reverse, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines.

It is considered that there are ongoing challenges for this living cultural landscape, and that the processes of ensuring its protection and management will require continued vigilance by all levels of government and support for the functioning of the subaks and water temples.

Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2019
43 COM 7B.63
Cultural Landscape of Bali Province: the Subak System as a Manifestation of the Tri Hita Karana Philosophy (Indonesia) (C 1194rev)

The World Heritage Committee,

  1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B,
  2. Recalling Decisions 38 COM 7B.14, 39 COM 7B.66 and 41 COM 7B.91, adopted at its 38th (Doha, 2014), 39th (Bonn, 2015) and 41st (Krakow, 2017) sessions respectively,
  3. Commends the State Party for progress made in implementing the Committee’s previous decisions and the recommendations of the 2015 Advisory mission, and encourages it to continue working to implement effective mechanisms for the management and protection of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property;
  4. Welcomes in particular the information provided by the State Party concerning the introduction of financial incentives to assist subak farmers at the district level in 2019 and the financial support provided by the Regencies of Gianyar and Tabanan, and requests that the State Party monitor the effectiveness of all financial support mechanisms, taking all necessary steps to ensure that all subaks within the property have full and equitable access to such incentives;
  5. Also welcomes the ongoing designation of the property as a National Strategic Area, and also encourages the State Party to finalize this process as soon as possible;
  6. Notes that further review, assessment and enhancements are planned to strengthen the coordination of the numerous programmes and initiatives that can have an impact on the effectiveness of the management system established for the property, including the functioning of the Coordination Forum and the national Coordination Team, and also requests the State Party to submit reports on the progress and monitoring of these mechanisms, particularly the effectiveness of the participation of subak farmers in decision making and the formal management system for the property;
  7. Further requests the State Party to develop specific Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) mechanisms that are linked to the property’s management system and can explicitly address the need for the ongoing protection of the OUV of the inscribed cultural landscape;
  8. Requests furthermore the State Party to conduct HIAs for all new developments within the property and its setting, particularly at Jatiluwih, and submit documentation on all proposed developments and associated HIAs for review by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies before taking any decision that would be difficult to reverse, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
  9. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2020, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 45th session in 2021.
Draft Decision: 43 COM 7B.63

The World Heritage Committee,

  1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B,
  2. Recalling Decisions 38 COM 7B.14, 39 COM 7B.66 and 41 COM 7B.91, adopted at its 38th (Doha, 2014), 39th (Bonn, 2015) and 41st (Krakow, 2017) sessions respectively,
  3. Commends the State Party for progress made in implementing the Committee’s previous decisions and the recommendations of the 2015 Advisory mission, and encourages it to continue working to implement effective mechanisms for the management and protection of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property;
  4. Welcomes in particular the information provided by the State Party concerning the introduction of financial incentives to assist subak farmers at the district level in 2019 and the financial support provided by the Regencies of Gianyar and Tabanan, and requests that the State Party monitor the effectiveness of all financial support mechanisms, taking all necessary steps to ensure that all subaks within the property have full and equitable access to such incentives;
  5. Also welcomes the ongoing designation of the property as a National Strategic Area, and also encourages the State Party to finalize this process as soon as possible;
  6. Notes that further review, assessment and enhancements are planned to strengthen the coordination of the numerous programmes and initiatives that can have an impact on the effectiveness of the management system established for the property, including the functioning of the Coordination Forum and the national Coordination Team, and also requests the State Party to submit reports on the progress and monitoring of these mechanisms, particularly the effectiveness of the participation of subak farmers in decision making and the formal management system for the property;
  7. Further requests the State Party to develop specific Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) mechanisms that are linked to the property’s management system and can explicitly address the need for the ongoing protection of the OUV of the inscribed cultural landscape;
  8. Requests furthermore the State Party to conduct HIAs for all new developments within the property and its setting, particularly at Jatiluwih, and submit documentation on all proposed developments and associated HIAs for review by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies before taking any decision that would be difficult to reverse, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
  9. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2020, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 45th session in 2021.
Report year: 2019
Indonesia
Date of Inscription: 2012
Category: Cultural
Criteria: (iii)(v)(vi)
Documents examined by the Committee
SOC Report by the State Party
Report (2019) .pdf
arrow_circle_right 43COM (2019)
Exports

* : The threats indicated are listed in alphabetical order; their order does not constitute a classification according to the importance of their impact on the property.
Furthermore, they are presented irrespective of the type of threat faced by the property, i.e. with specific and proven imminent danger (“ascertained danger”) or with threats which could have deleterious effects on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (“potential danger”).

** : All mission reports are not always available electronically.


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