Bali Welcomes Subak As World Heritage

Denpasar (Antara Bali) - The government and the people of Bali, especially the farmers, have welcomed the decision of the United Nations (PBB) to recognise subak, the Balinese traditional irrigation system in Dewata Island, as a World Cultural Heritage (WBD).

"Our expectation in establishing subak, the traditional irrigation system, as a world cultural heritage went through several processes and a lot of hard work over almost 12 years," said Prof Dr I Wayan Windia, MS, the secretary of the World Cultural Heritage planning and proposal committee in Bali last Monday.

Windia, a professor at Udayana University in Denpasar, stressed that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's (UNESCO's) decision to conserve subak in Bali should receive attention from the Indonesian government, the Bali provincial government and the district government in order to conserve and continue subak for the future.

According to Prof Windia, who is the head of the Quality Loan in Ubud, the government needs to address "how a farmer can be happy in pursuing and continuing his job as a farmer, so that he can still protect his own land and avoid alteration."

He reminded the government that it is very important to pay serious attention to farmers and to ensure that subak is not known as a world cultural heritage that exists in an unkempt and dirty state.(IGT/T007/DWA)