Water Apartheid in Bali - Lecture by Ayu Pawitri

Join us for a lecture exploring the critical water crisis facing farmers in northern Bali. Ayu Pawitri from Dimusim Journal will present her in-depth research, undertook with co-researcher Diah Pramesti, on the devastating impact of water extraction by the booming tourism industry in southern Bali.This unchecked extraction has left agricultural communities in the north grappling with severe water shortages, highlighting a stark case of water apartheid.

Drawing on her extensive fieldwork with Diah, Ayu's presentation will delve into the complex web of factors contributing to this injustice. She will examine water privatisation and how the commodification of water resources exacerbates inequalities. The lecture will also explore the role of "solutionist" approaches within bureaucratic environmental management that often overlook local realities and perpetuate injustices against agrarian communities. Furthermore, Ayu will unpack the profound implications of water scarcity on the livelihoods and rights of Balinese farmers, connecting tourism history and prevailing political structures that challenge Indigenous land stewardship.

The presentation will also analyze the interplay between ancestral agrarian knowledge and modern water management, alongside instances where NGOs and local actors may undermine grassroots movements for water sovereignty. Ayu will further shed light on the gendered dimensions of water access and management, the environmental consequences of over-extraction leading to saltwater intrusion, and the alarming link between water shortages and increased fire risks during the dry season. This lecture offers a crucial insight into a pressing environmental and social justice issue in one of the world's most popular tourist destinations. It will be an opportunity to understand the intricate power dynamics at play and the struggles of those on the frontlines of Bali's water crisis.

Sunday 25 May 2025

6:00 PM - 7:00 PM ACST

In Person - Danala | Education and Community Precinct (1.11/12 - Festival Learning Space, 54 Cavenagh Street, Darwin City, NT 0800)

Online Zoom - https://charlesdarwinuni.zoom.us/j/81151517961

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Meeting ID: 811 5151 7961

International numbers available: https://charlesdarwinuni.zoom.us/u/kezdd1shng

Speaker: Ayu Pawitri (Dimusim Journal, Researcher)

Follow their work on https://dimusim.org/

This lecture is organised by Petal Petal Petal Petal Petal, a self-funded community project on unceded Gulumoerrgin/Larrakia Country, we believe in knowledge sharing to resist all unfinished colonial projects, and acknowledge all living stewardship of land-sea that our entangled globalised structure oppress, may your attendance seeds agencies and action.