The University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM) has begun to restore one of the world heritage sites in Bali and has received recognition from UNESCO, namely Subak. The location is in Tabanan Regency near Tanah Lot.
Subak is a typical irrigation system in Bali. "When we go in there it's not just irrigation but all the things related to it," said Prof. Dr., Ir., Indah Prihartini, M.P, one of the members of the Subak team from the UMM Faculty of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry (FPP). According to him, Subak has cultural, technological, economic and societal aspects.
And Subak is not only in one village. For the time being, what is being handled by UMM is Subak Bengkel which is located in two villages, in Kediri District, Tabanan Regency. The two villages cover an area of 329 hectares.
What is the emergency for recovering Subak? According to the FPP lecturer, Subak Bengkel is institutionally and well located. “The institution is very strong, and both locations are in the form of a stretch. One of the subaks that never lacks water. Subak depends on water flow. The water flows from upstream, continuing downstream. "That's the reason we went there," he stressed.
This Subak is currently experiencing cultural, ecological and hydrological degradation due to irrigation, and even technology. To manage Subak, we not only take care of agriculture, but also culture and religion. Cultural and religious matters are still firmly held by the Pekaseh (managers) of the subak.
According to him, currently the Subak land has been eroded. "The current land owners are descendants of the Subak elders." So a lot of land has changed functions, such as hotels and home developments.
Their elders actually use cultural and religious rules in managing Subak. Why do they use religion? "In order to obey the rules," explained Indah. Cultural explanations are not enough because they will inevitably change. Nowadays farmers are no longer like they used to be. In the past, it really depended on local wisdom.
Apart from that, the intensive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides by land owners has disturbed the ecosystem and damaged the ecosystem. Natural enemies that could previously live and be comfortable there become predators for disease pests. The ecosystem is also plants. There are several plants that used to be nests for animals which were useful for balancing the agro-ecosystem. It is also extinct.
In Tabanan, especially in Subak, there is a ceremony. Before he turned over the land, or plowed the land, they had to look for 108 aquatic plants that lived on the edge of the moors. "It turns out that after I saw the water plants, they were useful for balance," said Indah.
Things like that need to be covered by the Subak team from UMM in collaboration with the Tabanan Government and the community.
