Tri Hita Karana and Tourism in Bali (13)
‘Desire for ‘Palemahan’

Bali is a small island with limited natural resources. However, it creates plenty of environment dilemmas which are caused by the high population density. Related to hotel environment issue in Bali, a few interesting aspects need to be illuminated such as the trash problem, industrial waste, biological variety, clean water, and others.

Environment document (AMDAL, UKL/UPL, SPPL) frequently used as license equipment. Environment observation that explicitly appears on the document disobeyed more often, so considers as ‘ a dead document’.  This is the weakness point of the environmentals pacts in hotels.
The thrifty efforts of energy, for example, of the electricity spending, seemly started in few hotels, moreover involving the tourist as well. The economical light consumption and tourist participation in green program are significantly supporting the economizing on energy of the hotel. It needs to improve progressively.
The trend issue of sustainable development, ‘back to nature’ program, and environmental hospitality, surely stimulate the attention from various sides of this environment dilemma. If not, complication will appears within the society in enjoying the healthy environment and the tourist sooner will leave Bali towards another tourism destination.
Rewards program to the company, environmental school, like Sahwali Awards and Wawasan Wiyata Mandala, literally, can not absorb the central point of environment dilemma in Bali - its parameter does not reflect the element balancing in Tri Hita Karana. Some of those awards, are accessed dominantly only for the palemahan criteria, while pawongan and parhyangan aspect are less accentuated. Thus, criteria renovation is needed for existence or should change in name and be adapted with the assessment environment aspect.
Zone handling of the hotel surroundings still inaccurate and the waste/junk reservoir is sometimes located near the temple/worshipping site on related hotels. Area proportion for utama mandala (temple) in several hotels is still on a small scale and unbalanced with the measurement of the hotel location. (see pawongan aspect).
To give an insurance of the hotel’s product, therefore the hotel accreditation and award is surely important. Thus, the THK Awards & Accreditations need to be sustained continuously.

Recommendation

1. The study of Tri Hita Karana is surely needed and should be inserted and become a school curriculum in Bali, starting from elementary until university level.
   
2. The application of the government program in Bali should refer to Tri Hita Karana value.
   
3. A well effort should bear within the wild animal habitat conservation, because half of conservation area has been destroyed and planted with cultivated plants.
4. The active role of the society and industry needed in the conservation of biological diversity - presently, the wild animal haunting for pleasure is still visible.
   
5. The conservation and empowering effort of local and endemic animals should available.
   
6. Reducing the concreting and area covering to increase the area absorptiveness of water.
   
7. The regulation enforcement for the environment pollution, such as waste disposal to the river, should explicitly judged.
   
8. The ABT (Air bawah tanah/under ground water) permission removal on the seawater intrusion of crisis area should stop or reduced. The water meter should be available on the permitting location and the water taking cost is conduct to edify the under ground water economizing.
   
9. A real effort needs to be conducted in reducing the area shifting function (farmland, bengang, and protected location.
   
10. Exploitation of local and organic product needs to be increase.

(By THK Awards & Accreditations Team, A. A. Gde Raka Dalem, and B. Ashrama editor)