Desy Nurhayati, Denpasar – Environmental activists and university students held a mass prayer and art performance on Saturday to mark National Farmers Day, in protest over what they called unfair agricultural land conversion in Bali.
The protest rally, held in front of the Bali governor's residence, was a reflection of the deteriorating condition of Bali's environment due to massive agriculture land conversion by investors who have disadvantaged traditional farmers, the protesters argued.
Recent data showed that conversion of agricultural land reached around 800 to 1,000 hectares during the last one year. The land was converted into residential and tourist facilities.
"We hold this interreligious mass prayer to reflect on ourselves concerning environmental problems, especially those related to agriculture in Bali," said Indra Udayana, leader of the Ashram Gandhi Puri "Chhatralaya".
The participants included members of Bali Environmental Forum, Walhi, Frontier, students of Udayana University and Indonesian Hindu University, Indonesian Muslim Student Union (PMII), Anand Krishna Center, and Ashram Gandhi Puri "Chhatralaya".
They also dedicated their action to traditional farmers in Dompa, Jimbaran, whose land was unfairly taken over by investors to build Bali International Park, according to event coordinator Dharmoko.
"The investor who acquired the land deceived the farmers by giving them falsified land certificates and only gave them a small amount of compensation. They also threatened to evict the farmers," he said, quoting media reports.
However, since the land has been acquired, no construction project has been undertaken, and the land has been abandoned for many years. "Thus, the investors hampered the farmers' access to a better livelihood, and inflicted losses on the state."
This is a violation of the Agrarian Law that stipulates the land which has been abandoned for years should be taken over by the state and distributed for agricultural interests, he said.
Dharmoko accused the provincial administration and the council of siding with investors by approving the construction of Bali International Park on the abandoned land.
In their protest, they reaffirmed their opposition to the construction project and urged the Bali administration and the council to pass a moratorium on development that damaged the environment while finding a solution to the environmental problems on the island, especially the water crisis.
"The administration has also failed to enforce the Agrarian Law as we are still seeing abandoned agricultural land everywhere being unfairly taken over by investors," Dharmoko said.