Amid the massive encroachment of property developments onto water catchment areas across Denpasar, fields around temples can contribute positively to the city’s ecology, a seminar heard Monday.
As part of sanctified areas, the fields will stay as they are because they are not allowed to be converted for other purposes, thus serving as potential green zones, said Udayana University architect Syamsul Alam Paturusi.
“Every customary village has pura puseh [temple] and pura dalam or kuburan desa [cemetery], which we can use as green zones in order to improve the degrading environmental condition in the city,” he said at a national seminar on urban planning.
“The total area of these fields, located in 35 villages throughout Denpasar, is up to 30 hectares. Therefore we should focus on preserving the fields amid the unstoppable conversion of other green areas in the city.”
Under existing zoning laws, a city must allocate at least 30 percent of its total area for green zones.
With a total area of 12,700 hectares, the capital of Bali province should ideally have a minimum of 3,810 hectares of green space.
However, just as with other major cities across the country, Denpasar’s green areas are gradually succumbing to development, as evident in the conversion of many such areas into commercial buildings, Syamsul said.
He added the land conversion had caused greater instances of flooding and seawater intrusion in some areas, including Sesetan and Teuku Umar Barat.
“The city, however, has an added value because the Balinese people still adhere to customary laws in line with conservation efforts,” he said.
He also pointed out the traditional Balinese concepts of green space, which include natah (the backyard of a house), telajakan (green strip in front of a house) and karang bengang (areas between two villages, usually rice paddies).
“Although these areas aren’t supposed to be converted, their conversion is inevitable due to economic development and an increasing population,” Syamsul said.
He cited several parts of Kuta where art shops had been built, as well as in Kapal, where people had converted telajakan into shops.
Syamsul urged the municipal administration to evaluate the Denpasar’s zoning plans to better support the environment.
“It’s not too late for an evaluation to fend off the city becoming messed up because of uncontrollable development,” he said.
Denpasar Spatial Planning Agency head Kadek Kusuma Diputra said the city currently boasted around 35 percent green space.
“Most of the green areas are privately owned rice paddies,” he added.
However, he went on, despite meeting and exceeding the minimum green space requirement, it was growing ever more difficult to maintain the green areas.
To incentivize rice farmers to preserve their land, the administration gives them tax breaks.
“Therefore they have no reason, tax-wise at least, for converting the land, because we waive all their taxes,” Kadek said.
“We also support them in agricultural intensification.”
