INTERPRETATIONS OF A CULTURAL LANDSCAPE : CASE STUDY IN IMPLEMENTATION OF ADAPTIVE CO- MANAGEMENT IN BALI’S SUBAK CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

Cultural landscapes are places that have developed distinct characteristics from the interaction of people and nature. Actors with different roles in a cultural landscape will interpret the value of the landscape features differently. By combining these perspectives, or knowledge systems, a more complete interpretation can be included in development of an adaptive and collaborative environmental management systems. The principles of such adaptive co-management have guided a management initiative in the province of Bali, Indonesia. It aims to safe-guard a selected region of a unique landscape shaped by peaceful water-sharing among Bali’s rice farmer associations, known as subaks. The current challenge is to effectively engage the communities in its implementation. The site is nominated as a Cultural Landscape World Heritage (CLWH) to UNESCO, which is an opportunity to involve the national and provincial administrations in a management strategy.A key assumption is that knowing each other’s interpretations will contribute to building an effective management plan and implementation. In this study perspectives from two stakeholder groups, the management committee and local farmers, have been assessed to understand how they interpret the landscape values. The perspective of a practical knowledge system is contrasted to the scientific knowledge system, although both groups share an understanding of the values of the subak landscape. These knowledge systems were made explicit with visualisation methods in qualitative interviews.Furthermore, the local farmers interpreted the CLWH nomination as an opportunity for tourism and development, although stressing that tourism may have negative effects. The management committee, on the other hand, perceived the CLWH nomination as a tool to attract attention not only from tourists, but also support from the national and provincial government. It can be concluded that the CLWH nomination has achieved involvement and attention from government actors and supported development of an adaptive co-management plan. The Balinese CLWH nomination has potential for evolving environmental management and combine local and scientific knowledge systems, based on the shared place-based lived experience of the subak landscape