Regulating Groundwater for Agricultural Irrigation in Bali: Environmental Law, Institutional Gaps, and the Role of Subak
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Abstract
This study examined legal and institutional challenges of groundwater use for agricultural irrigation in Bali, with particular attention to Subak as a potential co-governance institution. An exploratory socio-legal approach combined doctrinal analysis of Indonesian water-resource and environmental regulations with qualitative evidence from interviews and field observations summarized in a 2026 institutional research report. The analysis addressed conservation, authorization, monitoring, enforcement, and community participation. The findings indicated that the increasingly detailed regulatory framework remains constrained by incomplete hydrogeological data, inadequate measurement of groundwater abstraction, limited user awareness, fragmented interagency coordination, and insufficient formal integration of Subak. Groundwater served as a supplementary irrigation source during dry periods, while its cumulative ecological effects were difficult for individual users to observe. An adaptive co-governance model was developed around aquifer assessment and zoning, authorization conditions, integrated reporting and metering, structured Subak participation, and periodic compliance review. Sustainable groundwater governance required measurable extraction limits, transparent information, accountable public supervision, and locally embedded participation. The qualitative findings were exploratory and did not establish the measured condition of a specific aquifer.
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