WATER AND CULTURE
I was invited to share my thoughts during the
International Symposium on Water and Culture in Tokyo, 3-4 February 2020. The
subtitle of the symposium was Learning from Water Heritage to Innovate Regional
Development.
Basically, this was a platform to create a dialogue between experts in
water and heritage. Speakers from all corners of the world gathered to share
their knowledge and experience about water and culture.
I have chosen to talk about traditional water management of Indonesia with
case studies of Subak (Bali), Aia Adat (West Sumatra) and Pranoto Wongso
(Java). Those are irrigation systems based on local wisdom and tradition that
have been surviving for many generations.
Traditional knowledge as the sum of local solutions and techniques, which
include farming practices, models of water management, everyday habits,
artifacts and even behavior and spiritual values.
The Symposium contributed to creating a new horizon of water discussion
leading to the advancement of water dialogue process of Asia Pacific Water Summit
in 2020, the 9th World Water Forum, Global Platform on DRR, and
the 4th UN Special Thematic Session on Water and Disasters and
UN High-Level Meeting on Water in 2021, and the UN-Water Decade’s Mid-Term
Review in 2023.
Below are some pictures of the Symposium taken by the organizer.
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