Diverging Notions of Development: Case studies from the West and East of Eastern Indonesia

Abstraksi

This presentation looks at current efforts to resist neocapitalist intrusion and destruction in two very different settings: Bali and Aru (Maluku Province). Whereas Bali is Indonesia’s most favourite tourist destination, tourists rarely set foot on the islands of Aru. Whereas Bali is a small volcanic islands right next to Java, Aru lies hundreds of miles away from the centre and its landscape is shaped by forests, grasslands and mangroves. Whereas Bali’s transport and communication infrastructure is excellent, it is almost missing in Aru. Beyond all the difference, I here want to focus on what makes comparison of these sites important. Both areas join a history of marginalisation and suppression, now and in the past, with the exploitation of cultural and natural resources being the top priority. Bali has to carry the burden of an over-scaled tourism industry and Aru’s seas are exploited by legal and illegal fishing and pearl diving. After the step-down of Suharto, people finally started to stand up for their rights. Both on Bali and Aru strong resistance movements against current large-scale capitalist projects emerged. In both cases, government and investor had sought no prior informed consent and ecological, cultural and ontological concerns are key to why people resist such development plans. Drawing on diverging notions of development, the government promotes economic development, whereas at the local level this is only one concern among many others. This talk provides some anthropological insights and aims to develop recommendations for future policy-making.