Slightly Addicted to Ubud: Bali. Sustainability. Is it even possible?

As well as being a music and performance space, Betel Nut often provides a forum for the exchange of ideas. On Tuesday evening last week, environmental activist Emerald Starr gave some alarming statistics about development, tourism and sustainability on the island.

The statistics were overwhelming and I didn't take notes, but included data on tourist arrivals in the past 40 years. At the end of the 1960s the number of domestic and international arrivals was something over 6000 each year. By 2015, projected figures are 20 million. The average stay for visitors from Asia is two to three days. Just enough to do some shopping, hop on a bus for a quick tour and maybe visit a nightclub. No time for culture and tradition. Although some of the arrival taxes go towards expenditure on the island, the bulk goes to the central government in Jakarta. The golden egg laid by the tourist goose is close to being cooked.

Project after project to ostensibly feed demand sees unrestricted development occurring, particularly in the south. This is not being driven by need, as apparently there are already too many official and unofficial beds here, and occupancy rates are low anyway. Also, apparently, the planning laws are there to be enforced, but there is no political will to enforce them. Too many people have too much to gain by flouting them.

The results are outcomes such as development on the beaches that threaten delicate limestone ecologies, and monkeys being driven out of their natural habitat to become thieves in the villas that have replaced it.

Before we all came, and it feels that tourism is yet another wave of colonisation in the history of this island, the people lived the simple, organic life that most Westerners still seek here. Waste was organic - offerings and other natural materials were returned to the earth. It is us who have brought the plastic bags that litter the streets and clog the drains. In our luxury hotels and villas, we give little thought to what becomes to the stuff we discard as long as we can't see it around us. But what happens, of course, is that it is discarded the way rubbish has always been - dumped in the jungle, down a ravine or in a river. Or burned.

There were few Balinese in the audience on Tuesday. It was mostly Western people like us who love the island, many of whom have lived here for decades. But is took a Balinese to point out that our values are not Balinese values, and while the litter is distressing to us, Balinese people have different priorities, mostly just trying to survive. Tourism brings work, and if it also brings waste, well tidak apa apa.

The question was asked if something could be done at banjar level - the heart of social structure in the Balinese village. Perhaps once, we were told, but these days the banjar's political and social responsibilities have been taken over by the central government. The banjar takes cares of ceremonial business and that's pretty well it.

It was all extremely depressing and yet again raised the question we have been asking ourselves over a number of trips - are we part of the problem, or part of the solution? Should we just go home? Are we patronising the Balinese by imposing our values on them or should we persist in trying to find a solution based on our Western experience and understanding?

None of this is easy. There are a few locally-driven organisations that deserve support, but, although as individuals we can act responsibly, ultimately the drive for a cleaner Bali has to come from within to generate the political will for change.