Coastal Environmental Change and the Salt Farmer Marginalization in Kusamba, Bali

Abstract

The coastal environment in Klungkung Regency is undergoing rapid change as a result of the pace of development to serve the demands of the tourism industry, especially in the Nusa Penida islands, which has been designated as a Strategic Tourism Area. Changes in the coastal environment has led to the marginalization of some coastal residents, especially palung salt farmers on the Kusamba beach. This traditional salt production technology highly depends on the stability of the coastal environment, especially the availability of land on the coast. The development of community ports on the Kusamba coast and surrounding areas to support tourism development easily creates pressure for palung salt farmers. This is because the entire production process in the traditional salt is carried out on the coastline. By relying on literature studies and documents as well as experience doing fieldwork in the Kusamba pesisri, this article shows that the development of the people's port and the arrangement of the Kusamba coastal area has marginalized palung salt farmers. Marginalization that can be identified includes restrictions on access to land on the coast border, leading to increasingly limited production areas.