Ami Sukma Utami, UGAS student, won the best presenter of the parallel session at the International Conference on Sustainable Agriculture and Biosystems held online in Indonesia on November 24. The theme of the conference is “Toward Sustainable Agriculture and Biosystems in a Pandemic”.
The title of her presentation was “Traditional ecological knowledge in irrigation water management in Tanah Datar District West Sumatera ”.
Comment from Ami Sukma Utami：
My research focuses on traditional ecological knowledge in West Sumatra. Traditional knowledge is essential to determine how people manage their resources, having adapted themselves to the environment in which they live.
In West Sumatera, Indonesia, the indigenous natural resource management applies local ecological knowledge through customs, beliefs, rituals, and social norms to utilize natural resources. The indigenous system stresses the community’s interactions and co-existence rather than control of resources. It emphasizes their personal and spiritual relationships with nature. One of the indigenous irrigation systems that I was focusing on is the Paraku irrigation system. The system is wholly owned, operated, and maintained by the local community. It is a part of the collective society, in which people are used to collectively sharing knowledge and responsibilities. My presentation highlights the traditional ecological knowledge embedded in the traditional irrigation practice and how this practice seems to have facilitated sustainable use of water resources and reduced damage to the environment from different elements. These traditional irrigation practices may have a few challenges to overcome, but they can provide water conservation strategies, especially in regions with water scarcity.
Finally, I would like to send my gratitude to my supervisor Prof. Hiroki Oue for his guidance during my study.
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- Ami Sukma Utami
