Kiwi research sheds light on the motivations of Bali’s eco-tourism leaders

The research involved Annabel meeting with tourist operators and environmental groups from across Bali

 My earliest encounter with the island of Bali was during a geography class at Christchurch Girls High School back in 2010, learning about Nusa Dua, Kuta and Ubud. Fast forward 15 years, and I found myself on a scooter, weaving through traffic, learning Bahasa Indonesia and spending my days inside the business engines of Bali’s dynamic and eclectic tourism industry.

Bali has been grappling with sustainability challenges for decades. Over just a few months of being there, I was exposed to a convergence of pressures that only solidified the challenges that the island is facing: unprecedented rainfall and flooding; a landfill at capacity and about to close, with no replacement in sight; rapidly intensifying development with limited regulation; aggressive contestation over land; inequality and corruption; and a tourism boom that continues to accelerate (with 2025 expected to have the highest visitor numbers on record). These events highlight that there is another side to the ‘Bali Dream’.

Left: Volunteers (including Anabelle) from non-profit Sungai watch partake in a river clean up day. Right: waste pooling in floodwaters

My research went behind the scenes of businesses trying - against the odds - to do sustainable tourism differently. I figured that by understanding more about those who are successfully grappling with waste, carbon emissions and water challenges in such a politically and historically complex society, then we might be able to understand what is required for change at a larger scale both in Indonesia and elsewhere around the world.

My early scan of the eco-system suggested that sustainability practices in Bali were driven either by Western sustainability frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) or by local Hindu philosophies such as Tri Hita Karana. The literature suggested that there were both merits and flaws in these approaches and that further developing localised approaches incorporating the best of both Western and customary philosophies was the way forward.

However, after six months of participatory fieldwork combining photo-elicitation, focus groups, 1:1 interviews and waste systems mapping, I was surprised to find that in practice, leading sustainable businesses were not driven by external factors at all. Western-oriented certifications, corporate frameworks, government regulations, and Balinese Hindu spiritual practices played little role in shaping their sustainability approaches.

Instead, what I found was that the core drivers of change and the defining factor of best practice sustainability across all scales - from multinational resorts, to hostels, to localised village level operations - was moral ambition: a leader’s internal sense of ethical responsibility and their commitment to delivering this in practice.

These leaders acted not from compliance, branding or religious duty. Sustainability to them was about taking personal responsibility and intentionally making change through every part of the organisations they were leading. Whilst I could see that external factors can and do play a part in supporting sustainability transitions, the organisations that were truly leading in best practice explained that external factors were seen as ‘nice to have’ or a secondary consequence of their practices, rather than core drivers of change.

So what does this mean for sustainability transitions more broadly? From my early analysis, these insights reframe sustainability as a moral endeavour: one that requires creativity, commitment and ethical leadership, as much as technical or financial resources. As well as investing in technical research and financially funding projects, we need to work with people to build moral motivation, ambition and the courage to lead outside of ‘business as usual’. Until we have leaders that are morally ambitious, no amount of technology or science can be adopted.

All of this was emotionally confronting for me. I found myself struggling with the contrasts: a place overflowing with generosity, spirituality and cultural wisdom, yet burdened by unsustainable growth and a social media obsession that turned places and communities into Instagram backgrounds. Driving past Suwung landfill to my campus on a weekly basis, I could feel, see and smell the weight of Bali’s environmental reality. Yet at the same time, I visited inspiring businesses whose leaders were actively shifting the narrative.

While it’s easy to get disillusioned by the bigger picture, those businesses are ones that we can all learn from and be inspired by. On days where the environmental burden of tourism felt its strongest, these leaders were my beacons of hope as to how business can be run, should leaders choose to take responsibility and step outside the norm. They also reminded me why Bali, despite its struggles, has the capacity to inspire sustainability transformation around the world.

The Foundation's Research Programme publishes surveys, reports, and insights briefs relating to all aspects of New Zealand’s relationships with and interests in Asia. We also provide grants to emerging scholars with Asia-related research interests. 

The Foundation’s Research Grants support talented postgraduate students and emerging scholars to conduct research into contemporary issues in the Asia region.