KARANGASEM, Bali – The rice fields are disappearing.
Not overnight. Not dramatically enough to make headlines every week.
But steadily.
Quietly.
And increasingly in some of Bali’s most beautiful landscapes.
According to data released by the Karangasem Agriculture, Food, and Fisheries Office, approximately 440 hectares of rice fields have been lost across the regency over the past five years, much of it converted into houses, boarding houses, villas, restaurants, and other commercial developments.
In 2021, Karangasem still had around 7,236 hectares of rice fields.
By the end of 2025, that figure had fallen to 6,796 hectares.
“The majority of these rice fields have been converted into houses, villas, or similar structures,” said I Putu Gede Suwata Berata, Head of Infrastructure and Facilities at the Karangasem Agriculture, Food, and Fisheries Office.
The decline has occurred across seven of Karangasem’s eight districts.
Only Kubu District remains untouched, largely because it has no rice fields to begin with.
The Pressure Is Moving East
For years, much of Bali’s development pressure was concentrated in the island’s south.
Today, that pressure is spreading.
One of the clearest examples is Sidemen.
Known for its sweeping rice terraces, traditional villages, and views of Mount Agung, Sidemen has become one of Bali’s fastest-growing tourism destinations. Travelers often describe it as a quieter alternative to Ubud, while investors increasingly see it as one of the island’s most attractive development opportunities.
According to Suwata, Sidemen has experienced the most significant loss of agricultural land in Karangasem.
“Sidemen has become a target for investors because of its natural scenery and rice fields, which are attractive for villa and restaurant development,” he said.
The pattern is not limited to Sidemen.
In Abang, Karangasem District, and areas surrounding Amed, rice fields have also been converted into housing, guest accommodation, and tourism-related developments.
A Landscape Tourists Come to See
The irony is difficult to ignore.
The rice fields disappearing beneath new construction are often the very landscapes that attract visitors in the first place.
For decades, Bali’s agricultural scenery has been one of the island’s defining images. Rice terraces appear in tourism campaigns, travel magazines, social media feeds, and promotional videos around the world.
Yet many of those same landscapes are increasingly under pressure from the tourism economy they help sustain.
Local officials say the challenge is becoming more urgent because rice fields occupy only a small portion of Karangasem’s land area.
“Rice fields account for only around eight percent of Karangasem’s total area,” Suwata said. “If conversions continue, the area will keep shrinking.”
The Government’s Response
To slow the trend, the Karangasem administration is preparing a regional regulation aimed at protecting agricultural land and limiting development in designated rice field areas.
Officials hope the regulation will provide stronger legal protection for farmland that remains vulnerable to conversion.
The government has also introduced a range of support programs for farmers, including fertilizer assistance, irrigation improvements, farm access roads, and agricultural equipment.
But despite those efforts, agricultural land continues to disappear each year.
The Larger Question
Karangasem’s figures highlight a question that is becoming increasingly relevant across Bali.
How much development can the island absorb before the landscapes that define it begin to disappear?
For investors, villas offer opportunity.
For local governments, development generates revenue.
For landowners, selling land can provide immediate financial gain.
But for many residents, farmers, and conservation advocates, every hectare lost raises concerns about food security, cultural heritage, and the long-term sustainability of Bali’s tourism model.
In Karangasem alone, 440 hectares have already vanished.
And unless the trend slows, local officials fear more may follow.