Comparative Socio-Ecological Analysis of Balinese Water Temples

该奖项授予南加州大学的一位文化人类学家和一位生态学家，将支持他们对巴厘岛复杂灌溉系统的研究。在以前的一个项目中，项目专员开发了一个广泛地区灌溉系统的计算机模拟模型，并分析了宗教牧师在管理水流方面的作用，以便协调不同分区域的活动，以限制虫害的损害并刺激水稻产量的增加。该模型需要大量关于实际水流、降雨量、作物产量和其他变量的精确数据，该奖项将允许项目负责人返回巴厘岛，与当地水工程师和人员合作，建立一个大型数据收集计划。最终的结果将是对该模型进行更精确的测试和规范，这将使当地专家能够更好地管理该系统。这项研究很重要，因为它显示了当地宗教专家在经济生产中的作用，并将有助于开发分析系统，以增加我们对传统社会中区域灌溉系统功能的理解。任何对这种粮食生产系统如何运作的理解的增加，特别是当它们与我们自己的如此不同时（即涉及宗教专家），都可能有助于缓解世界粮食问题。

This award to a cultural anthropologist and an ecologist at the University of Southern California will support their research on a complex irrigation system in Bali. In a previous project the PIs developed a computer simulation model of the irrigation system in a broad area, and analyzed the role of religious priests in managing the flow of water so as to coordinate the activities of different sub-regions to limit pest damage and stimulate increased rice production. The model called for a vast amount of precise data about the actual flows of water, rainfall, crop production and other variables, and this award will allow the PIs to return to Bali to work with local water engineers and personnel to set up a large program of data gathering. The end result will be a more precise test and specification of the model, which should allow local experts to manage the system better. This research is important because it shows the role of native religious specialists in economic production, and will help develop analytical systems to increase our understanding of the function of regional irrigation systems in traditional societies. Any increase in understanding of how such food production systems work, especially when they are so different from our own (i.e., involving religious experts), can potentially help alleviate the world food problem.