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Abstract The equatorial tropics house some of the earliest rock art yet known, and it is weathering at an alarming rate. Here we present evidence for haloclasty (salt crystallisation) from Pleistocene-aged rock art panels at 11 sites in the Maros-Pangkep limestone karsts of southern Sulawesi. We show how quickly rock art panels have degraded in recent decades, contending that climate-catalysed salt efflorescence is responsible for increasing exfoliation of the limestone cave surfaces that house the ~ 45 to 20-thousand-year-old paintings. These artworks are located in the world’s most atmospherically dynamic region, the Australasian monsoon domain. The rising frequency and severity of El Niño-induced droughts from anthropogenic climate change (that is, higher ambient temperatures and more consecutive dry days), combined with seasonal moisture injected via monsoonal rains retained as standing water in the rice fields and aquaculture ponds of the region, increasingly provide ideal conditions for evaporation and haloclasty, accelerating rock art deterioration.

Custom and tradition played essential roles in developing the built environment among the Balinese Hindu society for centuries. The wisdom in managing the environment has passed through generations, as demonstrated by some ancient remnants and Old Balinese inscriptions. We observed that glorifying the mountains in this society has long been a part of protecting the hydrologic cycle. This practice even started in the pre-Hindu era, as shown by sacred megalithic features adjacent to the natural reservoir, water spring, and mountainous forest. At some point, the behavior has successfully passed through times and even developed into a more complex socio-cultural system such as subak. Nevertheless, Balinese society is now facing the threat of hydrological disasters, primarily due to a rapid change in land use. Here, we describe the importance of revealing the value behind the ancient Balinese water-management system to gain people's resilience and sustainability. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) was used to measure the sustainability index and the leverage factors affecting water tradition in Bali. We reveal that the inheritance of the Balinese people's water management tradition is generally weak in each dimension. The socio-cultural dimension score is relatively high, with a sustainability score of 71.11%, which signifies that the society still trusts their culture of water resources management to protect nature. However, the economy and ecology dimensions' score low, with sustainability scores of 56.12 and 63.34%, respectively, indicating the need for improvement in economic matters through the policy strategy. Moreover, our study also suggests that the noble value of the cultural heritage related to the water management system needs to be revitalized and disseminated to the public. Hence, the implication is not limited to conserving the natural environment and cultural heritage. It also provides a reference for the current society regarding a built environment in harmony with sustainability principles.

The research result obtained during research activities in Tambora can be used as reference in reconstructing the civilization of Tambora, of which is the strength owned by the Tambora Site. Apart from the strength, the opportunities and challenges in the management of Tambora Site need to be assessed. To guide this idea, a qualitative approach with a matrix or SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Treats) was applied. The crucial threats and challenges are the security of the site area that is widely open and has not been accommodated in the management of land structure. However, the mobilization of the strength owned by Tambora site will be able to change the treat and challenges into opportunities, if they are synergized with the power of a vigorous publications. It can be used to as an opportunity to grow awareness of the community and regional government to be more active and improving care in the management of the Tembora site. In the future, the strength of Tembora can be of great opportunity to keep conducting research by involving various stakeholders from multidiscipline as well as from the private sectors. Hasil penelitian yang diperoleh selama kegiatan riset di Tambora dapat dijadikan acuan dalam merekonstruksi peradaban Tambora, yang merupakan kekuatan (strength) yang dimiliki oleh situs Tambora. Disamping kekuatan, perlu dikaji pula mengenai peluang dan tantangan dalam pengelolaan situs Tambora. Memandu pemikiran ini, dipergunakan analisis atau pendekatan kualitatif dengan matriks SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, dan Threats ). Ancaman dan tantangan yang paling krusial adalah keamanan terhadap kawasan situs yang terbuka luas dan belum diakomodir dalam penataan tata ruang kawasan. Meski demikian, mobilisasi kekuatan yang dimiliki situs Tambora bisa saja merubah ancaman dan tantangan menjadi peluang, jika disinergikan dengan kekuatan publikasi yang gencar. Hal ini dapat dijadikan peluang menumbuhkan kesadaran masyarakat dan pemerintah daerah setempat untuk semakin peduli bahkan berperan aktif dalam pengelolaan Tambora. Kedepannya, kekuatan situs Tambora dapat dijadikan peluang untuk terus mengadakan riset dengan melibatkan berbagai pihak dari berbagai multi disiplin dan swasta secara terpadu.

Tambora Sultanate played an important role in the trade hegemony in Nusa Tenggara. Tambora was an area which had many natural resources and produced weaving textile. It made Tambora become strategic as the main zone of comodity that supported Bima Sultanate or did direct selling to other kingdoms and traders. Based on survey and excavation method, it is known that the trading comodities were coffee, hazelnut, honey, deer jerked meat, ropes, weaving crafts, and horses. Some variables that supported the argument that Tambora was a trading zone namely Tambora was rich in natural resources and there were efforts to produce comodities to be sold. Tambora had strategic location which could access to Labuhan Kenanga and Teluk Saleh, trade route to Nusa Tenggara. Tambora was also famous as an area with many bandars which gave a chance for Tambora to be an important part of trading activity. Kesultanan Tambora berperan dalam hegemoni perdagangan di wilayah Nusa Tenggara. Sebagai wilayah yang memiliki sumberdaya alam serta memproduksi kerajinan tenun, menjadi strategis, baik sebagai kawasan penyangga komoditi untuk kesultanan Bima, maupun hubungan dagang langsung dengan kerajaan atau pedagang lainnya. Berdasarkan metode survei dan ekskavasi yang dilakukan dalam penelitian ini dapat menjawab permasalahan tentang komoditi perdagangan yang dimiliki Tambora adalah kopi, kemiri, madu, dendeng rusa, tali tambang, kerajinan tenun dan kuda. Diketahui sejumlah variabel yang mendukung keberadaan Tambora sebagai kawasan perdagangan, selain sumberdaya alam, ada upaya memproduksi komoditi dagang. Variabel geografi s letak kesultanan Tambora strategis memiliki akses ke Labuhan Kenanga dan Teluk Saleh yang merupakan jalur perdagangan ke kawasan Nusa Tenggara. Peranan kesultanan Bima sebagai kawasan yang terkenal memiliki bandar ramai pada waktu itu memberi peluang Tambora dalam kegiatan perdagangan.

Rindi Praiyawang Site is the oldest traditional village in East Sumba which is rich in megalithic remains, such as stone tomb and menhir or penji. Characteristic of this megalithic site is the ancestor worship which still continues until today. This study aims to reveal the site of Rindi Praiyawang from the environmental aspect of view. The methods applied were library research, observation, and interview, while the analysis was done by inductive reasoning through descriptive explanation. This village space regulation has linear pattern which function sacred and profane. Stone tomb and menhirs are regarded as sacred megalithic remains for worshipping their ancestors. Until now, people of Rindi still maintain the tradition of ancestor worship, preserving nature and their environment in spite of modernization attack. Situs Rindi Praiyawang adalah sebuah perkampungan adat tertua di Sumba Timur yang kaya akan tinggalan megalitik, seperti kubur-kubur batu dan menhir atau penji. Ciri khas megalitik di situs ini, ialah pemujaan leluhur yang masih berlanjut hingga sekarang. Tulisan ini bertujuan untuk mengungkap Situs Rindi Praiyawang dari aspek pandang lingkungannya. Metode yang digunakan adalah studi kepustakaaan, observasi, dan wawancara, sedangkan tahap analisis dilakukan dengan penalaran induktif melalui upaya deskriptif-ekspalanatif. Tata ruang perkampungan ini memiliki pola linier yang berfungsi sakral dan profan. Kubur batu dan menhir merupakan tinggalan megalitik yang sangat disakralkan dalam upaya penghormatan terhadap leluhur. Sampai saat ini masyarakat rindi masih tetap mempertahankan tradisi pemujaan leluhur, menjaga alam dan lingkungannya meskipun di tengah serangan modernisasi.