Examining tri hita karana as the critic to the triple bottom line of sustainable development

Abstract

The concept of sustainable development was introduced in 1972. In contrast, its recent development since 2015 has a global agenda towards 2030, namely Sustainable Development Goals, where nearly all the countries in the world aim to improve the planet and the lives of humankind. However, after five years of the launch of SDGs, it seems the world is failing to achieve the goals. The concept of SDGs with its triple bottom line might look too surreal on the fact that environmentalists will stay environmentalist and capitalist stay being a capitalist. This paper is qualitative research using secondary data, analyzing the concept of Tri Hita Karana (THK) as local wisdom towards SDGs. The paper criticizes the TBL and compares it to THK, whether it could fit more to sustaining the development rather the existing triple bottom line. The methodology used is literature mapping using multidisciplinary grey literature and articles on sustainable development to explain THK’s role and sustainable development. As a result, in three sectors, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, THK was best implemented in the forestry sector and positively impacted. In the agriculture sector, it is not easy to see THK’s implementation. In fisheries, the player is mostly big companies who are not the Balinese, so it is also hard to see THK’s implementation in this sector. THK also cover more dimension than TBL, and this is the opportunity to promote local wisdom for achieving SDG despite the challenges it has.