As we head back out into the paddy fields, he lights a clove-scented cigarette and points to the shadowy, still-active volcano that shares its name with him - Gunung Agung, the tallest, most sacred mountain on Bali, from which rivers are said to flow and the volcanic soil gains its rich fertility.

BBC: High spirits in Bali

At present, 80% of Russian gas exports to the EU flow through pipelines across Ukrainian soil, a source of ongoing tension.

BBC: Nord Stream gas pipeline opened by Merkel and Medvedev

Now, even though refined plans show an alternate route, environmentalists worry that if the expected 500, 000 to 700, 000 barrels of crude oil flow through the pipeline each day, leaks could contaminate the water and soil.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Indiscriminate logging and deforestation have caused the exposed soil to run off into the river, silting it up and reducing its water-flow capacity.

CNN: FIGHTING FLOODS