LACK OF RESPECT FOR WATER CAUSES WATER CRISIS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 22 (Antara) - People now lack respect for water as reflected in their less appreciation of various water related rituals, causing the emergence of clean water crisis.          "We can say that human beings are now losing their respect for water. This can be seen in the disappearance of respect for water-related rituals usually performed by traditional communities thoroughout the world," researcher of the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies, Dicky Sofjan said in Yogyakarta in connection with the world water day on Friday.          Traditional communities respect very much various rituals associated with water. In Yogyakarta (Java) for example, tradition such as the Merti Code ritual ceremony is performed by the masses in the rivers or sea to clean the water.          "Unluckily people of the current generation lack appreciation of such rituals. They thought the rituals are useless. But in fact such rituals are a means for us to respect water," Dicky said.          Besides that, religions also provide many lessons on how to respect water and utilize it in good way. In the Holy book of Quran, lessons on how to appreciate water could be learned from verses narrating the stories of prophets such as prophets Musa (Moses), Yunus (Johannes) and Yusuf (Joseph).       Muslims when they are about to perform a prayer or shalat, also have to deal with water through 'wudhu' or ritual washing to clean their bodies, soles and minds.          The behavior of people who do not respect and appreciate water is worsened with their disrespect toward the environment. Discarding wastes into the rivers or the sea is extraordinarily a common scene.          This inappropriate human behavior worsens the quality of ground and river water. As a result, the people are facing more and more difficulties to gain clean water access for drinking, bathing and washing.          "Ultimately we face a condition where water has to be processed and as consequence we have to buy it. We have to buy something which actually can be obtained for free because the country is abundant with water," Dicky said.          Therefore, the people have to work hand in hand in preserving the environment. People of the current modern era of course do not want to face clean water crisis which threatens their life.          "Younger generation should be in the front-line in preserving the environment and water resources because the people could not always depend only on the government policy. They have to do that if they want life to last long," the researcher said.          In the meantime, Wahyu Chandra of 'Jurnal Celebes' said various regions in the country still faced a crucial problem in water management.          "Virtually, the main problem faced in Indonesia with regard to water is usage management. We do not face a serious problem in the water availability but in the management of its usage," Wahyu said in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on the occasion of the world water day on Friday.          He said that the management of water usage is weak. Besides this weakness, the other problem  is the people's lack of access to sanitation, particularly people living villages.          Referring to data available at the World Bank's Water and Sanitation Program (WSP),  Wahyu said at present only about  38.4 percent of villagers had access to good sanitation and this condition has continued to take place in the last 30 years.          "After all, large scale companies have been dominating the use of water. With their latest equipment they can pump-up water from a vast area which deprived the people of water sources, whereas actually the water sources are for people's resettlement and agriculture," Wahyu said.          Therefore, he said, the government should produce clear regulations which give priority to the interest of the people at large based on Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution.          He said that the government regulation issued by the central government should also be implemented by regional governments so that discrimination in the utilization of water would no longer be felt by marginalized communities or villagers who earn their livings from the agricultural sector.           Besides, urban people should also enjoy their rights of clean water access. The government should also pay attention to them.          "The fulfillment of the people's basic needs could help support the people's health development as targeted by the government through the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) by 2015," he said.          Actually, water crisis happens not only in the region. It also occurs even in the capital city of Jakarta.          According to hydrology expert Firdaus Ali of the University of Indonesia, Jakarta has been experiencing water crisis since the past 18 years. The water crisis even tends to become more and more serious.          "Jakarta has been experiencing water crisis since a long time ago, since 18 years ago to be exact," said Firdaus in Jakarta on Friday.          He said that Jakarta needed about 26,938 liters of water per second but the available water supply was only about 17,700 litters per second. It is expected that in 2020, Jakarta would run short of water by 19,000 liters per second.           "Every adult people in Jakarta needs 184 liters per day," he said.***4*** (T.A014/H-YH) (T.A014/A/A. Abdussalam/A/Yosep) 22-03-2013 21: