Jakarta, March 24 (Antara) - Located under the equatorial lines, Indonesia is blessed with two annual seasons of dry and rainy spells, which often bring the consequences of drought or floods.
Indonesia can still not effectively take advantage of the two seasons as during the dry spell it often suffers from water shortage and damage to food crops or fires in its peat land and forests.
On the other hand, during the rainy season, water often brings mishaps, such as floods, which also cause major damage to rice fields, property or even claim lives.
The main problem that Indonesia has to solve is how to hold water during the rainy season and use it when the dry spell comes. "Water supplies must be preserved to be used for household needs, irrigation and for other development," said Adi Pramudya, acting chief for the Water Use Program at the National Water Resource Council (SDAN), on Wednesday.
Speaking at a water seminar organized by the Kalesang Environment Agency in Maluku in connection with the World Water Day on Wednesday, Adi Pramudya said clean water supplies must be preserved to maintain the sustainability of life.
He said that unsettled garbage issues, pollution, floods, population density, critical river basin areas and dryness as a result of drought are among the major problems that cause shortage in clean water supplies. These problems take place both in cities and rural areas or villages.
Therefore, the task of preserving water supplies does not lie in the hands of the government alone, but also in the hands of all sides, particularly people living in cities. People should make themselves accustomed to not excessively using water.
"This should not be handled by the government alone, but people should take part in efforts to preserve water supplies. The National Water Resource Council has the task of facilitating coordination in the handling and development of national water resources," he said.
He further stated that as Law No.7/2004 on National Water Resources has been annulled by the Constitutional Court (MK), the National Water Resource Council is proposing the issuance of a Presidential Regulation (Perpres), which could serve as a legal umbrella and support its main tasks and function.
The Perpres draft is now being deliberated upon at the Ministry of State Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform before it is submitted to the president for endorsement.
"The formation of the SDAN is recommended, based on Law No. 7/2004. But because the MK has annulled the law, SDAN has lost its legal umbrella. Therefore, Perpres is expected to serve as its legal umbrella," he said.
With a legal umbrella, SDAN could carry out its tasks and functions well in cooperation with all parties. Water issues could be solved only with cooperation from all segments of people, including the business or the private sector.
Therefore, in observing the World Water Day, the private sector reaffirmed the need to play a greater role in the management of water as it has become a global crisis necessitating the world community to participate in its preservation and sustainability.
"In the Sustainable Development Goals, water is included in point number six as a main goal," President of the Indonesia Global Compact Network Y.W. Junardy noted here on Thursday.
Junardy made the remarks during a public dialog on ecotourism organized by the Sinar Mas Group in the framework of the commemoration of World Water Day as quoted in its press release on Thursday.
The water crisis will never be solved without collaboration among all sides, such as the companies, government, educational institutions, non-governmental organizations, and other communities.
The form of multi-party cooperation, as initiated by the Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) through the Indonesia Water Mandate Working Group (IWMWG), is a sample model that should be followed by various parties.
In its capacity as the IWMWG chair since 2011, the APP has taken significant steps to carry out various innovations in the field of water management in all its production processes.
Until now, the use of per ton of water for production process could already be cut by 11 percent as compared to that in 2013. The APP has also conducted an assessment on water footprint to improve the management of this precious resource in line with the UN Global Compact CEO Water Mandate.
In keeping with the UN Global Compact CEO Water Mandate, which is responsible water management in all supply chains, the APP suppliers in 2015 also increased their water governance in peatland areas through the construction of perimeter canal dams in concession areas.
APP Sinar Mas Director Suhendra Wiriadinata noted that his company was aware of the importance of responsible water management.
"We continue to do our best in applying the principles outlined in the UN Global Compact CEO Water Mandate in our day-to-day operations," he affirmed.
The APP is one of the premier companies in Indonesia that is committed to fulfilling the UN Global Compact CEO Water Mandate, an international initiative, which encourages the private sector to strive for sustainable water management and to actively participate in the advocacy of water management, he remarked.
The commemoration of World Water Day is a result of the cooperation between the IWMWG and the Ciliwung River Movement and constitutes an interlinked, multi-stakeholder collaboration.
Ciliwung River is one of the 13 rivers that crisscross the capital city of Jakarta whose problem is refuge and pollution.
Actually, most rivers in Indonesia are polluoted.
"Some 68 percent of the river water in 33 provinces in Indonesia is seriously polluted," Director General of Environmental Damage and Pollution Control of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Karliansyah, said last week.
Data available with the directorate showed that water quality, checked at 186 points in 10 regions in Sumatra, was seriously contaminated. River water here was found polluted to an extent of 68 percent while 29 percent was moderately polluted and three percent was mildly tainted.
According to Sri Parwati Murwati Budi Susanti, director for the control of pollution and water of the Directorate General of Environmental Damage and Pollution Control, water contamination was also noticed at 454 points in six regions in Java in 2015. Based on class II air quality criteria (KMA), about 68 percent of the river water was polluted heavily, 22 percent moderately and seven percent mildly.
In regional areas of Bali, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), at 82 points, some 64 percent of the river water were seriously polluted, 12 percent was moderately polluted and 13 percent was tainted lightly. Only six percent met the quality standards.
At 99 points in four provinces in Kalimanta, 65 percent of river water was heavily polluted, 29 moderately and six percent mildly.
Sri Parwati said 32 parameters were used to measure the quality of heavily contaminated water. She said class II water criteria meant that the water could be used as a means of recreation facility, cultivation of fresh water fish, irrigating plantations and for other purposes.***4***(A014/INE)EDITED BY INE(T.A014/A/BESSR/A. Abdussalam) 24-03-2016 20:54: |
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