Controversy over water resources bill<\/p>\n
Nila Ardhianie, Coordinator, Indonesian Forum on Globalization,
\nSurakarta, Central Java<\/p>\n
With the delayed discussion of the bill on Water Resources
\n(RUU-SDA) by the House of Representatives (DPR) and the proposed
\narticle on irrigation considered by the World Bank a divergence
\nfrom its original accord with the Indonesian government, this
\nfinancial institution is likely to cancel the Water Resources
\nSector Adjustment Loan (WATSAL) and the disbursement of its third
\nor last phase fund worth US$150 million.<\/p>\n
This World Bank threat has been one of the most recent issues
\narising along with the heated debate about RUU-SDA lately.
\nIndeed, until the end of the House Working Committee's assignment
\nand DPR-government sessions, legislators could not yet decide on
\nsuch important matters as water export, the drinking water and
\nsanitation regulating body, and irrigation management. It is the
\nlast issue that has triggered protracted tension between the
\ngovernment, the DPR and the Bank.<\/p>\n
In line with the objective of WATSAL, the initial draft of the
\nbill already directed irrigation management toward the
\nAssociation of Water User Farmers (P3A), but the manuscript
\nsubmitted by the government to the DPR was reportedly changed, in
\nwhich irrigation management remained the government's
\nresponsibility.<\/p>\n
The Minister of Settlements and Regional Infrastructures as
\nthe key official in the RUU-SDA discussion, only five days before
\nthe committee started working, announced a moratorium on the
\nimplementation of the Irrigation Reform Policy Program (PKPI),
\nwhich basically delegated the regional government's irrigation
\nmanagement authority to P3A.<\/p>\n
Government Regulation No.77\/2001 on irrigation, issued to meet
\nthe requirement for the second tranche disbursement of WATSAL,
\nstipulates that irrigation management is to be turned over from
\nthe government to P3A as a legal entity. Meanwhile, through his
\nletter the Minister of Resettlements stated that the DPR
\ndisapproved of the delegation of authority.<\/p>\n
It was also indicated that article 42 of RUU-SDA already
\nreflected the DPR's view, which expected the irrigation
\nmanagement authority to remain in the government's hands. This
\narticle was later rejected by the Minister of Home Affairs in his
\nletter dated Sept. 18, with the argument that the government
\nregulation as the basis for P3A's authorization had been
\ncommunicated to all farmers with very positive response, so that
\nthis matter should become a major consideration in drawing up
\nRUU-SDA.<\/p>\n
Before the completion of WATSAL, the World Bank had prepared a
\nbig project designed for 19 years to support the implementation
\nof rules as WATSAL's output in half of the Indonesian territory.
\nThe WB support for Indonesia's Water Resources and Irrigation
\nSector Project, scheduled for 2004 -- 2014, will be assisted by
\nthe Asian Development Bank and the Japan Bank for International
\nCooperation so that it can be realized all over the country.<\/p>\n
The other crucial problems in RUU-SDA are drinking water and
\nsanitation regulating body and water export, which only started
\nto be raised when the working committee was functional and may
\napparently be a new stumbling block in the passing of the bill
\ninto law. The regulating body was proposed by the Ministry of
\nResettlements and water export by the Indonesian military\/police
\nfaction of the DPR.<\/p>\n
Some circles have questioned why the two major topics began to
\nbe considered when the process of legislation had reached such an
\nadvanced stage. WATSAL was started in April 1999, whereas RUU-SDA
\nas a government initiative was officially submitted by the
\nMinister of Resettlements to the DPR in November 2002.<\/p>\n
While the article on irrigation is closely related to the
\nWorld Bank, the proposed Indonesian Drinking Water and Sanitation
\nRegulating Body (BRAMSI) is part of the ADB technical assistance
\nproject of the Regulatory Framework for Private and Public Water
\nSupply and Wastewater Enterprises.<\/p>\n
It is a grant from the Japanese government worth US$790,000,
\nchanneled through the Asian Currency Crisis Support Facility for
\nthe development and operation of a regulatory framework to
\nprotect the interests of relevant parties, including poor
\ncommunities, and create conditions conducive to the private
\nsector's participation.<\/p>\n
Amri Husni Siregar, a member of the RUU-SDA working committee,
\nwarned that the government proposed regulating body was very
\ndangerous because it would become a point of entry of
\nprivatization in the water supply sector due to its regulation to
\nensure smooth investment inflows. Besides, with its authority to
\nfix subscription rates, this body will later certainly favor
\ninvestors' interests.<\/p>\n
The charges that RUU-SDA is more focused on how to utilize
\nwater for economic or commercial purposes than on its
\nconservation aspect have at least been proven by the DPR's own
\nproposal to regulate or permit water export.<\/p>\n
There has been fairly strong opposition to water export,
\nparticularly because the majority of the population is as yet
\nwithout proper access to clean water.<\/p>\n
This export involves the extraction of water and its shipment
\nto other countries for profit making, which usually requires the
\ndisplacement of large quantities of water from its natural
\nreservoirs, including rivers.<\/p>\n
With the impact that may arise from the provisions in the bill
\nnow still pending, it seems that the statement by the environment
\nminister as reported by several mass media can serve as a guide.<\/p>\n
The minister warned the government and the DPR against
\nproducing RUU-SDA only out of lobbying without examining long-
\nterm interests. He also emphasized that the formulation of a
\nlegal product concerning water as a public asset should be based
\non the management concept of resource sustainability.<\/p>\n
The approach put forward by the environment minister deserves
\nour affirmative response. Only by applying sustainable resource
\nmanagement can the availability of water to the human race on
\nthis planet be guaranteed in the future.<\/p>",
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