East Java faces water crisis as demand outstrips supply<\/p>\n
Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya<\/p>\n
Water supplies in East Java, which has suffered from serious
\nforest destruction, are being constantly depleted due to
\nincreasing demands from industrial and domestic users, sparking
\nfears of further water crises in the future.<\/p>\n
Such crises would affect more than 23,000 hectares of rice
\nfields across the densely populated province.<\/p>\n
The executive director of the East Java branch of the
\nIndonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), Sardiyoko, said the
\nnumber of water sources in the province was continuously
\ndeclining.<\/p>\n
Currently only 1,500 cubic meters of water could be allotted
\nper person annually, which meant that existing water supplies
\nwere not enough to meet the needs of about 34 million people in
\nEast Java during the dry season, he said.<\/p>\n
\"In Indonesia alone, 80 percent or 168 million of its people
\nare threatened by shortages of clean water, even though there are
\naround 300 local water utilities (PDAM),\" he told The Jakarta
\nPost over the weekend.<\/p>\n
Statistics show that the amount of ground water used by
\nindustry in Mojokerto increased by 53 percent last year to about
\n16 million cubic meters, while in Sidoarjo the industrial
\nconsumption of water rose by 48 percent to around 13 million
\ncubic meters. In Pasuruan, industry used up to 33 million cubic
\nmeters last year, an increase of 29 percent over the previous
\nyear.<\/p>\n
The figures would appear to show that water is being diverted
\naway to industrial users away from irrigation projects.<\/p>\n
Sardiyoko said that due to the worsening situation in East
\nJava, around 23,000 hectares of rice could be in jeopardy in
\nevent of a drought.<\/p>\n
The high risk areas were the regencies of Bangkalan, Sampang,
\nSumenep, Pasuruan, Probolinggo, Situbondo, Bondowoso, Madiun,
\nMagetan, Ngawi, Ponorogo, Pacitan, Banyuwangi, Gresik, Sidoarjo,
\nMojokerto, Jombang, Kediri, Blitar, Trenggalek, Bojonegoro, Tuban
\nand Lamongan.<\/p>\n
In addition to crop failures, the looming shortages of water
\nhave threaten hundreds of thousands of local people with draught-
\nrelated illnesses.<\/p>\n
This could trigger social conflicts among farmers and others
\nas they struggle to get water -- ranging from physical clashes to
\neconomic problems in which many of them lose their livelihoods.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, environmentalist Syafruddin Ngulma Simeulue from
\nthe Peduli Indonesia group said that the droughts experienced in
\nEast Java were the result of damage to water sources in
\nagricultural areas and the felling of the province's forests.<\/p>\n
A report from the East Java forestry office revealed that out
\nof 1,357,206 hectares of forests, 50 percent, or 660,000
\nhectares, had been damaged by illegal logging and forest fires.<\/p>\n
Of that figure, 500 hectares consisted of protected forests,
\nwhile the remaining 160,000 hectares consisted of protected areas
\ncontrolled by state forestry company Perhutani.<\/p>\n
Another area that had suffered severe damage was the Great
\nForest Park. According to the East Java administration, more than
\n1,000 hectares of this park were being damaged annually.<\/p>\n
Syafruddin said that shrinking water catchment areas were one
\nof the main factors that contributed to the water crisis that
\nthreatened East Java.<\/p>\n
A large part of those catchment areas has been converted to
\nresidential and industrial uses, he added.<\/p>\n
Another factor blamed for the decreasing catchment areas was
\nunchecked illegal logging in upstream areas.<\/p>\n
\"The size of the catchment areas has drastically declined,
\nwhich has caused Java island to experience water deficits,\"
\nSyafruddin said.<\/p>\n
In an effort to restore critical agricultural land, more than
\n80 villages in Trawas, Mojokerto regency, have become involved in
\norganic farming, which eschews the use of chemicals like urea
\nfertilizer and pesticides.<\/p>",
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