Gunung Kidul withers in heat and dust<\/p>\n
By Heru Sigit Cahyanto<\/p>\n
GUNUNG KIDUL (JP): Toil and trouble has long beset inhabitants
\nof Gunung Kidul in the special administrative district of
\nYogyakarta, fighting a constant battle to survive on arid land
\nand with scarce water resources.<\/p>\n
The regency, located 39 kilometers southeast of the city of
\nYogyakarta, covers 1,485 square kilometers and consists of three
\nsubregions, 15 districts, three subdistricts, 144 villages and
\n1,431 hamlets. The population is 729,655, with 140,077 heads of
\nhousehold. Population density is 491 per square kilometer.<\/p>\n
These people live with general problems of steep mountain
\nterrain, infertile land, poor transportation, limited regional
\nrevenue and lack of clean water resources.<\/p>\n
Hardest hit in the dry season is the southern region of
\nPegunungan Seribu, whose name translates as \"thousand mountain
\nrange\".<\/p>\n
Conditions have been so depressing that suicide rates are
\nhigh.<\/p>\n
\"People really lack water for everyday use,\" said the regent,
\nHarsadiningrat. \"Here, there are neither water resources or
\nrivers, and lakes dry up in the dry season.\"<\/p>\n
Drought and food shortages have been worsened by the dearth of
\nreservoirs and difficulty in finding cattle feed, which has
\nforced people to obtain them from outside.<\/p>\n
Farmers also find it hard to acquire seeds for agriculture,
\nbecause their stock has been sold to cover daily expenses. There
\nis also damage to plant life through the premature felling of
\ntrees.<\/p>\n
In 1991, a drought in this region hit seven 59 villages and
\n474 hamlets, affecting 195,931 people. The following year, the
\ndrought struck 38 villages and 188 hamlets with 74,172 people.<\/p>\n
The local administration supplied clean water to the stricken
\nareas through 11 water trucks making a total of 44 daily trips.<\/p>\n
The local budget for the problem totaled Rp 174 million, of
\nwhich Rp 139.6 million has been used.<\/p>\n
A short-term rehabilitation program is the maintenance of the
\nquality of lake-water resources and the provision of rainwater
\nreservoirs. There are 262 lakes, but these dwindle to four in the
\ndry season. There are 27,544 reservoirs in the dry areas, and
\n8,823 family heads make use of those resources.<\/p>\n
A middle-term program includes improvement of clean water
\nservices through construction of clean water facilities at a cost
\nof Rp 57.32 billion.<\/p>\n
This will ultimately meet the water needs of 349,973
\ninhabitants in 96 villages.<\/p>\n
A long-term program tackles the problem of overused land
\nthrough rehabilitation and conservation.<\/p>\n
Efforts will continue but the results are unclear,
\nparticularly for the embattled southern area.<\/p>\n
When business tycoon Probosutedjo supplied 100 tons of rice to
\naid the local population, he said it might be necessary \"to build
\ndams to reserve water like in Taiwan\".<\/p>\n
He also suggested relocating villagers closer to water
\nresources.<\/p>\n
Regent Harsadiningrat said earlier the area might better be
\nutilized as a national park, and residents \"had better move to
\nthe north where clean water resources are more abundant\".<\/p>\n
These suggestions have yet to be studied to formulate a
\ncohesive program. Until this is done, the struggle of the people
\nof Gunung Kidul will continue.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/gunung-kidul-withers-in-heat-and-dust-1447893297",
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