Ignoring water concerns will lead to disaster<\/p>\n
Sudibyo M. Wiradji, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The selection of "Water and Disaster" as the theme for the
\ncommemoration of this year's World Water Day again reminds us of
\nthe importance of protecting existing water resources.<\/p>\n
If they are not protected, the coming generations will face
\ndisasters that might be worse than we could imagine.<\/p>\n
Unquestionably, water is very significant in life, but
\nignoring global resource water management would eventually lead
\nto serious disasters.<\/p>\n
Water-related disasters, such as floods, drought and the
\nshortage of ground water resources and other similar hazards has
\nhit many countries due to the government's lack of seriousness on
\nthe issue.<\/p>\n
And the consequences of such natural disasters are incredibly
\ndreadful. Natural disasters can cause considerable loss of life
\nand increase economic damage, affecting the lives of millions of
\npeople worldwide.<\/p>\n
"Today about three-quarters of all natural disasters are
\nrelated to weather, water and climate and their extremes. Too
\nmuch, too little and too dirty water is having an adverse impact
\non national economies and health resulting in long-term adverse
\nconsequences for the well-being of the people," the World
\nMeteorological Organization's (WMO) Secretary General Michel
\nJarraud said in address in welcoming the World Water Day which
\nwas observed worldwide on March 22.<\/p>\n
Since time immemorial, water bodies have attracted human
\nsettlements and associated economic activities. With the pressure
\nof growing population and its concentration in urban centers, the
\nprocess has accelerated in recent decades, thus exposing an ever-
\ngrowing population to water-related hazards.<\/p>\n
"The human, economic and environmental costs of such disasters
\nhave increased dramatically over the past 40 years," Michel said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia is among the many tropical countries currently
\nfacing critical water problems related to the deteriorating
\ncondition of watershed and rainwater catchment areas.<\/p>\n
"Uncontrolled logging activities have deteriorated most of the
\ncountry's fragile tropical forest and thus changed the hydrologic
\nbehavior of the country's main rivers in Sumatra, Kalimantan and
\nIrian Jaya (Papua). In Java, the degradation of many watershed
\nand water catchment areas is partly associated with population
\npressure," Imam Soeseno, an environmental hydrologist wrote on
\nwww.hydroweb.com.<\/p>\n
Even though efforts to prevent flooding continue through
\nreforestation programs, the water-related problems remain
\nunresolved, partly due to unceasing illegal logging activities.
\nConsequently, serious flooding often affects large parts of the
\ncountry during the rainy season, while other areas experience a
\nlong drought or the shortage of ground water during the dry
\nseason.<\/p>\n
Illegal logging has also resulted in erosion and landslides
\nthroughout the archipelago. This has also caused domestic and
\nindustrial waste disposal problems in several urban areas,
\nincluding Jakarta. Illegal logging has also damaged other water
\nbodies, such as rivers, lakes, swamps and estuaries.<\/p>\n
As the result of rapidly diminishing watershed and water
\ncatchment areas, most Indonesians have no access to clean water.
\nAccording to a report issued by the Ministry of Resettlement and
\nRegional Infrastructure, at least 80 percent of Indonesia's 215
\nmillion population have no access to piped water.<\/p>\n
The report said that piped water supplies reach only 51
\npercent of Indonesia's urban population, which accounts for 20
\npercent of the country's total population and 8 percent of the
\nrural population.<\/p>\n
The enormous problems regarding safe and clean water supplies
\nare accompanied by other problems such as securing water for
\nirrigation, managing and controlling floods as well as various
\nwater-related disasters.<\/p>\n
The number watershed areas categorized as being in critical
\ncondition, increased from 22 in 1984 to 59 in 1999. At least 600
\nof the 5,590 principal rivers in the country have the real
\npotential to cause significant detrimental flood hazards and pose
\ncontinuous threats to about 1.4 million hectares of flood-prone
\nzones consisting of residential, industrial and agricultural
\nareas, as well as transportation facilities.<\/p>\n
According to the report, to handle this flood problem, 30,000
\nkilometers of dikes or embankments and 15,000 kilometers of river
\nnormalization are required. At present, the Indonesian government
\nonly has 2,600 kilometers of dikes, or 8 percent of the total
\nrequired, and carry out 1,500 kilometers of river normalization,
\nor 10 percent of the total required. With the current limited
\nbudget from the government, it is estimated that it will take 100
\nyears to protect all susceptible areas.<\/p>\n
With population increasing steadily, Jakarta is among the
\ncities in the world facing chronic water-related problems,
\nespecially poor water quality and flooding.<\/p>\n
According to Environmental Task Force (ETF), many Jakartans
\nhave no access to clean water because the ground water is
\ncontaminated with substances from industrial and household waste.<\/p>\n
"Based on the results of laboratory tests in 2001, the water
\nis contaminated with organic and inorganic substances and even
\nwith heavy metals like cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb),"
\nsaid Ahmad Safrudin, chairman of the Environmental Task Force, a
\nnon-governmental organization (NGO) focusing on environmental
\nconcerns.<\/p>\n
"The contaminated water is not recommended for drinking or
\ncooking," he said.<\/p>\n
The quality of water in Greater Jakarta started to worsen in
\nthe 1970s as large factories began to proliferate across the
\ncapital with little or no regard for the environment, he said.<\/p>\n
Ahmad also blamed the government for poor water quality in
\nJakarta, saying that the government had failed to adopt proper
\npolicies for industrial waste, let alone the lay out of the city.
\nThe government, he said, had not taken strong action against
\nindustrial polluters.<\/p>\n
With the government's lack of consistency in its lay out
\ndevelopment policy, many green areas serving as water catchment
\nareas have been paved over for commercial purposes. The
\ndevelopment of residential real estate complexes throughout
\nGreater Jakarta has replaced thousands of hectares of irrigated
\nrice fields, small lakes, swamps and other green areas that
\ndouble as water catchment areas. This new type of land use has
\nmany adverse hydrologic impacts. The most immediate impacts of
\nsuch land conversion are the deterioration of ground water and
\nlarge-scale flooding.<\/p>\n
"Between 30 percent and 40 percent of Greater Jakarta was
\nofficially designated for green areas (in the 1970s). But now,
\nonly 7 percent remains," he said.<\/p>\n
The poor handling of industrial waste and the weak control
\nfrom the government contributes to the worsening water quality in
\nthe city. "In addition, the city has never had an integrated
\nsewage system allowing household waste to be properly disposed of
\nand processed," he said.<\/p>\n
Serious flooding is another chronic water-related problem
\nevery year in the city. Floods occur almost every year, but there
\nhave been no comprehensive solutions.<\/p>\n
Besides the hydrological facts such as its geographical
\nposition on a flood plain with 13 rivers and high rainfall,
\ncombined with the backwash effects of high tides from the Jakarta
\nbay, the flood problem has been worsened by population pressure
\nand socio-culture problems.<\/p>\n
"In this metropolitan city, the people simply regard rivers
\nas 'big garbage dumps'," said Imam Soeseno.<\/p>",
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