Kampong Improvement Program: Providing basic services<\/p>\n
By Dean Carignan<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Call it growing pains. Indonesia's cities, among
\nthe most rapidly expanding in Asia, are attracting new residents
\nat a dizzying pace. The influx of residents has far outrun the
\nability of cities to expand in a planned and organized manner.
\nThe result: a proliferation of unplanned, low-income
\nneighborhoods, commonly called urban kampongs.<\/p>\n
Urban kampongs are home to over half of Indonesia's city
\ndwellers, or some 24 million people. In Jakarta alone, the
\nkampong population is estimated at three million. Because these
\nneighborhoods tend to develop in an unplanned, haphazard fashion,
\nthey often lack such essential services as a clean water supply
\nand public sanitation facilities. The absence of these services
\nexacts a high toll on the health and well-being of kampong
\nresidents. The lack of clean water systems, for example, is
\naccompanied by a high prevalence of water-borne disease,
\nespecially among the young. Infant mortality rates are
\nparticularly high in urban kampongs. In some areas, local water
\nsources are so polluted that residents resort to purchasing
\nbottled water at very high prices.<\/p>\n
The environmental impact of unplanned neighborhoods is equally
\ndistressing, as limited groundwater supplies in urban areas
\nbecome polluted from inadequate disposal of household wastes.<\/p>\n
As early as the 1960s, the government recognized the need to
\nconfront the sub-standard conditions in the country's urban
\nkampongs. It was agreed that servicing these densely populated,
\nfast-growing neighborhoods would require a community-based
\napproach. In 1969 the government launched the Kampong Improvement
\nProgram (KIP). The program began in Jakarta, and has since spread
\nnationwide.<\/p>\n
KIP seeks to develop basic infrastructure in the kampong with
\nminimum disturbance to the residents and with maximum community
\ninvolvement. When a neighborhood is selected for the KIP program,
\na committee of local residents is consulted to determine which
\nservices are most urgently needed. The most common improvements
\ninclude potable water supply, sewage disposal, solid waste
\ncollection, drainage systems, and roads and footpaths.<\/p>\n
Success stories<\/p>\n
One of KIP's many success stories is Pasar Manggis, South
\nJakarta. Before the KIP program arrived, Pasar Manggis had no
\ncentral source of clean water. Residents had to dig wells or use
\nhand pumps to access groundwater, which often disappeared during
\nthe dry season.<\/p>\n
Under the KIP program, Pasar Manggis has received several
\ncrucial improvements, including a clean water system which brings
\nrunning water directly into the resident's homes. Access to clean
\nwater has had a marked effect on the health of local residents.<\/p>\n
\"We used to pump water from the ground, but it was often
\nunpure\", explains Husnah, a local mother. \"The water from the new
\nsystem is much cleaner. Now we use this water for cooking and
\ndrinking, and use our old pump for washing. My family is much
\nhealthier now\".<\/p>\n
\"Before the clean water system was installed, skin diseases
\nand diarrhea caused by unpure water were a major problem in the
\nneighborhood\", explains Dr. Kenny Zairendra Amir, who runs the
\nlocal health clinic. \"Now these illness are only a very minor
\nconcern.\"<\/p>\n
The local clinic, or puskesmas, is also part of the
\ngovernment's efforts to upgrade living conditions in the Pasar
\nManggis.<\/p>\n
The KIP program also provided Pasar Manggis with a much-needed
\ndrainage system to keep rainwater from collecting on local
\nstreets.<\/p>\n
\"During the rainy season, the water could reach waist-high in
\nthe streets\", recalls Maemunah, a local resident. \"Often we could
\nnot leave our houses, even to visit the market.\" The new drainage
\nsystem keeps the roads passable year-round.<\/p>\n
Pasar Manggis got a chance to showcase these improvements when
\nAmerica's First Lady Hillary Clinton visited the neighborhood as
\npart of a tour of the KIP program during her November visit to
\nIndonesia. After the visit to Pasar Manggis, Mrs. Clinton praised
\nthe KIP program, describing it as \"something the world should
\nknow about.\"<\/p>\n
Mrs. Clinton also praised KIP for an innovative source of
\nfunding: the U.S. Agency for International Development's Housing
\nGuaranty Program. Under this program, the U.S. Government
\nguaranties loans from private U.S. firms to the Government of
\nIndonesia. These loans, which are repaid over a period of 30
\nyears, are used to support urban infrastructure programs,
\nincluding KIP, throughout the country. Since 1988 the program has
\nprovided US$145 million in guaranteed loans to Indonesia. The KIP
\nprogram also receives funding from the Government of Indonesia,
\nthe World Bank and other donors.<\/p>\n
Community participation<\/p>\n
A strong emphasis on community participation underlies KIP's
\nsuccess. The program engages local residents in the planning,
\nconstruction and maintenance of neighborhood improvements, thus
\ngiving them a sense of ownership and pride in the new services.<\/p>\n
\"My husband donated land for the water system\", explains
\nMuhani, a resident of Pasar Manggis, \"and we all worked to clean
\nand prepare the ground for the installation. When the neighboring
\nvillage saw how well the system worked, they arranged to have one
\ninstalled too.\"<\/p>\n
Community involvement also increases the sustainability of
\ninfrastructure improvements.<\/p>\n
\"Residents are better able and more willing to maintain
\nprojects they had a hand in planning and implementing,\" says
\nWilliam Frej of the U.S. Agency for International Development.<\/p>\n
An unexpected, but highly welcomed, aspect of KIP is a
\nstimulus effect on private home improvements. The introduction of
\nbasic services into the kampong brings a sense of pride to the
\nneighborhood, encouraging residents to invest their own resources
\nin improving their homes.<\/p>\n
\"When the area looks nice, the people want their houses to
\nlook nice\", says Dr. Kenny of Pasar Manggis. It is estimated that
\nevery Rp 10,000 invested through the KIP program generates an
\nadditional Rp 20,000 in private improvements. Better
\ninfrastructure also means better local industry. The provision of
\nbasic services allows local enterprises to operate more
\neffectively, generating jobs and economic growth in the kampong.<\/p>\n
KIP has received acclaim as Indonesia's most successful effort
\nat poverty alleviation. To date, the program has been implemented
\nin over 300 cities across the archipelago, bringing essential
\nservices to more than six million urban residents. Recently,
\nurban development experts have recognized the program as one of
\nthe most successful neighborhood revitalization programs in the
\nworld. Officials from many developing nations have visited
\nIndonesia to study and the program in hopes of emulating it at
\nhome.<\/p>\n
The KIP program is part of a larger effort by the government
\nto ameliorate urban living conditions by working at the local
\nlevel. This decentralized approach is becoming crucial, as rapid
\nindustrialization draws more and more people to Indonesia's
\ncities. Experts estimate that by the year 2000 the urban
\npopulation in Indonesia will exceed 90 million, roughly 44% of
\nthe country's total population.<\/p>\n
Among the government's efforts to decentralized urban planning
\nis the Municipal Finance for Environmental Infrastructure
\nProgram. This program seeks to enhance the management and
\nfinancial capabilities of local governments, thus improving their
\nability to develop and maintain urban infrastructure. Such
\ndecentralized measures will prove a critical step in easing the
\n\"growing pains\" as Indonesia matures into an industrialized
\nnation.<\/p>",
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