Batang Hari dam high and try
Batang Hari dam high and try
Kasparman, The Jakarta Post, Padang
The huge irrigation project of Batang Hari dam will likely go
down the drain as illegal logging has drained the water catchment
area around the site, a report said.
The Rp 1.3 trillion (US$144 million) project, scheduled to be
completed in 2003, was planned to supply water to about 16,500
acres of rice fields in West Sumatra and Jambi provinces.
"Because of the continuing illegal logging in the water
catchment area, we fear that the irrigation project will be
useless," Councillor Alfian from West Sumatra Provincial
Legislative Council Commission D on development affairs said on
Wednesday.
The dam was built in 1996 with a loan from the Japan Bank for
International Cooperation (JBIC).
Data from the local council stated that around 3,000 acres of
forest located at the upper reaches of the Batang Hari river had
been lost in the past year due to logging activities.
The deforestation had decreased the water debit of Batang Hari
river, from 85 cubic meters per second to 65 cubic meters per
second, since 1996.
The Batang Hari river had provided water through the Irigasi
Mimpi, Palangko Piruko, Siat and Pohenamisari dams, with the new
dam supporting water distribution to 11 more villages.
Reports said that the 11 villages around the upper reaches of
the Batang Hari river produced around 5,000 cubic meters of logs
each month, which were then floated out of the area along the
rivers.
Illegal logging has been carried out by the people for years,
but the government has yet do anything to stop the deforestation.
Such an issue has become a national problem for Indonesia,
which had lost almost two million acres of its rain forest in the
past 10 years.
Many have criticized the government for not being serious
enough in fighting illegal logging activities that caused haze
problems and water crises in several areas.
"We expect the government to deal with the problems as soon as
possible so that we do not waste such a huge amount of money on
building a dam that does not hold water," Alfian said.