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.