Ciliwung water catchment areas badly damaged: Expert

Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor

Water catchment areas along Ciliwung River in Bogor are badly damaged and thus unable to catch water due to uncontrolled development in the area, an expert says.

Ciliwung River originates in Puncak, Bogor in West Java, passes through Bogor regency in Bogor municipality, Depok and ends up in North Jakarta.

Because of the poor condition, according to Naik Sinukaban, an expert on soil and water conservation from the Bogor Institute of Agricultures (IPB), some 1.6 billion cubic meters of rain water unnecessarily ends up in the sea every rainy season.

"The water could in fact meet the water needs of some 10 million people," Naik said, adding that people in Bogor and downstream areas -- Depok and Jakarta -- would not suffer water shortages in the dry season if the catchment areas were well- managed.

Naik was speaking on the sidelines of a workshop on harmonization between development and conservation organized by the IPB and the University of Tokyo at the IPB campus in Bogor last week.

The water catchment areas of other rivers, including Citarum in West Java and Cidanau in Tangerang, Banten province, are also damaged, he said.

"Nearly all water catchment areas do not function well. In the rainy season, the majority of water ends up in the river, causing floods (in downstream areas)," he added.

Experts have often blamed serious environmental damage in Puncak for the worsening annual floods in Jakarta.

They have said that environmental damage along the Ciliwung water catchment areas is caused by the development of forests and other green spaces into residential areas, including luxury villas.

Naik expressed hope that the government would make every effort to ensure that the Ciliwung water catchment areas functioned as they were supposed to.

He said an important step was to adhere to the plan for land use in the area.