Drought Hits Klamono: Patriot Expedition Team and Residents Collaborate to Tackle Water Crisis

Limited water availability due to a prolonged dry season has become a major challenge for fish farmers in the Klamono District, Sorong Regency, Southwest Papua.

This issue caught the attention of the Patriot Expedition Team (TEP) from Brawijaya University (UB), which ultimately provided water pumps and established water flow systems to aquaculture ponds through a collaborative community effort.

The introduction of this infrastructure has successfully reactivated 22 aquaculture ponds managed by several Fish Farmer Groups (Pokdakan) in the Klamono District, which were previously hindered by a lack of water flow.

Fish farmers in the Klamono District have welcomed this practical action, as it has proven to reduce the water availability obstacles that have long complicated fish maintenance, particularly during the dry season.

“Water availability is a major constraint in developing fish aquaculture in Klamono. With these pumps, we hope the community can more easily obtain and channel water from the nearest sources to the aquaculture ponds, so that fish maintenance activities in the Pokdakan here can run more optimally,” said the Chairperson of Pokdakan, Alda Frida, in a statement received on Tuesday, 29 September 2026.

Previously, residents relied on rainwater and rivers for fish farming. During the drought, river water became the primary alternative, but the significant distance to the ponds required specialised equipment to transport the water.

To overcome the water scarcity and restore local fish farming, the UB Patriot Expedition Team, alongside Pokdakan and the local community, distributed pumps and hoses spanning 300 to 400 metres to channel water from the Klasafet River to the residents’ ponds.

“Yesterday, we discussed the situation with several Pokdakan, and the main obstacle was indeed the water issue. Therefore, we provided water pumps equipped with approximately 300 to 400 metres of hose so that the people in Klamono can be free from water limitations,” said Gilang Nur, a member of the UB Patriot Expedition Team, last Friday, (28/9).

This programme aligns with the national development vision. The President of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, emphasised that after successfully achieving food self-sufficiency targets, the government is now focusing strategic steps on accelerating energy and water self-sufficiency. This was stated during the Grand Harvest event in Malang Regency on 17 July.