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editorial-water

JP/6/14

Solution to water crisis?

This year's dry season arrived earlier than predicted and
could develop into a disaster if the dry season became prolonged.
It prompted the government to appeal to the public, particularly
in Jakarta, to avoid wasting water and to be prepared for
sacrifices now that the country was feeling the full heat of the
dry season.

According to State Minister for the Environment Nabiel
Makarim, the drought will adversely affect water supplies to
farmers as well as tap water customers, cause crop failures and
increase the threat of forest fires.

Besides criticizing the watering of gardens and washing of
cars, Jakarta had called on local governments to take emergency
measures by providing water pumps for areas suffering serious
water shortages.

The central and local governments had allocated Rp 1.7 billion
from the state and local budgets to provide the water pumps. A
special humanitarian fund would also be set up to provide aid if
people started to suffer from food shortages or other
difficulties as a result of the drought.

What surprises us is not the fact that we are probably
entering an abnormally dry season this year. But the fact that
the government seems to be taken by surprise and forced to take
emergency actions.

The whole world is facing an unprecedented water crisis. It is
to bring home this grim fact that this year has been aptly named
the UN International Year of Freshwater. To underline this year
theme, the UN decided Saturday, March 22, 2003, as the World
Water Day, when decision-makers from around the world gathered in
Kyoto, Japan, for the 3rd World Water Forum to ensure that it
makes a difference.

This year's World Environment Day which fell on Thursday, June
5, was themed "Water, two billion people are dying for it!"
During the World Environment Day ceremony at the National
Monument (Monas) park, President Megawati Soekarnoputri herself
admitted the widespread problems of water scarcity and poor
access to safe water facing the nation.

More than 1.2 billion people on this planet lack access to
safe and clean water. Between 5 million and 7 million die every
year from water-related diseases, including 2.2 million children
under the age of five. These numbers are only going to get worse
as the global population is expected to rise dramatically during
the first half of the 21st century.

Experts say that 20 percent of the world's population living
in 30 countries faced water shortages in 2000. That figure will
rise to 30 percent of the world's population in 50 countries by
2025.

These facts describe only part of the global water crisis.
Water is essential to food production and agriculture, which
sustain human beings on this earth. There are currently 815
million undernourished people in the world, and as the global
population grows, the United Nations says the world faces a
disaster.

The statistics on Indonesia are not any better. At least 80
percent of Indonesia's population of 215 million have no access
to running water which is supposed to be safe and clean, dry
season or not. Rice production is under threat due to the
conversion of 15,000 to 20,000 hectares of irrigated rice fields
every year for non-agricultural use. Some 600 rivers out of a
total of 5,590 rivers are deemed a significant flood hazard and
pose a continuous threat to 1.4 million hectares of residential,
industrial and agricultural areas.

Ironically, this country, at least according to the Indonesian
Institute of Science (LIPI), has about six percent of the world's
fresh water reserves, or about 21 percent of Asia-Pacific's fresh
water reserves. According to a UN report released last March,
Indonesia has an abundant amount of fresh water, standing at
13,381 cubic meters per capita per year. Compare that figure to
Singapore's, with only 149 cubic meters of fresh water per capita
per year, and still able to provide potable water to all of its
citizens.

Minister Nabiel a couple of months ago rightly blamed rampant
illegal logging, unrestrained land conversion and pollution for
this country's ater crisis. But so far his appeals and statements
seem to fall on deaf ears.

Yes, watering of gardens and washing cars during the dry
season should be eliminated. The cause of Indonesia's water
crisis, however, will not be eliminated by banning such wasting
practices. Saving water as such is not the solution.