Preserving Indonesia's lakes requires adequate research
Preserving Indonesia's lakes requires adequate research
By Badruddin Machbub and Pasi Lehmusluoto
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia is home to a unique collection of more
than 500 tropical lakes, in addition to 100 reservoirs. Of this
total, the condition of the economically and nationally important
lakes has been practically unknown, until recently.
The important lakes are located in Sumatra, Bali, Sulawesi and
Irian Jaya. In addition, there are a few important or special
lakes in Java, Kalimantan, Lombok and Flores.
No national-level studies were conducted on Indonesian lakes
until the Indonesian-Finnish Indodanau expedition commenced its
work in 1991, making a systematic five-year survey of 38 lakes in
Indonesia, covering the areas from Sumatra to Irian Jaya.
Over the last few decades, various authorities have also
conducted sporadic studies on some of the lakes, but no
consistent data is available to monitor the development of the
lakes' condition.
During the Indodanau expedition, studies were conducted on
many of the lakes at great depths, even down to 500 meters, and
in many cases, for the first time.
Indonesia's lakes are generally in good condition. This is
partly due to the fact that the drainage areas are small and
isolated. The lake chains are more problematic, since their
drainage areas are larger, and agricultural and industrial
activity, as well as population centers near these lakes could
result in considerable pollution.
The capacity of the Indonesian lakes against chemical and
nutrient absorption is relatively weak not only because of the
chemical quality of water, but especially because of the long
residence times of lake water. The water is very slowly renewed.
Surface water temperatures varied from 21.4 to 30.8
centigrade, depending on the depth. The vertical temperature
difference was at its greatest 3.9 centigrade, and at its
smallest 0.2 centigrade.
Generally, the deep waters are anoxic, with a few exceptions,
such as Lake Toba. In some of the lakes, hydrogen sulfide was
also found. The oxygenated water volume of Singkarak Lake was
only 15 percent of the total volume.
The nutrient concentrations were unusually low, and the
chlorophyll concentrations expressing the amount of algae in
water showed that the lakes were unproductive.
Indodanau's research project resulted in information on the
major and economically important Indonesian lakes in terms of
evaluating their present state and for planning their future
monitoring and studies. However, for the sustainable utilization
of the lakes, specific action plans will be prepared. Otherwise,
there is a danger that the systematic studies already commenced
may become fortuitous -- and lakes polluted and eutrophic.
Environmental policy
Indodanau's lake research project, like other research
projects, has the responsibility to influence the government's
environmental policy. Despite the need to relate research to the
policy, there is no existing mechanism or framework to assure
that research results are always available to policymakers.
In Indonesia, lake research may not be a major influence on
lake environment policy with respect to pollution, eutrophication
and to fisheries management. Despite this, it must be recognized
that research is not always regarded as a necessity for
environmental management, and is often regarded as a hindrance.
Research is, without justification, becoming synonymous with
delay tactics to avoid addressing problems.
Currently, lake environment research in Indonesia tends to be
reactionary. Environmental management, if not crisis driven, is
definitely issue driven. This is not necessarily a problem for
the research community, until there is confusion between studies
to collect data and the research process. There is already
concern over programs being data-rich and information-poor.
As fewer and fewer resources are spent on studying the
physical, chemical, and biological processes, we will drift
further from understanding lake systems and their capacity to
sustain communities that surround the shorelines. Essentially, to
address small, specific questions, we will have lost sight of the
ultimate goal of environmental management.
We need to develop core research programs for Indonesia's
lakes, programs that are long-term and provide a balance between
basic and applied research. We need to convince policymakers that
such programs are essential for sustainable development. We must
obtain knowledge about the natural systems before we can define
their capacity for development. To live within the limits of lake
ecosystems means that we must devote a considerable effort to
system level research.
The low profile of environmental research leads to the concern
that it is not really gaining support, despite the global
awareness illustrated at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in
1992. There are no large ecological/environmental lake research
programs that compare large areas or continents, such as the
Indodanau expedition in Indonesia. Many other research fields are
attractive because of the possible expectations of future
payback, but environmental research has great and relevant
returns, although not always readily quantifiable.
Based on the Indodanau expedition, a continuous lake research
process shall be carried out for each lake in Indonesia. As
studies have shown, more people have died from drinking polluted
and microbial contaminated water than from the indirect effects
of global warming or changes in biodiversity. However, only
limited financial resources have been devoted to solving
environmental problems. It is our responsibility to make certain
that Indonesian lakes remain healthy as future important sources
of water, that they maintain their productivity for food supply,
and that the research conducted on the lakes is credible.
Dr. Badruddin Machbub is Indonesian supervisor and Limnologist
Pasi Lehmusluoto is the project coordinator of the joint
Indonesian-Finnish Expedition Indodanau. Pasi Lehmusluoto has
participated in the development of Indonesian lake resources
since 1974.