Reforestation dubbed as the answer to water problems in Java island

Reforestation dubbed as the answer to water problems in Java island

Riyadi Suparno, The Jakarta Post, Semarang

As recently as the early 1960s, wild birds could be heard
singing, entertaining farmers on the slopes of Mount Merbabu,
Central Java. And jungle fowl, deer, monkeys, even tigers were a
common sight, wandering through nearby forests.

Today though, the wild forests have disappeared, along with
its wildlife. What exists are fungi-infested pine forests, with
monkeys that have become a nuisance for village farmers in the
district of Kopeng on the slopes of Mount Merbabu.

Not only that, farmers in the area are now worried about
depleting sources of water to irrigate their fields, drink and
wash.

Budi Pramono, a farmer in Nglelo, said water levels at nearby
springs had decreased over recent years.

"We are afraid that our area will become like Gunung Kidul,
Yogyakarta, where people import water from other areas during the
dry season," Budi said.

Similar concerns were also aired by Widiyono, a farmer in the
nearby village of Keragilan in Magelang. "Our village does not
suffer from water shortages, but villages below us sometimes do."

Their shared concern is not an exaggeration, as protected
forests on the slopes of Merbabu have been slowly destroyed.

As farmers are not able to collect wood anymore from nearby
pine forests, they have begun to slowly encroach on protected
forests, located three kilometers up the mountain.

According to F. Rahardi from the Indonesian Agrotourism
Association, 60 families of farmers in Nglelo alone consume
around 7,500 tons of wood per annum, most of it used for cooking.

This requires some 14.3 hectares of forest to meet their daily
needs.

"This is only for farmers in Nglelo. What about farmers in
other villages at the foot of Merbabu? It would need hundreds of
hectares of forests," he said.

He suggested that state plantation company PT Perhutani, which
manages pine forests in the area, cut down all the pine trees and
change them to mixed plantations.

Farmers Budi Pramono and Widiyono agreed and called on the
government to allow farmers in the area manage the forests for
Perhutani.

"This way, we would not have to encroach anymore on conserved
forests in Merbabu," Budi told visiting Coordinating Minister for
Economy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti and Coordinating Minister for
People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla on Saturday night.

Dorodjatun and Jusuf Kalla attended a gathering of Merbabu
farmers in Nglelo, organized by the Qaryah Thayyibah farmers
association.

At the gathering, the two ministers also heard concerns of
farmers from villages near Kedungombo Dam and from villages
around Lake Rawa Pening near Salatiga, Central Java.

Farmers from Rawa Pening reported concerns over the
sedimentation of the lake due to erosion along the banks of
rivers supplying water to the lake.

Farmers from Kedungombo reported similar concerns over the
falling water levels at Kedungombo Dam.

Dorodjatun shared their concern and said the lack of water on
the slopes of Merbabu and the falling water levels at Kedungombo
Dam and Lake Rawa Pening indicated the deterioration of the
environment.

"The main problem affecting Java is its varying water levels.
During the dry season, we face a scarcity of water. But when the
rainy season comes, Java floods," Dorodjatun said.

If the water problem cannot be solved, it will adversely
affect farming, business, as well as most people's daily lives.

Specifically, the falling water levels at dams will affect
power supplies, because much of Java's electricity is generated
by hydroelectric power plants.

"This all happens because Java has fewer and fewer forests. If
we have no forests, we will have no water.

"Therefore, to solve the water problem, we have to reforest
the whole of Java and we have to find ways to do it," Dorodjatun
told the farmers.

Supporting Dorodjatun's statement, Jusuf called on farmers,
civil society, as well as local administrations to assume greater
responsibility for the environment.

"In this era of decentralization, you cannot rely anymore
solely on the central government. All of us are responsible for
the environment."