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."