Watershed Degradation Drives Logistics Costs Up by Rp 2.1 Trillion Per Year

Watershed (DAS) ecosystems are not merely an environmental concern confined to riverbanks — they are the principal “lifeline” that determines the survival of the national logistics industry.

The Head of BPDAS Cimanuk-Citanduy stated that the agency manages an area of 3.15 million hectares encompassing three strategic provinces: West Java, DKI Jakarta, and Banten. A total of 799 watersheds fall within its working area, including priority watersheds such as the Citarum, Ciliwung, Cisadane, and Ciujung. Land degradation in these areas has a direct impact on the nation’s economic lifeline.

Approximately 70 per cent of logistics distribution routes on Java traverse watershed areas. Damage to ecosystems in these regions, which triggers floods and landslides, has resulted in economic losses to the logistics sector amounting to Rp 2.1 trillion each year.

Watershed degradation has caused the water coefficient ratio to become abnormal, giving rise to a phenomenon of “floods during the rainy season and drought during the dry season” — both of which are enemies of logistics efficiency. Flooding damages road access and transport modes, whilst drought disrupts the stability of waterway transport routes and the availability of industrial raw materials.

The financial losses of Rp 2.1 trillion per year resulting from watershed disruption serve as a reminder that investment in forest and land rehabilitation (RHL) constitutes a long-term investment to protect business assets.

Watershed management is a carbon emission mitigation strategy that is often overlooked. With healthy watersheds, logistics routes become stable and additional emissions from supply chain disruptions can be avoided. The BPDAS head encouraged logistics companies to begin implementing comprehensive carbon accounting that includes both direct and indirect emissions across their entire supply chains.