Managing Indonesia's Water Reources

Managing Indonesia's Water Resources

By Yusman Syaukat

With an average of 2,700 mm of rainfall per year, Indonesia has abundant
water resources. However, more than 50% of the water flows on earth and
becomes surface run-off, making it unavailable for human use.

Based on Bakosurtanal (Center for Natural Land Resource Survey) data, total
availability of surface and ground water in Indonesia was 2,287.04 km3 per
annum in year 2000, spread over all the islands of Indonesia. Islands with
the biggest potential water are Kalimantan (30.4%), Sumatera (24.6%), and
Papua (23.8%). Java and Bali have only 6.4% but is inhabited by about 70% of
total population of Indonesia.

There are three main categories of water users: agriculture, domestic, and
industry. Total withdrawal of water in 2000 was estimated at 113.29 km3 per
annum or about 4.9% of the total water supply. Agriculture was still the
biggest user of the water resources. Total water withdrawal was estimated at
92.76 km3 (81.8%) to irrigate 7.9 million ha of land areas. Domestic water
use was estimated at 13.13 km3 (11.6%), while industrial water use was
relatively low i.e., 7.40 km3 (6.6%) Demand for water for domestic and
industrial use, however, is gradually increasing over time. Since piped and
surface water supplies in most Indonesian cities are relatively limited,
most households and industries still make use of groundwater as their source
of water.

Nevertheless, national and island level water balances remain positive,
meaning that there is more than enough water to meet consumption levels. At
the national level there is a 1,854 km3 surplus of water except in Java and
Nusa Tenggara which will face a water deficit during the dry months between
July to October. Even some of the major and important rivers in Java,
including Bengawan Solo, Brantas, Ciliwung, Citarum, Cimanuk, Citanduy, and
Ciujung, are expected to face water deficits during the dry season.

Rapid population growth, urban development and industrialization in most
cities have put pressure on the increasingly scarce water resources of the
regions. Demand for water has increased in conjunction with the development
of the cities. At the same time, discharge of waste from households and
industries has also increased.

Consequently, pollution of both surface and ground water resources has
mounted. Water resource management in both quantity and quality is
increasingly important on Java as well as the on the other major islands of
Kalimantan, Sumatera, Sulawesi, and Papua. Each location has different
characteristics and hence different approaches need to be taken.

Java, for example, is characterized by overpopulation, and natural and water
resources degradation and depletion. Other islands are mainly characterized
by natural and water resources degradation due to widespread deforestation,
improper open mining practices and new plantations opened on the watersheds.
A major problem is total groundwater extraction in some of the big cities in
Java (Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya) far exceeds the annual natural recharge
rate of the aquifer.

The depletion of these aquifers raises hydrological, social and economic
problems. Unfortunately, these effects have received less attention because
their consequences are not immediately felt.

These problems are due to two main factors. First is the lack of enforcement
of groundwater resources which has led to de facto open access to aquifers.
Secondly, the separate management of surface and ground water resources as
two separate systems, is inefficient due to the lack of coordination and
overlapping allocation of tasks and responsibilities among the many
institutions involved.

The above institutional arrangements give rise to three problems. First, the
unintegrated nature of decision-making by authorities responsible for water
allocation has led to overexploitation of the resources. This occurs because
decisions are made on a sectoral basis, with no considerations for their
implications on other sectors.

Second, inadequate attention is paid to the economic value of water
resources. Surface water and groundwater, for example, are substitutable and
so should be priced the same. Another example, domestic use of groundwater
should also pay the same amount as those using piped water to take into
consideration the cost of extraction and other external costs.

Finally, this management approach neglects the quality considerations of
resources in making allocation decisions. Thus, the current institutional
arrangements cannot guarantee economic efficiency due to the potential
externalities such as contamination of pollutants entering groundwater,
salinization of aquifers, and land subsidence due to the large drawdown of
deep groundwater levels in areas with high groundwater extraction.

From the economic perspective, over-extraction of groundwater results in
external costs which include the costs of lowering shallow groundwater table
and table in deep wells, of land subsidence, and costs of pollution on
shallow groundwater. To improve the economic efficiency of water resource
use, both surface and groundwater resources should be managed integrally
under a conjunctive surface and ground water resource use management system.
Integrated water use management would make groundwater and surface water
consumption an interrelated issue. With this approach, better water
resources planning, development, and management can be attained.

The economic aspect cannot be ignored as it is an important factor in
determining how resources are to be allocated efficiently among water users.
The current government of Indonesia has determined five strategic policies
on water resources management.

These include: (1) Water resource conservation - to conserve and maintain
the availability, natures, and functions of water resources in order to meet
the water needs;

(2) Optimal use of water resources - including various efforts in the
provision, use, development, and management of water resources to meet the
various water demands;

(3) Control of potential water-destructive capacity - to reduce and cope
with the potential impacts of flood, drought, erosion, and abrasion on the
area of agricultural and industrial production, human settlement, and other
infrastructures;

(4) Empowerment and improvement of community, private and government
participation - to achieve a productive, effective, efficient and just water
resource management system; and

(5) Increase transparency and availability of data and information on water
resource management - to provide more access to all stakeholders to
participate in the implementation of water resource development programs.

Although improvements in water resources management have made, the worry is
that potential problems could arise when water resources are over-regulated.
The challenge is in finding the right balance to ensure that Indonesians --
living in an archipelago surrounded by water -- do not find themselves
suffering from a shortage of water to sustain their lives in the years to
come.

Yusman Syaukat
Dean, Faculty of Economics and Management
Bogor Agricultural University (IPB), Indonesia

Antara, Vol.III No.10 February - March 2010