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Country water actions are stories that showcase water reforms undertaken by individuals,

communities, organizations, and governments in Asia-Pacific countries and elsewhere.

Wat e r Cham p ion

Djendam Guru s inga : Manag ing Wat e r Resources in a Rive r Basin Con tex tM a rch 2 0 0 6

By Mar ia Chr is t ina DueñasKnowledge Management Officer

 

ABOUT THE CHAMPI ON

Mr. Djendam Gurisinga is the President Director of Jasa Tirta II (PJT II) Public Corporation, one of Indonesia's largestriver basin organizations (RBOs).

His over 30 years of professional experience on water resources management has allowed him to handle complexrealities on flood control and management, maintenance of water quality and quantity, environmental and financial issueson the river basin, and more. As President Director of JT II, he steers the corporation towards the continuous pursuit of integrated water resources management, with performance benchmarking and water-wise technology as key allies.

J asa T i r t a I I Pub l i c Corpora t i on

This river basin is the biggest and most strategic in the West Java province, covering about 12,000 sq. km and providing water for twoprovinces, the West Java Province and the capital city of Jakarta.

Water resources development at the Citarum River Basin started with the implementation of the Jatiluhur Multipurpose Project in 1956. TheJatiluhur Authority Public Corporation (POJ) was established to operate and maintain the large Jatiluhur Irrigation system and reservoir.POJ was renamed Jasa Tirta II Public Corporation (PJT II) in 1999 and mandated to manage the water resources in the entire river basin.

PJT II's main responsibilities include operating and maintaining the irrigation infrastructure and hydro-electric power plant, regulating waterresources and hydro-electric power generation, regulating utilization of water resources and ensuring their conservation, and rehabilitatingthe river basin's infrastructure and natural resources.

In 2000, PJT II was granted the ISO9001:2000 Certificate and National Standard (SNI) 19-17025, 2000 for water management and watermarking, a systematic process for securing continual improvement through relevant and achievable internal or external norms andstandards.

 

What a re I ndones i a' s key cha l l enges i n m anag i ng i t sw a te r resou rces?

Indonesia faces a variety of challenges in water resourcesmanagement. These include treating water an economicgood, which includes the pricing of water managementservices, strengthening the currently inadequate capacity forwater management, and harmonizing the responsibilitiesand resources of the different institutions engaged in watermanagement.

On the technical side, we face watershed degradation whichshortens the economic life of major dams in the basin. Thepollution from domestic, industrial and agricultural wasteshas also led to water quality degradation. And slack urbandrainage facilities, degradation of recharge areas as well assedimentation in major multi-purpose dams that storewater during wet seasons have increased the threats and

hazards of floods.

But the greater challenge is how to handle all thesechallenges simultaneously and in an interrelated manner.

H o w h a s I n d o n e s ia b e e n r e s po n d i n g t o t h e se w a t e rm anagem en t cha l lenges?

I am happy to say that Indonesia has been tackling thesechallenges with full determination. For instance, to addresswatershed degradation, we have been dredging reservoirs,promoting public initiatives on re-greening andreforestation, reducing erosion by terracing, andconstructing sediment control structures. We've also beenreviewing our Catchment Management Plan and intensivelypromoting public awareness on environmental issues.

For water quality degradation, we have introduced severalinitiatives designed to address the problem at its source. Toname a few, we introduced pollution fees with progressivetariff to promote self-control, enforced wastewater dischargelicensing, stepped up the enforcement of environmentallaws, and improved our monitoring facilities.

To raise the funds needed to effectively manage our waterresources, we have been promoting cost recovery throughbeneficiaries' pay principle. Admittedly, though, we still havea long way to go in that direction.

Indonesia's water-related institutions suffer from a dearth of technical staff and an ageing workforce that does not haveadequate skills and training for the job. We have beenremedying the latter through intensive formal and on the job training programs.

What re fo rm s does I ndones ia s t i l l need to pu rsue toim prove the s i t ua t i on?

I think we need to improve our efforts in managing sectoralinterests, e.g. health, agriculture, urban and industry. Wealso need to involve stakeholders more fully in our planning,decision making and implementation processes. We shouldbe gathering and sharing more hydrologic, environmental,social and economic information, as well as addressingeconomic and financial issues, including long term costs,benefits and opportunity costs.

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H o w h a s Ja sa Ti r t a I I ( P JT I I ) b e en u n d e r t a k i n gw a te r resou rces m anagem en t a t t he Ci t a rum R ive rBas in?

We believe that water is everybody's business. That's whystrong and inclusive stakeholder participation is high on ouragenda. We also pursue financial sustainability throughpolicies and mechanisms to recover O & M costs, with fullcost recovery being our long term objective.

We also believe that investing in our people strengthenstheir contribution to the whole process of water resourcesmanagement, so we engage in skills building activities forthem. Finally, we develop and maintain water resourcesdatabase to support our daily management and decisionmaking.

W h a t h a v e b e e n P JT I I ' s m a i n c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o I W RMt o d a t e ?

We have always taken great effort to supply as much as5.75 M cubic meter of water every year to support foodproduction, especially rice. PJT II manages and suppliesirrigation water for 296,000 hectares of rice fields fromwhich 3 million tons of unhulled rice are produced. This isequivalent to 40% of West Java's rice production, or 8% of Indonesia's, and amounts to roughly Rp. 4.5 trillion.

We have also supplied raw water for domestic use,particularly for Jakarta, and for strategic industries in WestJava. Annually, this means 435 M cubic meter for domesticuse, and 300 M cubic meters for industrial use.

We controlled and minimized the adverse impacts of yearlyfloods that endanger approximately 20,000 hectares of fertile land.

PJT II has also assisted cooperatives in remote villages —asmany as 598 partners with supplies donations of as much asRp. 2.4 billion— on their cooperative development activitiesand small scale enterprises.

W h a t f a c t o r s h a v e c on t r i b u t e d t o P JT I I ' sach i evem en ts?

Sound water policies that are based on nationaldevelopment objectives and stakeholder inputs helped setthe framework for our actions. Inclusive stakeholderparticipation and decision making at the lowest possiblelevel have made conflicts manageable and ensured that ourinitiatives would find strong support from stakeholdersduring implementation. Rich databases, innovativeanalytical tools for assessing water resources, and reliablescientific and technical approaches have enabled us tomake sound decisions and designs.

The bottom line, though, is that I think we have had somesuccess in making stakeholders feel that water is as muchtheir business as it is ours, hence their willingness to enterand stay in the collaborative process of water resourcesmanagement.

H o w h a v e y o u b e e n m a n a g i n g t h e d i f f e r en t d e m a n d sf o r w a t e r ?

Our priorities for water usage are clear-first priority goes towater for drinking, second to cultivation, third to industryand last to hydropower generation.

 

The Provincial Governor approves the applications for theright to use water in the tributaries of the Citarum RiverBasin. Our job is to examine each new applications vis-avispotential effects on water availability, and recommend acourse of action to the Governor.

The annual allocation of water in the main rivers and canalsis the result of consultative decision making within the RiverBasin Water Resources Council, a basin coordinating body.

H o w h a s PJT I I b e en a f f e ct e d b y t h e p a ss ag e o f t h e2 0 0 4 W a t e r La w ?

The law's intent is clear. However, we could us morepractical guidelines and procedures for implementing itsprocedures. Because of this lack, old regulations that needimproving are still being implemented so long as they do notdirectly contradict the new Water Law.

How has PJT I I evo l ved s ince it becam e a m em ber o ft he Ne tw ork o f A s i an R i ve r B as in Organ i zat i ons(NARBO) ?

Being part of NARBO has been helpful in that our generaland specific knowledge on integrated river basinmanagement has definitely expanded. Beyond that, NARBO'sprocess of surfacing the different problems of member RBOs

(river basin organizations) and finding possible solutions forthem have helped us understand and come up withsolutions to our own problems.

What key m essages on i n teg ra ted r i ve r bas i nm a n a g em e n t w o u l d y o u l i k e t o s h ar e w i t h o u rreaders?

Let us start with the most basic. Water is everyone'sbusiness so we should respect it as a finite, vulnerable andvaluable resource, and take an active part in itsconservation and judicious utilization.

Good water management requires well trained andexperienced people. Investing in the development of humanresources will give us people who understands the multiplebenefits and ecological services of water, the relevance of sanitation and hygiene, the importance of integrated waterresources management, and even the need to change ourlifestyles in many ways.

Water resources management depends on collaboration andpartnership at all levels— from individual citizens tointernational organizations. This partnership should worktowards formulating and implementing appropriate policiesthat should govern the process, and ensuring transparentand inclusive decision making and implementation of initiatives. More importantly, they should ascertain that theneeds of the poor, the women, and the vulnerable are givendue importance.

Finally, the software component, e.g. education andpartnerships, should always be complemented by sound,innovative and practical hardware component, e.g. updateddatabases, analytical tools, infrastructure and more.

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*This article was first published online at ADB's Water for All website in March 2006: http://www.adb.org/Water/Champions/gurisinga.asp.

The Water Champions series was developed to showcase individual leadership and initiative in implementing water sector reforms and good practices in

Asia and the Pacific. The champions, representing ADB’s developing member countries, are directly involved in improving the water situation in their

respective countries or communities. The series is regularly featured in ADB’s Water for All News, which covers water sector developments in the Asia

and Pacific region.