Lake Toba and 14 Other Indonesian Lakes in Critical Condition

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) head, Bambang Brodjonegoro, said that the government has included lake preservation program in the National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) of 2020-2024. To date, a total of 15 lakes in the country are in critical condition.

“We have listed the lake preservation program in the government’s technocratic priority plan of 2020,” said Bambang in a coordination meeting on the lake revitalization movement in the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Jakarta, on Tuesday, March 26.

Bambang explained two major cause of the critical condition; the dropping water level and the declining quality of the lake.

The main issues, he added, are the lake operation without concerns on its environmental carrying capacity, environmental degradation, and human behavior such as pollution, illegal logging, and illegal fishing.

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For example, Lake Maninjau in West Sumatra is in worrying condition due to over farming activity, while Lake Limboto in Gorontalo is problematic due to the environmental degradation.

Therefore, Bambang hoped all parties could participate in advancing lake preservation as a national priority program.

The 15 critical lakes are Lake Rawa Pening in Central Java, Lake Rawa in Banten, Lake Batur in Bali, Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Lake Kerinci in Jambi, Lake Maninjau and Lake Singkarak in West Sumatra, Lake Poso in Central Sulawesi, Lake Cascade Mahakam-Semayang.

Other lakes which are currently in critical condition are Lake Melintang and Lake Tondano in North Sulawesi, Lake Tempe and Lake Matano in South Sulawesi, Lake Limboto in Gorontalo, Lake Sentarum in West Kalimantan, Lake Jempang in East Kalimantan, and Lake Sentani in Papua.

ANTARA