Indonesia to Propose Flood Control Policy in Bali's World Water Forum

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia will propose the implementation of the Zero Delta Q River Watershed (DAS) spatial planning policy as a flood control solution at the 10th World Water Forum which will take place in Nusa Dua, Bali, May 18-25, 2024. One of the examples of this policy is the Ciliwung River normalization.

"The Zero Delta Q policy can be proposed as one of the issues (discussed) in the 10th World Water Forum that it must be implemented,” the Director General of Water Resources of the Ministry of Public Works and Housing (PUPR) Bob Arthur Lombogia said as quoted from a press release on Monday.

Bob added that mass implementation of the Zero Delta Q principle in Indonesia would create large water reservoirs that will “realize what we hope from disaster mitigation and flood control”.

Based on Government Regulation Number 13 of 2017, it is stated that the Zero Delta Q policy requires that every building must not result in an increase in water discharge into the drainage or river flow system.

"Local and central government support is needed, including regarding watershed utilization for agriculture and other activities," he said.

In an effort to overcome flooding, Bob explained, structural strategies are needed to regulate water behavior. This includes, among other things, the construction of water storage such as reservoirs, retention ponds, and absorption wells. 

Bob gave the example of infrastructure development to manage water and mitigate Jakarta's flood through the Ciliwung River normalization, retention ponds combined with embankments in Cilincing, North Jakarta, and the Ancol Sentiong pump.

Based on World Risk Report 2023 data, Indonesia ranks 2nd as the country with the highest risk of disasters, with a World Risk Index (WRI) reaching 43.50. The index was assessed based on exposure to disasters due to non-climate resilient infrastructure and vulnerability due to inadequate disaster risk reduction management.

Meanwhile, referring to data from the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), the number of flood events during 2019-2021 has increased. Meanwhile, since 2022, flooding incidents have increased in Indonesia, which is claimed to be an indicator of the success of the country’s efforts in flood mitigation. 

The 10th World Water Forum, said Bob, is expected to become a platform for exchanging experiences and best practices regarding disaster management including floods through three main processes, namely thematic, regional, and political. The forum discusses four things; water conservation, clean water and sanitation, food and energy security, and mitigation of natural disasters.

A total of 244 sessions are expected to provide concrete results regarding mainstreaming integrated water management for small islands, establishing a center of excellence or best practices for water and climate security, as well as establishing World Lakes Day.

IRSYAN HASYIM

Editor’s Choice: BPS: Indonesia's Economic Growth in Q1 of 2024 Highest Since 2015

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News