Indonesia
TEMPO Interactive, Bandung: Indonesia has the fifth-largest water reserves in the world. However, according to Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmato, the availability of water on Java Island is in a critical condition. The situation has even led to indirect water imports.
Indonesia has 3,900 billion cubic meters of water reserves per year. The potential reserves are stored in 5,886 rivers and 521 lakes. “The amount of water that can be utilized is around 690 billion liters per year,” said Djoko in a speech at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) on Tuesday.
Some 82 percent of national surface water is located in Kalimantan, Papua and Sumatra. Java, on the other hand, only has 4 percent or 124,000 liters per second. However, the number is not sufficient for the 138 million that live in Java and Madura.
The population of the two areas is already more than half of the total number of the entire Indonesian population, or 58 percent. “Annual water demand in Java for its residents and industries as well as irrigation is not being met,” said the minister.
By Anwar Siswadi
Tempo Interactive
04 July 2012
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