Jakarta, The Indonesia Post – Deputy Permanent Delegation of the Republic of Indonesia (Watapri) to UNESCO Prof. Ismunandar said “megacities” or cities that accommodate more than 10 million residents face big challenges in the provision of water services.
“The challenge is to be able to provide water services for residents and still preserve the environment,” he said in a written statement received in Jakarta, Thursday.
Previously, UNESCO held a hybrid International Conference on Water, Megacities and Global Change (Second International Conference on Water, Megacities and Global Change on a hybrid basis on 12-14 January 2022).
Leaders of big cities in the world, including DKI Jakarta, convey good practices around water management, big cities, and global change.
The conference was held as a place to meet and discuss world water experts with policy makers in big cities.
A number of governors attended the meeting, namely DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan along with other city governments in the world such as Bogota, Istanbul, Lahore, Lima, Los Angeles, Moscow, Mumbai, New York, Paris, Rio de Janeiro and Niteroi, Sao Paulo, and Tehran.
The Governor of DKI Jakarta, Anies Baswedan conveyed the good practice carried out by the government in the City of Jakarta in handling water during the rainy season and storing it so that it became a reserve in the dry season.
The effects of climate change are getting bigger along with the emergence of global challenges such as rising sea levels, increasing temperatures to urbanization which are challenges for big cities in the world.
The Governor of DKI also presented the results of research conducted by a number of Indonesian scientists from various universities.
“Many scientists warn us about an increase in air temperature of 1.5 degrees. I invite megacities in the world to implement what was agreed at COP26 Glasgow down to the local/local government level. Because from there we learn that water management policies are really needed,” he said.
He said climate change was something that had to be faced. The impact affects big cities including Jakarta as a megadelta city. In terms of habitat, there are 12 million people in Jakarta and another 30 million people in the surrounding buffer cities.
“Jakarta’s position in mitigating climate change and adaptation efforts is very crucial. This urges all of us to look for strategies in managing sustainable integration of these urbanites,” said Anies.
There are at least three challenges related to water management which are reflected in the experiences that took place in Jakarta. In fact, water management is an issue that must be faced along with climate change. First, when talking about water issues in urban areas, too little water flow will be an issue, and too much water flow will also be an issue.
On the one hand, he said, Jakarta should be an area that supports the water needs of residents in the area. On the other hand, the challenges facing Jakarta are flooding, sea level rise, and land subsidence.
“For that, Jakarta must make a series of efforts in terms of climate change until 2030,” he emphasized.
Second, population administration data which has almost reached its maximum limit. According to Anies, there must be a multilevel government in megacities that integrates data on the land used, its development, and water management.
“Jakarta took the initiative to cooperate with surrounding supporting cities in joint plans related to water management, clean water supply, water conservation, to financial aspects,” he said.
Third, the paradigm of sustainable management has not become a routine habit of the community. The paradigm is how to keep the water supply sufficient for all kinds of conditions and needs of the people in the city.
“For example, we collect rainwater as a water reserve during the dry season. “We consider that rainfall is not only a threat to the city, but it is part of a new way to secure the water supply that we can take,” said Anies Baswedan. (mhn/bbs)
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