Asia Water Wire - Indonesia

CLIMATE CHANGE: Carbon Credits From a Water Mill

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 01:54:16 -0600

By Marwaan Macan-Markar

TENGANAN, Bali, Indonesia , Dec 19 (IPS) - When they next harvest the the terraced paddy fields on a gently sloping hill, the farmers in this village will reinforce a tradition that celebrates harmony between people and the environment -- and do their bit to slow down climate change.

INDONESIA: Providing Clean Water Or Dirty Business?

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 03:04:37 -0600

By Andreas Harsono*

BANDUNG, Indonesia, Nov 28 (IPS/AMIC) - Water vendor Annur Sukarya makes a 500 percent profit on his investments each month, the envy of any businessman. “I’m just trying to help my neighbours,” he argues.

INDONESIA: Riding Water Taxis to Clean Rivers

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 05:22:19 -0500

By Richel Langit-Dursin

JAKARTA, Aug 10 (IPS) - On weekends, groups of children and their parents crowd around South Jakarta’s Halimun Pier to go for a joy ride on one of two water taxis, recently introduced by the administration.

INDONESIA: Plastic Bottles Plus Sun Rays = Potable Water

Thu, 12 Jul 2007 23:18:58 -0500

By Richel Langit-Dursin

JAKARTA, Jul 12 (IPS) - Used plastic bottles and sun rays are all that the impoverished residents of Bintaro, South Jakarta, need for their families to have clean potable water.

More Trouble for Mudflow Victims After Gas Pipeline Blast

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 20:53:06 -0600

By Hari Satiman

SURABAYA, Indonesia, Nov 30 (Asia Water Wire) — Debates and finger-pointing have begun a week after a tragic gas pipeline explosion in Porong in East Java's Sidoarjo Regency killed 12 people and injured scores of others.

Dr. Suparto Wijoyo, an environmental law expert of Airlangga University, urged the police and the Ministry of Natural Resources to investigate whether PT Pertamina, the owner of the East Java Gas Pipeline (EJGP), should be held responsible for the accident.

Three Months Later, Mudflows Still Plague Villages

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 03:08:12 -0500

By Hari Satiman

Villagers of Siring in Sidoarjo, East Java, save whatever is left of their property after mud flowing from nearby Lapindo Brantas Inc drilling well flooded the village.

SURABAYA, Indonesia, Aug 30 (Asia Water Wire) - It’s been over two weeks since the residents of Siring were evacuated from their mud- inundated village. It was a surreal sight – them aboard a boat being dragged by an excavator across the muck-filled neighbourhood.

The residents had to leave after an emergency dike built to control mudflows spouting from the failed drilling of a gas well, which started in May, also collapsed.

The continued mudflows continue three months after steam, water and mud first began to flow from the area where the oil and gas company PT Lapindo Brantas Inc was drilling a gas well in Porong district, Sidoarjo province in East Java.

'Melody' Sickness Plagues Local Residents

Mon, 28 Aug 2006 21:38:09 -0500

By Richel Dursin

FLORES, Indonesia (Asia Water Wire) - The word 'melody' has taken on a whole new meaning for the people of Manggarai regency in the western end of Flores, East Nusa Tenggara province.

Wanted: Toilets for Manggarai Residents

Wed, 26 Jul 2006 04:51:12 -0500

By Richel Dursin

As if skin infections and other diseases weren't enough, Manggarai residents also have to contend with the lack of toilets in their homes.

"Why should we have a toilet in our house if we don't have water?" said 64-year-old farmer Norbertus Lembu. "A toilet is not a necessity in Manggarai. We have a wide backyard if we want to relieve ourselves."

A standard permanent toilet costs around 7 million rupiah (763 U.S. dollars) in Manggarai and is considered a luxury in an area where the annual per capita income stands at 1.5 million rupiah (163.5 dollars).

'Melody' Sickness Plagues Local Residents

Ecological Destruction Depletes Shrimp, Eel Stocks

Mon, 28 Aug 2006 21:30:27 -0500

By Richel Dursin

FLORES, Indonesia (Asia Water Wire) – None of Satar Lenda's 5,000 residents know who initiated the practice and when, but they say they have always gone to the Wae Aweng and Wae Ntijo rivers, which flow through the subdistrict, to catch shrimps and eels for their consumption.

Water Shortage Dries Up Rice Producers’ Livelihood

Fri, 29 Sep 2006 00:18:14 -0500

By Richel Dursin

Karolus Hambur tending to his paddy field, which is bad need of water.

FLORES, Indonesia (Asia Water Wire) – At the age of 60, Wilhemus Handur should have been enjoying his retirement. Instead, the father of seven has to think hard how to earn enough money to buy rice for his family’s daily consumption.

This is a distressing reality for Handur and 27 other families in Bandang village. Up until the late 1990s, they supplied more than 50 percent of rice harvests to the Satar Lenda subdistrict in Manggarai regency.

The regency is at the western tip of Flores Island in the East Nusa Tenggara province, located some 1,300 kilometres east of the capital Jakarta.

Women Bear the Water Burden

Tue, 25 Jul 2006 21:37:27 -0500

By Richel Dursin

Veronica Tima, with her daughter, Maria Magdalena, carrying heavy jerry cans.

FLORES, Indonesia (Asia Water Wire) - At 4 a.m. while her husband is in deep slumber, 38-year-old Veronica Tima steps out of the house to fetch water from a river, about two kilometres away from her village in Watudali in Satar Mese, Manggarai regency in East Nusa Tenggara province.

Two kilometres may not be that far, but it takes Tima at least an hour to reach the Wae Aweng River because she has to make her way down a rock-filled ravine. About 71 percent of Manggarai's territory has inclines of more than 40 degrees.

"I have to fetch water for cooking and drinking early in the morning," said the mother of five.

Clean Water Flows Too Slowly to the Poor's Homes

Mon, 15 May 2006 01:44:36 -0500

By Fardah Assegaf

JAKARTA (Asia Water Wire) – When a poor fisherman in North Jakarta got a chance to talk to Vice President Jusuf Kalla in a live television broadcast last year, he did not ask for a new boat or cash donation due to the recent hike in fuel prices. Instead, he asked for ‘just’ clean water.

This highlights the fact that access to clean water remains a serious problem for around 100 million people in Indonesia, which ranks third in the world for the number of people lacking safe drinking water. The country, the world’s largest archipelago, has 220 million people.

Simple Solution for Drinking Water Makes Big Difference

Mon, 20 Mar 2006 02:48:14 -0600

By Richel Dursin

JAKARTA (AWW) - Ten-year-old Milvan will no longer have to wake up early in the morning just to boil water for drinking, two weeks into a 'new' water treatment solution launched by the Indonesian government.

"I will just use Air Rahmat," Milvan said, referring to a water additive introduced to Indonesians to get safe and cheap drinking water.

In Java, Rains No Longer A Blessing

Wed, 15 Feb 2006 03:12:00 -0600

By Hari Satiman

SURABAYA, Indonesia (Asia Water Wire) - Indonesians used to welcome rains as a sign of better, more fertile times, but are increasingly greeting them with dread due to the increasing severity of floods.

Across different parts of this archipelagic country that has been bathed in rains since the start of the year, many are bracing for even more problems that floods may bring this month.

Caught Between Poverty and High Water

Fri, 14 Oct 2005 04:40:11 -0500

By Richel Dursin

JAKARTA (Asia Water Wire) - For several weeks now, Soesi Trisnosiswoyo, 63, has been anxiously calling up officers manning floodgates at Manggarai, South Jakarta and at Depok, West Java daily to check on water levels.

Asia Water Wire - Indonesia

CLIMATE CHANGE: Carbon Credits From a Water Mill

INDONESIA: Providing Clean Water Or Dirty Business?

INDONESIA: Riding Water Taxis to Clean Rivers

INDONESIA: Plastic Bottles Plus Sun Rays = Potable Water

More Trouble for Mudflow Victims After Gas Pipeline Blast

Three Months Later, Mudflows Still Plague Villages

'Melody' Sickness Plagues Local Residents

Wanted: Toilets for Manggarai Residents

Related Article

Ecological Destruction Depletes Shrimp, Eel Stocks

Water Shortage Dries Up Rice Producers’ Livelihood

Women Bear the Water Burden

Clean Water Flows Too Slowly to the Poor's Homes

Simple Solution for Drinking Water Makes Big Difference

In Java, Rains No Longer A Blessing

Caught Between Poverty and High Water