The Effects of the Indonesian Water Crisis on Rural Populations
Faculty Mentor
Richard Orndorff
Document Type
Poster
Start Date
10-5-2023 11:15 AM
End Date
10-5-2023 1:00 PM
Location
PUB NCR
Department
Environmental Science
Abstract
Indonesia, a vast country with 6,000 inhabited islands, has had a long history with water scarcity and pollution among both urban and rural populations. The issues facing urban water systems stem from pollution, aquifer over-extraction, and fragmented water management and coordination. Responses to the water crises are already in motion in urban areas, yet populations that rely on self-supplied water are facing a crisis of their own. At least 33% of the population of Indonesia relies on self-supplied drinking water, primarily from wells and rain catchment systems. While some regions have high aquifer productivity, pollution of unconfined aquifers, drawdown and subsidence, saline intrusion, and decreasing recharge rates all pose serious threats. Decreasing recharge rates and the issues facing rain catchment dependency stem from the same source: climate change. Climate change has produced rising sea levels and a 12% decline in precipitation during the dry season. Water catchment systems and wells are becoming less reliable, which increases the frequency and intensity of drought, especially during El Nino years. Freshwater resources on all island nations in the region are especially vulnerable to precipitation variability because many rely on rainwater collection for their supply of fresh water in these semi-arid environments. Drinking water is not the only factor that is vulnerable to these threats; agriculture, rivers, forests, coastal ecosystems, disease and human health, tourism and national security are impacted as well. The outlook for water resources in Indonesia is grim, so innovation, sustainable plans and better education surrounding self-supplied drinking water are necessary to help mitigate the current water crisis.
Recommended Citation
Long, Logan and Dunmore, Issac, "The Effects of the Indonesian Water Crisis on Rural Populations" (2023). 2023 Symposium. 24.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2023/res_2023/p2_2023/24
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
The Effects of the Indonesian Water Crisis on Rural Populations
PUB NCR
Indonesia, a vast country with 6,000 inhabited islands, has had a long history with water scarcity and pollution among both urban and rural populations. The issues facing urban water systems stem from pollution, aquifer over-extraction, and fragmented water management and coordination. Responses to the water crises are already in motion in urban areas, yet populations that rely on self-supplied water are facing a crisis of their own. At least 33% of the population of Indonesia relies on self-supplied drinking water, primarily from wells and rain catchment systems. While some regions have high aquifer productivity, pollution of unconfined aquifers, drawdown and subsidence, saline intrusion, and decreasing recharge rates all pose serious threats. Decreasing recharge rates and the issues facing rain catchment dependency stem from the same source: climate change. Climate change has produced rising sea levels and a 12% decline in precipitation during the dry season. Water catchment systems and wells are becoming less reliable, which increases the frequency and intensity of drought, especially during El Nino years. Freshwater resources on all island nations in the region are especially vulnerable to precipitation variability because many rely on rainwater collection for their supply of fresh water in these semi-arid environments. Drinking water is not the only factor that is vulnerable to these threats; agriculture, rivers, forests, coastal ecosystems, disease and human health, tourism and national security are impacted as well. The outlook for water resources in Indonesia is grim, so innovation, sustainable plans and better education surrounding self-supplied drinking water are necessary to help mitigate the current water crisis.
