Water is essential for human survival and economic activity. However, the world is now facing serious water shortages. Against this backdrop, JICA is promoting the creation of a system in which everyone can benefit from water in an equitable manner. This initiative, called “Integrated Water Resources Management,” is the “key” to achieving many of the SDGs and will be the focus of attention at the World Water Forum, an international conference to be held in Indonesia in May.
A mosque sunk into the sea after excessive groundwater pumping caused land subsidence, Jakarta, Indonesia.
40% shortage of water resources by 2030; the solution is “Integrated Water Resources Management”
According to a World Bank report, the amount of stably available global water resources relative to water demand for daily life, agriculture, and industry will fall short by 7% in 2010 and by 40% in 2030. In addition to the underdevelopment of water infrastructure, climate change, and urban population growth, “conflicts of interest over limited water resources are the major causes. Kenji Nagata, a JICA international cooperation specialist specializing in water resource management, points out that “the main reason is the conflict of interest over limited water resources.
Kenji Nagata, JICA International Cooperation Specialist. Engaged in development cooperation projects in the fields of water resources and disaster prevention in more than 40 countries around the world.
For example, if a dam is built upstream of a river, it can affect the ecosystem by altering the flow downstream, for example by reducing the flow rate. Also, since sediment will no longer flow downstream, river bed degradation and erosion can occur downstream, causing saltwater runoff. When river water becomes unavailable downstream, land subsidence can occur due to massive groundwater pumping. Thus, securing and using water resources will always have some impact downstream, creating a conflict of interest. Even if we plan to avoid such conflicts, it is quite difficult to manipulate nature to our will.
There are areas where rainfall is low and water resources are absolutely scarce to begin with, but there are also many cases where people and people, upstream and downstream, right bank and left bank of rivers, and people and ecosystems are in conflict over water, resulting in water shortages. By improving these conflict situations, we believe that various water problems can be greatly alleviated,” said Specialist Nagata.
As many countries face the challenge of how to maintain a balance between environmental protection and water resource development, the “Integrated Water Resources Management” approach is considered to be one of the comprehensive solutions for securing sustainable water resources, water supply, and mitigation of water-related disasters. It is a system to manage water systematically and comprehensively in order to maximize the benefits of water in an equitable manner, while maintaining the natural environment and ecosystems, and coordinating various stakeholders and organizations involved in water resources.
A common understanding among stakeholders will stop Jakarta from sinking.
One of JICA’s cooperative efforts using the integrated water resources management approach is to halt land subsidence in Indonesia, where the World Water Forum will be held this year. In some areas of the capital city of Jakarta, land subsidence of up to 4 meters has occurred from 1970 to the present. There have been concerns about major damage from floods and storm surges.
Land subsidence causes seawater to flow into Jakarta’s coastal areas during high tides (Photo: ardiwebs/Shutterstock.com)
In Japan, it is common knowledge that excessive groundwater pumping is the cause of land subsidence. However, researchers in Indonesia have argued that urban loading and plate tectonics may be other causes in addition to excessive pumping, and there is no common understanding of what is needed to prevent land subsidence. Jakarta and Tokyo have different ground conditions and other factors. We needed to present a scientific basis in order to come up with countermeasures for the entire region, including the local government, researchers, residents, and commercial and industrial facilities. Mr. Nagata recalls.
To this end, we first analyzed the status of land subsidence using data from the Advanced Land Observing Satellite “Daichi” of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). We also installed observation wells above ground to record the amount of land subsidence and groundwater levels, and conducted a survey of groundwater pumping. As a result, it was found that land subsidence was significantly progressing at points of excessive groundwater pumping, such as near factories and a huge shopping mall. The survey revealed that land subsidence was significantly progressing in areas where excessive groundwater was being pumped, such as near factories and huge shopping malls. “A common understanding of the causes of land subsidence emerged among the parties concerned, and measures such as drilling wells, establishing laws for groundwater use and registration, and securing alternative water sources gradually began to be implemented,” said Mr. Nagata. (Specialist Nagata)
Distribution and amount of subsidence in Jakarta revealed by analyzing image data from the Advanced Land Observing Satellite “Daichi” from 2007 to 2017. Settlement is measured in millimeters, and areas highlighted in red and yellow are areas of large settlement.
Furthermore, what changed the mindset of Indonesian officials was the towering embankment walls of Tokyo Bay that they saw during their training in Japan. Tokyo’s postwar economic development and urbanization caused the land to sink by up to 4.5 meters until the 1970s. Zero-meter zones below sea level were created, and levees and drainage pumping stations became indispensable to prevent flooding damage.
Everyone was amazed at the huge levee in Tokyo Bay as seen from the ship. Without these levees, Tokyo would sink under water. Once the ground sinks, it will never recover. If we let the ground sink in Jakarta, we will have to build a high and long dike like the one in Tokyo and maintain it for a long time in the future. Taking action early can greatly reduce costs, and I think this has led to a change in the awareness of Indonesian officials,” said Mr. Nagata, the specialist.
Even now that the subsidence has subsided in Tokyo, many observation wells continue to monitor land subsidence and groundwater level data. Such continuous response by Japan has also greatly motivated the Indonesian officials. The key to promoting integrated water resources management is for all parties concerned to have a common understanding of the issues involved,” emphasizes Mr. Nagata.
Indonesian government officials participate in a training program in Japan to learn about Tokyo’s land subsidence countermeasures and the concept of integrated water resources management.
In Jakarta, the mechanism of land subsidence has been clarified based on scientific data, and future projections are now possible. The increased risk of flooding and storm surge due to land subsidence has also been understood. The Jakarta Special Provincial Government is promoting the construction of coastal levees, and is also promoting the registration of wells, crackdowns on illegal water withdrawal, and the relocation of factories from areas of land subsidence in order to reduce land subsidence. The results of these efforts are expected to spread throughout Indonesia in the future.
Integrated water resources management is not mere idealism.
It is really difficult to think of integrated water resource management as integrating all of the people and organizations that benefit or are harmed by water, as well as the governments involved in water, environment, and economic development. But it is not a pipe dream. Properly identify what the water problems are in the area and who is involved. Involve the people on the ground, involve the relevant government agencies and researchers, start discussions together, and if you can agree, be sure to implement the solution. This is the kind of practical integrated water resources management process we are pursuing.”
Based on the positive response in Jakarta and Bolivia, South America, Mr. Nagata is now working on integrated water resource management projects in Cuba, the Philippines, and other countries. The identification of water issues and challenges in target regions, the accumulation of best practices, and the linkage of ongoing efforts to national legal systems are all steps toward sustainable development. implementation” is explicitly mentioned, and policies for better water resources management are being promoted in almost all countries around the world.
In the Cochabamba Province of Bolivia, where a large-scale riot broke out among residents over the privatization of water services and the raising of water rates in the past, a capacity-building project to promote integrated water resources management was undertaken with the cooperation of JICA.
The simple expression for integrated water resources management is ‘water well-being together. In other words, let’s all be happy together through water. These words of Specialist Nagata are likely to be the driving force that will accelerate integrated water resources management toward securing sustainable water resources in the future.
© Source JICA
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