Air Belanda Indonesia - Netherlands Water Partnership

Air Belanda
Indonesia
Cooperation between Indonesia and The Netherlands in the field of water
Special edition
03 12 19
Retno L.P. Marsudi
Water cooperation
An inspiration for change
Concrete results
Water and Sanitation
Raise awareness
• 1

Foreword
This magazine reflects the strong cooperation between
Indonesia and the Netherlands in the field of water.
Both countries deal with similar challenges and threats,
such as the management of flood prone lowlands, sea level
rise, environmental changes affecting the coast line and
the behavior of our rivers; all of this in the context of an
abundance of water.
On the basis of this common background
Indonesia and the Netherlands have
developed joint approaches and programs
to turn these challenges into opportunities
for our agriculture, industry and the
logistical sector. I am impressed by the
wide range of government organizations,
knowledge institutions, private companies
and NGOs from both our countries that
are working together on projects related
to sanitation, water-quality management,
flood protection and the development of
coastal lowlands.
These projects highlight the Netherlands’
wish to share our water-related
knowledge, expertise and technology.
This magazine elaborates
on the diversity of our
cooperation
Traditionally this sharing has been done
through bilateral development cooperation
projects, but increasingly the focus is
on commercially driven cooperation with
private sector actors. As the private sector
plays an increasingly important role in
finding and applying solutions for key
water management problems related to
urbanization and economic development,
this kind of cooperation is important from
a development and commercial perspective.
Our bilateral development cooperation
program continues at the same time to
contribute to the realization of waterrelated
Millennium Development Goals
and economic development through
irrigation, river basin management and
flood control. Water is one of the focus
areas of our development cooperation
program with Indonesia. Also in this
program the focus is on transfer of
knowledge and expertise by our watersector
institutions and the private sector.
This magazine elaborates on the diversity
of our cooperation on water management.
As Ambassador of the Netherlands I trust
this cooperation will continue to develop
and will constitute a key element in our
good bilateral relationship.
Tjeerd de Zwaan,
Ambassador of the Kingdom of the
Netherlands to the Republic of Indonesia
2 • Air Belanda Indonesia

Foreword
Water is an important natural element which is an integral component not only of
daily lives but of the whole fabric of society. We see an ever-growing demand for
water, from industrial activities to our everyday domestic usage. However, we are
entering an age where the sustainability of water is becoming a dominant concern,
which if neglected could become a crisis waiting to happen.
In Indonesia - which has the fourth largest population
in the world - the scarcity of fresh water supplies
remains a threat in most regions. As the new
Indonesia becomes a middle income country,
the country is still struggling to manage both its
industrial and household drainage system and
its water distribution as the economy develops.
Each of us has a responsibility to
ensure water sustainability
The government is also paying close attention to
climate change, since rising sea levels are seen as
a threat to low-lying areas. The Government of
Indonesia has therefore made a strong commitment
to climate change issues by voluntarily committing to
reduce emissions by 26% from current levels by 2020.
As the Ambassador of Indonesia, I am pleased to
see that Indonesia and the Netherlands have
formed a genuine partnership with regard to water
sustainability based on a spirit of collaboration
and partnership. I am pleased to note that since
Indonesia and the Netherlands are facing the same
problems on water-related issues, both countries
have been sharing their respective experiences,
exchanging technical know-how and developing
comprehensive approaches in addressing these
challenges.
Many examples of the dynamism in the everstrengthening
collaboration between Indonesia and
the Netherlands can be found in the pages of this
publication. For years Indonesia and the Netherlands
have worked together to develop cooperation
programmes, and today we are working towards a
very comprehensive partnership aimed at water
sustainability. This is the sort of partnership that
brings tangible and mutual benefits to both our
nations. The same level of partnership also extends
to various stakeholders as men and women make
a tremendous contribution in their own ways to
keeping our water sustainable, as is shown in this
publication. Such a spirit of partnership truly
deserves the highest accolade.
Each of us has a role to play and a responsibility to
ensure water sustainability of our community.
I sincerely hope that this publication will serve as an
inspiration for change and highlight the importance
of keeping water sustainable.
Retno L.P. Marsudi
Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to
the Kingdom of the Netherlands
foreword
• 3

Air Belanda
Indonesia
Contents
6
11
17
History
06 Building on firm foundations
Water cooperation
08 Shift from aid to collaboration
09 Continuation and expansion
10 World Bank: ideas are the
Netherlands’ strength
11 Partnership Jakarta and Rotterdam on
canal maintenance
12 Long-term collaboration with regard to
meteorology and water management
Water safety
14 Dynamism of Jakarta is also the key to a
sustainable solution
17 ‘Banjironline’ Flood app
17 Pusher boat is weapon in battle against waste
18 Jakarta safer thanks to the Netherlands
Water supply and Sanitation
19 Drinking with the wind
19 Toilet competes with smartphone
20 Cheap, easy and safe drinking water
20 Towards better sanitation in 330 towns
13 Waternet focuses on complete water cycle
4 • Air Belanda Indonesia

Colophon
Air Belanda Indonesia is a single publication of the
Dutch Government, Partners for Water Program and
the Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP).
The magazine emphasizes the cooperation between
Indonesia and The Netherlands on water, but is also
a good example of international cooperation in
general.
26
Water governance
22 Governance: not a model, but an interplay
23 Dry feet first, then pay
Capacity building
24 Central role for capacity building
Water for food en Ecosystems
26 Lowlands: towards balanced development
Air Belanda Indonesia
24
28 Air Belanda Indonesia: a valued partnership
Content & Editor
Anita de Wit
Ivo van der Linden
Michiel de Lijster
Peter de Vries
Text
Bauke ter Braak Communicatie
Edwin Mooibroek
Design & Layout
Smidswater
Photocredits
Jan Kop, Jan Luijendijk (UNESCO-IHE)
Bram van der Boon (USDP)
Ruben Korevaar (Simavi)
Jurjen Wagemaker (HKV)
Lieselotte Heederik (Nazava)
For more information, please contact:
Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP)
Communications Department
P.O. Box 82327
2508 EH The Hague
The Netherlands
T +31 (0)70 304 3700
E info@nwp.nl
No part of this publication may be reproduced
without the prior permission of the NWP.
contents
• 5

Building on firm
foundations
Throughout Indonesia you can see traces left by Dutch engineers in the former Dutch East
Indies, particularly when it comes to water. Thousands of kilometres of canals, irrigation,
bridges and dams. But there are also water supply companies and even laws which are still in
force today. This created the infrastructure on which Indonesia is now building. A great deal
dates from the start of the twentieth century, and a lot has also been created since the 1970s.
Prof. Jan Kop was especially closely involved in that latter period.
The period between 1870 and 1930 in particular saw
an explosive growth in the number of construction
projects. Prof. Kop says: “You wouldn’t believe your
eyes if you saw what was built then. On Java alone,
1.3 million hectares of land was covered with hydraulic
engineering works such as dams, irrigation channels
and locks after 1832. The Twenties in particular
saw an enormous amount of construction, and the
standard of living in Indonesia was given a massive
boost. For example, 8,000 kilometres of canals were
dug and 140 water companies were established, both
in towns and in rural districts. That was very important
for public health.
Rijkswaterstaat - the Netherlands Directorate for
Public Works and Water Management - marked its
200th anniversary in 1998 with lavish celebrations.
At that time it was noted that the ‘East Indian Department
of Water Management’ achieved more in those
200 years than Rijkswaterstaat in the Netherlands,
if you don’t include the Delta Works. The Dutch left
behind an excellent water management system.
And the Netherlands also greatly benefited in terms
of the knowledge acquired. Indonesia was a paradise
for engineers.”
Water as an economic driver
Prof. W.J. van Blommestein, Prof. Kop’s mentor, was
the spiritual father of a large number of projects
which were carried out in the second half of the
twentieth century. Blommestein formulated ‘A federal
welfare plan for the western part of Java’ in 1948.
This was prompted by the poor food situation in
Indonesia, which was partly due to the rapid population
growth. The aim of the combined plan was to
strengthen Java’s economy by improving water
management. The plan included works in various
basins and for a variety of uses: irrigation, drainage,
reclaiming land, drinking water supply, power
generation, shipping, industry, fisheries and - even
then - flushing out the canals in Jakarta. Actual
implementation only started after independence,
and really only from the mid-Fifties, when projects
6 • Air Belanda Indonesia

included the creation of the Jatiluhur reservoir
with an area of 8,300 hectares. The six turbines in
the dam have a combined capacity of 187 MW.
The reservoir, with a useable volume of 3 billion
cubic metres, is also used to irrigate 242,000 hectares
of paddy fields. Indonesia’s independence in 1949
resulted in a massive outflow of knowledge and
experience. Most engineers, trained by Delft
University of Technology (TU), left the country and
returned to the Netherlands. As a result, Indonesia
suffered a lack of knowledge and experience.
was then the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public
Works and Water Management, working together
within NEDECO. The Masterplan anticipated that
Jakarta would particularly expand towards the more
elevated areas to the south of the city. According to
the plan the lower-lying areas right next to the coast
with primarily rice paddies and marshes principally
offered opportunities for industrial development,
and also for housing. The area would then need to
be well-protected from the consequences of heavy
rainfall and from flooding by the sea and by rivers.
City becomes polder
From 1965 onwards Indonesia under the leadership
of Suharto adopted a path towards rapid development
of the standard of living, with a highly pragmatic
cabinet of technocrats. Resolving Jakarta’s problems
was given a high priority. During the Seventies
Prof. Kop was head of the Construction, Hydraulic
Engineering and Health Engineering Department at
Grontmij. In that role he worked on the Masterplan
for Drainage and Flood Control for Jakarta. This plan
was part of the joint project between Indonesia and
the Netherlands aimed at preventing flooding in
Jakarta. The project started in 1970 and lasted until
1985. The masterplan was completed in 1973.
Jakarta, which had an infrastructure designed for
a population of around 600,000, had over a million
inhabitants and was bursting at the seams in many
ways. Prof. Kop says: “Jakarta was getting flooded
because the city drainage was not good. The canals
through the city could no longer cope with the local
rainfall and the water from the adjoining mountains
during the rainy season because they had become
completely blocked.
The low-lying part of the city became a polder with
an extensive system of canals, dams, reservoirs and
pumping stations. An existing reservoir (Pluit) was
rehabilitated and improved, for which 2.5 million cubic
metres of soil were excavated. For the expansion
of the city a new wide canal to be constructed on the
eastern side - the East Banjir Canal - was intended
to catch the water carried by rivers from the higher
areas and mountains. This meant that it no longer
entered the city. This was already happening on the
western side, where Department of Water Management
engineers had constructed the West Banjir
Canal back in 1919.”
Delayed canal
The Indonesian-Dutch joint project started with the
‘crash programme’: “That consisted primarily of the
most urgent cleaning and restoration of the most
important canals, the reservoirs and the hydraulic
structures. The masterplan linked to it had a thirty
year horizon. The masterplan included an intensive
exchange of knowledge and training of staff.” The
development and execution of the masterplan was
led by an Indonesian-Dutch team with specialists
from the Indonesian Ministry of Public Works and
Dutch experts from private companies and what
‘Jakarta was getting flooded
because the city drainage
was not good’
The East Banjir Canal was intended to provide the
latter protection. “The route for the eastern canal was
determined by presidential decree, but it was a very
expensive element: that alone required 500 million
US dollars, and a great deal of land also needed to be
expropriated. Only now has it been completed, with
the same original route. However, it wasn’t until 2007
that the Jakarta Flood Team organised by the Dutch
programme Partners for Water was able to persuade
the Indonesian authorities of the importance of the
second drainage canal to the sea.
That was particularly linked to the very serious floods
over the previous ten years. This ultimately resulted
in the widespread conviction that the canal had to be
built. Now it’s there: 100 to 300 metres wide, largely
as we conceived it in the Seventies.”
About Jan Kop
Prof. Jan Kop was born in 1930 in Djatiroto on East
Java. After graduating as a civil engineer in 1957
his work included time as an irrigation engineer
on the Ganges-Kobadak project in Bangladesh
under the leadership of Prof. W.J. van Blomme stein,
also known as the ‘father’ of the welfare plan
for West Java. In the 1970s was he was head of the
Construction, Hydraulic Engineering and Health
Engineering Department at Grontmij. Between
1980 and 1985 he was head of the Planning Office
of the Vereniging van Waterleidingbedrijven in
Nederland (Association of Water Supply Companies
in the Netherlands - VEWIN). Between 1985 and
1993 he was professor of health engineering at
Delft University of Technology. Kop has many
publica tions to his name in the field of health
engineering, environmental engineering, urban
drainage and the management of floods.
Together with Dr. Wim Ravesteijn he edited the
book ‘For Profit and Prosperity - The Contribution
made by Dutch Engineers to Public Works in
Indonesia 1800 – 2000’.
history
• 7

Shift from aid to
collaboration
The changing relationship between Indonesia and the Netherlands with regard to water
is highlighted in the new Memorandum of Understanding. More equal, more aimed at
knowledge, innovation, capacity building and governance. And with a more visible
Dutch water sector. The picture is outlined by Peter de Vries, water resources expert at
the Dutch embassy in Jakarta, and Michiel de Lijster, Delta Coordinator Indonesia for
the Global Water Programme at the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment.
“The changing relationship between Indonesia and
the Netherlands with regard to water is highlighted in
the new Memorandum of Understanding,” says Peter
de Vries. “There is a clear shift from development
aid to a broader relationship in which the private
sector and commercial contracts play an increasingly
important role. The Netherlands has more focus on
investing in knowledge, innovation and capability
building, and no longer on financing things like dikes
and canals. The integrated approach plays a key
role in this. It also fits with the Dutch Global Water
programme.” Michiel de Lijster agrees: “Precisely.
Because that enables us to demonstrate our added
value: developing an integrated vision and working it
out in coherent solutions. It is also heading far more
in the direction of ‘how to organize?’ Gover nance is
therefore quite correctly a central theme in the new
MoU. As is climate change of course - that is a thread
running through everything.”
Path extended
In fact the new MoU extends the path which had
already become clearly visible in recent years.
Following the resumption of the collaboration in 2001
the emphasis was firmly on a multilateral relationship,
whereby the Netherlands itself did not play a
prominent role. After 2001 financing of projects took
place mainly through international organisations such
as the United Nations, the World Bank and the Asian
Development Bank. Peter de Vries says: “In recent
years, following the signing of the previous MoU,
both countries have tightened their links and the
bilateral collaboration has become stronger.
Within this bilateral cooperation there was also more
attention for presenting the Dutch water sector.
State Secretary Knapen described that succinctly
in his policy as ‘from aid to trade’: the Netherlands
works with other countries, but thereby also looks at
the economic perspective, in the belief that economic
growth is always the driving force for a country’s
development.” Michiel de Lijster says: “Links are really
the key feature in the new MoU. We have now brought
the ministries which are active in Indonesia together
within the MoU, and the same applies on the
Indonesian side. This MoU is therefore an important
step towards a formal G2G agreement.”
We are not just providing
knowledge; we are also learning
a great deal ourselves
Equal basis
Indonesia and the Netherlands work together on an
equal basis more and more. Michiel de Lijster says:
“We are not just providing knowledge; we are also
learning ourselves and that is making the Dutch
water sector stronger. We are partners with a long
history, who work together well. In the longer term
I expect the water sector to make an even greater
contribution to the bilateral relationship between
Indonesia and the Netherlands.”
8 • Air Belanda Indonesia

Continuation and
expansion
The new Memorandum of Understanding between Indonesia and the Netherlands,
is a continuation, but also an expansion of the collaboration based on an integrated
vision with new emphases. That is the view of Mohammad Hasan, director-general
of water resources at the Ministry of Public Works. “Too dirty, too much and too
little” is how he sums up Indonesia’s water problems.
Both countries want to develop an effective and
holistic approach to the collaboration between
the Netherlands and the Republic of Indonesia
in the area of water and related issues in an
integrated way. Hasan says: “You can see that
integrated approach reflected in the way that
the Netherlands has provided support with the
development of the Jakarta Coastal Defense
Strategy. The new MoU extends the existing
collaboration, but that holistic approach also
Mr Mohammad Hasan
DG Water Resources, Ministry of Public Works
results in more attention for good governance in
the water sector, and for the transfer of knowledge.
Hence the training programme for young
specialists - in our ministries, for example - is
being intensified. We hope that more engineers
can go to the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water
Education in Delft.”
Further expansion
‘We would like to expand the collaboration
further in the future,” says Arie Setiadi Moerwanto,
director of water resources management at the
Ministry of Public Works. “There is now an MoU
between ministries in both countries. We would
like to have collaboration at governmental level,
which would mean that more ministries could
become involved. Water is a very broad area.”
“We are also hoping that the Netherlands is
prepared to help tackle the lowlands, the peat
swamps and peatlands,” says Hasan. “Indonesia
has a lot of those - more than 30 million hectares.
We want to develop those areas, but we need
help with that. At the same time we have made
international agreements about greenhouse gas
emissions. The lowlands play an important role in
that, and we want to stick to those agreements.”
Knowledge most important
Hasan considers the collaboration with the
Netherlands to be important for the water sector.
“The transfer of knowledge is the most important
aspect, so that we can tackle future problems
arising from climate change, for example.” Moerwanto
also emphasises the need for the transfer
of knowledge as being of primary importance.
“Management and maintenance is a problem in
Indonesia. A polder is currently being constructed
in Semarang and a district water board has
been established on the Dutch model for the
maintenance. Dutch and Indonesian organisations
are working on a flood warning system in
Jakarta. We are learning from that and will be
able to do it ourselves in other areas. We don’t
always want to be dependent.”
water cooperation
• 9

World Bank:
ideas are
the Netherlands’
strength
The Netherlands has long played an important role in Indonesia with regard to water.
Paul van Hofwegen of the World Bank sees a clear development in that role: “I see a
shift toward delivering ideas about new structures, new concepts, new institutions,
integrated solutions. That is the Netherlands’ strength: delivering knowledge and
information that decision-makers can use.”
Paul van Hofwegen believes that the integrated plan for
Jakarta is a good example of this. “Substantial advances
have been made, partly thanks to Dutch expertise. This
results in a long-term collaboration. They know what you
can do and they seek you out.”
That is really what the World Bank does too: ‘We also think
along with them, we offer ideas. But we only translate
them into concrete programmes when the government
in question asks us to.” One example of this is the Jakarta
Urgent Flood Management Project (JUFMP). This involves
the dredging of about 67.5 kilometres of 11 key channel
sections and 65 hectares of four retention basins to help
restore their operating capacities. About 42 kilometres
of embankments will also be repaired. All these activities
will take place in the priority sections of Jakarta’s flood
management system.
The World Bank is also closely involved in various strategic
studies which have been carried out with Dutch expertise
and experience and which could shape the relationship
with water in Indonesia over the coming decades. One of
those studies is the Java Water Resources Strategic Study.
‘We have an excellent ongoing relationship with the
Netherlands and Indonesia. I am confident that we will
maintain this, and that we are aware of what the others are
doing. That is important, because then we can continue
to do things together, for example through the trust funds
which the Netherlands has entrusted to us.”
10 • Air Belanda Indonesia

Partnership Jakarta
and Rotterdam on
canal maintenance
There are major differences, but also clear parallels. And that alone is
reason enough for a close relationship between Jakarta and Rotterdam.
The collaboration is focused on the long-term dredging and maintenance
plan for Jakarta and an advisory role within the ‘Jakarta Coastal Defence
Strategy’ (JCDS) team.
In February 2011 Mayor Aboutaleb of Rotterdam
and the governor of Jakarta, Fauzi Bowo, signed the
‘Minutes of Agreement 2011-2012’. In this document
the two city administrators reaffirmed the intention
to continue working together with a focus on water
management.
Rotterdam has been twinned with Jakarta since
1986. They are both delta cities which need to
cope with the consequences of climate change.
Rotterdam is forestalling this with Rotterdam Climate
Proof. This programme will make Rotterdam one
hundred percent climate-proof by 2025. As a city
with knowledge of water, Rotterdam wants to act as
an inspirational example for other delta cities and
share knowledge and experiences, including
more widely through the ‘Connecting Delta Cities’
initiative.John Jacobs, City of Rotterdam, says:
“Jakarta has virtually no sewers, so literally everything
goes down the canals. That causes major
problems, including floods. Maintaining all those
waterways is not a sexy subject, and it does not
always get the priority it deserves. That is why we are
helping with thinking about the creation of effective
maintenance programmes.”
65 66
water cooperation
• 11

Long-term
collaboration between
knowledge institutes
Knowledge institutes in Indonesia and the Netherlands have been working
together for many years in the area of meteorology and integrated water
management. The ‘Joint Cooperation Programme’ (JCP) which runs until
2015 reinforces those close ties.
The partners on the Indonesian side are the
Research Centre for Water Resources (PusAir) and
the Meteorological Climatological and Geophysical
Agency (BMKG), on the Dutch side they are the
Dutch water institute Deltares and the Royal
Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI).
The collaboration is producing concrete results.
Operational FEWS/DEWS (Flood and Drought Early
Warning Systems) servers at PusAir and BMKG were
launched in May 2012. Other JCP activities include
the development of Integrated Water Management
plans in Merauke in Irian Jaya.
150 years of climate data
BMKG and KNMI have been working together over
the past two years on digitising the available climate
Digitisasi Data Historis (DiDaH)
is the only homogenised and
quality-controlled digital
climate series in the region
with data for such a long period
data since 1850. Digitisasi Data Historis (DiDaH) is
the only homogenised and quality-controlled digital
climate series in the region with data for such a
long period. The data series is very interesting for
researchers at home and abroad, and offers a
valuable basis for further scientific collaboration.
56
12 • Air Belanda Indonesia

Waternet focuses on
complete water cycle
Waternet has signed a Memorandum of Understanding
with Perpamsi Banten in the province of
Banten, west of Jakarta, which runs from 2011 to
2015. Paul Bonné, regional manager for Indonesia
at Wereldwaternet, says: “We are working with
Perpamsi Banten, an umbrella organisation of water
companies in the province, and are particularly
focusing on supporting drinking water supply
operations. We are thereby adopting an integrated
approach, with a long-term plan for the entire water
cycle of drinking water, waste water and surface
water. This also includes source protection and a
balanced division of the available water: for drinking
water, for irrigation, for industry. We are particularly
focused on helping to develop a vision of the
infrastructure.
Whenever possible we also want to move towards
better sanitation, better hygiene and greater
awareness in terms of health. We want to work with
our Indonesian partners to ensure that something
like washing your hands becomes a commonplace
activity.
‘We are particularly focused
on helping to develop a vision
of the infrastructure’
That shift in focus follows on logically from the
technical assistance that we have been providing
for a number of years in areas such as maintaining
systems, with the associated training. That approach
remains important: they need to be able to do it
themselves.”
40
water cooperation
• 13

Dynamism of
Jakarta is also the
key to a sustainable
solution
There are big plans for protecting Jakarta from the water, from both the landward
and seaward sides. It is important to work hard now, since the urgency is great.
Piet Dircke, lecturer in City and Water at Rotterdam University and employed at
Arcadis, takes stock and outlines the next steps. “The dizzying dynamism of
Jakarta is one of the causes of the problems, but it is also the key to the solution.
Good governance is crucial.”
14 • Air Belanda Indonesia

Masterplan for protecting Jakarta from the sea
During his visit to Indonesia in July 2011 State Secretary Ben Knapen announced
that the Netherlands was making 4 million euros in development funding available
as a contribution to the development of the masterplan for protecting Jakarta
from the sea. The masterplan follows on from previous studies into the options for
protecting the city from floods. Dutch experts have made an important contribution
to this through the Jakarta Coastal Defense Strategy (JCDS) project, and outlined the
first potential solutions in September 2011. The masterplanning phase will start in
mid-2012. The Dutch contribution will mainly be focused on supporting the central
process management and the integrated development of the coastal zone. Meanwhile
the Indonesian government has energetically moved ahead with preparations for this
masterplanning phase on the basis of the JCDS results. It is anticipated that a Dutch
consortium can start work at the end of summer 2012 following a tendering process.
The looming threat is that the densely populated
north of the city will one day be several metres
below sea level. An unimaginably complicated
system is needed in order to protect Jakarta from
the water that threatens the city from two sides.
Thirteen rivers that bring their water to the city,
the immense amounts of rain that can fall and can
be insufficiently captured in more elevated areas,
the threats from the sea, the subsiding ground:
it all requires perfect flood management.
Piet Dircke says: “The solution is to carry out a large,
coherent delta plan with a large dike. That means
building, but then also managing. There is a real risk
that the inner lake which will develop when the dike
is built will become polluted in no time. That means
that you need to tackle water treatment straightaway
and that there must be a sound programme of waste
removal. Otherwise the water cannot leave the city.”
Brick walls
The Dutch Jakarta Coastal Defence Strategy study
into the protection of Jakarta from the water opened
many authorities’ eyes to the problems. Everyone is
pleased that the problem has been clearly set out.
Dircke says: “People within the government also
started looking for themselves. That was very useful,
since you can feel the physical threat: brick walls
behind which the water is chest-high. It gurgles
under your feet - that cannot be sustained.
There is therefore now a great preparedness to
tackle the next phase together. The biggest challenge
is how to move from problem definition towards
a solution. And also, how to move from an
engineering model to a governance model?”
‘One of the biggest challenges
for Jakarta is to integrate public
and private efforts’
Subsidence is a silent threat
At the heart of the problem lies the fact that the
ground beneath Jakarta is subsiding, and will
continue to subside. Dircke says: “The authorities in
Jakarta also recognise that all those big measures
can only really be effective if deep groundwater
extraction can be stopped, which is the main cause of
the subsidence. It’s sinking by up to 25 centimetres
a year: an unprecedented rate.
At the same time we know that cessation will only
happen if there is a serious alternative. The supply of
piped water is currently very uncertain, both in terms
of availability and in terms of quality. Only when that
alternative is available can you enforce the cessation
of groundwater extraction with laws and regulations.”
watersafety
• 15

Urgency offers opportunities
“The authorities in Jakarta are very well aware of the
fact that we need to start work now, otherwise an
area with millions of inhabitants will end up under
water. At the same time that great urgency also offers
opportunities. Firstly there is the oppor tunity to
ensure an integrated approach now. We have passed
the time for ad hoc measures.
A second opportunity lies in the fact that Jakarta is
booming. On the one hand that enormous influx of
people and the asso ciated urbanisation is a cause of
the problems. On the other hand it gives enormous
dynamism and great economic strength. A great
deal of income is therefore being generated. The
land reclamation and the toll road which are part
of the plans could help the project to be affordable.
The new land could generate billions of dollars in
income.“
Dircke believes that one of the biggest challenges
for Jakarta is to integrate public and private efforts,
thereby balancing all the interests. “The magic word
is ‘public-private partnership’, but nobody can do
magic in real life. It’s just about hard work. We have
that tradition in the Netherlands in our battle with
the water, and we are keen to provide that energy
here too.
‘The authorities in Jakarta
are very well aware of the
fact that we need to start
work now, otherwise an area
with millions of inhabitants
will end up under water’
The time is now
The Netherlands has built a society which has learnt
to live with the threat of water: with district water
boards, with laws and regulations, with political and
public support. Dircke says: “That combination keeps
our country liveable. But it has taken us centuries,
and the delta works took decades. We are allowing
another century for the next phase. That time is
not available in Jakarta. There it has to be done
73 74 93 94
right now”
Year of truth
2007 was a disastrous year for Jakarta. But the devastating events did
mean that a lot of obstacles were pushed aside and that the problems
were immediately tackled with much greater urgency. Jan Jaap Brinkman
of Deltares led a consortium of Dutch organisations that carried out
research into an integrated solution. “During the wet season in 1996,
2002 and 2006 there were serious floods. That led to a host of measures.
But in 2007 the city flooded again, even though it had not rained at all.
It was found that the ground had sunk to a critical level, and at high tide
the water cannot leave the city. During the spring tide the water poured
over the sea defences into the city. We could calculate which spring tides
would flood the city, and reported as early as mid-2007 that it would
happen on three days in October, November and December. That forecast
turned out to be correct. This created the momentum for coming up with
scenarios for sustainable solutions and tackling the problems with an
integrated approach.”
Jakarta is now convinced that the solution lies in a robust dike in the bay
of Jakarta, which is expected to cost around five billion euros. The dike
will offer room for new road and rail links, and could therefore relieve
Jakarta’s serious traffic jam problems. These new transport routes are
also important for the construction of around three thousand hectares
of new land by private investors which is already planned.
16 • Air Belanda Indonesia

‘Banjironline’
Flood app
The mayor can see the current water
levels, the weather forecast and the
latest news on his smartphone at a
glance. People in the district check in
on a map using Twitter. They have
attached photos, so that it is painfully
clear how high the water has risen.
The mayor does not need much more
than that in order to take steps.
Pusher boat is
weapon in battle
against waste
Cleaning Jakarta’s canals and keeping
them clean is vital for the safety of the
city. Rubbish collection is largely nonexistent,
so a lot of stuff goes into the
water. There are also virtually no sewers.
Conver’s pusher boats help: simple but
effective.
This is not a pipedream, but reality. In May 2012 the
‘banjironline’ flood app was launched especially
for Jakarta. This app for tablets and smartphones
features up-to-date flood news, weather forecasts,
webcams in the city, a photo gallery with the latest
photos of the flood and Twitter information.
This latter feature is very important: during a recent
flood Twitter was the best source of news, with
ten tweets per minute and virtually no misleading
reports. The dashboard was previously available as a
desktop version. The dashboard, developed as part
of Flood Control 2015, is essentially a smart combination
of as much available information as possible.
Over the coming period the dashboard will be further
enhanced with features including precipitation
forecasts, water levels in the most important rivers,
tide information, various flooding scenarios and the
webcam at a major pumping station. The large
dashboard can then show what will happen if certain
conditions arise, drawing on current and historical
data. A special version for NGOs such as the Red
Cross will be launched in the course of the year so
that they can provide the most effective possible
81
assistance in disasters.
Hans van den Hurk, sales manager at Conver, says:
“We got involved through Netherlands Water Partnership
and delivered two pusher boats in 2008/2009. That technology
works best in this type of canal, where you can literally
encounter almost anything. The strength lies in its simplicity.
It propels itself along and pushes everything in front of it.
We are the only company that supplies this sort of boat as
standard. We have now also had a couple of boats built locally.
We want to carry on with that partner, since there is sufficient
need.
‘We got involved through NWP
and delivered two pusher boats
in 2008/2009’
Suction dredgers do not work in water which contains so
much rubbish. It gets tangled and then the machine seizes
up. With hydraulic techniques you also need a discharge area,
and that doesn’t exist or is too far away. We can use individual
haulage units - dumper trucks. They can get through the traffic.”
91
watersafety
• 17

'Jakarta safer
thanks to the
Netherlands'
“The help provided by the Netherlands has accelerated
the tackling of the flooding problems in Jakarta. Jakarta is
already safer thanks to the Netherlands.” These are the
words of Mohammad Tauchid Tjakra Amidjaja, director of
the regional environment management board of the province
of Jakarta (DKI).
“The floods often only happen a couple of weeks a year and
cause great damage. But when the weather had passed, there
was a danger that the threat would be forgotten again.”
Indonesia asked the Netherlands for help
following extensive flooding in 2007.
The water was several metres deep in
some places. “Dutch experts used research,
data and models to show how the
floods are caused and how they can be
prevented. This enabled us to persuade
the decision-makers,” explains Tauchid.
“For example, the Dutch experts said that
the construction of an eastern drainage
canal would reduce the problems. The
plans for this had been drawn up a long
time ago, but had never been put in to
practice. The canal has now been in existence
for two years and has persuaded
more people, since the flooding has diminished.
Another recommendation was to
dredge the canals in order to be able to
carry away more water. That too helped to
reduce the floods. We have now received
a loan from the World Bank to carry out
large scale dredging work next year.”
Subsidence is a major threat
Another aspect to which the Dutch
experts have drawn attention is the
sinking of the city of Jakarta by 10 to
15 centimetres per year. That is caused
by the extensive extraction of groundwater.
“The Dutch experts have shown
that the subsidence of the soil poses a
serious threat to the city,” says Tauchid.
‘We are now trying to combat the sinking
of the city. Hence we have raised the tax
on using groundwater, so that it is now
more expensive than mains water. But
groundwater remains needed. There is
not enough mains water yet, nor is it
available everywhere yet. We are working
hard on improving that. We are also
encouraging apartment complexes and
shopping centres to reuse water. All this
has already reduced the consumption of
groundwater.”
Good that there’s a plan
A plan to protect Jakarta from the sea has
been developed with the assistance of
Dutch experts. There are various options.
The ultimate solution is to build a dam on
which a toll road can also be constructed.
“If we manage to counter the subsidence,
the dam will not be needed and we may
be able to get away with a smaller scale
‘The Dutch experts
have shown that the
subsidence of the soil
poses a serious threat
to the city’
project. But if the situation deteriorates,
we may need to speed up the execution
of the plans. It’s good that there’s a
plan. We know that there is a solution to
protect Jakarta. Whether and when the
dam will actually be built depends on
many factors, such as the funding. It will
probably take years before a decision is
made on this. But we know that we will
have to keep the rivers and canals clean
if the dam is built. We were already doing
that, but are now more convinced that it
really is necessary,” says Tauchid.
18 • Air Belanda Indonesia

Drinking with the wind
Living on the wind: that it almost literally
possible with ‘Drinking with the wind’,
an installation by Hatenboer Water which
produces safe drinking water from sea water.
The installation runs on wind and solar
power and can therefore operate in places
with no power supply.
The first test installation near Kupang
on West Timor was handed over to the local
authorities and put into operation in the
spring of 2012. The installation can produce
up to 7,000 litres of drinking water per day
under optimum conditions. That is enough
for over three thousand people.
Peter Willem Hatenboer says:
“The management and maintenance are in
the hands of the local authorities, although
we can monitor remotely.
The test phase is intended to establish what
works best in practice. The local population
can come and collect water from it, but it
is also possible that the water will be taken
from the installation to somewhere else.
In six months or maybe a bit longer we will
have a good picture of that.”
18
Toilet competes with smartphone
Building toilets and providing safe
drinking water is only worthwhile
if it is accompanied by a change
in attitudes.
Working from this idea, development
organisation Simavi launched the SHAW
programme (Sanitation, Hygiene And Water)
with local authorities in impoverished areas
in the east of Indonesia in April 2010. The
goal is to reach 150,000 households - 600,000
to 700,000 people - within four years. Ruben
Korevaar of Simavi says: “We want to raise
awareness and then ensure that there is an
affordable solution provided by private providers
which fits with local conditions. We are
therefore trying to encourage local contractors
to construct toilets from materials which
are available locally.
At the start of this year we developed a
toilet model with local contractors on the
island of Flores which costs the equivalent
of one hundred euros. People have to pay
that themselves, and that is a relatively large
amount of money. We realise that a toilet
has to compete with - for example - buying
a smartphone. People must become aware
of the importance of sanitation if they are
going to buy a WC, and it must also match
their needs and tastes. We are talking to
people and using examples with which they
can identify in order to show them what the
consequences are of poor hygiene. It makes
you ill, but it also means that you cannot
work and therefore lose income. And children
cannot go to school. Setting it out like
that makes an impression. Sanitation is an
investment in a healthy future which is also
very appealing financially.
21
water supply and sanitation
• 19

Cheap,
easy
and safe
drinking
water
Safe drinking water can be produced
cheaply and easily, even in remote
areas, as Nazava Waterfilters show.
The cheapest model costs 13 euro and
delivers three litres of drinking water
per hour. Just put dirty well or tap water
into it in the evening, and by the next
morning you have drinking water.
Lieselotte Heederik founded Nazava
waterfilters with Guido van Hofwegen
and is Business Development and
Marketing Director. “Half the population
have no sewers or septic tank:
everything goes into the rivers and
onto the fields. That causes a lot of
contaminated drinking water. Every year
40,000 children under the age of five
die as a result of unsafe drinking water.”
10,000 water filters are currently being
used by households, and this number is
growing by twenty percent a month.
Lieselotte Heederik says: “It is much
cheaper and safer than boiling water,
which a lot of people do at the moment.
And it saves time, because the women
don’t have to search for wood. But a lot
of people currently drink hot boiled
water, for example, because they think
that cold water gives them stomach
ache. Changing behaviour is the biggest
27
challenge for us.”
Towards
better
sanitation
in 330 towns
The ‘Accelerated Sanitation Development Programme in Human
Settlements’ (abbreviated to PPSP in Indonesian) is an ambitious
programme from the Indonesian government which is intended to
improve waste water treatment, urban drainage and the processing
of domestic waste in 330 towns and districts within five years by
the end of 2014. Dutch expertise has been called upon to support
the development of strategies, building capabilities, design studies
and the execution of works.
With the PPSP the Indonesian government is seeking to make up
as much as possible of the shortfall with regard to the millennium
goals for drinking water and sanitation.
The PPSP Road Map, a Government of
Indonesia (GoI) document, forms the basis
for the programme. This estimates the
investment required for PPSP at 61 trillion
rupiah or 5 billion euros for the period
2010-2014. Combined with structural
long-term solutions this could increase
by a factor of two or more.
The Dutch share, carried out by Royal
HaskoningDHV, is the ‘Urban Sanitation
Development Project’ (USDP) and is
aimed at consultancy to support PPSP
implementation by four GoI ministries.
This project is being financed from the
bilateral development programme with
Indonesia which is being implemented
by the Dutch Embassy in Jakarta.
Bottom up
Project leader Bram van den Boon says:
“An important principle is that the USDP
programme is designed from the bottom
up - it starts with awareness at local level.
The town and districts must conceive and
execute it themselves.
The methodology features five steps to
execution. The first step is education:
what does the programme involve?
Then comes the institutional preparation,
with the formation of local working parties.
The third step is an inventory of the situation,
which includes a locally executed
environmental health risk assessment,
and the formulation of a strategic plan.
Step four is the translation into budgets
and year plans, and step five is the
execution.” The plans can differ in every
situation, from simple septic tanks to the
construction of a water treatment plant.
Attention to ‘soft measures’ is important,
since they deliver an immediate result and
are cheap. Community empowerment and
attention for impoverished sections of the
20 • Air Belanda Indonesia

‘We are working with
no fewer than four
Indonesian ministries.
That shows that
central government
attaches great
importance to it’
population are important in order to bring
about an improvement in sanitation.
Part of the funding for the physical implementation
is provided by central government.
The remainder needs to be financed
by local and provincial government, CSR
(Corporate Social Responsibility), Public
Private Partnerships and external international
donors.
Bram van den Boon says: “We are working
with no fewer than four Indonesian
ministries: the National Planning Bureau
as the ‘main contractor’, Public Works, the
Ministry of the Interior and Public Health.
That alone shows that central government
attaches great importance to it.
Enormous upscaling
The upscaling from 12 towns in five years
to 330 towns/districts again in five years
A Mid Term Review of USDP was carried
out in November 2011, with special
attention for the enormous upscaling.
The implementing ministries recognise
the risks, and that has led to a more
intensive participation in USDP with more
staff, half of whom are providing direct
hands-on support in the provinces.
Whenever possible, we are also arranging
the exchange of knowledge and experiences.
The Association of PPSP Mayors and
District Heads will play an important role
in this. ‘Best practices’ are of inestimable
value; no consultant can match them.
You need successes. They inspire others,
and then things take off.
Looking back, an awful lot has happened
in recent years. There is more attention
for and recognition of the importance of
sanitation. You can also see this reflected
in the available budgets, which have
increased sixfold since 2006.”
can, of course, not happen by itself.
19
water and sanitation
• 21

Governance:
not a model,
but an interplay
Under the new Memorandum of Understanding water governance will have
a more integrated position within various collaboration projects. This is an
important step according to Corné Nijburg, director of the Water Governance
Centre, which has been operating since 2011.
The Water Governance Centre brings together
the knowledge available at public
authorities, universities, knowledge institutes
and other network organisations in
the Netherlands, in order then to be able
to apply that knowledge at home and
abroad. “Governance has five building
blocks: it constantly involves an interplay
of political, administrative, social, legal
and financial elements. They interweave
and influence one another. You always
need all five of them, but in a specific
balance each time. We don’t offer a model
- we show that it involves an interplay.
Indonesia is experiencing very rapid
growth, with enormous urbanisation and
all the associated challenges. The administrative
model has been fundamentally
overturned. It is precisely at times like
this that we can offer good support.”
Both integrated and
decentralised
Bart Teeuwen has supported the Indonesian
government over the past eight years
with the modernisation of water legislation,
which was implemented in the Water
Act of 2004 and was worked out in ten
government regulations. He presented
his findings under the aegis of the Water
Governance Centre: “The reform of the
water sector is running in parallel with
the implementation of the new democratic,
decentralised administrative model.
The Water Act is a great step forward and
fits with the international principles of
integrated water management. At the
same time it is a fairly broadly formulated
law, which means that it needs to be
elaborated in government regulations.
But that elaboration can detract from the
integration, and you can see that happening.
There are unnecessary overlaps
and uncertainties about precisely who
is responsible for what. The next step is
therefore a harmonisation of the laws
and regulations. This is an enormous
challenge in which Dutch support with
regard to the issue of governance can
play an important role.”
62
22 • Air Belanda Indonesia

Dry feet first, then pay
In urban delta areas the polder can be an effective weapon in the battle against the
water. The Banger Polder in a district of Semarang is intended to demonstrate this
in practice, both technically and administratively. Construction is taking place, the
district water board is in place. The pumping station will be switched on in 2013 and
the water level will drop by at least two metres. That proof of dry feet is needed in
order to levy taxes.
“The hardest thing is explaining to people what a
polder is: how it works and how it can provide protection
against floods. The Dutch have had a great
deal of experience with polders in the Netherlands,
but not in Indonesia,” says Suseno Darsono, chairman
of the district water board in Semarang. A polder is
being created in the city in Central Java around the
Banger river in order to counter flooding. The Banger
district is home to around 80,000 people on an area
of around 530 hectares. The technical design for the
polder was produced by civil engineers
Witteveen+Bos.
goes into the river. “The construction of the polder
will mean that the river no longer discharges into
the sea. Ultimately that will become very unhygienic.
I am concerned that people will then think that the
polder is no longer a good idea. We have asked the
Indonesian government to help solve the sanitation
problems.”
‘The residents are affected by
floods almost every day’
“The residents are affected by floods almost every
day. Sometimes the water is 30 to 50 centimetres
deep,” says Suseno. At the same time as building the
polder, a district water board or polder board -
an institution previously unknown in Indonesia -
has been established with the assistance of the
Schie land en Krimpenerwaard water board (HHSK).
“HHSK provided us with full training in how we
should run, maintain and finance a polder.”
Packet of cigarettes
One of the biggest challenges for the district water
board is the collection of taxes. “We need money in
order to pay for staff and electricity, the pumps
need to be maintained and the rubbish needs to
be cleared,” says Suseno. The residents will only
start to pay when the polder has been operational
for two years. “We want to show that it works first,
otherwise nobody will want to pay.” The intention is
that each household will pay six thousand rupiah
(50 eurocents) per month. “That’s less than a packet
of cigarettes,” laughs Suseno.
The district water board is currently focusing primarily
on education. Not just to explain how a polder
works, but also to tell the residents that they need to
handle solid waste in a different way. In Indonesia
solid waste is often thrown into the rivers. But this
will not just block the river, but also the polder’s
pumps. Another problem that needs to be resolved
is the lack of sanitation. All the dirty water currently
Great deal of interest
The chairman of the district water board in Semarang
is convinced that the polder will be a success.
“Another polder is being built by the Japanese elsewhere
in Semarang. That does not feature a district
water board, which is a archetypal Dutch idea. But
we have already been asked for information about
setting up this kind of institution. The Indonesian
Ministry of Public Works is also interested in the
concept.”
Johan Helmer of the Schieland en Krimpenerwaard
polder board says: “It is a polder in a technical and
institutional sense. Initially we talked a lot with both
the municipal council and people in the district
about the best organisational form.
We rapidly came to the conclusion that a separate
community-based polder board was needed,
independent of the municipal council organisation.
That became the SIMA district water board in April
2010. We are indebted to Roy Kraft van Ermel, former
district water board member and councillor, for a
substantial part of this.
When completed the polder will consist mainly of
dikes, a dam and a pumping station, and the Banger
canal will be deepened. We hope to cautiously turn
on the pumping station during the dry season of
2013; ultimately the water level needs to go down by
2 to 2.5 metres. If that all goes well, the district water
61
board can start collecting taxes in 2015.”
water governance
• 23

The demand just keeps on growing
Central role for
capacity building
Capacity building plays an important role in the relationship between Indonesia
and the Netherlands with regard to water. The demand for better-trained people and
more effective organisations just keeps on growing. The bond in that area is strong,
building on many decades of history.
24 • Air Belanda Indonesia

Capacity building through the relationship with the
Netherlands was already important in independent
Indonesia because the vast majority of the hydraulic
engineering structures in the country were designed and
often built by Dutch engineers. And they all needed to
be maintained. In the 1970s more and more people from
Indonesia came to Delft, where IHE-Delft offered a large
number of Master’s degree courses relating to water.
But things have undergone a step change in recent
decades in particular. Indonesia is experiencing a period
of rapid growth. This has necessitated a reform of the
water sector, characterised by the delegation of responsibilities
to provinces and districts. This meant that the
number of civil servants in the central ministry in Jakarta
needed to be substantially reduced, and for about ten
years there was a ‘zero hiring policy’. That has now
become a major problem, because around half the civil
servants in the water sector will be retiring over the next
five to ten years. This will result in the loss of a great deal
of knowledge and experience. In response, two thousand
junior engineers for water resource development have
been hired, but they do require further training.
The training for that enormous group is being provided
with assistance from the Netherlands. IHE-Delft (called
UNESCO-IHE since 2003) has trained more than 2000
Indonesian hydraulic engineers over the past 40 years.
But this institute also helps build capacity in Indonesia
itself. Hence it has contributed to the development of
a knowledge network of universities spread across
Indonesia which already had some kind of water
programme: CKNet-INA, the Collaborative Knowledge
Network for Indonesia.
‘Water interacts with so many
other sectors, the institutional
and organisational aspects are
becoming ever more important’
But capacity building is also a matter of mutual benefit,
says Jan Luijendijk: “The Netherlands has learned an incredible
amount in Indonesia. Take irrigation for instance.
The Dutch knew very little about it.
The knowledge about irrigation that we acquired there
over many decades means that we are now an important
player throughout the tropics.”
Basis for the future
The opportunities which the Netherlands offers for
capacity building are very important to both Indonesia
and the Netherlands. It is therefore important to
cultivate the existing relationship and to continue
working on an effective network. That is the opinion of
Sur Suryadi, senior lecturer in Land and Water Development
at UNESCO-IHE. He highlights two activities.
Firstly the ‘reservoir’ of junior staff: “IHE has drawn up
a plan to enable those workers to continue studying in
groups. A strict selection process will apply: no more
than thirty students a year will be selected to take part
in a programme. In view of the size of the group, we are
talking about a very long-term collaboration. That is why
we are helping to get water training in Indonesia working
more effectively as well.”
Sur Suryadi also cites the ‘double degree’ master’s course
for Integrated Lowland Development and Management
from UNESCO-IHE and Sriwijaya University in Palembang.
The two year sandwich programme takes place partly in
Palembang and partly in Delft. The first year is financed
by the Indonesian Ministry of Planning and Development,
the second year by Nuffic, the Netherlands organisation
for international cooperation in higher education.
“28 Indonesian students have now completed that course
in three groups. The fourth group is doing the course
now. The future is still uncertain: I sincerely hope that
the funding can be maintained. Integrated Lowland
Development and Management is a complicated but
also very important field of work, at which we Dutch
are traditionally good.”
Clear trend
Jan Luijendijk of UNESCO-IHE sees a clear development in
the form and content of capacity building. “Because water
interacts with so many other sectors, the institutional and
organisational aspects of capacity building are becoming
ever more important. These are tricky issues about which
we in the Netherlands have accrued a lot of knowledge
and experience. The emphasis nowadays is therefore
more on issues such as management, control and governance
of water systems.
Driving seat
For us as UNESCO-IHE the starting point is always: what
are your issues, what do you need? We always put our
partners in the driving seat. They decide, we facilitate,
with consideration for the context and respect for local
knowledge. That is also good business, since ultimately it
is good for the Dutch water sector if there are well-trained
people in the important positions who have acquired their
knowledge partly with Dutch support.”
Lectures via
the Internet
Delft University of Technology is working with Wateropleidingen
and Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) to provide
a master’s degree programme in water management.
The remarkable aspect is that the students can follow the
lectures anywhere via the Internet. Once a year they travel
to Bandung for the examinations. The project, which runs
from 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2013, is being made possible
with Dutch financial support. The material is used a lot by
companies in the Netherlands, but has now also been
translated to the University of Bandung in Indonesia.
The basic lectures come from the Netherlands and are
supplemented with specific examples from Indonesia.
capacitybuilding
• 25

Lowlands:
towards
balanced
development
The very extensive lowlands of Indonesia offer many opportunities for economic
development, but that does require a great deal of expertise. And at least as
important is a good balance with the climate-related aspects. Over the coming
period Indonesia wants to develop a new, coherent and balanced policy for the
lowlands. Dutch expertise is playing a distinct role in this process.
26 • Air Belanda Indonesia

Mathieu Pinkers is Executive Director of the Land
and Water International Programme at the Dutch
Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation.
He takes a look back and into the future.
“In the Sixties independent Indonesia wanted
to develop low-lying areas on islands away from
overpopulated Java. The aim was to achieve greater
agricultural production, especially rice, so that
Indonesia would become increasingly self-sufficient.
A considerable migration was expected. Something
like that demands constant attention, substantial
investments and above all a lot of expertise. It went
in stops and starts.”
In the end sponsors such as the World Bank
withdrew, partly as a result of the growing debate
about nature and the environment.
The new millennium marked the start of a new era.
The centralist government structure made way for
decentralisation. Mathieu Pinkers says: “Provinces
and the local community were given more freedom
and started to look for opportunities for economic
development, including in the lowlands. At the same
time interest in the climate has also increased.
Indonesia has set itself ambitious goals for CO 2
reduction.”
Cautious and deliberate
It was clear that a new start to the development of
the lowlands would have to be done cautiously and
deliberately. The process is therefore starting with
an open dialogue between the Indonesian central
government and the World Bank on the one hand
and the local stakeholders on the other hand.
This project is called WACLIMAD: Water Management
for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptive Development
in the Lowlands. WACLIMAD is building on the
study into a National Lowland Development Strategy
(NLDS) which was also carried out by the Netherlands.
Mathieu Pinkers says: “The basic idea is: What are the
possibilities with the lessons that have been learned
and with today’s knowledge and skills? How can you
achieve a good balance? Where is economic development
possible, and where do you have to choose
to restore nature? Whereby the latter can also offer
economic opportunities: for tourism and fishing, for
example.”
The Netherlands funded consultancy for the project,
provided by Euroconsult Mott MacDonald.
‘The basic idea is: What
are the possibilities with
the lessons that have been
learned and with today’s
knowledge and skills?’
Inventory of knowledge
The same consultancy has now started the QANS
project (Quick Assessment and Nationwide
Screening) for Peat and Lowland Resources and
Action Planning for the Implementation of a National
Lowlands Strategy. The aim is to rapidly identify the
available knowledge about lowlands. That will greatly
help to establish a strong regionally and locally
embedded basis for a sensible approach to land
development, nature management and climate
policy. The project is part of the Dutch Global Water
programme and is being financed from the Partners
for Water programme. Mathieu Pinkers says:
“A project like this offers Dutch parties opportunities
for further involvement in the sustainable development
of the lowland areas in the
47 48
future.”
Half of all peatlands are in Indonesia
The lowland areas of Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua have an enormous ecological value and at
the same time great economic potential. The lowland areas of Indonesia cover around 36 million
hectares. A significant proportion of them consist of tropical peatland. Over half (57 percent) of
the world’s tropical peatlands are in Indonesia. The importance for the climate lies partly in the
enormous amount of CO2 which is stored in the peat. Irresponsible extraction will suddenly release
this greenhouse gas. This process is irreversible. Inappropriate excavation of the peatlands
leads to complete destruction.
Water for food and ecosystems
• 27

Air Belanda Indonesia:
a valued partnership
The world faces many water challenges in which water plays a key role: how to feed
a growing world population, how to enable life in vulnerable, ever growing coastal
cities, how to meet the needs of a growing world population? Countries must not face
these complex issues in isolation.
Sharing knowledge and experience across sectors and between
countries is the best way to create sustainable solutions for the
future. The Indonesian government has an ambitious agenda
when it comes to creating future water sustainability for its’
booming cities and countryside, and frequently calls upon
Dutch water expertise to realize these projects. The Dutch
government has established the Global Water Programme to
forge long term, sustainable relationships with countries where
Dutch expertise can be of true added value. These are mostly
low lying delta –areas. Indonesia is one of the main partners
within the programme.
NWPI
Indonesia and the Netherlands have established an intensive
and longstanding relationship when it comes to water. Indonesian
and Dutch water professionals work closely together in
many water projects throughout Indonesia to continuously
develop new technologies and approaches to meet the ever
growing challenges of providing clean water to people, irrigating
agricultural land and protecting coastal areas against
flooding. For this purpose the Netherlands Water Partnership
in Indonesia (NWPI) has been established, executed by the
Indonesian Netherlands Association (INA).
The NWPI is a platform where Dutch water sector parties
present in Indonesia meet each other, sharing knowledge
and ideas and find integrated solutions to Indonesia's water
challenges. This includes (amongst others) proposing
integrated solutions to secure clean water sources, cleaning,
transporting and distributing water to urban populations, and
protecting areas close to rivers and seas against flooding and
seawater infiltration. The NWPI meets about 6 times a year at
the office of the INA in Jakarta. If you want to meet the Dutch
water sector organizations present in Indonesia, please
contact the INA for further information.
Indonesian Netherlands Association
Menara Jamsostek Building Tower A 20th floor
Jl. Jend. Gatot Subroto No. 38, Jakarta 12710
Tel: +62-21-52902177
Email:ina@ina.or.id
Website: www.ina.or.id
www.dutchwatersector.com
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28 • Air Belanda Indonesia