On August 12, 2021, the Directorate of Housing and Settlements of Bappenas and USAID IUWASH PLUS organized a kickoff meeting to introduce the Spring Vulnerability Assessment and Action Plan Program (KKMA-RA) to national stakeholders and initiate the preparation for its nationwide scale-up.
The online meeting involved numerous directorates from Bappenas, the Ministry of Public Works and Housing (MPWH); the Ministry of Environment and Forestry; the Ministry of Village, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration; the Ministry of Environment and Forestry; the Ministry of Home Affairs; the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources; the Ministry of Health; the Ministry of Agriculture; the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries; the National Disaster Management Agency, and the Ministry of Finance.
In her opening speech, the Director of Housing and Settlement of Bappenas, Ms. Tri Dewi Virgiyanti, reminded the participants on the importance of the KKMA-RA institutionalization to sustain raw water availability for drinking water and to support the program’s long term implementation.
During the meeting, USAID IUWASH PLUS also shared its experience in conducting spring vulnerability assessments in multiple locations and presented a preliminary plan for institutionalizing the KKMA-RA program among the ministries. Since 2017, the USAID IUWASH PLUS project has assisted 14 district/city governments to conduct the spring vulnerability assessment and action plan, and supported them in constructing a total of 583 infiltration ponds, 120 of which were financed by the project for demonstration purposes.
Acknowledging the importance of the KKMA-RA program, Bappenas highlighted one of the recommendations produced by the program, i.e., the construction of infiltration ponds, which can effectively and economically induce groundwater recharge.
To encourage inter-agency coordination based on USAID IUWASH PLUS’ mapping of the relevant institutions, as well as their objectives and functions, Bappenas then proposed that the national management of raw water will mainly involve four ministries: the MPWH, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, and the Ministry of Village, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration (MOVDT). Meanwhile, the national management of drinking water—as Bappenas suggested—will fall among the MPWH, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Ministry of Village, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration.
In response to the proposal, the Head of Spring and Groundwater Damage Control Sub-Directorate of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Mr. Amin Sutanto explained, “We have integrated the KKMA-RA approach implemented by USAID IUWASH PLUS into the Ministry’s programs in the river basin management and spring protection.”
The Coordinator of Facilities and Infrastructures Development and Settlement Utilities of the Directorate of Village and Rural Facility Development of the MOVDT, Mr. Frederingko Tanggu Dendo, added, “The MOVDT has prepared regulations, especially for the village fund use. What is needed is capacity building for the communities to develop the drinking water technology.”
Additionally, the Ministry of Home Affairs will review the existing laws and regulations on water resources management at the regional level, while the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources can help with designing a more holistic spring vulnerability assessment from a hydrogeologic perspective.
USAID IUWASH PLUS will separately conduct audiences with all of the ministries involved in the coming weeks and continue advocating for the institutionalization of the KKMA-RA program through the end of the year.
