USAID IUWASH PLUS and USAID APIK (Adaptasi Perubahan Iklim dan Ketangguhan/Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience) conducted a coordination meeting on the development of the spring vulnerability and action plan (KKMA) document for four springs in Batu city, namely Binangun, Banyuning, Gemulo, and Darmi springs.
These four springs are the main raw water sources for PDAM and community members in Batu city, Malang city, and Malang district.
The coordination meeting was held from February 25–26, 2019 at USAID IUWASH PLUS’ office in Surabaya city as part of the collaboration between USAID IUWASH PLUS and USAID APIK to protect and increase the debit water of the four springs
Sixteen people, which include staff of USAID IUWASH PLUS, USAID APIK, and representatives from USAID attended the event.
This meeting aimed to refine the draft of KKMA document that USAID IUWASH PLUS and USAID APIK have developed since December 2018 as well as to discuss the follow up plans.
“The KKMA program that USAID IUWASH PLUS and USAID APIK implement is very helpful to address environmental problems in Batu area as the upstream of Brantas river. Therefore, recommendations related to KKMA activities should be adjusted to the real conditions in field. It is important to prevent possibility that the KKMA action plan to be implemented does not conform [to the real condition in field],” said Endah Shofiani, USAID A/COR.
In this meeting, USAID IUWASH PLUS also presented the Action Plan Matrix to be used for the KKMA in Batu city. In addition, USAID APIK also shared that the project has big possibility, partly, because it has experiences in working with the stakeholders in water sector, such as DAS Brantas. Further, USAID APIK also explained that draft of regional regulation on water management is crucial to make water conversation in Batu city implemented in more consistent way.
The meeting participants also brainstormed about key points that need to consider in the final KKMA document, such as (1) methodology that relates to resilience, and action plan matrix, (2) data on number of people benefitting Binangun, Banyuning, Gemulo, and Darmi springs, (3) water quality of each spring, (4) environmental impacts resulted from KKMA action plan, and (5) Strategic Environmental Assessment that Batu city government developed.
As a follow up on this coordination meeting, USAID IUWASH PLUS and USAID APIK plan to conduct a public hearing for the KKMA document in March 2019. To finalize the KKMA document and to implement the KKMA, USAID APIK will lead the coordination with the KKMA team of Batu city government. Further, USAID IUWASH PLUS will lead the technical process, which include KKMA analysis, and field survey.
