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<Technology Needs for Lake Management in Indonesia - Investigation of Rawa Danau and Rawa Pening, Java> O. Management of Rawa Peniung and Attention Problems 1. Establishment of management objectives The outline presented in the preceding sections - of possible events in the lake in the future - leads to the definition of management objectives. These objectives are intended to reduce the chances of any adverse ecological events occurring in the lake. The management objectives listed here are based solely on data, information and observations as regards the lake and do not take account of water usage downstream. First management objective To prevent any further decline in the existing low levels of water held in the lake during the dry season. The seasonal fall in water level should be adjusted to a level compatible with the interests of all who derive an income from the lake. Managers should aim to maintain as much water in the lake as is necessary for all industries and occupations dependent on the water to benefit from it. The use of water from the lake should be optimised to meet the needs of a wide range of users at all seasons. Second management objective To improve water quality, both in the water coming into the lake and in the water already held in the lake. Water quality is affected both by contamination of the water in the catchment and by pollutants already present in the bottom sediments of the lake. Pollutants in the water will affect the growth of organisms in the water, such as fish and shrimps. They may also affect the acceptability of fish and shrimps as food. Increasing levels of pollutants in the water will lead to decreased biodiversity, and the spread of unwanted pest species of all kinds. The level of pollution is probably unacceptable at present and will become worse in the future if not managed now. The improvement of water quality is dependent on effective catchment management. Third management objective To reassess the existing resources of the lake from the point of view of efficient and effective use of these resources within the existing ecosystem. The resources must be viewed as components of an ecosystem which is stressed at present. The use of the resources should be rationalised to make the environmental usage sustainable in the long term, rather than be exploited for their immediate commercial value. In this context we may ask, for example, whether effective use can be made of enceng gondok as a resource, rather than see it as a pest species, on which scarce funds have to be spent in a futile effort to eliminate it. Investigation of the resource potential of water hyacinth in the Indonesian socio-economic environment would call for a substantial input of funds from Government for research and development. In this context we may ask what plans have been prepared to allow rational development of recreational facilities on the shore of the lake? Is any attention given to reduction of pollution inputs from roads, hotels and small businesses along the shore of the lake and on the banks of rivers running into the lake? Fourth management objective To introduce to the area new industries or technologies which would support the maintenance of ecological sustainability. Such new industries should be compatible with the way of life of the local people and should contribute to their long-term welfare. Government support may be necessary for the creation of such new industries. Such new industries should be economically viable. Fifth management objective Educational and training programs may be desirable. Many of these should be aimed at a range of local residents in villages and towns in the area. Others should be aimed at improving the awareness of Government officials at all levels in the bureaucracy, of the nature of ecological processes. Particular attention should be given, in courses for these officials, to the interactive nature of ecological processes, and the need for cooperation between compartmentalised administrative Departments. Such courses should use, as examples, the lake and the catchment of Rawa Pening. There may be a need for a new attitude towards innovation among Government officials. As training courses in environmental management and water resource management will have to be given to staff concerned with the management of the lake and its catchment it is likely that a training centre will be established in the area. This could be appropriately placed at Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana which has already demonstrated its interest, in and commitment to, the increase of understanding about the environmental processes which affect Rawa Pening. UKSW established a research laboratory on the lake shore in the past. If such an education and training centre is established, then it should also offer courses in a range of environmentally sound technologies. These might include courses in solid and liquid waste management, Environmental Impact Assessment, environmental technology assessment, and environmental risk assessment. Staff from UKSW could contribute knowledge and expertise to such courses. 2. Absence of acknowledgement of responsibility for management No Government Department was prepared to accept responsibility for management of the lake. This point was raised at various meetings, and all appeared to be reticent. The Staff of the Department of Public Works were concerned and acknowledged that the lake needed management. The role of that Department was seen as providing advice on water resources of all kinds to all concerned parties but not to actually manage any bodies of water. Staff from the office of the local Government in Semarang declined to discuss responsibility for management of the lake until they had a ruling on who owned the lake. In their view the allocation of ownership was a statement of responsibility for management. Until such a statement of ownership had been made the lake was not owned by anyone and therefore no body or person had responsibility for management. Therefore no one and no body could make rules about management or utilisation of the water at the present time. Anyone who wanted could do exactly what they wanted irrespective of the consequences to the lake. 3. Need for agreement between Government Departments to cooperate in the management of the lake, to ensure that integrative approaches are used Following the discussions detailed above, it is clear that no effective management of the lake is possible without some recognition of, and agreement on, the need for management by those Departmental bodies which would be expected to take part in the management of the lake and the catchment. This may call for the imposition on the appropriate Departments of a decision from Government at a higher level. In addition there is some doubt as to whether some of the staff in the relevant Departments see any need to cooperate. There is at present no obvious degree of cooperation between Departments in the absence of any management body. The attitude of the major users was made clear in discussion. PLN was solely concerned with the production of electric power. So long as there was enough water for power production they felt that there was no problem with the management of the lake. The fact that the use of water for power might affect the rice harvest on the shores of the lake at certain seasons was a matter for the Department of Agriculture. The tourism authorities saw no problem with the development of more hotels along the shore of the lake. Indeed, this was seen as constructive. If such development could cause problems with water quality in the lake then this was not seen as a matter for the tourism authorities but rather a question for Public Works or the Health Authorities. The decline in the catch of fish was of much concern to those dealing with fisheries but of little interest to those involved in the production of rice. Their aim was to maximise rice production and if the affected fish production through the use of quantities of pesticides, then that was a question for Fisheries. It is unlikely that cooperation between staff with these attitudes can be achieved without compulsory attendance at education and training courses run under the aegis of a management body. Such courses would have as one of their main focal points, the interaction of ecological processes in the environment of the lake and of its catchment. It is unlikely that cooperation between Departmental staff of this kind can be achieved without compulsory attendance at educational courses run by a management body. 4. Conflicts of interest about the use of water in the lake Having established certain priorities in regards to the management objectives of Rawa Pening, it is appropriate to consider the consequences of these decisions on existing conflicts of interest. There are various demands for water from or at Rawa Pening at the present time. These demands exist despite the fact that the lake is, and is likely to continue to be in the foreseeable future, a receptacle for waste water polluted to varying degrees. Administratively, since PLN controls the dam on the Tuntang river and therefore controls the release of water from the lake to satisfy its needs for power production it has assumed a degree of authority in decision making in the use of lake water. There is no discussion of priorities with other potential users. There is no transmission to other users of information on what the needs of the power station will be and what effect this will have on the lake level. Rice production is heavily dependent on water supplies for irrigation on the flat land round the southern shore of the lake. High water levels in the lake can lead to floods in the padi fields and loss of crops at harvest. At other times low water levels can lead to crop failures when there is inadequate water for irrigation. The extraction of water from the lake by PLN immediately before the main harvest season is particularly critical. The commercial fishery has declined in importance in recent years. The reason for this is not clear. One adverse impact on the fishery results from the very low levels of lake water from other consumers are largely responsible for this decline in water level though a seasonal decline in rainfall is normal. In the past, a number of large springs have been a major source of water flowing into the lake at all seasons. Some of the springs are actually under water in the bed of the lake. Some springs such as that at Muncul have been tapped for production of bottled water for wale commercially. Some water from Muncul still flows into the lake, but there are plans to increase the volume of water removed from the spring. There has been no discussion about the effect of the removal of this water supply on other water users dependent on the lake. Such new developments are supposed to be subject to AMDAL assessments to determine the environmental impact of the proposed development. The question remains as to whether approval was given via an AMDAL assessment for this development and if so, on what basis it was approved. Water from the spring at Muncul is also used in a public swimming pool which is widely used by tourists and by residents of Salatiga. There is no indication as to whether any thought has been given to the allocation of some water to this swimming pool from the spring or whether the spring water will be arbitrarily removed and monopolised by the owners of the bottled water factory. There are other springs in the catchment of the lake. It appears that there are plans to convert many of these to the production of bottled water, there is no evidence of any thought being given to the effect of this loss of water on the lake and the consequent impact on other water users. It will be necessary for any management body responsible for management and administration of the lake to resolve some of these conflicting demands. It is also likely that some of the more administratively-powerful bodies involved in the use of water from the lake will prefer to see the present disorganised scramble for water continue. Such organisations will be likely to oppose the creation of any management body which might interfere with their unrestricted access to free water supplies from the lake. Thus it is not necessarily certain that an administrative body dealing with the lake and its catchment will be generally welcomed. In fact it may not be welcomed. 5. Administration of land use and management within the catchment There is no integrated or coordinated management of the catchment as a whole at present. Within the catchment all or any of the Government Departments may have a responsibility at some time, for a particular management issue. The only realistic approach is to examine the role of the various Departments which have management responsibilities within the area of the catchment at present. In most cases, this would involve the office of the Dinas of the relevant Department. The Dinas represents the Provincial Office of the relevant Department. The management of the areas of Hutan Lindung on the very steep mountain sides within the catchment is the responsibility of PHPA (Perlindungan Hutan dan Pelestarian Alam), the Directorate General of Conservation within the Department of Forestry. The role of the Forestry Department is important in this context. Management of areas of sawah (rice fields) is the responsibility of the land owners and of the village organisations. Advice may be provided as required by the Department of Agriculture. Where fish ponds have been created, these are managed by the owners, but advice might be sought from the Directorate General of Fisheries within the Department of Agriculture. Advice on livestock, such as water buffalo, would come from the Directorate General of Livestock Husbandry within the Agriculture Department. The construction and maintenance of roads within the catchment is the responsibility of the Department of Transportation, cooperating with the Department of Home Affairs. All other Government Departments are likely to have sectoral responsibilities within the catchment. These will include organisations such as the Department of Education (with responsibility for initiation and staffing of schools), and the Department of Health (with responsibility for the establishment and maintenance of clinics). The role of the Department of the Environment in this case, is much less clear. It has no direct involvement at present in the management of the lake. Yet one would expect that this lake, with its attendant problems, is exactly the sort of situation which would benefit from a substantial input from the expertise available from staff of that Department. The Department of the Environment appears, at present, to focus primarily on the control of pollution and implementation of the associated legislation connected with the quality of the environment. Many of the problems seen in the catchment reflect an apparent deficiency in the planning process. Planning is undertaken by BAPPEDA, which has offices at various administrative levels in the Province. In this case discussion with staff of BAPPEDA suggested that many decisions were made on an individual basis. If a developer applied to BAPPEDA for permission to construct a new hotel in a certain area, permission would eventually be granted after a long bureaucratic process. There was no appreciation that any development would have any adverse effects on the environment, either in the catchment or in the lake. 6. Potential structure of a management body The Rawa Pening Management Area could be administratively under a management group or committee established in the office of the Bupati/Regent. All parties interested in and concerned with the management of the area should be represented on this joint management group. The Management Group would also have to be able to influence the management of water in the rivers coming into the lake. They would have to be involved in control of pollution by chemicals and by sediments in the incoming water and would have to be able to ensure that appropriate measures were taken to allow incoming water to be of good quality. This could involve such things as sediment traps on incoming rivers. The management body would need to have an input to decision making on activities and developments in the catchment. Management of the catchment determines the quality of water in the lake. The management objectives for the area should be defined prior to the establishment of the management group. The objectives should be established and agreed with the cooperation of senior staff of the relevant Government Departments working as a Technical Advisory Team. The Team should be under the chairmanship of a senior staff member from the Department of Public Works - Water Resources Directorate. Advice should be sought from staff of Perum Jasa Tirta as regards the objectives and mechanisms involved and these advisors should also be part of the Technical Advisory Team. These objectives established should involve, if necessary, retrospective management, as well as planning and decision-making as regards the catchment. Some decisions made previously without full understanding of the environmental consequences may have to be revoked.
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