PRESS RELEASE

COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA TEAM OF THE 10^TH WORLD WATER FORUM

NO. 41/SP/TKM-WORLDWATERFORUM2024/05/2024

 on

Indonesia to Propose Zero Delta Q Policy at 10^th World Water Forum

The Indonesian government will propose the implementation of river basin (DAS) management planning policy, or Zero Delta Q, as a solution for flood control during the political process of the 10^th World Water Forum, which will take place from 18–25 May 2024 in Nusa Dua, Bali.

Director General of Water Resources of the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Bob Arthur Lombogia confirmed this in his statement on Saturday (4 May) in Jakarta.

Bob added that disaster management and mitigation, particularly floods in Indonesia, require alignment between structural control through water behavior management and non-structural control through human behavior management.

“The Zero Delta Q policy is an issue that can be proposed in the political process of the 10^th World Water Forum, that it needs to be implemented. If most or all regions of Indonesia follow this principle, we would have a considerable number of water reservoirs. Therefore, our vision in disaster mitigation and flood control can be realized,” said Bob.

According to Government Regulation No. 13 of 2017, the Zero Delta Q policy refers to a provision mandating no building shall add to the water discharge in to the drainage or river flow system. This policy is a prerequisite for obtaining various land use permits, such as Building Permits (IMB) in a DAS.

“The implementation of the Zero Delta Q policy cannot proceed on its own. We must work together because most of the implementation of this policy would occur in the local government areas. Support from the central and regional governments is needed, including for land use in a DAS for agriculture and other community activities,” he said.

, Bob further explained that  to mitigate floods, structural strategies are needed in managing water behavior for disaster mitigation, including the construction of water reservoirs such as dams, ponds, retention basins, infiltration wells, and others. Furthermore, measures like increasing river capacity, diverting river water, increasing river flow speed, controlling sedimentation, organizing drainage systems, and preventing seawater from flowing inland can also be taken to address the issue.

Actual examples of infrastructure projects for water management and flood disaster mitigation include the normalization of the Ciliwung River, retention ponds combined with embankments in Cilincing, North Jakarta, and the Ancol Sentiong pump.

The PUPR Ministry's program to control water's destructive power has involved the construction of flood control infrastructure and coastal protection spanning 1,901 km, as well as 423 sediment and control structures spread across Indonesia.

The 2023 World Risk Report has ranked Indonesia as the second most vulnerable country to disasters, with a World Risk Index (WRI) of 43.50. This assessment was based on factors such as exposure to disasters due to non-climate-resilient infrastructure and vulnerability resulting from inadequate disaster risk reduction management.

Meanwhile, according to data from the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), the number of flood incidents has increased from 2019 to 2021. However, despite the El Niño phenomenon, which has caused an increase in rainfall since 2022, the number of these incidents has decreased. This indicates the success of flood disaster mitigation efforts through structural strategies such as the construction of flood control infrastructure.

The 10^th World Water Forum is expected to serve as a platform for exchanging experiences and best practices related to disaster management, including floods, through three main processes, namely thematic, regional, and political.

The 10^th World Water Forum will focus on four key areas, namely water conservation, clean water and sanitation, food and energy security, and natural disaster mitigation.

The forum’s 244 sessions are expected to yield concrete results regarding the mainstreaming of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) on small islands, the establishment of a Centre of Excellence on Water and Climate Resilience (COE), and the declaration of World Lake Day. (Firda Puri/TR/Elvira Inda Sari/WW/PR)

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For further information, please contact:

Director General of Public Information and Communications of the Ministry of Communications and Informatics – Usman Kansong (0816785320).

PCO of the 10^th World Water Forum – Dede Ariwibowo – (08111830020)

For other news and information, please visit https://infopublik.id/ and https://s.id/worldwaterforumpedia.