PRESS RELEASE

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

NO.58/SP/TKM-WORLDWATERFORUM2024/05/2024

on

Indonesia to Present Citarum Harum at 10^th World Water Forum

The Citarum Harum program is a success story in addressing pollution and degradation of the Citarum River Basin in Indonesia. Indonesia will bring the best practices of Citarum Harum to the 10^th World Water Forum on 18 – 25 May 2024 in Nusa Dua, Bali.

The Citarum River, which spans 297 kilometers, is one of the main rivers of West Java. This river plays a crucial role in the community but has experienced severe pollution in the past. President Joko Widodo initiated the Citarum Harum program in 2018 to restore the river's function and beauty.

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, who is also the Chairman of the National Organizing Committee for the 10^th World Water Forum, stated that the program is a collaborative effort involving multi-stakeholder integration, including ministries/agencies, local governments, academia, businesses, communities, and media.

“Through solid cooperation and collaboration, the Citarum Harum program has achieved various accomplishments. Some of these include a significant reduction in water pollution levels, from previously heavily polluted to lightly polluted now, increased efforts in reforestation in the upstream areas of the river, optimization of waste management throughout the Citarum River Basin, strict law enforcement against environmental polluters, as well as education and empowerment of communities to maintain river cleanliness,” said Luhut, as quoted from the book “Citarum Harum: Merawat Sungai Menyelamatkan Kehidupan (Citarum Harum: Nurturing the River, Saving Lives,” on Sunday (12 May).

The revitalization program of the Citarum River holds a broader significance. A clean and healthy river will carry clean water to the sea. Consequently, our seas will become cleaner and more sustainable. Caring for the Citarum River essentially means caring for the sea, and caring for the sea means caring for Indonesia.

Meanwhile, the Vice Chairman of the National Organizing Committee for the 10^th World Water Forum Basuki Hadimuljono, who is also the Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (MPWH), had previously revealed that the Improvement of Solid Waste Management Support Regional and Metropolitan Cities Project (ISWMP) has been implemented in waste management in the Citarum River Basin through the Directorate General of Cipta Karya from 2020 until November 2025.

He mentioned that the success of the Citarum Harum Program requires synergy among the central government, local government, businesses, and the community, as agreed upon in the action plan. Each party is responsible for this synergy.

The management of river basins in the Water Resources sector starts with river normalization, tunnel construction, floodways, check dams, wastewater treatment facility development, and surface waste management. It must be carried out in an integrated manner with other Citarum Harum programs, such as handling critical land, waste and sanitation management, industrial, domestic, and livestock waste management, and spatial planning upstream of the river basin and river banks.

“The achievements of the Citarum Harum Program are shown by the increase in the Water Quality Index (WQI), reduction of critical land areas and inundation areas in the Bandung Basin, enforcement of illegal constructions along riverbanks, and increased public awareness of the importance of preserving the Citarum River,
 Basuki said.

He also said that all stakeholders and the community are expected to maintain a shared commitment to the sustainability of the Citarum Harum program, which aims to make the Citarum River Basin clean, healthy, beautiful, and sustainable. (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.