The Citarum River is the largest river in West Java, with a length of 350 km and a catchment area of 6,600 km2. The Citarum River Basin supplies 80% of the domestic water of Jakarta, and in recent decades serious pollution such as sediment accumulation and eutrophication in downstream reservoirs has become a problem due to domestic and industrial wastewater inflows from urban areas and agricultural wastewater from rice paddies and fields upstream (Yoshida et al. 2017). The government of Indonesia prioritised addressing this challenge and issued Presidential Regulation No.15 of 2018 on Acceleration of Pollution and Damage Control in the Citarum River Basin to clean it up by 2025 (Government of Indonesia, 2018). Taking action towards this target, it introduced the concept of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) in its new regulation on water pollution control and the new effluent standard, which is applied to textile industries. As an example, Figure 1 shows the estimated BOD pollution loads from industries in the Citarum River Basin. Although the TMDLs regulation was initially formulated in 2001, it was determined necessary to improve its implementation through capacity building activities. The WEPA Action Program in Indonesia started in 2018 with the aim of providing capacity building and promoting a better understanding among relevant central and local government officials in Indonesia on both TMDL and concentration-based regulations for improving the water quality of the Citarum River.

Figure 1. Citarum River Basin and annual BOD pollution loads from industries (Source: Government of Indonesia)

As the WEPA Action Program in Indonesia mainly focuses on developing capacity of central and local government officials on the new regulation and standards, several learning opportunities were provided as the first step. The following activities have been conducted to strengthen the knowledge and understanding of Indonesian officials on water quality management, especially on TMDL systems.

i )
Jakarta Workshop (19 January 2018, Jakarta, Indonesia)
Prof. Mitsumasa Okada, Chairman of WEPA Advisory Board gave a lecture about the Japanese experience of TMDL application and implementation to invited Indonesian officials.

ii)
Follow-up research
The WEPA Secretariat visited the Citarum Basin in February 2018 and conducted a field survey in the area. Results of survey were discussed between Indonesia and the WEPA Secretariat to develop the Action Program proposal.

iii)
Bilateral meeting
The WEPA Secretariat and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Indonesia (MOEF) held a bilateral meeting in November 2018 and agreed to hold a workshop in Bandung under the Action Program to strengthen capacity of central and local government officials.

iv)
Bandung Workshop (23 and 24 January 2019, Bandung, Indonesia)
The Ministry of the Environment, Japan (MOEJ) and MOEF co-hosted a workshop on the WEPA Action Program in Indonesia. This two-day workshop targeted Indonesian central and local government officials selected by MOEF and consisted of a Learning day and Training day. Participating officials were provided with opportunities to develop their capacity on water quality management, especially to deepen their understanding for TMDL application.

v)
Preparation of the TMDL guideline document
The preparation of the TMDL guideline document has been completed from September 2020 to February 2021. The document was completed after receiving input from various parties including the ITB team, MOEF Team, local government, IGES, WEPA, and MOEJ through several meetings.

To achieve measurable progress in improving water quality of the Citarum River, which Indonesia strongly desires in the short/medium term, it is necessary for central and local government officials to have a common understanding on appropriate approaches and their respective roles in implementing the newly applied TMDL systems. Through the activities conducted under the WEPA Action Program in Indonesia, participating officials have obtained key knowledge to bolster their respective actions for improving the water quality of the Citarum River, such as determining the load or quality and quantity of pollutants to allocate in each sector or industry, Japan’s experience in appropriate systems operations and regulations, and details of Indonesia’s new regulation and standards.

Report of WEPA Action Program in 2019 (2.9 Mbite)