JAKARTA – The world now has their eyes on Indonesia! And why is that?
Because Central Java, one of our country’s biggest provinces, is written as the province with the most water pollution in 2021 on the survey results of the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS).
This is certainly very concerning, because Indonesia is predicted to experience a water crisis in the upcoming year of 2040.
Accordingly, to answer all the global concerns, the World Water Forum (WWF) will come to Bali, Indonesia, next year.
What makes WWF 2024 so important for Indonesia?
At the OTDA (regional autonomy) event which was held at the end of April 2023 in Makassar, there was this one very important theme discussed, asked about how to tackle floods and how to get access to clean water.
In the discussion, each regional head wanted the government to immediately revise the 2014 Regional Autonomy Law. The aim is to control floods.
We don’t need to go all the way to Central Java, because the capital of Indonesia, Jakarta, which is the center of all activities in Indonesia, also suffers the same fate.
Dirty rivers filled with various kinds of garbage surround every corner of the big city.
Apart from that, just look at the Ciliwung River which flows from Bogor to Jakarta.
Passing Mount Gede, Mount Pangrango, and Cisarua with no clean water–it can be found only in the headwaters.
Only the foul smelling water will be with you all the way. What an irony.
So, what concrete steps can be taken from WWF 2024?
Started in 1997, this special event is hoped to become a meeting place for experts who will discuss solutions to various water-related problems in Indonesia.
This forum will bring together participants from all levels and fields, including ones from the political field, multilateral institutions, academia, civil society, and the private sector.
Over the years, the number of participants in this forum has steadily increased, from just a few hundred to tens of thousands, consisting of international community and host countries.
President of Indonesia Joko Widodo (Jokowi) will also present as a speaker in this event.
For your information, Jokowi himself comes from Solo City, Central Java–the area that is predicted to experience the lack of clean water.
On several occasions, he has emphasized several important matters to be discussed in this international event, they are water conservation efforts, availability of clean water, sanitation, food and energy resilience, as well as mitigation of natural disasters such as floods and drought.
Seeing such a big ambition for the need for clean water in this country, WWF 2024 will be here with a special theme, “Water for Shared Prosperity”.
This theme aims to provide a platform for stakeholders to exchange knowledge, generate political commitment, and provide solutions to global water challenges.
President Jokowi requested that these agendas be seriously responded to by involving office holders and traditional stakeholders.
According to the president, if WWF 2024 in Bali is successful, it will have a major impact on the well-being of the global community.
President Jokowi is also sure that WWF 2024 will be a place of innovative people from all fields, be it private and government.
So what are you waiting for? Let’s participate and be present in WWF 2024!
