Climate Change Impacts on the management of Citarum Watershed

The Industrial Revolution that started in1840 began the use of fossil fuel, especially the consumption of coal; it is the major cause for the drastic increase of greenhouse effect gases volumes in the atmosphere. The main green-house gas produced by fossil fuel consumption is carbon dioxide (CO2). The greenhouse gas effect has significantly triggered the global temperature rise on earth year after year. This phenomenon is known as the global warming.

The global warming caused by the greenhouse gases has already and will always influence the world climate. Indonesian WWF and IPCC (1999) have reported that the yearly temperature in Indonesia has increased by 0.3 0C since 1990. A scenario of climate change (Indonesian WWF and IPCC, 1999) predicted that the temperature will increase between 1.3 0C to 4.6 0C in 2100 with the trend of 0.100C – 0.400C per year. Susandi (2006) projected that temperature rise in Indonesia will reach 3.5 0C in 2100, and earth’s temperature will reach the maximum of 6.2 0C that year. The implications of the temperature rise will raise 100 cm of ocean’s surface in 2100. The accumulation of these events will affect the infrastructures, buildings, and human activities in the present time and in the future.

One of the basic human needs affected by global warming is the water reserve. Water supply is an important issue related to the climate change. Vörösmarty et al. (2000) showed that the water supply became an issue as the result of earth’s population growth which also increases the need of water. The increase of this demand will put pressure on the global water system that is highly related to the global warming. The population growth and the economy are the main factors that lead to the increase of water demand, while the water supply is influenced by the increased evaporation which resulted from temperature rise of the earth surface. The increased water supply demand is correlated with the need of the integrated management of water resources, and failing to do so, will damage the water resources physically, institutionally, and the implication will be on the socioeconomy.

Currently, the water management in Indonesia is generally considered as inadequate in the sense that at this point not everyone has the access to a sufficient amount of water to get on with their day-to-day lives. If there is no intervention for the water management, it will cause a problem. Half hearted approach or attempt to manage the water supply issue will not lead us to a comprehensive and sustainable solution. The decision makers and the authorities need to have a study that will bridge their lack of related educational background to manage water, so they can formulate a balanced and harmonic decision between the social function, environment, and the water resource economy.

This study attempts to analyze the climate change and its effect on the water reserve in riverside areas. This research provides answers to the need of climate change analysis related to temperature and rainfall, which will influence some variables, related to the water balance system and integrated water management. The study area is Citarum riverside, West Java. The result will hopefully give a picture about water bodies’ management affected by the climate change and also as a recommendation for the ongoing development plan.
 

Pustaka ini tersedia di Perpustakaan WWF-Indonesia, Kantor Taman A9, Unit A-1, Jl. Mega Kuningan Lot 8-9/A9, Kawasan Mega Kuningan, Jakarta 12950. Telp.021-5761070 (Bp. Primayunta)

Post Date : 24 November 2008