Accelerating Citarum river restoration by involving peculiar multi-stakeholders approach

Abstract

With degrading global environmental conditions and the increasing impact of climate change, the river environment’s role becomes increasingly important. Nevertheless, globally most watersheds are within a critical situation that requires immediate actions. Though uncommon, one possible approach to do river rehabilitation involves the military as an active actor in the rehabilitation effort. Linking the military with environmental policies is somewhat peculiar, but some studies show that this relation may positively impact the restoration process. We look at a similar issue within the Citarum river restoration program and elaborate on the outcome of this condition. We use secondary data, reports, and multiple previous literature pieces related to military involvement in restoration. We found a congruence from Citarum’s case with earlier cases from India, U.S., and Botswana; that the military can increase public participation; increase restoration effectivity, and accelerate the effort. We hope to further discuss river restoration approaches and military involvement in environmental restoration because of its peculiarity.

Location assessment for coral reef transplantation program in Karawang Waters, Indonesia

“…The existence of strict monitoring of the exploitation of coral reefs and overfishing has been carried out by the local government with the assistance of community organizations. In addition, since the Citarum Harum program implemented by the central government in 2018, the water quality of the Citarum River has begun to improve [26]. This can have a positive impact on ecosystem conditions in Karawang Waters which is the estuary of the Citarum River.…”

Pollution Load Capacity in the Downstream Citarum Watershed: 4 years after Citarum Harum Program

“…The contribution from various elements of the government and the government makes the Citarum Harum Program feel very special. The involvement of the military and police in supervising this program made the river revitalization process run effectively (Ayyasy et al 2021). The involvement of the military in this program has also made the community respect the program and reluctant to do environmental damage.…”

“…Under the command of the military command of Siliwangi III, West Java, this program became a breakthrough in Indonesia, where the TNI participated in carrying out environmental restoration programs. Several stakeholders claim that citarum harum has given tangible results in improving river water quality (Ayyasy et al 2021). This can be seen in the disappearance of piles of garbage at several points on the Citarum River that previously existed (Idris et al 2019).…”