“Indonesia’s water supply remains stable on average. However, if we look at it by island or region, many of those facing water shortages are on Java Island,” the ministry’s Director of Forestry and Water Resources Conservation, Dadang Jainal Mutaqin, said.
Speaking at the dissemination of the Indonesia Environmental Outlook (IEO) 2026 in Jakarta on Friday, he noted that the regions include Jakarta, East Java, and several areas in West Java.
Meanwhile, outside of Java Island, Medan and Makassar are among the at-risk regions.
According to 2021 World Bank data, Indonesia’s potential water availability reaches 3.9 billion cubic meters per year, with 80 percent of the national supply utilized for irrigation or the agricultural sector.
Beyond agriculture, he continued, water is also essential for renewable energy, as 7.5 percent of Indonesia’s electricity is generated by hydropower plants.
However, the country faces several challenges regarding its water resources. Water demand is projected to increase by 31 percent by 2045 compared to 2015 levels, driven by population growth and a fourfold increase in industrial demand.
At the same time, the country faces threats from land subsidence due to groundwater extraction, alongside the challenge of 12.7 million hectares of degraded land.
To this end, water resources conservation has become a primary government focus, prompting efforts from pollution control and water quality monitoring to the protection and preservation of water sources.
“For water self-sufficiency, we have initiated a watershed conservation program. This includes forest and land rehabilitation, irrigation system management, the construction of multi-purpose dams, and other initiatives,” Mutaqin expounded.
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Translator: Prisca Triferna, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
Copyright © ANTARA 2026
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