Public Advocacy on the Planning of Integrated Citarum Water Resources Management Investment Program (ICWRMIP) Project

Bandung location –on the upper stream of Citarum River- should be important in management of revitalization project of Citarum River stream. However, national government delegates budget management of Integrated Citarum Water Resources Management Investment Program (ICWRMIP) under Department of Infrastructure, instead of involving relevant and strategic stakeholders of Citarum riverbanks. Citizens who live near the riverbanks are not sufficiently involved and informed of the project planning and implementation.

ICWRMIP is a water resource management project on Citarum River. One of its purposes is providing water supply for Jakarta areas. BIGS observes that this project does not yet empower societies who live on the riverbanks of Citarum. Instead, it only emphasizes on building infrastructures on the regions along the river flow. Iromicaly, the project was started in the downstream frame –that is, for Jakarta interests- instead of taking the upstream perspective that experiences more problems (such as annual flood).

Concern about empowerment of citizens along Citarum riverbanks leads BIGS to generate an activity that may encourage project planning transparency in Citarum Riverbanks, in order to maximize the positive impacts for the surrounding population. Cooperating with Global Greengrant Fund (GGF), BIGS conducts field monitoring and project study. The collected data is then discussed in focused group discussions attended by strategic stakeholders, environmental experts, and social and cultural observers.

The whole process produces a conclusion that ICWRMIP Project fails to involve strategic stakeholders and citizen participation.

BIGS activity gives birth to social network that seeks to observe development and management of Citarum River. This network consists of people who concern Citarum River, such as environmentalists, environmental experts, public policy makers of relevant agencies and citizens who live along the river. This network is named ARUM, short for people alliance for Citarum. It expects to be a social agent that encourages active participation from society, particularly those who live along the riverbanks.