The authority to decide on the idea of establishing a specialized agency for addressing water issues should remain the jurisdiction of the incoming administration of Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka, a senior official says.
“The formation of a water agency will be the responsibility of the next government. I believe all institutional formats are still being discussed,” Endra S. Atmawidjaja, Expert Staff to the Minister of Public Works and Housing (PUPR) for Technology, Industry and Environment, told a press conference at the 10th World Water Forum in Bali on Thursday, May 23, 2024.
He was responding to the proposal put forward by Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency (ATR/BPN) Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY) at the World Water Forum earlier on Wednesday.
Endra clarified that water management is a complex issue involving multiple disciplines and sectors. In Indonesia, this issue concerns several ministries besides PUPR, including the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), which handles groundwater.
He also mentioned that while creating a specialized body for water issues is feasible, it requires political commitment from the government.
“All ideas are possible, but it ultimately depends on how our new president views the water issue,” Endra said.
Earlier, AHY suggested that a national water agency could be crucial in integrating and synchronizing water management efforts. He proposed that such an agency could serve as a major platform for organizing water management to address the inevitable water crisis.
AHY noted that this proposal is still just a concept presented at an international academic forum for mutual learning among countries, and he does not have the authority to implement it.
