Water Accounting Roadmap (WARM) IV Workshop
To increase the country's capacity to take practical steps in addressing and managing water scarcity under the pressure of rapid population growth and in a changing climate, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas, and Ministry of Public Works and Housing held the Water Accounting Roadmap (WARM) fourth workshop.
This 4th workshop was held in a hybrid setting on 18 December at Bogor, led by the Alluvium team, an Australian partner of the Water Scarcity Program (WSP). Attended by 47 people from official staff from related ministries offline and online. This work aimed to obtain enough information from, and work with, workshop participants to develop a suitable roadmap for rollout across priority basins in Indonesia.
The event was officially opened by Mr. Ewin Sofian Winata, ST, MEM, from the Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas), who outlined the progress and future plans for Indonesia's Water Scarcity Program. He highlighted key challenges, such as rising water demand and rapid population growth, emphasizing the need for data sharing, transparency, and a centralized team to manage the program. He also stressed the importance of developing a comprehensive roadmap for water accounting to address stakeholder needs, institutionalize processes, and secure broader support and funding.
The first session, led by the Alluvium team, provided updates on progress from the WARM sessions (1 – 3) and the WSP Regional Technical Workshop in Bangkok. It also explored a roadmap for data collection and access. Then the discussion focused on water accounting in the Cimanuk-Cisanggarung basin, where the BBWS Cimanuk-Cisanggarung RBO employs WEAP and RIBASIM models. While evaluation and planning are well-established, further efforts are required to translate accounting into allocation and address challenges such as supply-demand operations, enhanced flow monitoring, and weekly scheduling adjustments.
Data management emerged as a critical topic, with various agencies (BMKG, BBWS, BIS, BPS, IGP, ESDM RI, etc.) holding key data for water accounting. The "One Data Platform" was identified as a potential solution for organizing and disseminating this information, though formal data-sharing agreements remain a challenge.
Further on the implementation plan and SMART next steps some approaches are needed, such as for:
- Technical Guidance: Workshops with technical experts to support RBOs with limited capacity.
- Data Requirements: Collaborative workshops to agree on basic water accounting data hosted on accessible platforms like the One Data Platform.
- Institutional Arrangements: Stakeholder mapping and risk analysis for successful implementation.
- Showcase Development: Updating water accounting analyses in the Cimanuk-Cisanggarung basin to serve as a communication tool for stakeholders and decision-makers.
These discussions and actionable steps aim to draft a water accounting roadmap. The Alluvium team together with Bappenas will update this draft to a finalized version of the roadmap by end of February 2025.
This 4th Water Accounting Roadmap (WARM) Workshop is supported by the Australian Government through the Australian Water Partnership and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
For more information, please contact (Mr) Fany Wedahuditama: fany@ws-indonesia.org and/or (Mr) Catur Adi Nugroho: catur@ws-indonesia.org
