"One of the efforts to realize food resilience is to ensure the availability of water," he stated here on Friday.
To this end, he stressed on the criticality of constructing infrastructure to collect and store rainwater, both on a small and large scale.
"The government has planned to build 65 reservoirs by 2030 that can boost the capacity of reservoirs to 19.1 billion cubic meters," he remarked.
However, the hydrologist also deems it necessary to be heedful to population growth rates in Indonesia in 2030.
"If Indonesia’s population significantly increases, the capacity of water reservoirs per population may not change much," he pointed out.
Hence, in future, more dams will be needed to maintain water availability.
Furthermore, he stressed on giving unwavering attention to the efficient management of water resources.
"What needs to be taken into account, for instance, is the damage to irrigation channels and incorrect data on irrigation water requirements that can impact the efficiency of management of water resources," he emphasized.
Hence, this necessitates improving coordination between government agencies, particularly those related to water resources.
"Hence, if an irrigation network has incurred damage, it could immediately be handled, and water requirements can more definitely be identified," he expounded.
This calls for utilizing information and computing technology to support the optimal management of data on water resources, he remarked.
Water availability for ensuring food security is especially deemed necessary in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"During a pandemic like now, it is necessary to prepare and undertake mitigation efforts as a precautionary measure against a food crisis," he stated.
The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has projected a prolonged drought during the dry season this year in Indonesia, with the peak most likely in September 2020. Related news: Govt to raise water storage infrastructure capacity against drought
Related news: Bintan island prone to water crisis annually: expert
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Translator: Wuryanti P, Fardah
Editor: Suharto
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