Speaking at the 4th High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action "Water for Sustainable Development", held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on May 25-28, he warned of a new and underestimated threat to water sustainability.
He said critical mineral mining, AI infrastructure, data centers, and digital industries now consume billions of liters of water daily, with demand doubling every few years.
"Water is the invisible resource powering the digital economy. If managed poorly, it could become the world’s next major crisis," Arrmanatha said, according to a Foreign Ministry statement on Thursday.
He also warned that the multilateral system relied upon to address global water challenges is itself facing a crisis.
He therefore called for ongoing United Nations reforms to focus more strongly on addressing future water crises.
Arrmanatha said Indonesia remains committed to leading regional and global efforts to address water and climate resilience challenges.
Since hosting the 10th World Water Forum in Bali in 2024, Indonesia has established a Center of Excellence for Water and Climate Resilience.
Over the past two years, Indonesia has provided water and climate resilience training to more than 2,000 participants from over 40 Asia-Pacific countries.
Indonesia also championed a UN General Assembly resolution on World Lake Day to support global lake ecosystem protection.
Arrmanatha added that Indonesia is placing water infrastructure at the center of strategic national financing, including through its sovereign wealth fund, Danantara.
At the conference, he outlined four priorities to advance Indonesia’s water commitments: strengthening regional cooperation, increasing strategic investment in the water sector, preparing future water governance in the AI and digital economy era, and accelerating UN reform on global water governance.
"The world has knowledge, capital, and technology. What it lacks is collective political will and an effective multilateral system bold enough to turbocharge action on water," he said.
Related news: BRIN develops technology to clean water with heavy metal contamination
Related news: Ministry warns regions of looming water crisis
Translator: Katriana
Editor: Anton Santoso
Copyright © ANTARA 2026
