$500million for Citarum
June 15, 2009Here’s a little documentary on Citarum:
Citarum has become so polluted that Indonesia needed to take a $500 million loan, from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to fund a clean-up program. Isn’t it great? The predicted outcomes include “provision of irrigation for 25,000 hectares of farmland and additional clean water supply for 200,000 households in Jakarta” (Jakarta Post, 2008). The loan will also be used to reforest some areas to prevent floods.
Although there are concerns on how well the fund is going to be allocated, but I’m positive that the clean-up project is going to work for Citarum. If we were able to get Citarum properly cleaned, it will not only improve the environment but also the quality of life of many poor Indonesians. I am also hoping that government will improve the regulations on water use and enforce them more strictly. More importantly, provide education, for everyone, on the importance of recycling and proper waste management. I mean, if we finally had clean rivers, but people still didn’t realize of how important they are, wouldn’t it be useless to clean them in the first place? People will still dump their waste in the rivers, as well as farmers, factories, and everyone else.
