Here’s a map of Indonesia: 
Looking at it always get me thinking.. We have thousands of islands, surrounded by 93,000 square km of water, then why is it so hard to get clean and safe water? According to UNICEF, only 53.4% Indonesians have access to safe water in 2004. And with rapid population growth, the number only decreases eversince. Especially in rural areas.What had happened to our waters that had caused so many deaths and diseases?
Major cause I can think about: waste. Be it domestic waste, industrial waste, agriculture waste, any kind of waste. I think domestic waste is the main culprit in this case. According to WEPA, about 56.15% households in Indonesia dispose their waste directly into the riverbody. Times that number with over 237 million Indonesians (July 2008 data). That means there are waste from more than 120 million people in our waters!
The next culprit: industrial waste, especially from small industries and mines. I remember driving by a river in Northern Jakarta that passes an ice cream factory. It smelled. The last time I went back home, I drove by the same river again. It still smells. And the smell was putrid. The water was black, the garbage mounted along the river. Just the same as it was years ago. Years ago I can only held my breath until the smell would go away. Now I think, what happened? Why dump all the waste in that river? Why not somewhere else? Isn’t there regulations? Are those factories not going to pay for what they did?
And upon researching for this blog, I found out that Indonesia has filed a lawsuit against Newmont mining company, for polluting its waters back in 2005. So somebody or some people actually care. Need I remind you that we have 93,000 square km of waters? Yes, they took care that one river, or that one bay, or that one canal. Who is taking care of the rest?
