Private sector involvement is crucial for sustainable water management

Bali (ANTARA) – Special Staff of the Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) for Water Resources Management Firdaus Ali stressed the need to develop a water management strategy by engaging private entities to ensure sustainable water management.

Ali made this statement as a speaker during a panel discussion organized by Coca-Cola Indonesia at the 10th World Water Forum (WWF) on Thursday.

“There is little left for the water sector. I am not sure whether we will be able to solve this water problem without the support of private entities,” he said.

Discussions with representatives from industry, government and non-governmental organizations focused on partnerships to combat the effects of climate change, such as floods and droughts, to ensure sustainable water management.

Ali said that through this partnership, the Ministry of PUPR is working to combine resources and expertise to ensure a more optimistic future for Indonesia.

“By mobilizing collective expertise, we are poised to make significant progress in tackling water challenges,” he noted.

Such a program highlights the role of innovation in addressing water challenges in Indonesia by supporting private entities to implement innovative water projects to benefit local communities and ecosystems.

Coca-Cola’s director of water and climate for ASEAN and the South Pacific, Lynn Hong, said it supports water security through its presence in more than 200 countries and territories.

The company’s strategy to ensure water security by 2030 focuses on accelerating actions to improve water security.

Since 2015, The Coca-Cola Company has annually returned more than 100 percent of the water used to produce beverages to nature and communities around the world, Hong said.

They also provide financial support to vulnerable communities experiencing water shortages in Indonesia, including ensuring safe drinking water and access to water for agriculture and livelihoods.

Executive Director of the Obor Foundation, Tani Pratomo, noted that the partnership built with private entities was implemented with the lives of local farmers across Indonesia in mind by conserving water for agriculture through construction embankmentsor bodies of water, as storage areas in the Java and Sulawesi regions.

“We built six embankments and we used durable and flexible materials that act as waterproof barriers, effectively reducing water loss that often occurs as a result of seepage in water bodies,” he noted.

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