Indonesia, as the host of the 10th World Water Forum, is carrying out various preparations in order to make the world’s largest water event a success, one of which is by preparing a draft decision or ministerial level declaration.
Indonesia was appointed as the organizer of the 10th World Water Forum (WWF) in 2024, namely when the 9th WWF was held in Dakar in Senegal, in March 2022. At that time, Indonesia received 30 votes out of a total of 36 votes from the World Water Council (WWC) Board of Governors. On the official website of the Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas, pengairan.bappenas.com, at the 9th WWF meeting, 5 main action plans were produced which were approved by ministers from 60 participating countries, namely guaranteeing the right to water and sanitation for all, ensuring security and water resource resilience, strengthening cooperation between all parties, ensuring funding commensurate with challenges and ensuring inclusive water governance.
In terms of leadership, Indonesia is beyond doubt. The country’s capabilities and strengths are clearly visible when leading various international events, such as the G20 Summit, IPU, ASEAN, and AIS Summit, all of which resulted in concrete agreements and solutions, for the sake of world order and the sustainability of the lives of its people.
The 10th WWF, with the theme “Water for Shared Prosperity”, is believed to repeat Indonesia’s success. For this reason, Indonesia is not half-hearted in making various preparations. The Indonesian government, before the WWF series of events from 18-25 May, has submitted a draft containing a number of important points contained in a ministerial level declaration at the 10th World Water Forum/WWF in Nusa Dua, Bali, 18-25 May 2024. This shows how high the government’s commitment is, especially with regard to management issues and water limitations in the world.
On one occasion, the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Menko Maves) Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, as Chair of the 10th WWF Organizer, stated that the Ministerial level declaration also contained Indonesia’s national interests, especially regarding water, which is one of the world’s crucial issues. According to Luhut, in the future water will become a serious world problem.
The points contained in the declaration include integrated water resources management in small island countries. Of course, this is a very important point considering that Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelagic country. This also shows Indonesia’s commitment to helping island countries in the Pacific through AIS (Archipelagos and Island States).
Furthermore, there is a center of excellence or best practice ( center of excellence ) related to water management and climate resilience as well as the declaration of World Lakes Day which is planned for every 27 August. Lakes are one of the water sources that need attention from both the national government and globally. Coordinating Minister Luhut revealed that the results of the 10th WWF would be forwarded to the United Nations (UN) for further discussion on the water sector agenda.
Secretary General of the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR), Mohammad Zainal Fatah also revealed that the ministerial level declaration was made through consultation with related parties, including WWC facilitated by the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). This declaration is evidence of the first joint commitment at ministerial level which did not exist in the previous WWF implementation which was first held in 1997.
Indonesia is believed to have a big influence on decision making and water management policies for the global interest. The 10th WWF event in Bali also became a momentum to ensure that the whole world moves together to maintain the sustainability of water resources for human life. This was said by the Deputy Chair of the 10th WWF National Committee Secretariat and Expert Staff to the Minister of PUPR for Technology, Industry and the Environment, Endra S. Atmawidjaja.
In an interview with the media, Endra said that since the beginning, through various forums, Indonesia has been very consistent in encouraging water issues to be discussed at the highest level. Indonesia believes that there must be strong encouragement from policy makers.
Indonesia brought three special missions to be agreed upon at the meeting in Bali, namely the Center of Excellence on Water and Climate Resilience, Mainstream Integrated Water Management in Small Islands, and the routine activities of World Lake Days or World Lake Day. Meanwhile, the implementation of the 10th WWF is known to have three main processes, namely political, regional and thematic processes, all three of which will involve various stakeholders, starting from state leaders, ministers, regional leaders, academics, researchers, to the younger generation.
WWF or World Water Forum is a multi-stakeholder event to present the mission, views and achievements of the water community. Indonesia is also collaborating with the World Water Council to ensure that the 10th WWF agenda can be implemented well.
Once again, Indonesia has proven its leadership qualities in the eyes of the international public by opening a moment to share experiences and innovation in facing various global challenges, including environmental issues and climate change such as water problems.
Indonesia is known worldwide for successfully holding various international standard activities. Please note that WWF’s mission is to provide a platform for all stakeholders in the water sector to discuss, share knowledge and experience, and create concrete ideas for better management and development of water resources.
The implementation of the 10th WWF in Bali is proof that the Indonesian government’s efforts to manage water resources are sustainable.
