Saving Citarum: Indonesia's Fight To Clean 'Dirtiest River In The World' | Once Upon A River

indonesia's most strategic river basin is dying from pollution international it threatens millions of farmers depending on it for survival a military operation aims to restore the river back to its former glory [Music] low impact when the water is dirty the quality of life would be bad as well [Music] [Music] indonesia is home to 131 river basins surviving on waters supplied by 5 000 rivers dotting the country's landscape [Music] its most strategic river is the cheater in west java [Music] the sasanti lake is its headwater where the cheetaram the third longest river in the country begins its journey [Music] cascading through the agricultural heartlands of indonesia and finally draining into the java sea [Music] the chittoram river is 279 kilometers long and is a source of life for more than 25 million people in the country [Music] man's dependence on water here dates back thousands of years the naga tribe is witness to this ancient connection they've survived here for generations on subsistence agriculture this traditional sundanese hamlet is notable for their traditional houses characterized by functionality simplicity and modesty rice farmers like fatima rely on traditional wisdom for irrigating their crops it's a guiding principle for everyone here hello that is the nagas consider themselves as the guardians of this culture that's why chemical pesticides are unwelcomed by farmers here instead ancient sundanese rituals are considered essential for food growth kang ramat is a cultural practitioner who specializes in patanjala an old practice where music is used to serenade plants [Applause] all their waste is repurposed without being disposed into streams that flow into the cheetaram river it's the naga's way to ensure that downstream communities get clean drinking water as indonesia's population grew practices like patanjala became obsolete today the country has to feed 260 million people organic farming practices were quickly replaced by modern conventionally grown commercial rice farms in bandung today west java alone produces 480 million metric tons of rice per year it's produced by two million farmers who depend on the chitter chittaroom's water to grow their crops has had a bumper crop this season he knows well the importance of the chitrom river foreign but farmers like him are struggling to meet the rising demand for food during dry seasons many are forced to use strong chemical fertilizers to match demand studies suggest that pesticide overflow has caused a thirty percent rise in the chitterrum's pollution [Music] [Music] iran as new industries arrived the environment has deteriorated further the industrial city of majolia emerged 30 kilometers from the rice plantations of west java it is nicknamed dollar city for the profits it makes over the years nearly 3 000 factories have been established each chasing ever-increasing profits in a tight price war some factory owners are cutting corners chemical waste treatment was deemed costly in the absence of strict environmental laws a new wave of water pollution began moon such violations have transformed the chittoram river into one of the dirtiest rivers in the world tons of toxic waste gets dumped into the river every day millions survive on the chitrom's waters despite its current state that's why activists are battling to save the river basin foreign foreign the chittaroom helps millions of farmers grow crops across its river basin it also provides drinking water to cities like jakarta but it's one of the worst hit victims of indonesia's urbanization and industrialization its waterways have been choked with garbage and industrial waste for years making it one of the world's most polluted rivers the riverside town of magella is less than 50 kilometers away from the source of the chittoram in its heyday magellan was the center of indonesia's textile industry the same factories became the chittoram's worst enemy farmers living near magilaya were now forced to use toxic water to plant their rice factory owners remain inconsistent in following environmental regulations that's the claim of elements of the environment or ellengan a local ngo that is battling to save the chittorom nearly 280 tons of toxic waste is dumped into the chituram river every day activist denis wandy is leading this ngo and their fight back he's taking us to the industrial heartlands of majolia where indonesia's battle with water pollution is being fought international denny and his colleagues routinely test the water and share their findings with the government and local communities their aim is to keep a constant check on water ph levels which measure the activity of hydrogen ion in the chituram's water but denny has recorded ph levels on the other end of the scale on previous visits along the way many illegal waste pipes are spotted such violations by industries here increase the ph level of water a reading of ph 14 is the highest possible level of alkalinity capable of burning human flesh but it's during the night when factories unleash their chemical waste that's when the ellington team risk life and limb to conduct surveys like these foreign denny believes nearly 60 percent of the chituram's fish species appear to have died out he's recorded lead levels 1 000 times above u.s safety standards routinely this water is now affecting food production in bandung around 42 000 hectares of farmland rely on its water maman is forced to grow rice using polluted water from the chittorum [Music] besides having to contend with the smell farmers like maman living next to the toxic water face skin ailments such as rashes and hair loss [Music] [Music] [Music] in 2011 greenpeace unfurled a banner sign to warn members of the public to beware of a toxic waste dumping hole but families here have no choice but to continue farming using this toxic water biologist sunadi sudianto works at the environmental studies at the university of panjadaran he critically examines the food grown around the cheetarum river but the chittaron's problems extend even further the new industries created jobs in majulaya farmers left the fields to pursue new careers magellan's population exploded but without any infrastructure development landfills in bandung today only have a capacity of 2 000 tons of household waste but the city and the regency now produce around 7 000 tons per day lots of waste ends up going straight into the chituram river household pollution is being fought back with increased awareness among locals activists like phi febre are changing behaviors starting with indonesia's youth she helped establish the park of joy at the bersonar waste bank good morning everybody everybody her program is called jagger kampung chagalembo which translates to protect the village protect the hometown nearly 70 percent of the waste found in the chittaroom comes from households that's why more than 300 such branches have been established across bandung regency then disposes the plastic collected by feeding it to wax worms who survive by eating polythene bags innovative initiatives like these are part of operation chittaroom haram a multi-million dollar cleanup operation launched in 2018 karnadulu [Music] hector it's a multi-pronged operation to clean the chitter room by 2025. the tituram basin operation has been divided into 22 sectors with military commanders leading the charge decisions taken by these commanders are backed by local government ministries community groups and the police bandung is a flood-prone region especially during the rainy season last year fifty thousand hectares of farmland were flooded for three weeks decimating rice production in this region second lieutenant dardan hadiya in sector 4 briefs frontline teams to raise awareness amongst bandung's residents teams are then dispatched across bandung to keep a check on household pollution meanwhile at the headquarters close coordination is in progress for such a massive operation to succeed commanders require pinpoint accuracy [Music] the team can't afford any delays because when floods occur polluted water can flow into agricultural lands causing large-scale economic destruction [Music] is on the front lines all year round ready to react to any eventuality every extra ounce of garbage that gets deposited into the river could raise the likelihood of floods at magella it's a race against time for the military as climate change increases the chances of irregular rainfalls the challenge is getting steep the chitterland haram operation is expected to run until 2025 but there are successes along the way [Music] the world is fast running out of fresh water resources [Music] only 2.5 of the world's water can be consumed only a fraction of this fresh water is easily accessible with much of it trapped in glaciers and snow fields that makes rivers like the chittorum all the more important to save it's an ambitious goal set by president joko widodo he wants waters from the chittoram to be safe for drinking by 2025 but rising industrial pollution isn't helping matters [Music] um wastewater treatment is expensive one waste management plant costs one hundred thousand dollars to 1.5 million dollars depending on the capacity for most textile mills struggling in a very competitive market that's just too steep a price to pay with little environmental surveillance chemical waste is discharged straight into the chitter room [Music] uh environmental laws are being strengthened as well commanders have now been given the power to collect evidence against such factories three facilities have had their wastewater management approval licences revoked companies polluting the chitterroom may now face out-of-court administrative penalties from the west java the west java administration now has a total of 468 companies on a watch list with necessary changes in legislation all waste disposal pipes in indonesia must be visible for inspection factories are also required to do self-monitoring and send lab sample results every six months these changes have brought about a change in attitudes the guna jaya factory has been producing textiles for the world since 1982 its ceo alex santosa is proud of his waste treatment plant alex invites us to the waste processing unit the cleaning process takes 24 hours to cleanse all visible pollutants another 2.5 days are required for the bacteria to be eliminated in 2018 violations from the industrial units are decreasing but ensuring waste treatment plants for every factory is a daunting challenge projects to rehabilitate the chitura river in west java continue despite challenges like kovid19 the chittoram river supplies water for three hydroelectric plants as well they generate 1400 megawatts of electricity powering local industries and the economy one such dam on the jitter room is the jatta lahore its primary purpose is to generate hydroelectric power polluted water can damage its turbines lowering electricity production [Music] didi owana sujana stands guard to ensure that only clean water enters the dam's reservoir he's on the lookout for pollutants reaching the chittorum as its waters converge with inflows from the siberian river that's known for fertilizer and household waste dd recovers two tons of plastic every month the recovered plastic is shredded into flakes and dispatched to string factories across west java regular desilting increases the life of this hydro power station and ensures constant supply of electricity to millions in west java the chittaram haram operation also aims to rehabilitate the environment surrounding the river [Music] a tree plantation drive has been launched to stop river erosion on its banks a natural solution which taps on technology as its prime enablers [Music] crisis [Music] [Music] indonesians once believed that magical beings kept the chittoram river clean safe and sustainable for the javanese people but man-made activities transformed it over the decades into one of the dirtiest rivers in the world as populations grew large swathes of lush jungle essential to the health of the river basin's tropical ecosystem were cut down they were replaced by poorly managed plantation farming the chittaram haram operation aims to fight man-made problems with solutions inspired by nature more trees are being planted to help filter carbon runoff which makes its way into the river trees also reduce carbon in the air this responsibility for planting them has been given to infantry lieutenant sugisuro 25 out of a planned 10 000 hectares have already been reforested this tree plantation drive aims to solidify the banks and stop the river erosion in its tracks the project is aided by technology digital methods are now being used to measure monitor and support the survival of these trees local startup jjac operates a tree management system that uses artificial intelligence to collect and analyze ecological data it's led by arfana lander [Music] [Music] [Music] app collects data to predict and calculate the impact the newly planted trees have in rehabilitating their environments the application which is undergoing development includes image mapping and identification programs to collect data it uses artificial intelligence to present real-time information and analysis of reforestation efforts information support the app also has a remote sensing feature which collects data using satellite imagery an aerial map also collects data from drones the solution supports and maintains a database consisting of thousands of tree species and their survival southerners [Music] um [Music] an estimated two-thirds of indonesia's 270 million citizens lack easy access to safe drinking water supporting the cleanup of the chittorum and the reforestation of its catchment has become a matter of national security and everyone is pitching in environmental activists like irma hatufarat are planting vetiver plants on the jitterings riverbanks vetiver is a grass plant with strong roots that strengthen embankments and prevent landslides water is the source of life water is life when the water is dirty the quality of life would be bad as well so with the vetiver they could have the clean water with the vetiver they could stop the flood with the fatigue they could prevent the erosion and sedimentation and improving not only the quality of the soil and the water but improving the quality of life of the people along the riverbank earmus plantations have spurred new ideas on chittoram's delta in the moira gambong eco-tourism area environmental groups have planted fifteen thousand mangrove trees at the confluence of the chittorum and the java sea darman manages this tourist destination mangroves here filter waste from the river preventing it from entering the sea [Music] may just be the way forward for rehabilitating environments under stress this mangrove forest at the mouth of the jitter room ensures the safety of sea life and the waters which sustain it well it is [Music] indonesia's efforts towards rehabilitating one long embattled river could reap lasting rewards it is estimated that a clean cheetah river will bring over 280 million us dollars in economic benefits per year as the world faces the rising threat of climate change and a reduction in fresh water supplies efforts to restore life-sustaining waters like these in indonesia prove that man-made changes to the environment are reversible and long-term sustainability might be an achievable reality [Music] [Music] you

Channel: CNA Insider

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Keywords: CNA, CNA Insider, Channel NewsAsia, People stories, Asian perspective, Asian news, Asian stories, Once Upon A River, Asia, Southeast Asia, river, Indonesia, Java, Citarum, climate change, environment, sustainability, water, pollution, chemical waste, Cikijin, pesticide, toxic waste, industrialisation, freshwater, Citarum Harum, Joko Widodo, wastewater treatment, mangrove, documentary

Id: WqOyR603WPE

Length: 48min 29sec (2909 seconds)

Published: Sat Feb 20 2021