A Megacity’s Hydrological Risk: An analysis of water security issues in Jakarta City, Indonesia Destinee Penney & Mandie Yantha
[email protected] (corresponding author) MDP Student, University of Waterloo Abstract Water is the most important and arguably the most crucial resource on the planet. As it is the necessity for life, the need to improve sustainability and reduce the scarcity of water around the globe, while ensuring equal access and quality is imperative for the survival of millions of individuals. Overpopulation, overconsumption, and globalization continues to increase the demand for the resource. Efforts to achieve global water sustainability and security will fail if appropriate sustainable management methods and practices are not addressed and implemented. This paper examines water security in the megacity of Jakarta, Indonesia. Research outcomes indicate that water security in Jakarta City is impacted by inadequate infrastructure, unequal use by a growing population, and inadequate governance structures. It is important to identify water security issues to achieve sustainable, safe, and affordable access for all current and future users. To address the water security issues in Jakarta, it is being recommended that effective and good governance strategies be implemented within Jakarta’s social, political, and economic structures with the investment of adequate infrastructure and management systems, the improvement of integrated water resource management (IWRM), the adoption, alignment and enactment of the New Agenda and National Action Plan principles, in addition to the improvement of education, public awareness, and collaboration of all stakeholders. These recommendations are both essential and vital if Jakarta wishes to meet growing water security demands. Key Words Water security, informal settlements, wastewater, Indonesia, Jakarta, climate change, inequality, adaptation, vulnerability, flooding, groundwater, precipitation, contamination.