indonesia: people’s rights bottled and
sold
walhi/foe indonesia
Water Day protest in
front of West Java regional legislative
office against the privatization of water
management in the region.
Water is a critical resource in
Indonesia. The rainy season brings flooding
and the dry season drought, leading to
frequent water crises. Water quality also
influences the quality of human life: in
Indonesia, waterborne diseases have become
the major cause of death for children under
the age of five.
The major causes of water problems are
industrial pollution, overuse, and the
decrease of water catchment areas. Instead
of dealing with these problems through
regulation and enforcement, the government
is shirking its responsibilities by handing
the country’s water to the private
sector.
The government has given concessions to
several companies, including Danone and
Coca-Cola, to commodify what has always
been common property. Millions of liters of
Indonesian water are being pumped from the
ground to be sold in bottles. In Indonesia,
a liter of bottled water costs more than a
liter of gasoline.
Simultaneously, the government is trying
to hand over the management of river basins
to corporations. The World Bank has
sponsored a US$300 million Water Resources
Sector Adjustment Loan in return for the
privatization of the Indonesian water
sector. The millions of farmers that depend
upon these river basins to nourish their
crops will now be charged for water
use.
Water consumers in urban areas formerly
served by public water companies also face
increased water prices due to
privatization. No less than 20 foreign and
domestic investors have lined up to invest
in the water supply sector, including Suez
from France and Thames Water from the UK.
Despite the higher fees charged for this
privatized water, polls have found the
quality unsatisfactory in Jakarta.
The World Bank programme will promote a
“discharge fee”, to be collected by the
water corporations. While this may help to
reduce river pollution, it discriminates
against poor urban people who do not have
the resources to build their own septic
tanks. Rather than providing communities
with wastewater treatment facilities, the
government will instead provide incentives
for industries with the “goodwill” to
improve their wastewater treatment
plants.
WALHI/Friends of the Earth Indonesia has
been working with other NGOs to formulate
an alternative bill with sustainable and
equitable policies for natural resource
management. This bill is being developed
from the bottom up through discussions in
workshops, meetings and public
consultations involving communities, NGOs
and local governments. We are also
conveying the message through public
hearings and mass actions that we oppose
the privatization of our common
property.
