Bali's 10th WWF Has River Handling Input In Kalimantan

River (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - In the 10th World Water Forum (WWF) in Bali, there are inputs and suggestions regarding the handling of rivers on the island of Kalimantan. Where the area has many river branches across provinces and districts/cities.

The Mayor of Banjarmasin, Ibnu Sina, said that the world water forum meeting which was attended with regional heads throughout Asia Pacific in Bali also discussed issues related to water and waste, especially river flows that cross between regions.

WWF ke-10 ini memberikan masukan, yang utama agar seluruh kabupaten/kota maupun provinsi yang dilandai satu sungai panjang agar berkolaborasi. Misalnya Kalimantan Selatan, ada Sungai Martapura yang melintas berbagai kabupaten/kota, ada juga Sungai Mahakam di Kalimantan Timur, kemudian Sungai Barito di Kalimantan Tengah, lalu Sungai Kapuas di Kalimantan Barat, ujarnya mengutip Antara.

He said the four long and wide rivers on the island of Kalimantan were one of the concerns, therefore he, who was present as one of the representatives of the island of Kalimantan, also discussed exchanging opinions with regional heads throughout Asia Pacific.

"Since the first day the activity was opened by Mr. President Joko Widodo, there have been many series of activities. After that, we regional heads throughout Asia Pacific exchanged information related to water," he said.

Ibnu Sina explained that at the 10th WWF moment, the meeting of organizations between regional heads or United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), which are international organizations to protect the city governments, both local and regional, has the aim of representing and defending the interests of local governments around the world.

He also said, including suggestions and input for Banjarmasin City, which has been working with Indah Water Consortium (IWK) Malaysia since 2022 regarding the management of higher quality wastewater.

He assessed that the 10th Bali WWF activity provided a lot of input on water management in Kalimantan, especially in South Kalimantan, which has the Martapura River or better known as the One Thousand Rivers' so that many techniques can be learned to apply in the area.

"Mr. Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of ATR/BPN, Minister of PUPR, asked us in areas that have wide and long river potential, to establish cross-regional cooperation. All regions must unite, especially areas that are crossed by large rivers," said Ibnu Sina.

Therefore, he hopes that the 10th WWF Bali meeting will be a momentum for establishing cooperation networks between local governments related to water, including waste and sanitation water because water management is a shared responsibility for producing commitments to improve community welfare.