Geothermal operational waste flow of Kamojang PLTP
Alienation From Water Sources
Almost in many government and private projects eventually alienate the community from the natural resources and the project area. For security reasons of the project area, the community will be driven away by the manager not to enter the area, unless they pay or become workers there.
Likewise, the Mulyatani I Social Forestry Group (KPS) of Ibun Village, West Java, must ask permission from the Kamojang Geothermal Power Plant (PLTP) guard every time they go to their garden. The distance from the Kamojang geothermal project entrance to their garden is approximately 2-3 km. Their coffee plantation is indeed located within the Kamojang PLTP area. The plantation land is Perum Perhutani land that they have managed since the 2000s even without Perhutani's permission. Even in 2005, Perhutani closed access and prohibited people from planting in the area. It was only in 2017, after KPS Mulyatani I of Ibun Village was officially formed and had obtained a decree (SK), that farmers were able to access it again.
In fact, before being managed by the community, the land was left abandoned by Perhutani. There were only weeds and pine trees in the area. The land in the area was arid and often burned. The coffee trees planted by the members of KPS Mulyatani I Desa Ibun are what made the land there beautiful again.
Meanwhile, the existence of the Kamojang Geothermal Power Plant is not without problems. When interviewed by Nusantara Fund Staff, none of the members of the Mulyatani I KPS in Ibun Village had any problems or felt disturbed by the operation of the geothermal project. However, they said that the area experienced drought during the dry season. Farmers' gardens, both coffee and vegetables, did not receive sufficient irrigation. This means that water sources are still available for geothermal operations, such as the geothermal mining process or for cooling machines, but not for the needs of the community. There was also a case of poisoning when a geothermal gas pipe leaked. Unfortunately, we did not find any news publications related to the case, either in local or national media. In addition, none of the members of the Mulyatani I KPS in Ibun Village received free electricity access from the Kamojang Geothermal Power Plant. They still have to pay PLN to be able to feel the benefits of electricity taken from natural resources in their area.
In collaborative research Celios and WALHI (2024) mentioned several ecological impacts of geothermal power plant operations. First, the geothermal mining process triggers minor earthquakes. The second impact is land subsidence and changes in the earth's relief. That's what happened in Dieng (Central Java) and Mataloko (East Nusa Tenggara) after seismic activity from PLTP operations. Damage to aquatic systems including water pollution, soil damage, and decreased productivity of agricultural crops are other impacts.
Nusantara Fund provides funding to KPS Mulyatani I Desa Ibun to overcome the problem of irrigation to the garden land. Their efforts are by utilizing used water from the geothermal processing of the Kamojang PLTP. The hydram pump machine sucks up used water from the geothermal process, then flows it through a 2,5 km long pipe to irrigate the community's 35 hectares of gardens.
The problem of alienation from water sources is also experienced by Nusantara Fund partners in the Pedawa Traditional Village, Bali. The success of the tourism industry on the Island of the Gods has clearly created socio-ecological impacts, such as the conversion of forest and agricultural land for the development of tourism infrastructure, population density, transportation congestion, environmental pollution, and most importantly the clean water crisis. The phenomenon of water scarcity which has become a chronic problem on the island is caused by the excessive use of water resources. Many hotels and villas and other entertainment venues access groundwater by drilling wells because it is cheaper than buying water from the Regional Drinking Water Company (PDAM). In many news reports, the impact of the clean water crisis has been felt by the people of Bali. PDAM water is not even able to be a solution, sometimes it is turned off and the water is cloudy. The typical Balinese irrigation system, subak, which UNESCO has recognized as a world cultural heritage (WBD) is also threatened with shrinking. Truly, a tragic condition in the midst of a community that believes water is something sacred.
That is what drives the Pedawa Indigenous Community to overcome these problems. In addition to building a traditional education system (pasraman) to maintain ancestral traditions, the Pedawa Indigenous Community also took the initiative to plant sugar palm trees and water source guardian plants. A total of 100 sugar palm tree seedlings and 50 water and critical land guardian plants were planted at several water source points. They involved the entire community because the land where the water sources are located is mostly private land.
The turbine house of the Kali Maron Micro Hydro Power Plant, Seloliman
Sustainable Distribution
The natural beauty of the Kalimantan forest wilderness has long been threatened by development, mining, food estate, and monoculture plantations. The disasters that began to emerge in the region were the accumulation of deforestation that had been carried out for decades. Imagine, the forests of Kalimantan in 1950 has an area of 51,4 million hectares to in 2022 there will be 31,1 million hectares left. In the Auriga Nusantara report, Indonesia Deforestation Status 2024, reported that Kalimantan Island was the top island that was a victim of deforestation with the area of forest land lost reaching 129.896 hectares and East Kalimantan as the top province with a deforestation area of 44.483 hectares.
While the majority of narratives in Kalimantan are dominated by projects that lead to the exploitation of nature, the Dayak Kalis Nanga Danau Ketemenggungan Indigenous Community chooses the path of nature conservation. They re-establish customary rules about Taboos or Lubuk Larangan which protects the forest, land, and river ecosystem covering an area of 3,68 hectares. The Program Manager, Teddy Winardi, explained that the Kalis Nanga Danau Indigenous Community believes that the river is the residence of a spiritual being called Gana and should not be disturbed by activities that damage the river, such as mining, excessive extraction of rocks and sand, and so on. In Lubuk Larangan, the surrounding community is prohibited from taking fish and other resources there for a period of 3 years. With the determination of the area as Lubuk Larangan, rare fish species such as PASSED (gurami), stonefish (patin), tengadak, palau, kebali, tebelian (belida), dekat (dalum), kenjuar, semah, paset, kamunsi, talintingan, and tamujuk which are almost extinct will have enough time to breed. The Kalis Nanga Danau Indigenous Community is fully aware that excessive consumption without being accompanied by the intention of caring for nature will actually eliminate the natural resources they need.
With the presence of Lubuk Larangan, the people around the area are now much more aware of the importance of protecting nature. Several Indigenous Communities around are reportedly also interested in following this method by re-enforcing the Lubuk Larangan rules in their respective customary areas.
Sustainable utilization and distribution also occurred in Kampung Janjing, Seloliman Village, Mojokerto, East Java. The story began when Kampung Janjing became the only hamlet in Seloliman Village that did not have access to PLN electricity in 1992. The reason was because the population of Kampung Janjing was too small and the distance was too far. Automatically, every night the village was pitch black, with only oil lamps for lighting. Conditions changed in 1993, when the Seloliman Environmental Education Center (PPLH) with funding assistance from the German Embassy built a micro hydro power plant (PLTMH) to meet the electricity needs of the Kampung Janjing community. However, the involvement of the Kampung Janjing community at that time was still passive, only as electricity users who contributed Rp1.000-Rp2.000 per month. Until finally in 2000, PPLH invited the Kampung Janjing community to jointly manage the PLTMH and that was also the basis for the formation of the Kali Maron PLTMH Association. The change in management was also followed by a decision to increase the capacity of electricity that could be generated, from 12 kWh to 25 kWh.
To ensure that electricity continues to flow in the houses of Dusun Janjing, the community routinely plants rain trees. The rain tree seedlings are planted in the forest near their village. The tree planting activity is carried out to secure the water source that is needed to drive the turbine and produce electricity.
“In terms of micro hydro, it is no less important that the community always maintains the existence of its natural resources. Because circle-its are forest, water, and electricity. So the existence of this forest is very important. Therefore they routinely do planting," said Director of PPLH Seloliman, Suroso.
The Nusantara Fund funding assistance to the Kali Maron PLTMH is intended to rejuvenate the aging machine that has been operating for more than two decades. The Kalimaron Association also uses funding to improve institutions by involving water stakeholders to prevent threats and conflicts over water along the Maron River. Conflict prevention through negotiation is carried out because farmers downstream suspect that the Kali Maron Association is taking river water for the PLTMH during the dry season which causes the river discharge to decrease. In fact, the operation of the PLTMH only utilizes the flow of river water without the need to dam it like in a hydroelectric power plant (PLTA). In addition, funds are also used to renovate the turbine house. That way, the PLTMH can continue to operate to meet the electricity needs of the Kampung Janjing community.
The third community that demonstrates sustainable water distribution at the grassroots level is the Merangkul Bumi Community (Kombi). Located in Jepitu Village, Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta, Kombi has been working on water distribution for community agriculture since it was founded in 2007. The geological conditions in Gunung Kidul are dominated by karst landscapes and the majority of the area consists of limestone. Rainwater is lost more quickly into underground rivers, making it difficult to find surface water sources. This condition also affects land fertility; the soil tends to be less fertile and dry. Community agriculture is more in the form of fields with cassava, corn, and woody plants such as teak.
Kombi explored Pulejajar Cave to meet the needs of the community's agricultural land for water. There were two events that were most touching and drastically changed the lives of the people of Jepitu Village, namely the 2015 and 2019 Gugur Gunung. After years of exploring caves in the area, Kombi finally found a source of abundant water in Pulejajar Cave.
"Why Kombi is active in Pulejajar [Cave], because the community needs water." Explained Kombi Coordinator, Rubiyanto. "The water source that can be utilized and has quite large potential, is only in Pulejajar Cave. In other caves around here gak There is."
Kombi's struggle for self-management of water sources for the community was not without challenges. They were once labeled as "crazy" by the local community because they had been adventuring to find water for years. However, they managed to reverse that response by finding a water source in Pulejajar Cave. They even decided to buy land at the mouth and around the cave for hundreds of millions of rupiah in order to secure the land status of the pump and water tank location. The typical political phenomenon in Yogyakarta related to land dispute cases encouraged them to choose this step. Kombi was also visited by the local PDAM and the nearest resort who asked for the management of the water source to be transferred or simply asked for the location of the water point. However, they realized that if the management or information on the water source was handed over to another party, the results might not be in accordance with the wishes and needs of the community.
Regarding funding, Kombi received it from various sources, including contributions between members, individual funding donations, private groups such as NGOs, and government institutions. From this funding, Kombi was able to work on installing pipes for water distribution to 200 hectares of community farms. Nusantara Fund funding assistance to Kombi was more aimed at participatory mapping training and the creation of pipeline maps. With this map, Kombi could see whose rice fields or areas had not yet received access to water. Kombi worked on the allocation of water to community fields fairly and evenly.
On Nusantara Fund's last visit to Jepitu Village, there were still several challenges that they had to overcome. As is common in rural communities, Kombi is also experiencing a regeneration crisis. From the original 20 members, now only 7 people are still active in Kombi's collective work. The younger generation in the village has not yet appeared willing to join the mutual cooperation. The age of the members who are no longer young and the fate of the community in the future, encourage them to make future plans that ensure the sustainability of this good initiative.
"Water management in Pulejajar has never discussed money. However, when the distribution process uses electricity to drive the pump, there must automatically be a financial transaction. This is what prompted Kombi to form its own organization for management. The point is as a legal umbrella for distribution in Pulejajar," explained Rubiyanto.
"The fear is that if there is no legal umbrella, the government will blame us and so on. Moreover, we are old and the young ones will continue, then there will be problems. Whether it is made into a cooperative or what. Later, all farmers who use Pulejajar water will be bound. So it's not just Kombi friends. Finally, everyone can be together. When there is a problem, think about it together. When there is something good, it means the water can continue to flow, yes, it is enjoyed together." He added.
The Road Called Solidarity
If we observe the stories of community self-management of water sources in the regions, there is one thing that can be answered with certainty. That the problem of water scarcity does not arise as a natural problem. The problem of water crisis is more caused by indifference, greed driven by the desire to collect personal profit, and neglect. Also, with the destruction of nature in the archipelago.
The same thing was also expressed by the Kombi assistant from WALHI Yogyakarta when explaining the roles of organizations to advocate for community needs. "The water crisis is a crucial issue in the karst area. Because water is actually abundant in the karst area, if we talk about the existence of water. But talking about access, that is the issue in the karst area." Explained the Deputy Director WALHI Yogyakarta, Dimas Perdana.
"We see that the potential for drought there is due to extraction activities. Then, tourism activities that do not have an approach to environmental ethics threaten water resources there. When water resources are affected by extractive activities, it will threaten the sustainability of agricultural management in the karst area. Today, the issue of water access is a crucial issue there," said Dimas.
Perhaps the stories of community self-management of water resources are just simple stories from remote parts of the country. There is absolutely no plot or intensity of conflict that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand on end like stories of heroism in war. However, from them we learn about sincerity, prioritizing collective needs over personal interests. They overcome the water crisis, and other ecological crises, with what we know as solidarity. That solidarity with others is able to lift grassroots groups out of problems. That solidarity also awakens human concern for caring for nature, as an effort to repay the provision of natural resources for the human species.