Nani Hendiarti, Deputy for Coordination of Environmental and Forestry Management at the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Coordinating Ministry of Maritime and Investment or Kemenko Marves), mentioned that the 10th World Water Forum (WWF) in May 2024 in Bali could generate investment opportunities for water infrastructure development.

"The 10th World Water Forum will open up investment opportunities for water issues in Indonesia. This is favorable not only in the context of infrastructure but also in its development," Nani Hendiarti said in a visual press conference on Tuesday, (9/1).

She further explained that to achieve the target of safe, fair, and affordable access to drinking water for all layers of society by 2030, an additional finding of approximately $1.7 trillion is still needed.

"At present, for the drinking water sector, the investment development specifically for piped water access is only20.6 percent. So, to increase it to 30 percent, the government requires a budget of around Rp 123 trillion," Nani Hemdiarti stated.

Meanwhile the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN), Nani revealed, can only accommodate about 30 percent to 37 percent of the finding needs for water infrastructure development. Therefore, a blended finance scheme is needed to cover this shortfall, including funds from investments.

Nani Hendiarti explained that during the upcoming 10th World Water Forum, a business meeting with strategic partners will be held to discuss the potential for cooperation and investment related to water infrastructure development.

"We will organize business meeting sessions, so that after the WWF is concluded, we can further strengthen and enhance Indonesia's cooperation with strategic partners in the context of accelerating this water infrastructure development," Nani Hendiarti said.  

Thematic, Political, and Regional Processes

The 10th World Water Forum will take place on May 18-24, 2024, in Bali, under the theme of "Water for Shared Prosperity." The event will feature three discussions covering thematic, political, and regional topics.

Six sub-themes have been defined under the thematic topic: Water Security and Prosperity; Water for Humans and Nature; Disaster Risk Reduction and Management; Governance, Cooperation, and Hydro-diplomacy; Sustainable Water Finance; and Knowledge and Innovation.

Under the regional topic, discussions will be divided into four regions: the Mediterranean, Asia Pacific, Africa, and the Americas. Regional-level discussions are needed because each region has unique challenges and characteristics regarding water.

The political topic will be divided into meetings at the head of state, ministerial, parliamentary, local government, and river basin authority levels.

The 10th World Water Forum aims to have 30,000 participants, including 33 heads of state, 190 ministers from 180 countries, and representatives from 250 organization attending 214 forum sessions.

Climate Change and Water Crisis

 In the same context, Nani Hendiarti also emphasized global issues related to climate change and its impact on water resources availability. This environmental issue has become a mandate from COP28 to be resolved promptly.

COP28 urges countries and stakeholders to accelerate actions at all levels, from local to global, to significantly reduce climate-related water scarcity and enhance resilience to water-related disasters.

The UN climate meeting also mandates each country to strive for climate-resilient water and sanitation supplies and to build access to safe and affordable drinking water for everyone.

Nani Hendiarti explained that since 2000, about-quarters of natural disasters on Earth have been water-related. The Intergovernmental panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that three billion people are at risk of water scarcity if global temperatures rise.

The water crisis due to climate change has been part of the agreements among heads of states since the COP27 meeting in Egypt, from November 6-20, 2022. Subsequently, in the upcoming 10th World Water Forum, stakeholders and the global community are expected to continue to collectively combat climate change and the water crisis.