The number of hotspots in Kalimantan since the beginning for the year until August 9 have reached 1,692. “616 hotspots or around 36 percent are in West Kalimantan,” said Artificial Rain Technical Unit head F. Heru Widodo on Tuesday.

Bentolo Reservoir in Tinapan Village, Tondanan District, Blora, Central Java, is contaminated and can not be used as raw water supply. The water has been contaminated repeatedly and difficult to control. Based on Tempo’s observation on location, the reservoir water color changed somewhat purple with a pungent odor.

The Ministry of Research and Higher Education Technology stating that making wells for ground water is the easiest method to overcome drought in a number of regions in Indonesia. Despite there is less and less ground water supply, the method is better than engineering weather to create artificial rain.

The Agriculture Ministry has opened up interagency integrated posts to tackle drought that is predicted to occur until the end of this year. According to him, crop failure threatens hundreds of thousands of hectares of rice fields. 

The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry (KKP) recorded up to 16.45 million hectares of sea conservation areas in Indonesia, around 53.06 percent from UN’s target which is 31 million hectares.

The dry season that starts more than a month ago, had caused five reservoirs in Central Java to dry said Central Java Head of Water Resources Management (PSDA) in, Prasetyo Budie Yuwono on Tuesday, August 4.

Why is it so difficult for the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector to adopt a more sustainable and cost-effective service delivery approach? What is stopping the scaling-up of promising approaches and good practices? Some experts believe the answer lies in a better understanding of the culture, attitudes and values of both communities and WASH sector staff.