Through international and local collaborations, APP is helping Indonesia advance towards a cleaner and more sustainable water future.
Water is an essential resource for life. Despite this, access to clean drinking water and proper sanitation remains a challenge in many communities around the globe. Even the islands of Indonesia, surrounded by water on all sides, face looming water security challenges. It is estimated that 30 million Indonesians have no access to clean water, while another 51 million lack adequate sanitation facilities. Both rural and urban communities also face further water-related complications, including floods and droughts that are worsened by climate change.
As chair of the Indonesia Water Mandate Working Group (IWMWG), a special organization under the United Nations Indonesia Global Compact Network, Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) Sinar Mas has been working to address these water challenges.
Following the success of a pilot project to improve water access and quality in Pari Island, the IWMWG is looking to initiate new water projects in UNESCO Biosphere Reserves at Berbak Sembilang, Komodo and Wakatobi. The IWMWG introduced better water storage and sanitation infrastructure, and also provided training to the people of Pari Island to help them better understand the importance of water and waste management.
In Sungsang village in Berbak Sembilang, Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) Sinar Mas and the Belantara Foundation have already begun work, delivering two water treatment machines to produce clean drinking water, and setting up a waste collection center with special chopping machines to cut up plastic waste to be sold for recycling.
APP and the IWMWG are also exploring new innovative technologies, such as biopores, to help mitigate climate-related water issues. Biopores help alleviate floodwater damage by helping funnel excess surface water back into the ground through deep holes drilled into the earth. As a result, biopores both help enhance natural water cycle processes and preserve needed water and land resources for future use.
Through these international and local collaborations, Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) Sinar Mas is helping Indonesia press on toward a clean and sustainable water future, one project at a time.
