Rapid Hydrological Appraisal (RHA) in Ciliwung Watershed, West Java, Indonesia

Author: Kaswanto, Department of Landscape Architecture, Bogor Agricultural University (IPB)

Background

Polemics caused by natural resources degradation in watershed area is still being a big concern recently. Therefore an urgent and huge step have to develop and overcome for the needs of stakeholders and public communites. One of the approach which has been done with quick problem solve related to hidrological condition in watershed area is Rapid Hydrological Appraisal (RHA). 

A ’rapid appraisal’ (the six-months period) in conducting this approach could help to improve the decision making process inside goverment structure to cooperate with short-periode of their policy (five years period). The RHA approach is very helpfull to construct early opinion about condition of water quality and quantity in watershed area. Degradation of water quality caused by pesticide over-utilization in upperstream, and also the increasing of water quantity caused by land use changing in watershed area were believed could to be approached by RHA analysis.

Basically, the RHA approach is tried to gather three types of knowledge function. In active discussion between upland (or upperstream) and lowland (or downstream) communities, public policy makers and scientists. Those three types knowledge were called as local ecological knowledge (LEK), policy ecological knowledge (PEK) and modellers ecological knowledge (MEK). The negotiation would be accomplished between those multiple stakeholders as part of ’Rewarding Upland Poor for the Environmental Services the provide’ (RUPES) mechanism, to find out how the rewards can be channelled effectively and to enhance or at least to maintain the function each natural resources sustainly. They could sit together to solve the problems with the best decision in the past, present, or in the near future. And then, let hopes that the four aspects of RUPES mechanism, i.e. value, threat, opportunity and trust could be enable to increasing an appraisal of opportunities in negotiating for sustainable watershed function in eco-centric aspect. Again, let believe that the rapid result from RHA could help goverment (PEK) as a decision maker to conduct any regulation and action needed over a period of five years of their reign.

The aims for conducting the RHA approach are:

1. To study the RHA approach as an alternative method for analysis the main factor causes degradation of hidrological condition in Upper-Middle Ciliwung Watershed area.
2. To help construct an early opinion in the watershed function in understanding for three types of knowledge, i.e. LEK, PEK and MEK.
3. To analyze quality and quantity of hydrological aspect as well that could be able to provide some instruments for downstream communities to appreciate upperstream communities.

Study Site

The research was conducted in Ciliwung Watershed that located in Bogor and Puncak Region and limited to upper and middle part which is covered by eleven sub-districts in upper stream and middle stream. There are six sub-districts were in Bogor District (Kabupaten Bogor), i.e. Cisarua, Megamendung, Ciawi, Sukaraja, Bojonggede and Cibinong. The rest of five sub-districts were in Bogor City (Kota Bogor), i.e. Bogor Selatan, Bogor Tengah, Bogor Timur, Bogor Utara and Tanah Sareal.

The Ciliwung Watershed delineation was based on contour level from digital elevation model (DEM) that was formed from topographical map of BAKOSURTANAL. This DEM have been used widely for many research activities in watershed scales. Location selection according to several considerations as follow:

1. Republic of Indonesia Presidential Decree Number 114 year 1999 about Spatial Region Planning for Bogor – Puncak - Cianjur Region.
2. Republic of Indonesia Government Regulation Number 47 Year 1997 about National Spatial Planning, Bogor – Puncak - Cianjur Region.
3. Research Cooperation between Directorate General of Higher Education (DGHE) and Department of Landscape Architecture IPB under the Project of Graduate School Grant phase IV in 2006-2008 periods.
4. Research cooperation between the University of Tokyo and IPB under the Research Unit for Biological Resources Development (RUBRD) in 1998 - 2007 periods.

Rapid Hydrological Appraisal (RHA)

The current RHA approach was conducted from a comprehensive ten main phases, framework analysis and watershed management developed by ICRAF-SEA as negotiation support system (NSS) (van Noorwidjk et. al. 2004). Detailed driven factor of RHA domains, i.e. landscape (L), socioeconomic relations – household level (S), watershed function (W), improved land use or agroforestry technology (A) and NSS itself were explained in RHA manual by ICRAF-SEA.

Implementation of RHA method could be adaptable within site condition (Table 1), because some areas in Indonesia have unique charaterictics each other. In general, the six-months of RHA method consists of five main phases of activities (Jeanes,et. al., 2006), i.e:

1. 'Inception' and reconnaissance of stakeholders and 'issues' (month 1)
2. 'Baseline data collection- desktop survey' of (grey) literature and reports (months 2-4)
3. 'Baseline data collection fieldwork': ground truthing for spatial analysis, participatory landscape analysis, LEK, and PEK surveys (months 3-4)
4. 'Data processing' (MEK) and Scenario analysis (months 3-5)
5. 'Communication' and refinement of the findings (month 6).

Result and Discussion

Concept of Integrated Planning and Management Watershed Area

Some concepts of integrated planning and management (IPM) were occurred during this research activity. The IPM concepts were studied in ten-phases, i.e. (1) vision and objective formulation, (2) potential agrotourism area analysis, (3) supply and demand analysis, (4) scenario and alternative, (5) public hearing, (6) detailed assessment, (7) supporting infrastructure, (8) implementation, (9) consultation, and (10) Review. Each of these phases has different output and up until now this research has reach the fourth phase. Next phase will be done as a dissemination process for watershed area at micro level and more detail until the IPM process will be right targeted and appropriated resources. As a part of dissemination process, the infrastructure designed should support the subsystem farming from on-farm and off-farm agriculture to increase production of recommended commodities. Those infrastructure are includes transportation facilities (roads and vehicles), water supply, sub-terminal agribusiness (STA) and storage locations (warehouses).

Agrotourism Development as Environmental Services Program

Agrotourism development as rewarding for environmental services is perceived suitable to overcome the existing problem so far. Actual conditions which are stated by PEK through Agribusiness Agency of Bogor City only cover the micro-level, limited only to the potential district. While Agribusiness Agency of Bogor District stated that the agrotourism activities only conducted by private and investor company. The transect result of agrotourism activities along the Upper-Middle Ciliwung Watershed showed two potential area, i.e. Bogor Botanical Garden and PTPN VIII Gunung Mas.

In general, recent monitoring on actual condition are still in top-down process or just come from government policies (or PEK) which are still in administrative boundary and some of them are not in accordance to ecological condition tread. Therefore, the ecological approach was believed to be a best approach than the administrative approach, besides it provides a good conservation, and also more suitable in agro-ecological zones factors. The ecological ability of environmental carrying capacity (ECC) based on population prediction are still in the allowed tolerance level. Factors of site characteristics, management and social condition although are pass the allowed threshold, but they are still suitable to support agrotourism activities in general. The population in this watershed will reach more than six hundreds thousands peoples with density around three thousand in a kilometer square. This should be a government role to concern ECC aspects in the near future.

Related to the role of government, Republic of Indonesia Law Act No. 22 year 1999 stated clearly that the authority of the central and local government in tourism sectors, and also Republic Indonesia Government Regulation No. 25 year 2000 about local government autonomy. These two regulations gave central government an authority includes three things, namely the determination of guidelines for tourism sector development, setting guidelines for international cooperation of tourism, and the establishment of standards or norms of tourism facilities. While for the local government is given the widest authority in the management of resources to develop the tourism sector. Therefore, the local government of Bogor City and Bogor District should use this authority to explore the potential of agrotourism existing resources.

Supply and Demand Concept

Supply and demand flow is absolutely necessary to arrange a scheme in order to predict the pattern of planning process in watershed level. The supply factors are such as agrotourism products and services that developed as activities, facilities and asset of agrotourism itself. While the demand factors are agrotourism profile and market situation, market trend and consumer needs.
The supply factors are the result of about suitable areas which according to this research are deserved to be agrotourism area. The amount of these potentials and opportunities are expected to be able to anticipate the increased numbers of demand in last couple years along the population growth increasing rapidly. The number of visiting tourist attraction shows the demand for tourism activities remain a potential opportunity and deserves to be developed.

Standard space requirement for normal recreation or tourism is 10 acres (equal to 40,467.1 m²) per 1000 visitors (Lancaster, 1990). In prediction year of 2014 with a population around five million peoples, the spacers need to be available is 22.3 km²(only 17.4% of present agricultural land). Thus for the next 10 years with this current agriculture area 127.8 km² (or 55.2% of total watershed area), the normal tourism activities are still allowed. Particularly, the communities inside the watershed with 823,706 persons in 2014 require area around 3.3 km² or just 2.6% of present agricultural land (Figure 1).

Those calculations conclude the potential of supply factors for development of watershed area is reached two times higher (232.5%) compare to the existing demand factors at this time. Thus, the concept of agrotourism development as one of rewarding for environmental services should be discussed and analyzed in one frame relations of supply and demand factors. The increasing demand should be balances with adequate preparation for tourism activities. However, this supply and demand concept requires the role of management, within triangle relationship as usual.

Implementation of Integrated Planning and Management

Implementation of IPM in agrotourism development should consider agrotourism characteristic itself. Agrotourism activity is a kind of service industry categorized as complementary product, therefore the agrotourism products are a complement for another product. In other hand, agrotourism activities caused other industries that provide additional income as a procession of agrotourism industry itself (Arifin, 2001). Furthermore, agrotourism activities caused other industries that provide additional income as a procession of agrotourism industry itself. This statement is also supported by Wardani (1997) stated that agrotourism industry is one of the tourism chain tour package, the shape of services that are complementary with other industry groups are included in the tourism industry such as hotels / inns, travel agencies, restaurants, transportation and others.

Some opinions are still considered agrotourism as agro-product or agro-industry side business, but in fact agrotourism can be an important pillar in agro-economy sector growth. Agrotourism development prospects in the watersheds of the Upper-Middle Ciliwung can be seen from three aspects, i.e. (modified from Alikodra, 1989):

1. Potential of agrotourism object, because the Upper-Middle Ciliwung Watershed has abundant agricultural resources.
2. Market potential, because the agrotourism role is to increase the diversity of object and duration of visits (in terms of supply) and affect the increased interest in traveling with a growing number offer agrotourism objects (in terms of demand).
3. Conditions and development of support facilities for development of agro tourism is also determined by several aspects such as transportation, telecommunications, accommodation, agrotourism area access and security guarantees.

There are development principles that can be applied and should be able to protect resources and natural wealth, cultural values and local history. Developments of agrotourism area is not solely for economic purposes, but still have the protection and preservation of the corridor assets that become the main area of agrotourism commodities (Kaswanto, 2007). Thus, the sustainable growth will be exist, accords, beautiful and comfortable as a rewarding scheme for environmental services receivable both by PEK and LEK.

Recommendation for Rewarding of Environmental Services

Two recommendations proposed are based on two factors, i.e. physical and institutional. Physical factors applied to the acceleration of agro-industry growth, while institutional factors carried out with the formulation of government policy programs. The LEK role to keep the surrounding environment, both in the conservation, utilization and management is must be implemented by working in together with MEK as an appreciation to communities around. The PEK role to enforce the rules in RTRW listed is should be implemented strictly and continuously.

Recomendation I: Accelerate of Agroindustry Growth

The increasing of unit and area of industry-based agriculture or agroindustry would also increase the agrotourism activities. Several agro-industries that became agrotourism area have successfully increase economy level of surrounding community. While the owner of agroindustry companies would have higher and multiply profit probability, even could be done by a cross-subsidies plan when one of the sectors was declining. Recommendation scheme in our report is shown that the accelerate agroindustry growth gave a positive effect for agrotourism development. At this level, the environmental services scheme for upper stream communities could be conducted and provided by the expenses that came from middle-down stream communities during agrotourism activities. These correlation have been proven by Dahliani (2005) in agrotourism area at Gunung Mas Tea Plantation (Kebun Teh Gunung Mas), which is describe that the best effort in developing agrotourism activities in agroindustry area is by developed a cross-subsidies program from agrotourism financial to agro-industry, and vice versa.

Therefore the arrangement of RTRW for upperstream watershed area designation should be mainly for activities: (1) crops agriculture, (2) tourism, and (3) plantation, while for middle stream watershed area should be mainly for activities: (1) industry, (2) tourism, (3) trading and service. Thus the flow of production and marketing will occur in a tolerable cycle due to the peak visitation on certain days. This flow and chain relationship would be one of recommended way for rewarding the upper stream communities because they have conserved water as natural resources.

Recommedation II: Arrangement of Government Policies and Programs

There are some government policy arrangements that could be done i.e. (1) increasing visitor satisfaction (tourists), (2) natural resources conservation, (3) active participation of local communities, (4) rewarding of compensation for community in the upperstream area, (5) participation of investor, (6) law enforcement in RTRW implementation. Periodically conducted a public hearing with local community and followed up with a small workshop intended to construct an achievement as a result and evaluation or program monitoring from policies that have been arranged.

Government should be arrange some programs that should to be done by revitalize the information systems of agrotourism area, include: (1) to expand and improve the information distribution of agrotourism destination area, (2) to design packages that include routes of agrotourism area of interest, (3) to prepare human resources as a professional agrotourism guide, and (4) to encourage communities to manage their agrotourism activities that they provided.

RHA Method Advantages

The RHA approach would be very useful to study several watersheds problem in Indonesia, and it is also could be participated in analyse of water supply and demand for public communities in watershed area as an instruments for upperstream communities to appreciate downstream communities, as well as shown by RUPES mechanism.
The experiences that came out by using RHA methods occur in several aspects:

1. Saving times: This six-months analysis is very time-saving compare to another hydrological approach analysis.
2. Low budgets: The RHA approach could be conducted with the minimum budget provided. The ecological borders as well as watershed boundaries usually have a large coverage area and it consequence to a huge research budget, but the RHA could minimize and reduce unnecessary expenses.
3. Stabile efforts: Availability of manual and support from experienced researcher make the RHA approach could be a promising method with a low risk to be failed.
4. Applicable results: The results are not only a text-book report but also an implementation acts. They are applicable according site specific condition that every site has unique characteristics.
5. Reliable recommendations: Some recommendations occurred during the RHA approach are very reliable and receivable among PEK and LEK.

References

Alikodra, H.S. 1989. Prospek dan kendala pengembangan wisata agro di Indonesia. Seminar Wisata Agro. Institut Pertanian Bogor. Bogor.

Arifin, H.S. 2001. Peran Arsitek Lanskap dalam perencanaan dan pengembangan wisata agro di Indonesia. Bahan Rujukan Rapat Kerja Nasional Wisata Agro 2001: Koordinasi Peningkatan Ketahanan Pangan. Jakarta.

Dahliani, L. 2005. Analisis pencapaian produktivitas pucuk dampak dari agrowisata di Kebun Teh Gunung Mas, Bogor PTPN VIII Jawa Barat [tesis]. Program Pascasarjana, Institut Pertanian Bogor. Bogor.

Jeanes, K., M. van Noordwijk, L. Joshi, A. Widayati, Farida, B. Leimona. 2006. Rapid Hydrological Appraisal in the Context of Environmental Services. World Agroforestry Center. ICRAF. Bogor.

Kaswanto. 2007. Evaluasi Kesesuaian Lahan untuk Kawasan Agrowisata yang Berwawasan Lingkungan di Daerah Aliran Sungai (DAS) Ciliwung. Institut Pertanian Bogor. Bogor.

Lancaster RA. 1990. Recreation, park, and open space standards and guidelines. Ashburn, VA: National Recreation and Park Association

van Noorwdwijk, M., J.G. Poulsen, P.J. Ericksen. 2004. Filters, Flows and Fallacies: Quantifying Off-site Effect of Land Use Change. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 104:1934.

Wardani, RT. 1997. Strategi pengembangan agrowisata dalam menunjang kegiatan agribisnis PT. Indidaya Agrolestari, Parung, Bogor [tesis]. Magister Manajemen Agribisnis. Institut Pertanian Bogor. Bogor.

Figure 1. Land Use Map from Landsat Image

Table 1. The RHA Implementation Process in Upper-Middle Ciliwung Watershed