2.a. Kuliah (IrrigationHistoryIndonesia)

Jakarta, August 2004
Ministry of Settlement and Regional

Infrastructures
in Collaboration with:
The Indonesian National Committee of
International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage
A. Hafied A. Gany
Syaiful Mahdi
Effendi Pasandaran
FRONT COVER:
The golden scene of Irrigation based rice terrace in West
Sumatra Province, at the crop maturity stage, just before
harvesting. It represents the existence of one of the ancient
irrigation based agricultural practices in Indonesia since the
prehistoric era.
All materials contained in this book may not be copied or reproduced fully
or partly in any forms without permission.
The Directorate General of Water Resources, Ministry of Settlement and Regional Infrastructures in
collaboration with The Indonesian National Committee of International Commission on
Irrigation and Drainage ICID
Irrigation History of Indonesia
ISBN: 979-96442-3-2
May 10, 2004
Prepared by :
A. Hafied A.Gany, Ph.D. (Coordinator);
Syaiful Mahdi (Member);
Effendi Pasandaran, Ph.D. (Member);
Iskandar Andi Yusuf (EDP Specialist);
Budianto (Executive Secretary).
(All Right Reserved)
First Edition, 2004
Cover List of Content
MSRI and INACID Cover
History in Brief

MSRI and INACID
Cover List of Content History in Brief

IRRIGATION HISTORY OF INDONESIA

A. Hafied A. Gany
Syaiful Mahdi
Effendi Pasandaran

Ministry of Settlement and Regional
Infrastructures
in Collaboration with:
The Indonesian National Committee of
International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage

MSRI and INACID List of Content
History in Brief

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ii
LIST OF CONTENT
Page
List of Content.............................................................................................................. ii
List of Table ................................................................................................................. vii
List of Figure................................................................................................................ x
List of Photograph........................................................................................................ xii
Foreword from the Minister of Settlement and Regional Infrastructures.................... xvi
Preface by the Editors................................................................................................... xviii
Indonesias History in Brief ......................................................................................... xxiii

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION
1.1. General Overview................................................................................................ 1
1.2. Geography and Other Related Characteristics..................................................... 4
1.2.1. Indonesia Standard Time ........................................................................... 5
1.2.2. Territorial Waters and Exclusive Economic Zone..................................... 5
1.3. Physiography, Climate And Weather................................................................... 5
1.3.1. The Main Seasons...................................................................................... 5
1.3.2. Annual Rainfall .......................................................................................... 6
1.3.3. Temperature and Humidity........................................................................ 6
1.3.4. Vulcanoes................................................................................................... 6
1.3.5. Water Resources, Rivers and Lakes........................................................... 6
1.4. Agriculture........................................................................................................... 7
1.4.1. Role of Agriculture.................................................................................... 7
1.4.2. Policy and Strategy.................................................................................... 7
1.4.3. Productivity................................................................................................ 8
1.4.4. Forestry...................................................................................................... 8
1.4.5. Irrigation..................................................................................................... 9
1.4.6. ICID and Indonesia.................................................................................... 9
1.5. Historical Overview of Irrigation Development.................................................. 10
1.5.1. Ancient History.......................................................................................... 10
1.5.2. The Hindu Era............................................................................................ 10
1.5.3. The Islamic Kingdoms............................................................................... 11
1.5.4. Traditional Agricultural Heritages............................................................. 11
1.5.5. The Colonial Era........................................................................................ 12
1.5.6. The Ethical Policy (Ethische Politiek) ....................................................... 14
1.5.7. The Period after Proclamation of Independence........................................ 15
1.5.8. Highlights of Irrigation and Water Resources Works after Proclamation
of Independence......................................................................................... 17

CHAPTER II. EARLY TIME AND PRE COLONIAL ERA
2.1. The Story of Rice................................................................................................. 25
2.2. The J avanese Hindu Folklore of Rice................................................................... 26
2.3. The Origin of Rice................................................................................................ 27
2.4. Upland Rice Field................................................................................................. 28
2.5. Lowland Rice (Wetland Rice Field) ..................................................................... 29
2.6. Simple Irrigation System...................................................................................... 30
2.7. Rainfed Rice Field................................................................................................ 31
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2.8. Irrigation Schemes for Lowland Rice................................................................... 31
2.9. The Gogo Rancah (Agricultural Practice) ............................................................ 33
2.10. Swamp Rice (Local Rice Variety Grown on Swamp land) ................................. 34

CHAPTER III. THE INFLUX OF INDIAN CULTURE
3.1. The Pre-Hindu Era............................................................................................... 37
3.2. The First Technical Irrigation Structure............................................................... 38
3.3. The Oldest Irrigation Structure on J ava Island.................................................... 39
3.4. The Kali Brantas River and Mount Kelud........................................................... 40
3.5. The Birth of King Hayam Wuruk....................................................................... 41
3.6. The First Rehabilitation Work on Irrigation........................................................ 42
3.7. The Salient Feature of Irrigation on J ava During The Hindu Era........................ 42
3.8. Ancient Irrigation Technical Staff ....................................................................... 43
3.9. Subak Ancient Irrigation Organization in Bali .................................................... 43
3.10. The Islamic and Western Influence...................................................................... 46
3.10.1. The Fall of Majapahit Hindu Emperor..................................................... 46
3.10.2. The Emergence of Islamic Kingdom....................................................... 46
3.11. Pre Colonial Era................................................................................................... 47
3.11.1. Arrival of Portugese People..................................................................... 47
3.11.2. Arrival of Dutch Trade Mission............................................................... 47
3.11.3. Invasion of Sultan Agung Against The VOC Dutch Trading Company. 48
3.11.4. Confrontation of VOC with The King of Gowa...................................... 49
3.11.5. The Struggle of Untung Surapati ............................................................. 49
3.11.6. Situation of The Outer Islands and Disbandment of VOC...................... 50
3.11.7. Diponegoro War (The J ava War)............................................................. 51

CHAPTER IV. THE BEGINNING OF DUTCH COLONIAL ERA
4.1. Compulsory Agricultural Policy......................................................................... 53
4.2. The Period of Governor General Daendels........................................................ 53
4.3. Governor Liutenant General Raffles (1811-1816) ............................................. 54
4.4. Major Principles of Compulsory Agricultural Policy......................................... 54
4.5. Implementation of Compulsory Agricultural Policy.......................................... 55
4.6. Construction of Early Irrigation Weirs on J ava Island....................................... 56
4.7. The First Sugar Factories.................................................................................... 57
4.8. Development of Sugar Factories on J ava........................................................... 59
4.9. The Impacts of Daendels Trans J ava Road Construction.................................. 60
4.10. Early Development Growth During colonial Period.......................................... 62
4.11. Problems Associated with East Semarang and Demak Region ........................ 63
4.11.1. The Islamic Kingdom of Demak............................................................ 63
4.11.2. Condition after Arrival of the Dutch....................................................... 63
4.11.3. Reservoir Alternatif................................................................................. 64
4.12. Establishment of The Ministry of public Works ................................................ 64
4.12.1. Background Demand for Institutional Setup........................................... 64
4.12.2. Establishment of the Ministry of Public Works..................................... 65
4.12.3. Staggered Planting System...................................................................... 68
4.12.4. Establishment of Irrigation District......................................................... 68
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CHAPTER V. IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT
DURING COLONIAL ERA AFTER WORLD WAR-I
5.1. Development of Irrigation System...................................................................... 71
5.2. Construction of Irrigation Schemes and Dams................................................... 72
5.2.1. Irrigation Network.................................................................................... 72
5.2.2. Discharge Measurement Devices............................................................. 75
5.2.3. Construction of Dams............................................................................... 76
5.3. Decentralization of Irrigation Management........................................................ 76
5.3.1. Decentralization........................................................................................ 76
5.3.2. Establishment of Irrigation Management Board (IMB) ........................... 77
5.4. Participation of Irrigation Beneficiaries in O&M............................................... 77
5.5. Irrigation During The J apanese Occupation....................................................... 78
5.6. Land Tax System................................................................................................ 79
5.6.1. Period From1900 to 1942......................................................................... 79
5.6.2. Land Tax during the Period of J apanese Occupation............................... 80

CHAPTER VI. MODERN TIME
6.1. Societal and Agriculture Situation...................................................................... 81
6.1.1. Population................................................................................................. 81
6.1.2. Contribution of Agriculture Development to Gross Domestic Product... 84
6.1.3. Growth of Irrigated Agricultural Area...................................................... 85
6.1.4. Irrigation and Water Resources Policy Reform........................................ 94
6.2. Land Tenure and Management........................................................................... 104
6.2.1. Land Tenure.............................................................................................. 104
6.2.2. Expansion and Reclamation of Irrigated Agricultural Land..................... 106
6.2.3. Classification and Unit of Irrigation System Measurement ..................... 108
6.2.4. Land Tax System...................................................................................... 111
6.3. Development and Management of Irrigation...................................................... 114
6.3.1. Development of Irrigation Schemes......................................................... 114
6.3.2. Management of Irrigation Schemes.......................................................... 120
6.4. Observation of Water Resources Meteorology................................................... 128
6.4.1. Early Condition of Hydro-Climatic Observation in Indonesia................. 128
6.4.2. Observation and Climate Measurement System....................................... 129
6.4.3. Rainfall Station Distribution..................................................................... 129
6.4.4. Discharge Measurement........................................................................... 132
6.5. Development Overview of Irrigation Main Structures....................................... 134
6.5.1. Intake Structure......................................................................................... 135
6.5.2. Canal ......................................................................................................... 137
6.5.3. Water Lifting Device................................................................................ 138
6.5.4. Flood Prevention Infrastructure................................................................ 138

CHAPTER VII. EXAMPLES WATER RESOURCES AND
IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT
7.1. General................................................................................................................ 141
7.2. North Sumatra Province..................................................................................... 141
7.2.1. Overview of North Sumatra Province...................................................... 141
7.2.2. Example of Irrigation System Development in North Sumatra................ 142
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7.3. West Sumatra Province....................................................................................... 146
7.3.1. Overview of West Sumatra Province....................................................... 146
7.3.2. Example of Irrigation System Development in West Sumatra................. 149
7.4. Lampung Province.............................................................................................. 152
7.4.1. Overview of Lampung Province............................................................... 152
7.4.2. Example of Irrigation System Development in Lampung Province......... 153
7.5. West J ava Province............................................................................................. 158
7.5.1. Overview of West J ava Province.............................................................. 158
7.5.2. Example of Irrigation System Development in West J ava ...................... 159
7.6. Central J ava Province......................................................................................... 162
7.6.1. Overview of Central J ava ........................................................................ 162
7.6.2. Example of Irrigation Development in Central J ava................................ 163
7.7. East J ava Province.............................................................................................. 169
7.7.1. Overview of East J ava Province............................................................... 169
7.7.2. Example of Irrigation Development in East J ava..................................... 169
7.8. Bali Province...................................................................................................... 174
7.8.1. Overview of Bali Province....................................................................... 174
7.8.2. Examples of Irrigation Development in Balis.......................................... 175
7.9. West Nusa Tenggara Province; Lombok Island................................................. 177
7.9.1. Overview of Lombok Island..................................................................... 177
7.9.2. Examples of Irrigation Development in Lombok..................................... 178
7.10. South Kalimantan Province................................................................................ 181
7.10.1. Overview of South Kalimantan Province............................................... 181
7.10.2. Examples of Irrigation System Development......................................... 181
7.11. South Sulawesi Province.................................................................................... 189
7.11.1. Overview of South Sulawesi Province................................................... 189
7.11.2. Examples of Irrigation Development in South Sulawesi Province........ 190
7.12. Ground Water Development............................................................................... 192
7.12.1. Tube-well Management.......................................................................... 193
7.12.2. Tube-well Operation and Maintenance.................................................. 194
7.13. Flood Control Works.......................................................................................... 194
7.13.1. Semarang Flood Control......................................................................... 195
7.13.2. Demak Plain Flood Control .................................................................... 196
CHAPTER VIII. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS................................... 203
8.1. General Overview............................................................................................... 203
8.1.1. Water Resources....................................................................................... 203
8.1.2. Agriculture................................................................................................ 203
8.2. Historical Overview of Irrigation Development................................................. 204
8.2.1. Ancient History......................................................................................... 204
8.2.2. The Hindu Era........................................................................................... 205
8.2.3. Traditional Agricultural Heritages............................................................ 205
8.2.4. The Ancient Hydraulic Structures............................................................ 206
8.2.5. The Colonial Era....................................................................................... 207
8.2.6. Establishment of Ministry of Public Works............................................. 210
8.2.7. Decentralization of Irrigation Management.............................................. 212
8.2.8. Post Independence Period......................................................................... 215
8.2.9. Period from Independence (1945) to the First Five Year Development .. 220
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8.3. Development Overview of Irrigation Main Structures....................................... 221
8.3.1. Intake Structures....................................................................................... 221
8.3.2. Canal ......................................................................................................... 222
8.3.3. Water Lifting Device................................................................................ 223
8.3.4. Flood Prevension Infrastructure............................................................... 223
8.4. Present Status of Irrigation in Indonesia............................................................. 224
8.4.1. Present Status............................................................................................ 224
8.4.2. Irrigation and Water Resources Policy Reform........................................ 225
8.5. Non Technical Aspect of Irrigation Development and Management................. 226
8.5.1. Socio-cultural, and Economic Adaptations of Traditional Irrigation....... 226
8.5.2. Irrigation Based Transmigration Implementation.................................... 226
8.5.3. Lawland Development.............................................................................. 227
8.6. Closing Remarks................................................................................................. 228
8.7. The Way Foreward............................................................................................. 229

BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................................................................................... 233

SUPLEMENT PAPER
1. The Ancient Irrigated-Agricultural Heritages in Indonesia......................................... 243
By: A. Hafied A. Gany

2. Subak Irrigation System in Bali ................................................................................... 257

3. Tudang Sipulung As The Indigenous Irrigated Agricultural Herritage in South
Sulawesi Province ....................................................................................................... 277

4. Traditional Irrigation Herritages in West Sumatera .................................................... 285

5. Brief Review of Irrigation Water Management Studies During Colonial Period ....... 293
By: Effendi Pasandaran

6. An Outline Review of Irrigation Based Transmigration Program in Indonesia ......... 301

7. An Outline Review of Lowland Development in Indonesia ....................................... 321
Edited And Translated By: A. Hafied A. Gany

8. J atiluhur Multi Purpose Reservoir .............................................................................. 341
By: Syaiful Mahdi

9. Bengawan Solo River Basin Development ................................................................. 347
By: Syaiful Mahdi
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LIST OF TABLE
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Table 5.1. Irrigation development projects completed and being implemented up to
1930.................................................................................................................. 72
Table 5.2. Sub-systems of Kumisik Irrigation System..................................................... 74
Table 5.3. Potential areas of Banyuwangi Selatan............................................................ 75
Table 5.4. Construction of Dam after the First World War.............................................. 76
Table 5.5. Calculation of fee to be paid by irrigation beneficiaries ................................. 77
Table 6.1. Estimated mid year population of some selected countries in Asia 1997
2001.................................................................................................................. 82
Table 6.2. Population in Indonesia by province (1950 2002) ........................................ 95
Table 6.3. Population growth (%) by province 19712002.............................................. 83
Table 6.4. Population density (capita/km
2
) in major islands 1971 2002........................ 84
Table 6.5. Population density in Indonesia by province (1950 2002) .......................... 96
Table 6.6. Percentage of distribution of population in Indonesia...................................... 84
Table 6.7. Percentage distribution of population of Indonesia by province (19502002) 97
Table 6.8. Percentage distribution of gross domestic product (%) 19942000, at current
market prices by industrial origin..................................................................... 85
Table 6.9. Growth rate of per capita gross domestic product of several countries at
constant prices 19992002............................................................................... 85
Table 6.10. Irrigated land and paddy production in Indonesia, (2002)............................... 86
Table 6.11. Irrigated paddy field area and rice production (1994 and 2002) by Province.. 98
Table 6.12. Harvested area and agricultural product (1955 2002)................................... 91
Table 6.13. Average increased of cropping area of paddy and secondary crops 1955 -
2002, (%/year) ................................................................................................. 92
Table 6.14. Average growth of production of paddy and secondary crops 1955 2002,
(%/year) ........................................................................................................... 92
Table 6.15. Average growth of yield of paddy and secondary crops 19552002,
(%/year)............................................................................................................ 93
Table 6.16. Area of paddy and secondary crops (1955 2002) ......................................... 99
Table 6.17. Production of paddy and secondary crops (1955 2002) ............................... 99
Table 6.18. Average yield of paddy and secondary crops (1955 2002) .......................... 100
Table 6.19. Cropping area, production and yield by main islands (1955 and 1968)........... 93
Table 6.20. Harvested area, production of paddy, and average yield by main islands
(1994 and 2002). .............................................................................................. 93
Table 6.21. Cropping area and average yield by main islands (1955) ............................... 100

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Table 6.22. Cropping area and average yield by main islands (1968).............................. 101
Table 6.23. Cropping area and average yield by province (1994) ................................... 102
Table 6.24. Cropping area (ha) and average yield by province (2002) ............................ 103
Table 6.25. Food crops farm household by main islands in 1983 and 2003..................... 104
Table 6.27. LHFH by area of land controlled in 1983 and 1993 ..................................... 104
Table 6.28. Average land controlled by land holding farm household by main islands
in 1993 .......................................................................................................... 105
Table 6.26. Food crops farm household by province in 1983 and 2003 .......................... 106
Table 6.29. Development of swamp area in 1995 (in ha) ................................................ 107
Table 6.30. Paddy field by classification of irrigation in Indonesia, 2002 ...................... 109
Table 6.31a. Area of paddy field in main islands by category of irrigation, 2002 ............ 110
Table 6.31b. Area of paddy field by category of irrigation in each province, (in ha),
2002................................................................................................................ 111
Table 6.32. Target and achievement of irrigation development 19691994 (in ha) ........ 116
Table 6.33. Construction of new weirs and rehabilitation of existing weir in Central
Java................................................................................................................. 119
Table 7.1. Irrigated Rice Field Area by Irrigation System in North Sumatra Province,
2002 ............................................................................................................... 142
Table 7.2. Irrigated Rice Field Areas by Irrigation System, 2002.................................. 147
Table 7.3. Batang Hari Irrigation Area ........................................................................... 151
Table 7.4. Irrigated Rice Field Area by Irrigation Type, 2002 ....................................... 152
Table 7.5. Irrigated rice field area by irrigation types in 2002 ...................................... 159
Table 7.6. Irrigated paddy field area by irrigation Type, 2002 ...................................... 163
Table 7.7. List of reservoirs in Central Java with the capacity of more than 40 million
m
3
................................................................................................................... 163
Table 7.8. Irrigation sub-schemes in Pemali-Comal Irrigation Scheme ......................... 165
Table 7.9. Irrigated rice field area by irrigation type, 2002............................................ 169
Table 7.10. Irrigation area of Bedadung-Bondoyudo ....................................................... 172
Table 7.11. Irrigated paddy field area by irrigation type in Bali Province, 2002 ............. 175
Table 7.12. Growth of irrigation area and additional number of Subak organizations in
Bali between 1971 and 1993.......................................................................... 176
Table 7.13. Irrigated paddy field area by irrigation type, 2002 ........................................ 177
Table 7.14. Irrigated paddy field area by irrigation type, 2002 ........................................ 181
Tabel 7.15. Potential area of Alabio Polder for agricultural development ....................... 185
Table 7.16. Irrigated paddy field area by irrigation type in South Sulawesi, 2002 .......... 190
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SUPLEMENT PAPER
The Ancient Irrigated-Agricultural Heritages in Indonesia ......................................... 243
Table-1. Comparison of Cosmografy, Cosmology and Meteorology in the
Pranatamangsa (Surakarta) .......................................................................... 248
Table-2. Comparison of Seasonal Characteristics of the Pranatamangsa and
Meteorological Data (in surakarta)..................................................................... 250

Subak Irrigation System in Bali....................................................................................... 257
Table-1. Irrigation Area Covered by Subak Organization in Bali, (1971, 1979 and
1993) ................................................................................................................... 262
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Tudang Sipulung as The Indigenous Irrigated Agricultural Heritage in South
Sulawesi Province.............................................................................................................. 277
Example of planting schedule after mutual consensus on regular meeting in several
Regencies of South Sulawesi Province (Bone, Soppeng, Sidrap, Pinrang, Luwu, and
Wajo Regency) for Dry Season of 2003 and Rainy Season 2003/2004 ........................... 282

An Outline Review of Irrigation Based Transmigration Program in Indonesia.... 301
Table 1. List of Achievement of Semi-voluntary assisted migration in Indonesia, 1950-
1984 .................................................................................................................... 308
Table 2. Resettlement Distribution of Transmigration (1950-1986) ............................... 309

An Overview of Lowland Development in Indonesia .................................................... 321
Table 1. Distributions of Lowlands Development and potential ...................................... 326
Table 2. General conception of lowland development and management policy and
strategy in Indonesia........................................................................................... 331

Bengawan Solo River Basin Development ...................................................................... 347
Table 1. List of projects implemented in lieu of the Solo Vallei Werken......................... 348
Table 2. Sediment Control Reservoirs Upstream of Wonogiri Dam................................ 349
Table 3. Existing reservois in Bengawan Solo River Basin 2004 .................................... 351
Table 4. Reservoir and barrage proposed in the study of CDMP..................................... 352

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Figure 6.3.1. Typical organization structure of WUAF (P3A HIPPA) in East J ava .......... 126
Figure 6.3.2. Typical organization structure of WUAF ..................................................... 127
Figure 6.4.1. Distribution of Rainfall Station in Indonesia................................................. 131

SUPLEMENT PAPER
The Ancient Irrigated-Agricultural Heritages in Indonesia ......................................... 243
Figure 1. Basic Feature of the Pranatamangsa Agricultural Calendar............................. 245
Figure 2. Determination of Seasonal Changes in the Pranatamangsa............................. 247

Figure 1. Basic Structural Organization of Subak........................................................... 263
Figure 2. An Example of Subak Irrigation Scheme......................................................... 268
Figure 3. Typical Irrigation Structural Networks of Subak Scheme............................... 269
Figure 4. Typical Tek-tek Water Measurement Device.................................................. 270
Figure 5. Schematic Chart of Interagency Coordination of Subak.................................. 272

Traditional Irrigation Heritages in West Sumatra........................................................ 285
Figure 1. Schematic sketch of the Paraku traditional control device............................... 288

Brief Review of Irrigation Water Management Studies During Colonial Period....... 293
Figure l. The Pemali Curve: Relationship between area irrigated and water supply
(from Van Mannen, 1931)................................................................................ 295
Figure2. Water allocation over time in Golongan system......................................... 296

An Outline Review of Irrigation Based Transmigration Program in Indonesia......... 301
Figure 1. Development Stages of the Transmigration Resettlement............................... 306
Figure 2. The Flow of Transmigration Movement in Indonesia (1950-1986)................. 308

Figure 1. Schematic diagram of lowland potential and development in Indonesia
classification of swamp lands........................................................................... 322
Figure 2. Location map of coastal and estuaries with certain problems.......................... 338

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Jatiluhur Multi Purpose Reservoir.................................................................................. 341
Figure 1. Location of the three reservoirs in the Citarum River...................................... 341
Figure 2. Cross Section of Sediyatmo Pump................................................................... 343
Figure 3. Schematic Diagram of Integrated Basin and Water Resources Management. 344

Figure 1. Schematic Diagram of Bengawan Solo River Basin........................................ 347

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LIST OF PHOTOGRAPH
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Ir. Soekarno, the First President of Indonesia (wearing black hat and sunglasses) at
the inouguration of the construction stage of J atiluhur Dam, early 1960s. 16
Example of lowland-rice harvesting by boat at the swamp area in Kalimantan................. 20
The former Minister of Public Works, Ir. Sutami (right most, front row) on field
inspection at the Alabio (inland swamp) Polder, South Kalimantan,
in1972 ............................................................................................ 21
Sabo Dam for sediment control at the Merapi Volcano in Central J ava....................... 22
Tubewel drilling for ground water exploitation, in East J ava, demanding for
sophisticated and costly technologies................................................ ........ 24
Location of the statue of Dewi Sri at the village of Simbatan, Takeran District, Magetan
Regency. It was believed to be the resourceful spring, which provides
adequate water for paddies at the original site of Dewi Sris grave................. 27
Cross-section of a traditional weir, made of local materials, bamboo, stone, boulders etc. 30
While waiting for the rainy season, the farmers conduct land preparation for the Gogo
Rancah cultivation............................................................................................ 33
Upland Paddy cultivation.................................................................................................... 33
Swamp paddy field at the tidal swamp areas in South Kalimantan.................................... 34
Construction activity for tidal-swamp infra-structural development.................................. 35
Canal construction on the inland swamp, Alabio South Kalimantan in 1970s................... 35
The Harinjing stone inscription near J ombang (Pare) at the village of Siman Krajan. The
original inscription is now kept at the National Museum Registered under
N.D.173............................................................................................................ 38
A monument errected at the central alignment of the ruin of the Harinjing Dyke
(Dawuan Srinjing today).................................................................................. 39
A statuette at the Harinjing Monument, illustrating the mutual aids activity during
construction of the Harinjing Dyke, by manual workers................................. 39
The Tugu Stone inscription is now kept at the National Museum Registered at No.
D.124................................................................................................................ 40
Sugarcane plantation........................................................................................................... 44
Regular Subak Meeting in Bali ........................................................................................... 45
Rice terrace cultivated by Subak farmers in Bali Island..................................................... 45
A traditional level for land surveying by the ancient Balinese, (At Subak Museum,
Tabanan, Bali).................................................................................................. 46
Stone inscription at the Old Sampean Weir, located at the upstream site of New
Sampean Weir.................................................................................................. 56
New Sampeam weir, at the upstream site of Old Sampean Weir ...................................... 57
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The Old Lengkong Weir preserved as a monument near the new Lengkong Weir............ 57
A sugar factory in East J ava, has been producing since early Duch Time and Still
producing today................................................................................................ 58
The Prauwvaart drainage canal at the present condition..................................................... 60
Batang Mimpi at the Batang Mimpi River, Dharmasraya Regency, constructed earlier in
1826 or 26 years before the construction of Glapan Weir ............................... 61
General map of North Sumatra Province............................................................................ 141
Example of the Bah Korah intake gate, in Simalungun Regency after renovation in 1993 143
The Sipintu-pintu parallel irrigation canals, Siauga Parjolo irrigation scheme, extended
along the foot of the hill of breccia rock at the sloping hill of over 200 m
deepness............................................................................................................ 144
General map of West Sumatra Province............................................................................. 146
Water wheel and Tubes on the rotating wheel .................................................................... 148
Batang Mimpi Weir (2004)................................................................................................. 150
Inscription at Batang Mimpi weir stated of its construction completion in 1826............... 150
Batang Selo Weir and Sand Trap........................................................................................ 150
Scenic view of Batang Hari weir, (2004)............................................................................ 151
General map of Lampung Province.................................................................................... 152
Headwork of Way Payung Irrigation Scheme at Kota Agung, Tenggamus Regency
constructed in 1916 during the Dutch Time (After Rehabilitated in 1990s) .. 153
The old main intake of Argoguruh Weir, constructed in 1935, at the background is the
extended intake, constructed in 1968............................................................... 154
The Spillway at the Garongan Dam for Batanghari Utara Irrigation Scheme, completed
in 1953 for irrigating a total area of 5,817 ha................................................... 154
The headwork of Raman Utara Irrigation Scheme, completed in 1955 for irrigating a
total area of 5,096 ha........................................................................................ 155
The Control Structure at the main canal of Punggur Utara Irrigation Scheme, with a
command area of 25,353 ha............................................................................. 155
The headwork of the Way Seputih, with a command area of 25,000 ha ........................... 156
The Spillway at the Way Rarem Dam for Way Rarem Irrigation Scheme, completed in
1981 for irrigating a total command area of 22,000 ha.................................... 156
Batu Tegi Dam, at the upper reach of Way Sekampung River, providing water storage
to be diverted downstream to Argoguruh Weir, March 2004.......................... 158
General map of West J ava Province................................................................................... 158
Scenic view of Rentang Barrage (2004) ............................................................................. 159
Birds eye view of the Walahar Barrage............................................................................. 161
General map of Central J ava............................................................................................... 162
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Page
Scenic view of Glapan Weir................................................................................................ 164
Sedadi Weir ........................................................................................................................ 164
Main Canal Intake............................................................................................................... 164

SUPLEMENT PAPER
General Map of Bali Island, Indonesia............................................................................. 258
The Subak Musium in Tabanan, Bali, where a number of historical evidences of
ancient irrigation of Bali are kept..................................................................... 259
An example of the Awig-awig regulatory instrument of Subak it may be written on
palm leaves, bamboo or wooden stick.............................................................. 260
The tek-tek, Subak Irrigation water measurement device................................................ 270

Tudang Sipulung as The Indigenous Irrigated Agricultural Heritage in South
Sulawesi Province.............................................................................................................. 277
Traditional irrigation weirs made of boulder and coconut trunk in Soppeng Regency.... 278
An example traditional motto of Bugis ethnicity, about agricultural and democratic
phylosophy, written in Bugis Script................................................................. 279
An example of traditional irrigation weir in Soppeng Regency, which had been
reconstructed into permanent structure during the Dutch Time....................... 281

Traditional Irrigation Heritages in West Sumatra........................................................ 285
Example of plot-to-plot irrigation system for the area where plenty of water sources
available (environmentally friendly irrigation practice) .................................. 286
An example of the Paraku water control device............................................................ 287
Water wheels erected in both sides of the Batang Lampasin River.................................. 290

Brief Review of Irrigation Water Management Studies during Colonial Period ....... 293
Pateguhan Intake Structures, East J ava............................................................................. 294
Field reservoir for temporary water storage on daily........................................................ 297

An Outline Review of Irrigation Based Transmigration Program in Indonesia......... 301
Way Semah-1 Weir, in Gedong Tataan is amongst the oldest irrigation infrastructures
for the pioneer transmigrant settlers in Lampung Region................................ 303
An example of the established irrigated paddy field owned by the earlier transmigrant
settlement in South Gedong Tataan, Lampung. The area was previously a
heavy jungle and hardly accessible by appropriate inland transportation........ 318
The Batu Tegi Dam, in South Lampung, had just completed on March 2004, despite
that the irrigation based human settlement in the Central Lampung had been
undertaken since 1930s ................................................................................... 319
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Page
SUPLEMENT PAPER
General map of low land distribution in Indonesia........................................................ 321
Category of hydro-topography of tidal swamps............................................................. 323
Hydro-topographical category of inland swamp............................................................ 324
Regulatory structure of alabio Polder South Kalimantan Province................................ 325
Paddy field at tidal lowland at Puntik Terantang, South Kalimantan............................ 325
Tertiary hydraulic structure at Rawa Seragi, Lampung Province.................................. 325
Regulatory structure at Teluk Kiawang, Riau Province................................................. 325
Regulatory structures for lowland at Saembawalati Schemes, Central Sulawesi .......... 328
Drainage channel for lowland development in Papua Province..................................... 328
Diversion Water Gate for lowland at Dadahup, Central Kalimantan............................. 329
Developed agricultural land for lowland paddy at Telang Saleh, South Sumatra.......... 329
Tertiary canal excavation in Tarantang South Kalimantan Province............................. 332
Resin-fibre automatic flap-gate in Puntik Terantang, South Kalimantan Province....... 332
Inland swamp area.......................................................................................................... 333
Water diversion structure at Rawa Muning, South Sumatra Province........................... 333
Hybrid coconut plantation with PIR Transmigration scheme in Guntung, Riau
Province............................................................................................................ 333
Palm-oil plantation with PIR Trans-migration scheme in Gasing Puntihan, South
Sumatra Province............................................................................................. 333
The white sandy-beach has a good prospect for encouraging tourism industry............. 334
Coastal erosion as the cause of breaching off the road embankment at the mouth of
Sungai Duri River in West Sumatra Province.............................................. 335
Estuary sedimentation entails problem of riverbed aggradations and narrowing the
river transportation channels............................................................................ 336

Jatiluhur Multi Purpose Reservoir.................................................................................. 341
Scenic view of J atiluhur.................................................................................................... 342
The birds air view of Curug Hydraulic Pumps................................................................ 343
Walahar Barrage............................................................................................................... 345
Wonogiri ........................................................................................................................... 349
MSRI and INACID Foreword from The Minister
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REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA
MINISTER OF SETTLEMENT AND REGIONAL INFRASTRUCTURES

Foreword from the Minister

earning from the world history, we all know that many desertified regions in Asia and
African sub continents, were previously during the ancient time, under the fertile and
prosperous land areas with distinctly uninterrupted natural condition, with constant river-
flows in the course of the remarkably virgin forest vegetations, and most notably under the
well balanced natural ecosystem. Today, however, such a desirable natural condition has
become scarce and yet the escalating degradation of natural condition in general and water
ecosystem in particular, is continuously jeopardized by the hardly controllable human
interventions against our Mother Nature.
Despite that the development and management of water resources and irrigation in
Indonesia has long been practiced with centuries of existence since the ancient era, the
historical documents on water resources development in general, and irrigation practices in
particular, has yet adequately fulfilling the curiosities for information on this distinct heritage
of human life. The absence of transcriptions on such a paramount historical heritage would
bring about devastating consequences against discontinuation of information on the way we
nurture our life and environment through best available practices and sustainable irrigation
development and management, which in fact, has to be passed on to the wisdom of our future
generations. Thereby, the future generation would be able to adopt the best practices and
avoid repeating the unsustainable practices their ancestors used to conduct.
In an attempt to provide continuous linkages amongst the past and present practices on
irrigation development and management of Indonesia, in chronological sequence, this book
has been compiled by virtue of accumulating the available historical evidences following the
standardized format of irrigation histories of other countries under the coordination of the
International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage-ICID. This book illustrates briefly about
L
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the sequential history of irrigation from the early prehistorical ancient time, during the Hindu,
the Islamic and the Colonial Era, as well during the War, Post Independent and the most
recent status of modern irrigation development and management in Indonesia.
In my capacity as the Minister of Settlement and Regional Infrastructures of the
Republic of Indonesia, and concurrently as the President of the Indonesian National
Committee of International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (INACID), I would like
to express my congratulation for the publication of this book entitled Irrigation History of
Indonesia. At the same time, I would also like to convey my sincerest appreciation and
wholehearted gratitude to the authors and members of Editor Team: Mr. A. Hafied A. Gany,
Ph.D., Mr. Effendi Pasandaran, Ph.D., and Mr. Syaiful Mahdi, as well as other supporting
professionals from the Ministry of Settlement and Regional Infrastructures, Provincial and
Local Government Irrigation Services of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of
Agriculture, Research Agencies, NGOs, Professional Organizations, Universities and
INACID members that I could not mention one by one, for their strenuous efforts to make
this publication possible.
J akarta, 17 August 2004
Minister of Settlement and Regional Infrastructures

DR. Soenarno

MSRI and INACID Preface
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PREFACE
ndonesia as one of the ten founding countries of the International Commission of
Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) in 1950, has an obligation to support the activities of ICID
as other member countries, including the provision of information about irrigation and
drainage development and management as well as other relevant information with the overall
scope of activities of ICID. One of the programs that had been set up by ICID is the
commitment to compile and publish Irrigation and Drainage History of the World by
assigning to each member country to prepare the countrys history of irrigation. This activity
is entrusted to the Working Group on History of Irrigation, Drainage and Flood Control.
Since early 1980s Indonesia has been making effort to work on history of irrigation. On
December 1984, the Indonesian Edition of Volume I of the Irrigation History of Indonesia by
Ir. Abdullah Angoedi was managed to be published. The Indonesian National Committee
intended to publish the English version of the history book upon the completion of Volume 2
and submit them thereafter to the Working Group on History of Irrigation of the Central office
of ICID. Unfortunately, the publication of Volume 2 had never been possible as the author
passed away before he managed to complete compiling the manuscript. Since then, the effort
was terminated, with an assumption that the work would be resumed as if some-one could
take over the assignment. The completed history book Volume I in Indonesian language was
temporarily submitted to the Central Office in lieu of the yet prepared English version.
Apparently, however, the effort to resume the work on Irrigation History of Indonesia has
been encountered by the fact that peoplewho are considered able to prepare the document was
very much engaged in implementing projects or preparing legal documents relating to water
resources development.
By 1995, the effort to continue the preparation of irrigation history of Indonesia was resumed
by the late Ir. Soebandi Wirosoemarto, the former Director General of Water Resources,
Ministry of Public Works assisted by Ir, Noertamtomo, however, the scope of work was
extended to cover the Overall Water Resources Development entitled Perkembangan
Pembangunan Pengairan di Indonesia in Indonesian language, or The Chronological
Process of Water Resources Development in Indonesia and no longer constrained to
irrigation history as previously intended by the late Ir. Abdullah Angoedi. Moreover, the
manuscript was prepared in the form of report style rather than history format. The report was
compiled in four volumes in Indonesian Language, and published them volume by volume
from 1997 to 1999. J ust before publication of the last volume, the author, Ir. Soebandi
Wirosoemarto, passed away in 1999 before he could see the latest publication.
To continue the INACIDs obligation for preparing the history book on Irrigation in
Indonesia, an INACID Editor Team, as the same tame as the authors, has been assigned. The
team consists of: Mr. A. Hafied A. Gany, Ph.D. as the Coordinator; Mr. Effendi Pasandaran
Ph.D.; and Mr. Syaiful Mahdi as senior members, assisted by Mr. Iskandar Andi Yusuf as
EDP specialist, and Mr. Budianto as executive secretary of the team. The manuscript has been
prepared in accordance with the Revised Guideline for Preparation of History Volume
prescribed by the Working Group on History of Irrigation, Drainage and Flood Control of the
Central Office of ICID.
Given the underlying circumstances of reference materials, nature of data source, and
previous works, the basic approach for preparation of this book has been adapted to the
analysis based on the secondary data on the previous works, project reports, and statistical
data and evidences, in combination with field survey for testing and confirmation the previous
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data and analysis, as well as collecting new data, information, taking and updating
photographs representing the most recent condition of irrigation infrastructures as well as
other related operation and maintenance and agricultural circumstances.
Considering the available time, resources, and logistic constraints, the field survey has been
conducted in ten selected provinces, which are considered to be an appropriate distributive
representation of irrigation heritages in the history of Indonesia, through time. The ten
selected provinces are representing the West, Central and Eastern Indonesias geography,
which are determined based upon the following rationales:
(1) North Sumatra Province, representing the western geography of Indonesia at the northern
part of Sumatra Island, further north away from the Equator, with undulating and hilly
topography, directly facing west to Indian Ocean and east with the Malacca Strait, having in
general an early occurrence of rainy season with high annual rainfall, relative to other regions
of Indonesia. It has a long history of irrigation practices, starting with the earlier form of
shifting cultivation or traditional cultivation without irrigation, followed by strong cultural
and traditional irrigated agriculture practices with appropriate irrigation technology and
traditional water users association, which are still practiced today. During the third decade of
the twentieth century, the Dutch Colonial Government introduced Irrigation-Based
Transmigration Program in Northern Sumatra by constructing a number of small to medium
scale irrigation schemes in line with the plantation development for industrial crops.
(2) West Sumatra Province, representing the western geography of Indonesia with
undulating and hilly topography, directly facing west to Indian Ocean with generally having
high annual rainfall. It has a long history of irrigation practices, starting with earlier
experience with non irrigated paddy cultivation, with subsequent strong cultural and
traditional irrigated agricultural practices with appropriate irrigation technology and
traditional water users association, which are still in existence today. West Sumatra is now
considered to be amongst the ten largest irrigated-rice producing areas in Indonesia.
(3) Lampung Province in southern Sumatra, representing other specific geographical
condition of western Indonesia, with all kinds of topographical conditions ranging from
mountainous, undulating, rolling to flat, and swampy areas extending westward directly to
J ava Sea, and southern with Indian Ocean having relatively medium annual rainfall. The
province has a long history on upland crops cultivation, coffee, black pepper, rubber, and
palm oil plantations, previously with traditional paddy cultivation without irrigation. During
the turn of the century, the Dutch Colonial Government take the province as the experimental
ground for Irrigation-Based Transmigration Program by constructing variety of small scale
to medium scale irrigation schemes in line with population resettlement from densely
populated areas. The province today is considered as one of the important the rice production
areas of Indonesia.
(4) West J ava Province, Including the newly established Banten Province, representing the
western J awa Island geography with high-density population, inter-provincial river basins,
with high intensity of annual rainfall. This province has a long history of irrigated agricultural
practices during the old kingdoms, during the colonial period and after independence with the
introduction of multi-purpose dams in Citarum River, as well as the introduction of integrated
river basin management. Irrigation operation and maintenance under the participatory
approach also has a long history in West J ava Province with the distinct traditional practice of
rotational irrigation water supply, which is still practiced today with some improvement
following the competitive demands of water uses.
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(5) Central J ava Province, representing the most densely populated area in Indonesia with
low rainfall intensity relative to the West J ava Province, but with high fertility soils due to
frequent supplies of volcanic ash from several active volcanoes in the vicinity areas. Some
inter-provincial river basins in Central J ava, sharing the water for variety of purposes both
with the East and West J ava Provinces. Irrigated agricultural practice on this province has
been well adapted since the Hindu Era, under the multi cropping patterns and efficient
application of irrigation water. During the Colonial period, the Central J ava Province had
been regarded as the experimental laboratory for technical irrigation, especially for supporting
sugar industry. Many field reservoirs were constructed during the Dutch time for facilitation
of effective irrigation management, and yet still under the well operated and maintained,
today.
(6) East J ava Province, representing the eastern part of J ava with high fertility soils in the
upland areas, and with fertile soil in the downstream delta of the rivers emptying north to J ava
Sea, apart from its characteristic as amongst the most densely populated area in Indonesia.
There are a number of historical evidences to believe that the East J ava Province had been the
origin of irrigated agricultural civilization in Indonesia. In addition, the East J ava province
possesses the largest irrigation areas compared to other provinces in Indonesia, and yet still
having distinct practice on efficient irrigation operation and maintenance. During the Colonial
period, the East J ava had also been considered as the origin of experimental laboratory for
technical irrigation development, especially for supporting sugar industry. The Basin water
resources management for inter-sectoral utilization has also been the distinct identity of East
J ava with the well-known Brantas River Basin Management under a government owned
public corporation together with other agencies concerned.
(7) South Kalimantan Province, representing the Kalimantan Island of the central part of
Indonesia, with tidal lowlands and inland swamp areas, as well as with least densely
populated area in majority. The Dutch Colonial Government only introduced irrigated
agriculture in this area during the beginning of the century. In fact, the area has been taken the
experimental ground for development of tidal lowlands as well as swamplands for agricultural
purposes through drainage systems. Some agricultural technology and water management for
tidal lowlands and swamplands were developed in the experimental grounds and adopted later
with some adjustments by the same nature of works in the Eastern coast of Sumatra. At the
beginning of the Five-Year Development Implementation in Indonesia, a multiple purpose
dam was developed in the area, especially for generating electricity, raw water for domestic
and industries as well as for agricultural and fisheries.
(8) Bali Province, representing the lesser islands close to J ava island as the transition
between central zone to the east zone of Indonesia, with a densely populated and varying
levels of rainfall as well as topographical conditions. The island has a very long history on
irrigated agriculture and having a distinct Subak System (a traditional irrigation management)
that has been consistently practiced since hundred of years back, and yet still practiced today
in the entire part of the island, despite the modern irrigated agricultural technology.
(9) West Nusa Tenggara Province, representing the central and eastern Lesser Islands, with
varying topographical conditions, low rainfall duration and with semi arid conditions. This
province has a distinct experience on development and management of small reservoirs by the
strong traditional water users association, for various water utilizations including raw water
supplies, irrigation for rice fields as well as pastures. Some small irrigation schemes were
developed in the area during the Dutch time in 1930s in line with irrigation development in
many regions in Indonesia. Several reservoirs were developed in the area during the Five Year
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Development Period with a distinct inter basin water transfer in the Lombok Island, making
the province as one of the major rice producing areas in Indonesia today.
(10) South Sulawesi Province, representing the eastern regions of Indonesia with varying
topographical and climatic conditions. The province represents the area with a long history of
traditional kingdoms with various traditional irrigation practices, previously with vast shifting
cultivations. During the second and the third decades of the twentieth century, the Dutch
Colonial Government introduced Irrigation-Based Transmigration Program in South
Sulawesi by constructing a number of medium scale irrigation schemes in line with a large
barrage for agricultural, and power generation in Sadang River. After Independence, several
reservoirs were developed in the area during the Five Year Development Period with a
distinct multiple purpose dam for raw water supplies, power, agriculture, and flood protection
in the J eneberang River. The province today, is amongst the most developed areas in the
eastern region, with the support of strong traditional water users association, making the area
as one of the major rice producing areas in Indonesia.
Considering general guidelines prescribed by the ICID Working Group on History, the
manuscript has been prepared with a clearly defined geographical region and the technical
characteristics with a complete and comprehensive picture of irrigation, drainage and flood
control covering the entire parts of the country. In order to cover the countrywide history of
irrigation, no detailed figures of the province has been given, except some important
landmarks of irrigation history of Indonesia. It is expected that the detailed figures of
irrigation history in 33 provinces in Indonesia (today), will be prepared by each provincial
irrigation services following the format of national irrigation history presented in this book.
The content of the volume is restricted not only to irrigation but also include drainage and
flood control, emphasizing technological components. The agricultural, political, sociological,
economic, geographical, historical, and climatological aspects also addressed to the extent
necessary for understanding the general outline of historical development.
The writing format is prepared in the form of a continuous account of development, with
some particular authors written down on different aspects of irrigation in Indonesia including
contributions of individual authors in terms of scientific papers, abbreviated doctoral these,
country reports, personal observations, archaeological findings, project descriptions and the
likes. In general, the overall volume covers technological aspects, agricultural practices,
institutional aspects, legal and regulatory, socio-cultural within the general outline among
others: Introductory Background Natural characteristic, topography, rivers, climate and
rainfalls; Pre-historical evidence of irrigation practices; Development of irrigated agriculture
upland areas, rain-fed, lowland rice fields, simple irrigation, semi technical irrigation,
technical, upland rice fields, lowland (swamp lands) rice fields; Irrigated agricultural practices
during the Hindu Era Hindu Kingdoms; Islamic Kingdoms; During the VOC Era; Western
Colonial Era; Dutch Colonial Period; Dutch Ethical Policy; Irrigation Based Transmigration
Program; Establishment of Ministry of Public Works; the Period after Proclamation of
Independence Era; Five-Year Development Plans; Lowlands (swamplands) development;
Post Five-Year Development Plans; Chronological development of institutional and
regulatory aspects; Present status and condition of irrigation in Indonesia cropping patterns,
institutional and future prospects and so on.
On behalf of the editor team we would like to extend our whole hearted gratitudes and hearty
thankfulness to the Minister of Settlement and Regional Infrastructures (MSRI),
DR. Soenarno, in his capacity as the incumbent President of INACID for his support and
guidance to the preparation of this publication. Special thanks are addressed to Dr. Basuki
Hadimuljono -- Director General of Water Resources MSRI, Dr. Roestam Sjarief Director
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General of R&D MSRI, Ir. Iwan Noersyirwan, Dipl.H.E. Director General of Human
Resources Development, MSRI, Ir. Siswoko, Dipl.H.E Inspector General, MSRI, Ir. Adi
Sarwoko, Dipl.H.E Special Assistant to Minister of SRI, and former Chief of Bureau of
Planning and Foreign Cooperation Ministry of Settlement and Regional Infrastructures, and
all the Directors within the Directorate General of Water resources and staffs for all
assistances, helps and logistic arrangements during the field visits as well as during the desk
studies for preparation the manuscript. We would also like to acknowledge our indebtedness
to the Chief of Provincial Public Works and Irrigation Services, as well as Provincial
Irrigation Project Managers and staffs for all information, assistances and supports during the
field visits to their provinces.
We would be indebted if we do not mention some other prominent professionals, Prof. Dr. Ir.
P. K. Haryasudirja the former Minister of Water Resources Development during the
Sukarno Era, Dr. Ir. Suyono Sosrodarsono, the former Director General of Water Resources
Development and subsequently as the Minister of Public Works during the Suharto
Presidential Era for their endless encouragements and concerns on irrigation development and
management in Indonesia including recommendation and confirmation on some important
materials to be included in this history book on Irrigation in Indonesia. Our special thanks are
subsequently addressed to Ir. Soekadaryanto, Dipl. H.E., former Director of Indah Karya
Consulting Engineers, and Ir. Sri Hernowo Mashudi, Dipl. H.E., Technical Director of
J atiluhur Public Corporation (PJ T-II) as well as all individuals and professional staffs who are
not possible to mention one by one, for their supports and strenuous efforts as well as
invaluable contributions making this work materialized. Without which, this important
publication would not have been possible.

J akarta, August 17
th
, 2004
The Editors
A. Hafied A. Gany
Syaiful Mahdi
Effendi Pasandaran

MSRI and INACID Indonesias History in Brief
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Indonesias History in Brief
1

ndonesia, the largest archipelago in the world consists of five main islands, Sumatra
(473,606 km
2
), J ava (132,187 km
2
), Kalimantan (539,460 km
2
), Sulawesi (189,216 km
2
),
Papua (Irian J aya) at 421,981 km
2
, and some 30 smaller archipelagoes, totaling at about
17,508 islands and isles, of which about 6,000 are inhibited. The archipelago stretches
between 6
o
8 north latitude and 11
o
65 east longitude; and between 94
o
45 and 141
o
65 east
longitude, having a total area of 5,193,150 km
2
of which 2,027,087 km
2
of land territory and
sea territory at 3,1666,163 km
2
. The Indonesias land area is mostly covered with thick
tropical rain forest where fertile soils are continuously replenished by volcanic eruptions,
particularly on J ava Island, where 15 active volcanoes out of 112 volcanoes are located.
Climate: The climate in general is characterized by equatorial tropical monsoon-type climate
changes every six months. The dry season from J une to September, and the rainy season from
December to March. The temperatures varies in accordance with the season having the
average at the coastal plains at about 28
o
C; inland and mountain areas at about 26
o
C; and at
the high land territories at about 23
o
C. The relative humidity, like many tropical regions is
generally high, between 70% and 90%, with a minimum of about 73% and a maximum of
about 87%.
Water Resources: The overall accessible water resources potential of Indonesia is estimated
at about 2,530 km
3
, (about 1,847,246 m
3
/annum) scattered over river basins throughout the
archipelago, of which about 2% (96m
3
/capita/year) is currently utilized for agriculture at
about 76%, domestic at about 11.5%, and industries at about 13,5%. These water resources
are scattered throughout the country flowing over about 5,886 rivers and tributaries with the
overall length of about 18,000 km. The major rivers are also served for substantial inland

1
The manuscript has been prepared as a brief history of Indonesia for giving contextual relationship with the
Irrigation History of Indonesia. The material has been abstracted from Indonesia 2002, an Official
Handbook, The Indonesian National Information Agency with a number of updated figures from other
sources, including some information uploaded from the website of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
<http://www.deplu.go.id>
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transportation such as the Musi, Batanghari, Indragiri, and Kampar rivers in Sumatra; the
Kapuas, Barito, Mahakam, and Rajang Rivers in Kalimantan; the Memberamo and Digul
rivers in Papua. In J ava Island, rivers are dominantly utilized for irrigation, such as the
Bengawan Solo, Citarum, Ciliwung and Brantas Rivers. A number of islands are dotted with
scenic lakes, like the Toba, Maninjau and Singkarak Lakes in Sumatra; the Tempe, Towuti,
Sidenreng, Poso, Limboto, Tondano, and Matana lakes in Sulawesi; and the Paniai and
Sentani lakes in Irian J aya. Beside these, a total of 33.4 million ha of lowlands (consisted 20.1
million ha of tidal lowlands, and 13.3 million ha inland swamp) in the eastern coast of
Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua, as well as some 521 major natural lakes scattered over the
country.
People: According to the classified population of Indonesia, four basic ethnic groups have
been identified. These are Malanesians (the mixture between Sub-Mongoloids with the
Wajaks), the Proto-Austronesians (including the Wajaks), The Polynesians and the
Micronesians. The Malanesians sub divided into the Achenese of North Sumatra, The Batak
in Norteast Sumatra, The Minangkabaus in West Sumatra, the Sundanese in West J ava, the
J avanese in Central and East J ava, the Madurese on Madura Island, the Balinese on Bali
Island, the Sasak on the island of Lombok. On the island of Sulawesi the Malanesians are sub
divided into the Minahasas in the North, the Torajas in the center, the Makassarrese and the
Buginese in the southen Sulawesi. The Polynesians and Proto-Austronesians are sub divided
into the Ambonese on the group of islands in the Maluku, and the Irianese in Papua, and the
Timorese in Timor Island. The Micronesians are found on lesser islands of Indonesias
eastern borders.
The first inhabitant of Indonesia was the J ava-man who lived 500,000 years ago, named
Pithecanthropus erectus by Eugene Dubois who found the fossils at several places on J ava.
The fossils found in 1891 and 1892 in the village of Trinil near Solo were called Homo
Solonensis, while those found in Wajak were called Wajakensis. The Homo Solonensis with
the same characteristics as the Austro-Melanosoid people had roamed to Sumatra in the west
and to Papua in the east. In the period of 3,000-500 BC, Indonesia was inhabited by Sub-
Mongoloid migrants from Asia who later inter-marriage with the indigenous people. In 1,000
BC, inter-marriage still occurred with Indo-Arian migrants from South-Asian sub-continent of
India. The influx of Indian settlers until the seventh century AD brought about the Hindu
religion spread throughout the archipelago. Meanwhile, the Moslem merchants from Gujarat
and Persian Gulf began visiting Indonesia in the 13
th
century and established trade links
between this country and India and Persia. While conducting trading, the Gujarat and the
Arabic people also spread the Islamic religion in this area. The first to embrace Islam religion
were the kingdoms in the coastal regions, which were previously Hinduism.
A Brief History:
Ancient Time: When the sea level rose as the result of the melting ice on north of Europe and
the American continent, many islands emerged, including the Indonesian archipelago. During
the period (3000-500 BC) Indonesia was inhabited by Sub Mongoloid migrants from Asia
who later inter-married with the indigenous people. Later (1000 BC) inter-marriage still
occurred with Indo-Arians migrants from the south Asian sub-continent of India. According
to some scholars, it is believed that Indonesia must have been existed during the Pleitocene
period (four million BC). This period was also closely related to the first existence of the
Homonids. It was in this period, as argued by Eugence Dubois who found the fossils on the
island of J ava, that the J ava Man (Pithecanthropus Erectus) must have been inhabited that
part of the world so called today as Indonesia.
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The Buddhis and Hindu Kingdoms: The first indian migrants came primarily from Gujarat
in Southeast India during the first Christian era. The Caka period in Indonesia witnessed the
introduction of the Sanskrit language and the Pallawa script by the Indian Prince Aji Caka (78
AD). The Devanagari script of the Sanskrit Language was also used, as shown in ancient
stone and copper inscriptions (paracasthies), which have been unearthed. The language and
script were adopted and called the Kawi language and included words and phrases derived
from J avanese. Early trade relations were established between South India and Indonesia.
Sumatra was then named Swarna Dwipa of "the island of gold, " J ava was called J ava Dwipa
or "the Rice island," and a Hindu kingdom of Crivijaya in Sumatra and Nalanda in South
India were not confirmed to religious and cultural exchanges. They later developed diplomatic
relations, and even covered a wide range of trades. The influx of Indian settlers continued
during the period from the first to the seventh century AD. Peacefully and gradually the
Hindu religion spread throughout the archipelago. It was adopted by all layers of the people of
J ava, but limited to the upper classes on the outer islands.
During this period, many well-organized kingdoms with a high degree of civilization were
ruled by indigenous kings who had adopted the Hindu or Buddhist religion. This explains why
this period in history is called the Period of Hindu Kingdoms. It lasted from ancient times to
the 16
th
Century AD. Because the culture and civilization, which emanated from the Hindu
and Buddhist religions, were synchronized with the local cultural elements, the period was
also referred to as the Hindu-Indonesian period.
Around 502 AD Chinese annals mentioned the existence of the Buddhist Kingdom, Kanto
Lim in South Sumatra, presumably in the neighborhood of present-day Palembang. It was
ruled by King Gautama Subhadra, and later by his son Pyrawarman of Vinyawarman who
established diplomatic relations with China. Because of a spelling or pronunciation difficulty,
what the Chinese called "Kanto Li" was probably Crivijaya, a mighty Buddhist kingdom. On
his way to India, the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim, I Tsing, visited Crivijaya in 671 AD to study
the Sanskrit language. He returned 18 years later in 689 AD. The Crivijaya Kingdom was then
the center of Buddhist learning and had many well-known philosophy scholars like
Sakyakirti, Dharmapala and Vajabudhi.
The kingdom had diplomatic relations with the south Indian kingdom of Nalanda. The
Crivijaya mission built a school on its premises where Indians could learn the art of molding
bronze statues and broaden their knowledge of the Buddhist philosophy. With the spread of
Buddhism, Crivijayas influence reached out to many other parts of the archipelago.
In West J ava were the kingdoms of Galuh, Kanoman, Kuningan and Pajajaran. The latter was
founded by King Purana with the Pakuan as its capital. It replaced the kingdom of Galuh. The
kingdoms of Taruma Negara, Kawali and Parahyangan Sunda came later.
At the end of the 13th Century, the Crivijaya Empire began to fall as a result of severance by
its vassal states and frequent attacks by the south Indian kingdom of Chola and by the
Majapahit Kingdom. In the end, Crivijaya was completely conquered by Majapahit with the
support of King Aditiawarman of the Melayu kingdom. Earlier, Majapahit had conquered the
kingdom of J ambi in East Sumatra and, by moving its expansion along the rivers, it finally
annexed the kingdom of Pagar Ruyung in West Sumatra. Thus, all of Sumatra came under
Majapahits rule.
As the Majapahit grew to become a powerful empire, it conquered the kingdom of Crivijaya
in South Sumatra. As mentioned earlier, this kingdom has once been attacked by the Indian
Kingdom of Chola. Under King Hayam Wuruk the Majapahit Empire became the most
powerful kingdom in the history of Indonesia. It had dependencies in territories beyond the
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borders of the present archipelago, such as Champa in North Vietnam, Kampuchea
(Cambodia) and the Philippines (1331-1364). King Hayam Wuruk, with his able premier
Gajah Mada, succeeded in gradually uniting the whole archipelago under the name of
Dwipantara.
During this golden period of Majapahit many literary works were produced. Among them was
"Negara Kertagama," by the famous author Prapancha (1335-1380). Parts of the book
described the diplomatic and economic ties between Majapahit and numerous Southeast Asian
countries including Myanmar, Thailand, Tonkin, Annam, Kampuchea (Cambodia) and even
India and China. Other works in Kawi, the old J avanese language, were "Pararaton," "Arjuna
Wiwaha," "Ramayana," and "Sarasa Muschaya." These works were later translated into
modern European languages for educational purposes.
Islamic Kingdoms: Moslem merchants from Gujarat and Persian Gulf began visiting
Indonesia in the 13
th
Century and established trade links between this country and India and
Ancient Persian Empire. Along with trade, they propagated Islam among the Indonesians
people, particularly along the coastal areas of J ava, like Demak. At a later stage they even
influenced and converted Hindu kings to Islam, the first being the Sultan of Demak. This
Moslem Sultan later spread Islam westwards to Cirebon and Banten, and eastward along the
northern coast of J ava to the kingdom of Gresik. In the end, he brought the downfall of the
powerful kingdom of Majapahit (1293-1520).
After the fall of Majapahit, Islam spread further east to where the sultanates of Bone and Goa
in Sulawesi were established. Also under the influence of Islam, were the sultanates of
Ternate and Tidore in the Maluku (Moluccas Island). In the subsequent period, the Islamic
religion spread to Banjarmasin in Borneo and further west to Sumatra, where Palembang,
Minangkabau (West Sumatra), Pasai and Perlak were converted. Meanwhile, descendants of
the Majapahit aristocracy, religious scholars and Hindu Ksatriyas retreated through the East
J ava peninsula of Blambangan to the island of Bali and later to West Lombok. Later on, the
eastern part of Lombok converted to Islam, which entered the island from the southern
Sulawesi city of Makassar.
In West J ava, the capital of the West J ava Kingdom of Pajajaran was Sunda Kelapa (1300
AD). It was located in the present capital city of Indonesia, J akarta. In 1527 Sunda Kelapa
conquered by Falatehan, an Islamic troop commander of the sultanate of Demak. After his
conquest the city was renamed as J aya Karta, meaning "the great city," this was the origin of
the present name, J akarta. Falatehan also defeated the Portuguese, who had also tried to seize
the city.
The Colonial Period
Portuguese: In their search for spices, the Portuguese arrived to Indonesia in 1511, after their
conquest of the Islamic kingdom of Malacca on the Malay Peninsula. Then successively
followed by the Spaniards. Both began to propagate Christianity and were most successful in
Maluku, also known as the Moluccas.
Dutch: The Dutch had started their quest for Indonesias spices to sell on the European
market at big profit. For the purpose of more efficient and well-organized merchant trade they
established the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in 1602. To protect the merchants fleets
from frequent pirate attacks on the high seas, Dutch warships were ordered to accompany it.
After the nationalization of the VOC in 1799, the Dutch Government had a firm grip on the
vital territories of the country. People in those territories were forced to surrender their
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agricultural products to the Dutch merchants. It was the beginning of Dutch colonialism in
Indonesia. Sunda Kelapa was renamed after Batavia.
Meanwhile, the Hindu Kingdom of Mataram converted to Islam and was ruled by the
Moslem, Sultan Agung Hanyokrokusumo. He developed the political power of the state and
was a keen patron of the arts and culture. In 1633 he introduced the Islamic J avanese
calendar. Sultan Agung was a fierce enemy of the Dutch. In 1629 he sent his troops to attack
Batavia, but they were repulsed by the troops of Governor General J an Pieterszoon Coen.
After the seizure of Ambon in the Moluccas in 1605 and the Banda Island in 1623, the Dutch
secured the trade monopoly of the Spice Islands. A policy of ruthless exploitation by "divide
and rule" tactics was carried out. In this way indigenous inter-island trade, like those between
Makassar, Aceh, Mataram and Banten, as well as overseas trade, was gradually paralyzed.
Indonesia was reduced to an agricultural country to supply European markets. At the some
time, the Dutch adopted a so-called open-door policy toward the Chinese in order that they
could serve as middlemen in their trade with Indonesian farmers.
War against the Dutch: Sultan Hasanuddin of Goa Kingdom waged a war against the Dutch
in 1666. But was defeated and Goa became a vassal state of the VOC under the treaty of
Bungaya of 1667. Few years later, Prince Trunojoyo of Madura also fought the Dutch. He
was defeated and killed in 1680.
To reinforce their spice monopoly in the Moluccas, the Dutch undertook their notorious
Hongi expeditions, whereby they burned down the clove gardens of the people in an effort to
eliminate overproduction, which brought down the prices of cloves on the European markets.
In these outrageous expeditions countless atrocities were committed against people who
defended their crops. In 1740 the Dutch suppressed a rebellion in J akarta that was sparked by
dissatisfied Chinese, who were later joined by Indonesians. Ten thousand Chinese were
massacred.
The Kingdom of Mataram began to see its downfall after it was divided by the VOC into the
Principalities of Yogyakarta and Surakarta. However, mismanagement and corruption forced
the VOC into bankruptcy and on December 31, 1799, all its territories in Indonesia were taken
over by the Dutch Administration in Batavia. Soon the Dutch intensified their colonial rule.
But this only sparked widespread revolts to seize freedom. These revolts, however, were
suppressed one after the other. To mention only a few: Thomas Matulessy, alias Pattimura,
staged a revolt against the Dutch in the Moluccas (1816-1818). Prince Diponegoro of
Mataram led the J ava War from 1825 until 1830. Again, it was fierce struggle for freedom.
Tuanku Imam Bonjol led the Padri War in West Sumatra, while Teuku Umar headed the Aceh
War in North Sumatra (1873-1903). King Sisingamangaraja of the Bataks revolved against
the Dutch in 1907. An attempt by the Dutch troops to occupy Bali in 1908 was repelled by
King Udayana. Revolts were also staged in Goa, South Sulawesi, and in South Kalimantan.
The British Rule: In 1814 the British come to Indonesia and built Fort York in Bengkulu on
the west coast of Sumatra. It was later renamed as Fort Marlborough. During the Napoleonic
wars in Europe when Holland was occupied by France, Indonesia fell under the rule of the
British East India Company (1811-1816). Sir Thomas Stanford Raffles was appointed
Lieutenant Governor General of J ava and dependencies. He was subordinated to the Governor
General in Bengal, India. Raffles introduced partial self-government and abolished the slave
trade. In those days slaves were captured and traded by foreigners. He also introduced the
land-tenure system, replacing the hated Dutch forced-agricultural system (Compulsory
Agricultural Policy), whereby crops were grown and surrendered to the Government. The
Borobudur and other temples were restored and research conducted. Raffles wrote his famous
book, "The History of J ava," in which he described J avas high civilization and culture.
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During the British stay in Sumatra (1814-1825), William Marsden wrote a similar book on the
history of Sumatra, which was published in 1889.
After the fall of Napoleon, and the end of the French occupation of Holland the British and
Dutch signed a convention in London on August 13, 1814, in which it was agreed that Dutch
colonial possessions dating from 1803 onwards should be returned to the Dutch
Administration in Batavia. Thus, the Indonesian archipelago was recovered from the British
in 1815.
The Japanese Occupation: After the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, the J apanese forces
moved southwards to conquer several Southeast Asian countries. After Singapore had fallen,
they invaded the Dutch East Indies and the colonial army surrendered in March 1942.
Soekarno and Hatta were released from their detention. The J apanese began their propaganda
campaign for what they called "Great East Asia Co-prosperity". But Indonesians soon realized
that it was a camouflage for J apanese imperialism in lieu of Dutch colonialism.
To further the cause of Indonesias independence, Soekarno and Hatta appeared to cooperate
with the J apanese authorities. In reality, however, Indonesian nationalist leaders went
underground and masterminded insurrections in Blitar (East J ava), Tasikmalaya and
Indramayu (West J ava), and in Sumatra and Kalimantan. Under the pressure of the 4
th
Pacific
war, where their supply lines interrupted, and the increasing of Indonesian insurrections, the
J apanese ultimately gave in to allow the red-and-white flag to fly as the Indonesian national
flag. Recognition of "Indonesia Raya" as the National Anthem and the Bahasa Indonesia as
the national language followed. After persistent demands, the J apanese finally agreed to place
the civil administration of the county into Indonesian hands. This was a golden opportunity
for nationalist leaders to prepare for the proclamation of Indonesias independence.
The Birth of the Republic: The Republic of Indonesia first saw light on August 17, 1945,
when its independence was proclaimed by Soekarno and Hatta just days after the J apanese
surrender to the Allies. Pancasila became the ideological and philosophical basis of the
Republic, and on August 18, 1945 the Constitution was adopted as the basic law of the
country. Following the provisions of the Constitution, the country is headed by a President
who is also the Chief Executive. He is assisted by a Vice-President and a cabinet of ministers.
The sovereignty of the people rests with the Peoples Consultative Assembly (MPR). Hence,
the President is accountable to the MPR. The legislative power is vested in the House of
Representatives (DPR). Other institutions of the state are the Supreme Court, the Supreme
Advisory Council and the Supreme Audit Board. Soekarno became the first President and
Chief Executive, and Mohammad Hatta, the first Vice-President of the Republic. On
September 5, 1945 the first cabinet was formed.
The War of Independence: The infant republic was soon faced with military threats to its
very existence. British troops landed in Indonesia as a contingent of the Allied Forces to
disarm the J apanese. Dutch troops also seized this opportunity to land in the country, but for a
different purpose, - namely, to regain control of the former Dutch East Indies. At the
beginning they were assisted by British troops under General Christison, a fact later admitted
by Lord Louis Mountbatten, the Commander of the Allied Forces in Southeast Asia based in
India. In fact, the British troops were officially only assigned to the task of repatriating Allied
prisoners of war and internees.
On November 10, 1945, fierce fighting broke out between British troops and Indonesian
freedom fighters in which the British lost Brigadier General Mallaby. As a result, the British
turned to all-out combat from the sea, air and land. The newly-recruited army of the Republic
soon realized the superiority of the British forces and withdrew from urban battles. They
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subsequently formed guerrilla units and fought together with armed groups of the people.
Under the pretext of representing the Allied Forces, the Dutch sent in more troops to attack
Indonesian strongholds. Between 1945 and 1949 they undertook two military actions.
Because fighting with Dutch troops continued, the seat of the Republican Government was
moved from J akarta to Yogyakarta on J anuary 4, 1946.
World Recognition and Indonesias Sovereignty: The Round Table conference was
conducted in The Hague on August 23, 1949, under the auspices of the UN. It was concluded
on November 2, 1949 with an agreement that Holland was to recognize the sovereignty of the
Republic of Indonesia.
On December 27, 1949 the Dutch East Indies ceased to exist. It now became the sovereign
Federal Republic of Indonesia with a federal constitution. The constitution, inter-alia,
provided for a parliamentary system in which the cabinet was responsible to Parliament. The
question of sovereignty over Irian J aya (currently named Papua), formerly West New Guinea,
was suspended for further negotiations between Indonesia and the Netherlands. This issue
remained a perpetual source of conflict between the two countries for more than 13 years. On
September 28, 1950, Indonesia became a member of the United Nations.
(Abstracted from: Indonesia 2002, an Official Hand Book, with some updating from the Official Figure of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, R.I. http://www.deplu.go.id).

MSRI and INACID Chapter I. Introduction
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1
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

1.1. GENERAL OVERVIEW
The name that Indonesia has chosen for itself refers to a land of oceans and seas, with a
necklace of islands, islets, reefs and volcanoes, a vast garland stretching along the equator on
the borders of Asia and Australia, the Indian and the Pacific oceans. No fewer than 17,500
islands fan out, covering 5,000 km from east to west and over 2,000 km from north to south,
made up the largest archipelago in the world, with the total land area of 2,027,087 km
2
. The
surrounding sea area is three times larger than the land, and Indonesians are one of the few
peoples in the world who include water within the boundaries of their territory, calling their
country Tanah Air Kita, literally Our Lands and Waters. The overall population is estimated
at about 228 million people (2002) with the growth rate at 1.5%, consisted of 356 ethnics and
tribal groups, 583 local languages; 87% Moslem, 9% Christian, 2% Hindu and Buddhist.
The population policy is directed toward development of the population as human resources
in order that the national development can be effective and valuable, while the quality of life
is gradually improving. Meanwhile, the control of population growth is carried out through
efforts to lower the birth and mortality rates, especially that of infants and children. These
efforts in particular have been implemented through family planning program, which also has
the purpose of improving the welfare of mother and child, and at the same time create a small,
happy, and prosperous family.
Unity in Diversity is the national motto for Indonesians, which points to one of the greatest
attractions of Indonesia. There are 356 ethnics and tribal groups, 583 local languages, as a
result of the countrys unique geography, as well as history. Many Indonesians may see
themselves first by their ethnic and cultural group, and secondly as Indonesians.
Indonesias population in 2002 is approximately 228 million, making Indonesia as the fourth
most populous nation in the world after China, India and the United States. Over two thirds of
the population resides in the island of J ava which is only 6% of the whole area of Indonesia.
About 88% of the population is Moslem. Roughly 10% is Christian (Protestant and Roman
Catholic) and approximately 2% is Hindu and Buddhist. All the five of these religions are
formally recognized in Indonesia and have official national holidays commemorating events
of importance to their followers. Although the country is predominantly Moslem, the
government is not based on a single religion.
1) Birth Rate: The crude birth rate declined drastically from 27.3 per 1000 people in 1990 to
24.5 per 1000 in 1993. In the meantime, the fertility rate also declined from 3.3 per 1000
women of childbearing age in 1990 to 2.87 in 1993.
Several factors including a rising living standard, higher educational level and improved
health services, contributed to the birth rate decline. But the greatest proportion is attributable
to the increasing number of people participating in family planning especially the new eligible
couples. Moreover, contraception has become more widespread and effective, making it
easier to plan families; and sterilization of men and women has also become more common.
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Postponement of conception in marriages, and a trend towards later marriage has also become
more popular. The available data shows that the average age for marriage rose from 20.0 in
1980, to 21.9 years in 1990.
2) Mortality Rate: According to the statistics the expectation of life at birth for a man was
45.7 years representing a rise of about 15 years since the late 1960s, compared to 60.7 years
for 1988 and 62.7 for 1990. The crude death rate in 1988 was 7.9 per 1,000 people against
19.1 per 1,000 in 1993. The infant mortality rate declined from 67 per 1,000 live births in
1988 to 58 in 1993. Furthermore, the crude death rate had decreased about 45.1% for the
period of 1971-1990, meaning 2.3% per year.
Causes for the decline in the mortality rate include better nutrition, a rising standard of living,
advances in medical science, growth of medical facilities, improved health measures, better
working conditions, education in personal hygiene, and small nucleus families.
3) Migration: In 1992 the number of Indonesian citizens living abroad was 261,416 persons.
Of these, 190,586 went to Asian countries, 1,477 to African countries, 24,397 to European
countries, 21,612 to American countries and 23,344 to Australian and other Pacifics
countries. At the same time the number of foreigners living in Indonesia was 221,461. Of
these some 220,129 were Asians, 2 Africans, 107 Australians, 961 Europeans, and 262
Americans. Some 79,537 chose to live in Sumatra, 96,800 in J ava, 9,553 in Nusa Tenggara,
9,582 in Kalimantan, 18,858 in Sulawesi, 5,799 in Maluku and Irian J aya. There were also
71,058 temporary immigrants throughout the country.
4) Urbanization: Like in many countries, particularly those in the developing world, the city
is always the major attraction for the rural population. This is especially true where the land
no longer offers an effective means to earn a living. Indonesia is no exception. Over the years,
particularly after World War-II, cities have grown rapidly in population so much that
municipal governments have not been very successful in dealing with the impact of
urbanization. Prevalent are the pressing needs for employment, housing, transportation and
other social requirements.
5) Languages & Dialects: There are 583 languages and dialects spoken in the archipelago.
They normally belong to different ethnic groups of the population. Some of the distinctly
different local languages are: Acehnese, Batak, Sundanese, J avanese, Sasak, Tetum of Timor,
Dayak, Minahasa, Toraja, Buginese, Halmahera, Ambonese, Ceramese, and several Irianese
languages. To make the picture even more colorful, these languages are also spoken in
different dialects.
The national language of Indonesia is "Bahasa Indonesia". Originally, it was the Malay
language mainly spoken in the Riau Islands. In its spread throughout the country, its
vocabulary and idioms have been enriched by a great number of local languages. To keep
pace with religious, social and cultural progress, many words and terms have been derived
from foreign languages, including Dutch, Chinese, Sanskrit, Arabic and Portuguese.
Although Bahasa Indonesia has become the lingua franca, local languages and dialects
continue to be spoken and will not be abolished; fortunately we have the Bahasa Indonesia is
a strong unifying factor in the country indeed.
6) Culture: The modern Republic of Indonesia, born on August 17, 1945, may be relatively
young among the world's roster of nations. But it embraces a people whose roots stretch deep
into antiquity. Indeed, one of the earliest archaeological discoveries of human life named
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"J ava Man" The majority of Indonesia's people are of Malay stock (similar to the original
inhabitants of the neighboring countries of Malaysia, Brunei Darusalam and the Philippines).
Historically, the Malay people split into dozens of smaller subgroups, dispersing throughout
the archipelago in widely varying family structures and language groups.
Of these, the most numerous and culturally influential within Indonesia today are the
J avanese, inhabitant of Central J ava. But equally enduring cultural traditions are to be found
among the Sundanese of West J ava, the Minahasan people of North Sulawesi. The Bugis and
Makassars of South Sulawesi, the Minangkabau of West Sumatra and of course, the people of
Bali, famed for their changeless ways.
Indonesia also is home to a rich tapestry of other ethnically distinct indigenous people. The
Dani, Asmat, and dozens of other tribes of Irian J aya (the Indonesian province on the island of
New Guinea) are of Melanesian stock. The people of Nusa Tenggara (Lesser Sunda) islands,
the Dayaks of Kalimantan (the Indonesian portion of Borneo), and the Batak of North
Sumatra, each represent groups of distinct ethnic origins and customs. Indonesia even has one
large ethnic subgroup -- the Minangkabau of West Sumatra -- whose matrilineal society is
ruled by women, with property passed from mother to daughter, rather from father to son.
With diverse traditions of social organization and cultural development in place for hundreds
of years, Indonesia's people naturally provide a rich and varied mosaic of artistic and cultural
activities in all forms an expressions. Many of Indonesia's smaller ethnic groups --
particularly the Batak, Dayak, Nias and Asmat peoples -- have developed a strongly
characteristic form of artistic expression, rendered prolifically in ceremonial objects,
fashioned in unique design ornamentation from wood and stone. In the face of such ethnic
diversity, the newly formed republic decided following independence that a single, standard,
nationwide language was essential as a means of uniting Indonesia's people. To this day, local
dialects can still be heard in villages throughout the archipelago. But "Bahasa Indonesia"
(which was declared by the Indonesian people in the 1920s, founded on the traditional Malay
Language) has met with almost universal acceptance -- making it one of the most widely
spoken languages in the world.
The patterns characterizing Indonesia's ethnic history can also be seen in the country's
religious development. In successive phases, Indonesia was influenced by the spread of
Animism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity.
Today, the country's dominant religion is Islam. Indeed, with over 80 percent of the
population following the Islamic faith, Indonesia has more Moslem adherents than the entire
Arab world together. In spite of this, all major religions continue to be practiced throughout
the country, a freedom guaranteed by National Law. Each of the country's four major
religions is honored with at least one national holiday every year.
Today, the world's most magnificent Buddhist temple, Borobudur, can be found only a few
miles from one of Hinduism's most important historic shrines -- Prambanan -- in Central J ava.
Meanwhile, in modern downtown J akarta, the city's Roman Catholic cathedral as well as an
old protestant church and Istiqlal, the largest of its Islamic mosques, stand only a few hundred
meters apart.
Because Indonesia achieved national independence through revolution, the early years of the
new republic were focused on forging a consensus of national unity and basic political
orientation under the leadership of Soekarno, the nation's founding president. The first two
decades following independence were marked by political and economic turbulence not
uncommon among countries in the initial stages of nation building. By the late 1960's,
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however, following several years of "growing pains" -- characterized by intense liberating
internal struggles -- Indonesia succeeded in resolving its early difficulties, including a period
of severe political volatility in 1965-1966.
1.2. GEOGRAPHY AND OTHER RELATED CHARACTERISTICS
Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world. It consists of five major islands and about 30
smaller groups. The figure for the total number of islands is 17,508 according to the
Indonesian Naval Hydro-Oceanographic office. The archipelagos on a crossroads between
two oceans, the Pacific and the Indian, and bridges two continents, Asia and Australia. This
strategic position has always influenced he cultural, social, political and economic life of the
country.
The territory of the Republic of Indonesia stretches from 6
8' North Latitude to 11
65' South
Latitude, and from 94
45' East Longitude. The Indonesian sea area is four times greater than
its land area, which is about 1,904 millions km
2
. The sea area is about 7.9 million km
2
;
(including an exclusive economic zone) and constitutes about 81% of the total area of the
country. There are five main islands: Sumatra, which is about 473,606 km
2
. In size; the most
fertile and densely populated islands, J ava/Madura, 132,107 km
2
; Kalimantan, which
comprises two-thirds of the island of Borneo and measures 539,460 km
2
; Sulawesi, 189,216
km
2
; and Papua, 421,981 km
2
, which is part of the world's second largest island, New Guinea.
Indonesia's other islands are smaller in size. The archipelago is divided into three groups. The
island of J ava, Sumatra and Kalimantan, and the small islands in-between, lie on the Sunda
Shelf which begin on the coasts of Malaysia and Indo China, where the sea depth does not
exceed 700 feet (213 m), Papua which is part of the island of New Guinea, and the Aru
Islands lie on the Sahul Shelf, which stretches northwards from the Australian coast. Here the
sea depth is similar to that of the Sunda Shelf. Located between these two shelves is the island
group of Nusatenggara, Maluku and Sulawesi, where the sea depth reaches 15,000 feet (4.57
km). Coastal plains have been developed around the islands of Sumatra, J ava, Kalimantan and
Papua. The land area is generally covered by thick tropical rain forests, where fertile soils are
continuously replenished by volcanic eruptions like those on the island of J ava.
Geography plays distinct role in the remarkable diversity of Indonesia's abundant plant and
animal life. The 19
th
Century British botanist Alfred Russell Wallace, who is credited,
together with Darwin, with the theory of evolution, determined a precise line of demarcation
between the Indonesian islands of Bali and Lombok -- the "Wallace Line" -- which separates
the flora and fauna found throughout Asia from those unique to Australasia. This distinct
characteristic sometimes called the "Ring of Fire" (referring to the chain of active volcanoes
that form its spine) Indonesia also is the sole habitat for several of the world's most unusual
living species -- ranging from the menacing Komodo Dragon, a 10-foot carnivorous lizard, to
a bizarre flower known as Rafflesia, with damp and tropical petals opening more than a meter
in diameter. J ust as the forces of geography and climate strongly influenced these islands in
the past, they continue to play a critical role in shaping the evolving nature of Indonesia
today.
Beginning as a loosely structured amalgam of autonomous regions and races, Indonesia has
worked intensely to develop a common national language and a shared political ideology.
Together, these have played a crucial role in forging former fiefdoms into today's proud
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unified nation. It was with good reason that the new country adopted as its motto the slogan
Bhinneka Tunggal Ika. Taken from the ancient Sanskrit means "Unity in Diversity" - aptly
expressing the rich complexity of the people of Indonesia and their nation.
1.2.1. INDONESIA STANDARD TIME
As of J anuary 1, 1988, Indonesia's three time zones have been changed as below: (1) Western
Indonesia Standard Time equals GMT plus 7 hours (meridian 10.50E), covering all provinces
in Sumatra and J ava, and the provinces of West and Central Kalimantan; (2) Central
Indonesia Standard Time equals GMT plus 8 hours (meridian 12.00E), covering the provinces
of East and South Kalimantan, all provinces in Sulawesi, and the provinces of Bali, West and
East Nusatenggara and East Timor; (3) Eastern Indonesia Standard Time equals GMT plus 9
hours (meridian 13.50E, covering the provinces of Maluku and Papua.
1.2.2. TERRITORIAL WATERS AND EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE
When independence was proclaimed and sovereignty gained, Indonesia had to enact laws to
govern the seas in accordance with the geographic structure of an archipelago state. This,
however, did not mean that the country would bar international passage. The laws were
necessary instruments for the unity and national resilience of the country, with a territory that
embraces all the islands, the islets and the seas in between.
In view of the countrys susceptibility to foreign intervention from the sea and for domestic
security reasons, on December 13, 1957, the Indonesian Government issued a declaration on
the territorial waters of the Republic. It stated that all the waters surrounding and between the
islands in the territory came within Indonesias sovereignty. It also determined that the
countrys territorial water limit was 12 miles, measured from a straight baseline drawn from
the outermost points of the islands.
In the past, archipelago states like Indonesia have unilaterally determined their 200-mile
Exclusive Economic Zones. Today such economic zones are confirmed by the International
Convention on the Law of the Sea, which was ratified by the Indonesian Government on
October 18, 1983, by Act No. 5 of the same year. This is the legal basis of Indonesian
Exclusive Economic Zone.
1.3. PHYSIOGRAPHY, CLIMATE AND WEATHER
The climate and weather of Indonesia is characterized by two tropical seasons, which vary
with the equatorial air circulation (The Walker Circulation) and the meridian air circulation
(The Hardley Circulation). The displacement of the latter follows the north-south movement
of the sun and its relative position from the earth, in particular from the continents of Asia and
Australia, at certain periods of the year. These factors contribute to the displacement and
intensity of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), which is an equatorial trough the
low pressure that produces rain. Thus, the west and east monsoons, or the rainy and dry
seasons, are a prevalent feature of the tropical climate.
1.3.1. THE MAIN SEASONS
In general, the climate changes every six months. The dry season (J une to September) is
influenced by the Australian continental air masses; while the rainy season (December to
March) is the result of the Asian and Pacific Ocean air masses. The air contains vapor, which
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precipitates and produces rain in the country. Tropical areas have rains almost the whole year
round. However, the climate of Central Maluku and the East Coast of South Sulawesi is an
exception. The rainy season is from J une to September and the dry season from December to
March. The transitional periods between the two seasons are April to May and October to
November.
1.3.2. ANNUAL RAINFALL
The rainfall is fairly and evenly distributed throughout the year in other parts of the country
with somewhat heavier rain in the wet season. The wet and dry seasons are distinguished with
monsoons. The driest regions of Indonesia receive 500 to 1,000 mm yearly; the lowlands in
the country receive 1,800 to 3,200 mm, while Kalimantan and Sumatra have 3,000 to 3,700
mm of rainfall. Sumatra has higher rainfall on the highlands. Some mountainous areas in Irian
J ava receive about 6,400 mm a year. Rain forests flourish in Indonesia's hot and humid
climate.
1.3.3. TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY
Average local temperatures vary little throughout the year resulting in the determination of
the seasons on the rainfall differences. J ava and lesser Sunda have distinct dry season with
little rainfall. Due to the large number of islands and mountains in the country, average
temperatures may be classified as follows: coastal plains: 28C inland and mountain areas:
26C higher mountain areas: 23C, varying with the altitude. Being in a tropical zone,
Indonesia has an average relative humidity between 70% and 90%, with a minimum of 73%
and a maximum of 87%.
1.3.4. VOLCANOES
The country is predominantly mountainous with some 400 volcanoes, of which 100 are
active. Mountains higher than 9,000 feet (2.75 km) are found on the islands of Sumatra (Mt.
Leuser and Mt. Kerinci), J ava (Mt. Gede, Mt. Tangkubanperahu, Mt. Ciremai, Mt. Kawi, Mt.
Kelud, Mt. Semeru and Mt. Raung), Sulawesi (Mt. Lompobatang and Mt. Rantekombala),
Bali (Mt. Batur and Mt. Agung), Lombok (Mt. Rinjani) and Sumbawa (Mt. Tambora). The
highest mountain is the perpetually snow-capped Mandala Top (15,300 feet or about 4.7 km)
in the J aya Wijaya mountain range of Irian J aya (Papua).
The recorded eruptions of volcanoes so far over the last two decades are: Sumatra - Dempo
1973, and 1974, Merapi 1978, Sorik Merapi 1989, Kerinci 1990; Sunda Strait Anak Krakatau
1978 and 1979; J ava - Bromo 1972, Merapi 1972 and 1976, Raung 1978, Semeru 1978 and
1979, Butak Petarangan (Sinila and Sigludar) 1979; Paluweh - Rokatenda 1978, Galunggung
1982, Slamet 1988, Kelud 1990; Sulawesi - Lokon 1978, 1979 and 1991, Siau - Karangetang
1978 and 1979, Colo 1983, Soputan 1989; Maluku - Dukono 1978, Gamalama Kie Besi 1987,
Banda Api 1988; East Nusa Tenggara - Lewotobi Laki-laki 1990.
1.3.5. WATER RESOURCES, RIVERS AND LAKES
The overall accessible water resources potential of Indonesia is estimated at about 2,530 km
3
,
(about 1,847,246 m
3
/annum) scattered over river basins throughout the archipelago, of which
about 2% (96m
3
/capita/year) is currently utilized for agriculture at about 76%, domestic at
about 11.5%, and industries at about 13,5%. These water resources are scattered throughout
the country at about 5,886 rivers and tributaries with the overall length of about 18,000 km.
The major rivers are also served for substantial inland transportation such as the Musi,
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Batanghari, Indragiri, and Kampar rivers in Sumatra; the Kapuas, Barito, Mahakam, and
Rajang Rivers in Kalimantan; the Memberamo and Digul rivers in Papua. In J ava Island,
rivers are dominantly utilized for irrigation, such as the Bengawan Solo, Citarum, Ciliwung
and Brantas Rivers. A number of islands are dotted with scenic lakes, like the Toba, Maninjau
and Singkarak lakes on Sumatra; the Tempe, Towuti, Sidenreng, Poso, Limboto, Tondano,
and Matana lakes on Sulawesi; and the Paniai and Sentani lakes on Irian J aya. Beside these, a
total of 33.4 million ha of lowlands (consisted 20.1 million ha of tidal lowlands, and 13.3
million ha inland swamps) in the eastern coast of Sumatra and Papua, as well as some 521
major natural lakes scattered over the country have also been identified.
1.4. AGRICULTURE
Agriculture is Indonesia's major economic activity. The farms are large plantations where
coffee, palm oil, rubber, sugarcane, tea and tobacco are raised for export. Indonesia is a large
producer of rice which is the main crop grown on small farms. Bananas, cassava, coconuts,
maize, peanuts, spices and sweet potatoes are also grown. Major cash crop in Indonesia is
rubber, which is exported. The total land area suitable for agriculture in Indonesia is
181.17 Mha of which arable and permanently cropped area is 30.2 Mha, while non-arable
lands contribute 150.98 Mha. Forests and woodlands enable Indonesia to produce large
amounts of valuable hardwoods like teak and ebony. Bamboo is also produced in abundance.
Estate management and agriculture is widely practiced in J ava and Sumatra whereas on other
islands the estates are fewer. Soils in Kalimantan, Sulaweri and Sumatra are poor because of
excessive leaching by heavy rains and irrigation is needed where rainfall is less than 1,000
mm while the extensive swampy soils of the alluvial plains of Sumatra, Kalimantan and West
Irian require drainage before being put to useful cultivation.
1.4.1. ROLE OF AGRICULTURE
In 2000 some 73.22% of the total land area is devoted to agriculture. Land area for estates
accounted the largest of around 16.7 million hectares, arable dry land approximately 12.9
million hectares, woods around 8.8 million hectares and wet land around 7.8 million hectares.
The smallest was land used for brackish and fresh-water pond, which covered only 0.5 million
hectares and 0.2 million hectares respectively. The rest of 17.2 million hectares constituted of
temporarily fallow land (9.7 million hectares), house compound and surrounding (5.2 million
hectares) and grassland (2.2 million hectares). Despite that the country is an agricultural one,
agricultures contribution to the country GDPs, in 2000, accounted for only 16.39% against
26.11% of manufacturing industry.
1.4.2. Policy and Strategy
Early in 1970s, agricultural policy in Indonesia has been primarily concerned with
implementing production-based policies designed to pursue food self-sufficiency. Since 1967,
Indonesian agricultural development policies have been focused on achieving food self-
sufficiency in rice. This goal was reached in 1984, when, for the first time, domestic rice
production exceeded domestic rice consumption.
The agricultural development is carried out through a strategy that is aimed at increasing
optimum benefit of domestic resources, extending agricultural development spectrum through
technology diversification, resources, production and consumption, improving the application
of local and applicable technology, engineering, and improving agricultural productivities.
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In order to increase rice output, the Indonesian government was forced to expand cultivated
land area. This expansion was accomplished by investing large amounts of government funds
into infrastructure projects, such as the building of roads and processing facilities, and the
development of new irrigation networks. The strategy to expand cultivated land area also
relied on Indonesia's Transmigration Program. This program involved moving farmer from
over populated areas and resettling them on irrigation developed land.
1.4.3. PRODUCTIVITY
Production of rice in Indonesia showed a concentration on J ava Island, where rice was
produced around 56.11% or 28.3 million tons of total production of the country. The harvest
area of rice on J ava reached 49.57% of the whole harvest area in Indonesia with a productivity
of 49.7 quintals per hectare in 2001. Meanwhile, production of second crops such as maize,
cassava and sweet potato showed an increase of 2.89%, 3.20% and 3.19% in 2001 compared
to that of the year 2000s productivity. Meanwhile, the productivity of soybean decreased
around 1.30% compared to that of the year 2000s productivity. More than 50% of second
crops namely maize, cassava, peanuts and soybeans grow in J ava, except the sweet potato is
less than 50% in J ava. This means that the soil of J ava Island is the right kind for the second
crops. Therefore, it should be maintained carefully in order to increase the harvest area and
the productivity of the food crops in terms of quantity and quality.
J ava Island has been also dominant in producing vegetables. It was estimated that in 2001 the
percentage of all vegetable productions on J ava would be about the same as production in
2000. The highest yield per hectare was cabbage (20.0 tons per hectare), followed by carrots
(16.4 tons per hectare). In 2001, most of yield per hectare of vegetables predicted to decrease,
except potatoes and cabbage. Yield per hectare of potatoes and cabbages were estimated to
increase to 13.5 tons per hectare and 21.6 tons per hectare respectively.
The main objective of the government policy are to increase agricultural productivity and
thereby to ensure that farmers have better standard of living, to stabilize the agricultural
market, to guarantee regular supplies of food and to provide these supplies at reasonable
prices. In the recent reformation era, focus of agricultural development is placed on
transforming the comparative advantage in agricultural and marine resources into a strong
competitive advantage. In this way Indonesian economy has a strong domestic resource base,
has a competitive strength and consistently developed for the well being of the people.
The policy also aimed for empowering the farmers and the rural communities, by providing
capital assistance for them to buy seeds, fertilizer and pesticide, carries out the development
of agricultural industry including animal husbandry and plantation. Also by giving assistance
for pest control and combat plant diseases, improve the marketing system especially on
market channels and production processing, improving services for guidance and information.
In 2001 the number of people engaged in agriculture was nearly 39.7 million. The
development of agriculture covers food crops, estate crops, forestry, animal husbandry and
fisheries.
1.4.4. FORESTRY
Development policy in the field of forestry is aimed at improving the efficiency of logging
and forestry industries. It is designed to complement the conservative forest processing
system that supports the interest of local population, develop conservation and protection of
forest resources. It is also meant to speed up the process of conflict resolution in the area and
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forest, which is community based, and develops social forests, agro-forestry and community
owned forest. It also concerns in the formation of social institutions that can manage the area
integrally and improve control of forest clearing and forest fire, accompanied by law
enforcement towards violations against forest resources, productive forest, and park and
reservation forest. The total area of protection forest until March 2001 was estimated at 32.33
million hectares, or about 28.62% of the total area of forest. Production forest reached 57.4
million hectares, consisting of 35.8 million hectares of limited production forest, 21.6 million
hectares of non-convertible forest and 13.7 million hectares of convertible production forest.
The total area of park and reservation forest was 23.3 million hectares.
In an effort to conserve the availability of forest in Indonesia, the Government has been
carrying out reforestation programs. The realization of reforested areas covered around 11.6
thousand hectares during the fiscal year of 1999-2000, and 9.6 thousand hectares during the
year of 2000. It means that the program of reforestation reached 85.85% in the fiscal year of
1999-2000 and 93.25% during the year of 2000. The critical land areas were recorded to be
around 23.7 million hectares at the beginning of 1999-2000 with approximately 65% of it was
located outside of the forest area and the rest was inside forest area. The critical land area that
would be restored during the period of 1999- 2000 to 2003 was 3.97 million hectares,
comprising of 68% outside forest area and the rest within the forest area. These figures
showed that the target of rehabilitation program only accomplished 16.72% of all critical land
areas.
(Source: Indonesia 2003, An Official Handbook, National Information Agency, Republic of Indonesia)
1.4.5. IRRIGATION
Irrigation has been practiced in Indonesia especially on J ava Island and Bali for rice since the
ancient time with the simple and least sophisticated networks. Indonesia has several river
streams in the large islands of Sumatra, J ava, Kalimantan and Irian. The important rivers are
Brantas, Solo, Ciliwung, and Citarum on J ava J ava, Asahan and Musi on Sumatra. Barito,
Kapuas, Mahakam, Rajau and Kahajan lie in Kalimantan. It also has rich ground water
resources particularly the aquifers in the vicinity of the lava streams. The total internal water
resources of the country stood at 2,530 BCM (1987) of which a quantity of 16.6 BCM was
being withdrawn with an allocation of 76% to agriculture, whereas the irrigated area in 1995
was 4.58 Mha. Irrigation in Indonesia has been developed through the five year development
plan and a number of projects have been implemented which include Brantas river basin
development, regional plan in West J ava, Sempor dam and irrigation project and Bali
irrigation project. Drainage needs have been developed in several islands of Indonesia
particularly in Kalimantan and Sumatra Islands. The implementation of irrigation and
drainage has been conducted in Indonesia since the Dutch Colonial Period. Large rice fields
on lowland areas were connected by excavating channels and connecting them to tidal rivers
which inundate the fields during the high tide and drain off during low-tides, thus converting
a marsh land into a fertile agricultural lands in about two years time. During one of the five-
year plans (1974-1979), almost 272,000 ha of tidal areas and swamplands were reclaimed.
Indonesia has also promulgated a number of laws for governing water resources.
1.4.6. ICID AND INDONESIA
Indonesia joined the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage ICID, in 1950 as
a founder member country. The Indonesian National Committee of ICID has been actively
participated in the ICID activities. Currently, Indonesian National Committee is represented
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on three work bodies of ICID while it has also a Vice President Hon, Dr. Suyono
Sosrodarsono (1972-1975). The National Committee's publication of Sejarah Irigasi di
Indonesia or History of Irrigation in Indonesia, in the Indonesian Language, by the late Ir.
Abdullah Angoedi, published in 1984 gives an account of historical development of irrigated
agriculture in Indonesia and a list of dams and irrigation systems constructed prior to 1969.
The National Committee has hosted the 49
th
meeting of the ICID's International Executive
Council and the 10
th
(the last) Afro-Asian Regional Conference in J uly 1998. From this point
in time, the Afro-Asian Regional Conference divided into two regions namely, African
Region and Asian Region of ICID respectively Indonesia belongs to Asian Region.
1.5. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT
1.5.1. ANCIENT HISTORY
Irrigation history in Indonesia has been significantly related with rice production in lowland
areas as the staple diet of the people since the ancient time. In this regards, no evidence had
been indicating the exact time when irrigated rice fields was initially practiced in Indonesia,
except some stone inscriptions indicating that lowland rice fields had long been known in
Indonesia. Similarly, no exact evidence that could explain the origin of lowland rice fields as
the folk-plant of people in most Asian countries, today. A number of scholars argued that in
Southeast Asia in particular, the traditional communities with distinct civilization had already
existed, which believed to be much comparable with other civilizations in Asia, even with
ancient Indian.
Another scholar argues that the ancient migrants of Don-Sun Civilization from Asian
continent during the decades of BC stranded in the Brantas Delta of the Eastern J ava Island
and ever-since decided to settle in the Kediri Area (as known today). During that period, they
mutually practiced their livelihood based on civilization they brought along from their place
of origin, including upland rice cultivation. As the fertile land resources became more and
more scarce, in addition to occasional volcanic disasters from the eruption of Mount Kelud,
they begun to make adaptation with natural conditions, including construction of dykes along
the bank of Brantas River to protect themselves from occasional floods and sand drifts due to
volcanic eruptions. Learning from experiences, they gradually expanded irrigated agricultural
techniques by inventing simple irrigation for lowland rice fields, having the fact that upland
rice fields are nor longer sustainable. Having experienced the prospective livelihood in the
newly invented destination, they then decided to settle in this area for good. This ancient
civilization is evidently believed to be the origin of irrigated agricultural practices in
Indonesian Archipelago (Angoedi A., 1984. p.p.3-4.).
1.5.2. THE HINDU ERA
According to the existing folklore as well as some ancient inscriptions, there are adequate
reasons to believe that irrigation development in Indonesia must had been practiced longer
before the Hindu people came to the area. Much of the traditional legends in the community
elucidate that at the time of the fist Hindu generation came to Indonesia, they came across that
the ancient inhabitant had already widely practiced lowland rice fields on J ava Island. In fact,
they named the J ava Island after the Jawa-Dwipa Island, which derives from the compound
words jawawut means rice and dwipa means island, or Rice Island. The Jawa-Dwipa is
strongly believed to be the origin of the term Pulau Jawa, known today in English as the
J ava Island. Since rice is an aquatic plant and rice cultivation was discovered by the first
Hindu migrant to be widely cultivated by the local people in the lowlands areas of J ava, there
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must had been intervention or involvement of irrigation technique since that time,
disregarding however simple it was.
Based on a number of stone inscriptions on J ava Island, it is strongly argued that during the
Hindu Era, the Hindu Emperors for fulfilling adequate food supplies of the peoples had
widely practiced irrigation for rice fields. For illustration, the stone inscription from
Dharmawangsa Emperor dated 958 Caka-Year or 1037 AD stated that a series of dyke
construction works were undertaken by the emperor at the Waringin Sapta, next to the
Brantas river banks for protecting human settlement as well as agricultural areas in the
vicinity of the middle reach of the Brantas River (located in the East J ava Province, today). In
addition, another stone inscription of the Tulodong Kingdom mentions about the tax
exemption for Bari (a Hindu priest, and his descendants), for constructing the Harinjing and
Srinjing irrigation infrastructures at the western lowland basin of Kediri and Daha Kingdoms
of the eastern part on J ava Island (Wirosumarto, S., 1997, pp. 3-4).
1.5.3. THE ISLAMIC KINGDOMS
As the Hindu Emperor fading away from J ava, the Islamic Era came to Indonesia at about the
13
th
Century. The first Islamic Kingdom in Indonesia was Perlak-Pasai in Sumatra (Aceh),
which was established in 1290. The historical records indicate that the initial Islamic Religion
in J ava was introduced by Maulana Malik Ibrahim in Gersik, East J ava in 1419, and the
establishment of the first Islamic Kingdom in J ava, the Demak Kingdom, in 1513 ruled by
the first king Raden Patah (1513-1546). In 1521, the Pasai Kingdom in Sumatra was
conquered by Portuguese, and in 1527, Falatehan invaded the Banten Kingdom in Western
J ava, and became the first Islamic Kingdom in Western J ava. The Islamic religion was
peacefully spread throughout the archipelago by traders and gradually embraced all layers of
the society in J ava as well as the upper classes in the Outer Islands. During these periods, the
irrigated agricultural implementation played strategic roles for the Islamic kingdoms, and
hence, a number of adjustments as well as improvements were made against the previous
irrigated agricultural practices. As a matter of facts, there are some evidences to believe that
the Islamic Kingdom of Demak in the Central J ava was known to be the major rice-exporting
source to supply the entire part of the Nusantara (ancient term of Indonesia) archipelago
(Wirosoemarto, S., 1997, p.3). This matter with some other evidences indicate that irrigated
agriculture for rice has already been implemented with appropriate water management on
almost the entire lowland plains of the northern parts of J ava Island. Despite the fact that the
successful extent of irrigated rice fields in this area is due to appropriate natural soil
properties as well as the advantage of adequate rainfall in the area. Whatever water
management, and however simple it was, must had been practiced, eventhough the areas were
mainly provided for rainfed agriculture.
1.5.4. TRADITIONAL AGRICULTURAL HERITAGES
With regards of the historical evidences on irrigation, however, it must be acknowledged that
the overview presented for ancient history of irrigation has yet come to its ultimate extent. In
fact, there are a number of traditional irrigated agricultural practices that had been descended
from ancient Indonesian civilizations such as -- the Subak System in Bali Province,
Dawur Pranatamangsa in Central and East J ava Provinces, Tuo Banda or Siak
Bandar in West Sumatra Province, Tudang Sipulung in South Sulawesi, Panriahan
Pamokahan and Siauga Parjolo in North Sumatra, Panitia Siring in South Sumatra
and Bengkulu Provinces, including some institutional based traditional agriculture such as
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Ulu-ulu Desa, and Ulu-ulu Vak in Central J ava, Raksa Bumi in West J ava, Ili-ili in
East J ava, Malar or Ponggawa in Sumbawa Island, and Kejrueng Blang in Aceh
Province -- and yet still currently being implemented in many of todays irrigated agricultural
communities in the respective areas (For more information, see the Supplement Papers
including: The Ancient Irrigated Agricultural Heritages in Indonesia, illustrating the
detailed information about some of these traditional agricultural heritages). These in
themselves are the concrete explanation of the past existence of irrigation based agricultural
practices, though they do not give indication of the exact date of the initial inventions.
Whoever might be the inventors of the ancient irrigation agricultural techniques, they must
had been based on systematical observations and long-term trials and errors to meet and
adjust with the existing demands and constrains from generation to generations. Above all,
the implementation of ancient techniques must have been based on appropriate and long-term
educational extensions, given the presumption of the absence of formal education and
appropriate training techniques in those days. To this extent, further studies and evidences are
required in order to be able to improve the factual deliberations of this historical manuscript.
In this regard, therefore, all of information outlined in these sessions are opened for future
corrections or improvement.
1.5.5. THE COLONIAL ERA
The Dutch started their venture to Indonesian Archipelago in 1596 by Cornelis de Houtman to
seek spices, which they sold in European markets (Lisboa, Portuguese) to gain big profit. For
facilitating the spice trade activities, the Dutch Government established the so called the
Vereenigde Oost Indiche Compagnie -- VOC or the Dutch East India Company in 1602
with the aim as to exploit the spice islands in the Indonesian Archipelago for European
market. As the VOCs merchant fleets were often not free from pirate attacks, therefore, their
sailings to East were later on accompanied by Dutch warship escorts. Following the
nationalization of the Dutch East Indie Trading Company by the Dutch Government in 1799,
the exploitation of Indonesian commodities for Europe developed into Dutch suzerainty over
Indonesian territories where the people on such territories were levied by force or
monopolistic to make agricultural tributes to the Dutch. In fact, the Dutch colonialism in
Indonesia was officially pronounced previously in 1605. The Capital Sunda Kelapa was
replaced by the Dutch name Batavia (or J akarta today), (IIN, 2002, p.21, and Badrika,
I.W., et.al., 1993, p.184).
Early at the beginning of the Dutch Colonial Era in Indonesia (referred to by the Dutch
Colonial Government as the Netherlands Indie) not much effort were addressed to
irrigation development due to their special attention on spice trade. This was the case because
the Dutch still give concentration of spice products rather than irrigated agriculture, which by
nature, considered as public services oriented undertaking. Apart from that, traditional
irrigation infrastructures were still available to provide adequate food supplies for the people.
There were a number of irrigation works and expansion of rice cultivations in Bali Island and
in J ava as well as on the Other Islands through mutual aid (gotong royong) system. Irrigation
for private lands were also constructed in the Tangerang Plain, Bekasi and Cikarang, as well
as in the vicinity of Batavia and Bogor for land-lords by virtue of heerendienst or
obligatory labor force for the Land Lord. Among the irrigation system, the Ciliwung
Katulampa, Cisedane Empang and Cibalok are still in operation today after more that 250
years, though their physical conditions are increasingly deteriorated.
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a) Approaching the Early 20
th
Century: By the year of 1800, the Dutch Colonial
Government suffered from severe financial insolvency as the result of the debt of VOC, at an
amount of about 120 million Netherlands Guilders. This financial depression worsen by the
broke up of the prolong war in Europe and later with several wars with nationalist movements
in Indonesia.
In an attempt to resolve the prolong financial crises, immediately after the end of Diponegoro
War in 1830, the Dutch Colonial Government assigned the Governor General Van Den Bosh
to enforce compulsory agricultural policy, so called as Cultuur Stelsel or Verplichte
Cultuur or mandatory agricultural policy. The Cultuur Stelsel imposed the farmers to
cultivate 20% of agricultural lands they have with commercial plantation and cash crops such
as rubber, coffee, tea, and pepper for upland areas and for lowland areas with nila (genus
corchorus) and sugar cane, as the highly market potential agricultural products in Europe
those days. The agricultural product for the 20% farmland should be fully surrendered to the
Dutch Colonial Authority, and the products received to be regarded as the payment of land tax
in lieu of the Land Rente tax obligation that had been prescribed by the Colonial
Government since 1813.
b) The Impacts of Compulsory Agricultural Policy: To support the colonial policy, several
irrigation schemes were constructed, including the Sampean Irrigation Scheme in East J ava,
Delta Brantas Scheme and the Pekalen Scheme in East J ava, as well as the Pemali Comal
Irrigation Scheme in Central J ava. The Colonial government considered the program as
highly successful implementation as the economic crisis had been recovered within not too
long. In practice, however, from the stand point of local people, the Cutuur Stelsel policy was
not only forced the farmer to surrender the 20% of their land products but also insisted to
undertake forced-labor works (heerendienst) at the colonial estate farms. Despite the permit
for farmers to use the remaining irrigation water for food crops, during the off seasons of cash
crops, this policy implementation was almost used up all of the productive capacity of the
farmer to earn income for him and the family members. As a result, a slight climate change
from normal pattern would make the farmers suffered from severe devastation and starvation.
During the Cultuur Stelsel enforcement, frequent incidents of hunger were recorded to
make hundred of thousand of deaths due to starvation on J ava Island alone.
c) Pioneering Period for Irrigation Technique: From the irrigation engineering point of
view, provision of irrigation for supporting the Cultuur Stelsel Policy considered as the
pioneering period, as irrigation planning and construction implementation were undertaken
almost without any basic technical and agro-climatological data. At that time, practically no
data on hydrology, hydrometry, geology, topographical maps as well as laboratories to back
up the planning and technical design were available. Due to the fact that most Dutch
engineers had no experience to work for irrigation, especially in tropical regions, the technical
designs were merely conducted based on subjective assumptions and by means of trial and
error. Not surprisingly, that many irrigation schemes were failure to meet the objective
previously intended in the design. For example, the Sampean Weir in Situbondo, which was
constructed in 1832, was totally collapsed before it could be fully utilized. It was only in 1887
when the weir reconstructed with permanent structure that made it strong enough to perform
water diversion till today.
d) Establishment of the Colonial Ministry of Public Works: As the public infrastructures
became more and more demanding, the Colonial Government established the Ministry of
Public Works in 1855, dealing with the provision of public infrastructures, including water
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resources and irrigation. Given the special importance of water resources and irrigation, later
in 1885 the Special Department for Water Resources and Irrigation Development was
established. At the same year, a Special Irrigation Division was established under the
Department of Water Resources to deal with the construction of special irrigation projects. In
1889 the Irrigation Division was transformed into a formal structural institution termed as
Water Resources Services or Algemene Waterstaatdienst in Dutch. With the establishment of
the Water Resources Services, the systematic and comprehensive implementation of water
resources as well as irrigation development and management had gradually become more
effective. This institution has been developed and managed consistently, and later after the
countrys independence, it became the Directorate General of Water Resources, which
responsible for water resources and irrigation development and management under the
Ministry of Settlement and Regional Infrastructures (Public Works) till present.
1.5.6. THE ETHICAL POLICY (ETHISCHE POLITIEK)
Approaching the end of the 19
th
Century, due to a number of internal and external political
considerations the Dutch Colonial Government eventually put an end to the Cultuur Stelsel
or Compalsory Agricultural Policy. Instead, they transform the colonial policy into goodwill
strategy referred to as the Ethische Politiek or Ethical Policy. The slogan of Ethical Policy
comprised of three major endeavors: (1) Irrigation; (2) Emigration; and (3) Education.
As the follow up of the Ethical Policy, the Dutch Colonial Government commissioned a study
in 1902, to examine the possibility of resolving the problem of overpopulation and land
fragmentation on J ava where the large local population surplus was regarded by the Dutch as
a potential source of political tension and unrest. This study recommended for moving people
from the densely populated areas in J ava to the sparsely populated areas in other parts of
Indonesia.
In response to this recommendation, the first resettlement experiment was carried out three
years later by moving 155 families from J ava to Lampung, Southern Sumatra under the
Irrigation Based Approach. The objective of the resettlement program was not only to reduce
the population pressure on J ava but also to contribute to the development of sparsely
populated "Outer Islands" (Geertz, 1963) by providing more manpower for agricultural
development (Gany, A. H.A.; 1993.)
Subsequently, the first stage of migration started in October 19
th
1905, initiated by H.G.
Heytings who, with the help of two assistants and two irrigation water masters,

moved 155
families from J ava to Gedong Tataan in South Lampung District of Southern Sumatra. This
was recorded in the history as the birth of irrigation based human resettlement program
termed as colonisatie or transmigration program in Indonesia, the impacts of which were
subsequently documented as the historical momentum of the spread of technical irrigation
development and management throughout the archipelago.
a) Pre Independence Period: Despite the obvious advantages, one of the immediate
consequences of the widespread of irrigation development and management implementation
is the gradual declining of land-water resources potentials, especially on J ava and other
densely populated islands. In line with this, the rapid escalation of population also brought
about demands for intensification of irrigation on the Inner Islands on the one hand and
extensification of irrigation on the Outer Islands, on the other. Being the case, irrigation
development policy addressed the water conservation program on J ava Island and the
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program of irrigation expansion on the Outer Islands. For determining the priority, the
underlying constrains of continuous declining of resource potentials and population demands
are regarded as the determinant parameters that dictate the extent of development priority.
At the initial follow up stage, after a sound analysis the development priorities were set up for
the eastern coast of Sumatra, then, set up for South Sulawesi. Subsequently, the irrigation
development priorities were directed toward other Outer Islands, with special focus on the
transmigrant destination areas. Unfortunately, the development was practically terminated in
1930s due to severe economic crisis. In the mean time, the follow up effort to recommence
the development effort in the middle of the following decade was again hampered by the
break up of the Second World War.
For the Inner Islands, intensification program was directed toward construction of reservoirs
at the upper part of the river basins on the highland areas, which intended to improve the
retention capacity of the river basin during the dry seasons. During the period before the War,
several reservoirs ranging from small to large size were constructed in West J ava, Central
J ava and East J ava Provinces. For instance, the constructed reservoirs with the storage
capacity of more than 30 MCM among others were the Malahayu Dam in Central J ava, and
the Pacal Reservoir in East J ava Province. While the medium sized reservoirs with the storage
capacity between 10 and 30 MCM among others were the Prijetan Reservoir in East J ava, the
Gembong reservoir in Central J ava, and the Situpatok Reservoir in West J ava Province.
Parallel with the development of the medium sized to large sized reservoirs, some 50 small
reservoirs were also constructed on the Inner Islands aiming for improving the water storage
capacity to serve irrigation demands during the dry seasons on the densely populated areas.
During the pre-independence period, till the time before the Second World War, several large
irrigation schemes in the northern coast of J ava Island as well as in the other parts of the
country were also completed. These were the Ciujung, Cisadane, Citarum-Walahar irrigation
schemes in North Coast of J ava, the Setail Scheme in Banyuwangi, the South J ember plain,
the Bagelen, and Southern Banyumas Areas. In addition, the constructed Irrigation schemes
on the Outer Islands among others were Simalungun Scheme in North Sumatra, Klingi and
Blitang in South Sumatra, Way Sekampung in Lampung, Saddang, Lamasi and J eneberang
schemes in South Sulawesi. For the latter case, the irrigation schemes had not been fully
completed, because the construction terminated as the 2
nd
World War break up.
Following the development period in the 1940s there were practically no irrigation
development undertaken at all due to the subsequent break up of the Pacific War. During the
2
nd
World War up until the Indonesian Independence, irrigation development was completely
terminated, except some minor repairs on compulsory basis, during the J apanese Occupation
for supporting food supplies of the J apanese Armed forces. During which, 50% irrigated
agricultural products had to be surrendered to the J apanese authority for supporting their food
supplies. As a result, millions of Indonesian people suffered from hunger and starvation in a
matter of a couple of years invasion. In addition, a number of construction projects for
irrigation infrastructures under the compulsory labor forces (referred to as romusha), such as
weir in Citanduy River for the North Labok area and the South Tulung Agung Tunnel
(Neyama) in Tulung Agung were only partially utilized, shortly before the structures
completely collapsed.
1.5.7. THE PERIOD AFTER PROCLAMATION OF INDEPENDENCE
Irrigation development and management in Indonesia after the proclamation (especially
during the strugle for independence) of independence encountered by severe economic
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and political uncertainties, and hence, no significant achievement was recorded during this
period. Meanwhile, the capacity of the newly established goverment to provide financial
support for irrigation development and management was almost paralyzed.
Apart from the severe economic condition, the human resources capacity to undertake
irrigation development was practically unreliable. After the handing over of the countrys
sovereignity from the Dutch Colonial Government, irrigation development in Indonesia, at
the same time, recruitment of new engineers was not possible to meet the development
demand due to the lack of university graduate engineers.
a) Development Programs: At the earlier stage after the recognition of the Republic of
Indonesia, the Government made a series of irrigation development planning both for
short term, medium term as well as long term, with a special priority on the short term
objective, which was the three-year development plan from 1951 up until 1953.
However, under the limited potentential of financial as well as human resources, the short-
term development plan had never been materialized, till the new plan (Five-year
Development Plan of 1956-1960) launched. As time passed by, the new five-year
development plan came up with the same position as the previous development plan.
The subsequent developmen plan of 1961-1968 also faced the same problems and
constraints, which unable it to be fully implemented. Political and economic uncertainties
of Indonesia was then became more crucial with the emerging issues of integration of
West Irian (West Papua) into the Republic of Indonesia, followed by confrontation with
British and Malaysia, and culminated wih the attempted coup of the Communist Party on
September 30, 1965. During this period, practically no irrigation development was
undertaken till the political situation under the New Order Government had been
stabilized.
b) The Five-Year Development Plan: Under the New Order Government, the socio-
political condition gradually became stablized, and the confrontation policy was replaced
with the closer economic and political relationship with the neighbouring countries.
During which, the stabilized
political condition brought
about new opportunity for the
country to conduct new
economic development policy.
In addition, the development
policy had been undertaken
remarkably progessive with
the benefit of the oil boom.
From this poin of time, the
New Order Government
lounched the Long-term
development Plan with
subsequent commitment on the
initial implementation of the
first five-year development
plan in 1969.

Ir. Soekarno, the First President of Indonesia (wearing
black hat and sunglasses) at the inouguration of the
construction stage of Jatiluhur Dam, early 1960s.
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At the first five-year development plan, water resources development had been prioritized
by the Government of Indonesia. Despite the special priority, the budgetary allocation for
water resources and irrigation development had been lower than the actual requirement.
Beside, the budgetary allocation had only been possible for large projects, and hence, the
distribution of irrigation development has not been possible to reach the entire parts of the
country.
The large projects that had been undertaken during the first five year development
implementation including: The Cacaban Reservoir in Central J ava Province, The Darma
Reservoir in West J ava Province (which was previously started before PELITA-1),
Selorejo and Karangkates Reservoirs in East J ava Province, the continuation of the
notable J atiluhur Reservoir with a total irrigation service area of about 240,000 ha, and the
Lakbok Irrigation Scheme in West J ava Province. At the same period the flood control
project of the south Tulung Agung (Phase-I) in East J ava Province, in addition to raw
water supplies for urban and industries, as well as flood control, power generation, and
water based recreation in the J atiluhur Reservoir.
Beside the multipurposes functions of the latter water resources, which cover almost the
overall aspects of water resources development, the J atiluhur Project also considered as the
pioneer project on integrated water resources development in Indonesia. This particularly the
case for integrating the water resources in the north coast of West J ava, which are the
Ciliwung River in the western part and Cilalanang River in the East. Most encouraging above
all, that the J atiluhur Multipurpose Project had been conducted under the full capacity of
Indonesian engineer from the planning stage, design up to the constuction implementation as
well as construction supervision. It is admitted however, that later on, during the operation
and maintenence stage in the first long-term development program, like other irrigation
schemes, a number of repairs and improvements had been pursued to the maximum extent of
the development objectives.
1.5.8. HIGHLIGHTS OF IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES WORKS AFTER
PROCLAMATION OF INDEPENDENCE
a) Scope of Water Resources Development: Following the First Five-Year Development
Plan, the role of water resources development became increasingly more significant. During
the follow up stage, the government gave more attention on the development of water
resources, particularly irrigation in terms of magnitude, distribution as well as scope of
activities.
In addition to the past water resources policy by the Dutch government, the scope of
water resources development, which was divided into two major program -- irigation
(bevloeiing en afwatering) and river works (rivierwerken) since immediately before
the war, two other programs had been included. These were city flushing and, hydraulic
power generation (waterkracht). Under the Five Year Development Program, the scope
of activities had been included to cover other multifunctionalities of water resources
infrastructures including flood control, water transportation, environment conservation
and water based recreation. These programs have been initiated in two major river
basins, namely the J atiluhur in West J ava Province and the Brantas River Basin in East
J ava Province. The two river basin projects have extended their activities, not only for
irrigation, hydropower and flood control, but also for raw water supplies for drinking
water, urban flushing, aquaculture development, as well as water based recreation and
sport.
In connection with the five year development program, the scope of activities of water
resources development were divided into three categories namely: First, arrangement of
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water consumption and utilization consists of: Provision of clean water as well as raw water
for domestic and industries; Provision of water for irrigation; Hydropower generation;
Provision of water for cooling of thermal and industrial machineries; Water for urban
flushing; River and lake transportation; and Water based recreation; Second, prevention of
disastrous impacts of water resources consists of: Flood prevention and flood control;
Sediment and erosion control, as well as sabo (volcanic debris) control from volcanic
erruption; and Drainage as well as reclamation works; and Third, prevention as well as
preservation of water resources and water ecosystem consists of: Water resources
conservation; and Pollution control as well as Water quality management and Upper
watershed management.
b) Multiple purposes water resources and river basin development: In an attempt to make
the optimum advantage of water resources development andmanagement, the project
implementations in general has been based upon integrated river basin approach as far as
possible. This approach is especially implemented for river basins that are interdependent or
having the same impacts, or belongs to the shared water ecosystem or environmental impacts
from each other for being served the same areas.
Given the integrated and multiple purposes natures of these projects, the construction
implementation had been undertaken through appropriate coordination amongst the
related agencies. The projects acitivities were based on participatory approach by
involving the stakeholders throughout the development phases of the project with the
basic principle of One-river, One-plan, and One- Integrated-Management. In the long
run, however, the large river basins development was based on comprehensive Master
Plans by means of integrated basin water resources planning, toward future integrated
basin water resources management under one institution or one water resources operator.
During the first 25 years long term development program (1969-1994) there were seven
multiple purposes and river-basin development projects namely: the Brantas River Basin
Project; the J ratunseluna (J ragung, Tuntang, Serang, Lusi, J uana); Bengawan Solo;
Serayu; Citanduy; Citarum; and J enebrang River Basin Projects. Following the river basin
development projects, the management of Brantas and Citarum River Basins have been
transformed into state owned corporations, the J asa Tirta-I for Brantas River, and J asa
Tirata-II for the Citarum River Basin. Both state owned companies have been intended
for undertaking the sustainable water resources management as the Operating
Institutions.
c) Irrigation Works: Approaching the first long-term development program, in 1969 the
physical condition of irrigation networks in Indonesia had been under highly deteoriorating
condition. Irrigation infrastructures including canals and structures were practically suffered
from severe damages due to the lack of maintenance within the last few years. It was
estimated that the remaining service function of irrigation system was between 40% and 60%
of the overall capacity. Meanwhile, the new irrigation development had been completely
stopped since before the War. And hence, the cropping intensity as well as agricultural
productivity declined significantly, during which, Indonesia had suffered from severe deficit
of rice production as the staple food of the people.
Under such condition, the effort was concentrated on the implementation of Operation
and Maintenance (O&M) of the existing facilities while pursuing the immediately
affordable repairs to increase the serviceability of the irrigation infrastuctures. In the
mean time, the development of new scheme had been concentrated on quick yielding
projects, while extending irrigation areas through improvement, rehabilitation and
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upgrading of the already existing schemes. Due to long time requirement for provision
of new irrigation schemes, then construction of new irrigation schemes were only based
on the most urgent priority such as large schemes particularly for the project that had
been terminated during the War. With this development policy, within 15 years,
Indonesia had been managed to attain self sufficiency on rice production since 1984
after previously known as the largest importing country for rice at the early stage of the
five-year development in 1969.
For sustaining self sufficiency on rice, while keeping pace with the new irrigation
development, the policy of irrigation development in the remaining period of the First
Long Term Development Program was set up for irrigation development by means of
appropriate economic planning as well as feasible technical consideration. The
development stage directed toward systematical planning sequences from project
identification, reconnaissance study, pre-feasibility study, economic and technical
feasibility study identifying social and other non technical aspects, then technical design
prior to physical implementation.
In line with the above policy, and for supporting agricultural extensification program, a
spacial irrigation development program was set up for supporting the mass development
of small-scale irrigation schemes, referred to as the simple irrigation-scheme having
the general criteria as follows: (1) The service area limited to the maximum of 500 ha
for each individual scheme, with some exceptions depending upon local circumstances;
(2) The topographical condition allows construction of simple irrigation scheme in that
particular location; (3) The construction implementation through stages, such that each
stage should directly having productive function to support irrigated agricultural
activities of the rural community; (3) To meet the immediate support for rural
agricultural community, and to avoid problems on land compensation and other non-
technical aspects, special priority also given to the previously rainfed land for rice as far
as possible.
d) Irrigation development strategy during the First Long-Term Development:
Given all the technical as well as the non-technical problems and constraints on
irrigation development implementation, the overall policy and strategy for irrigation
development and management had been adjusted as the following: (1) Irrigation
development priority should address rehabilitation works of the already existing
irrigation schemes, that had been abandoned due to the absence of timely operation and
maintenance endeavors; (2) Under the special condition, either due to the magnitude or
due the accessibility for the scattered location, rehabilitation works should be divided
into phases. The first phase addresses the major botle-necks, then the following phases
targeted to full operation of the scheme to meeting appropriate operation; (3) Whenever
possible, rehabilitation works must be incorporated with other upgreading,
reconstruction as well as re-modeling and extension works, to meet the optimum
possible extent of the irrigation scheme referred to; (4) For the large new-schemes, all of
the development activities must be conducted through adequate and systematical preparatory
works, planning and technical design. Both the technical and non-technical aspects associated
with the development, such as social, economic, cultural, as well as environment must be
considered soundly.
Following the irrigation develoment strategy, right at the beginning of the First Five
Year Development, mass rehabilitation program had been conducted for almost the
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entire irrigation schemes in Indonesia, that had been suffered from severe degradation
interms of physical as well as serviceability.
e) Lowlands (swamps) Development: Parallel with conventional irrigation schemes,
Indonesia posess a huge lowlands potentials scattered over the country, in particular on
Sumatra Island, Kalimantan, and Irian J aya (West Papua). According to the physical as
well as water water management, the swamplands divided into three major categories
namely: inland swamps, tidal swamps and barakish water or saline water swamps.
Inland swamps caterory is generally located in the upper middle reach of the river basin,
and not affected by tydal movement or direct inflows or outflows from the sea. This
category has long been recognized as the higly potential area for agricultural
development. On J ava Island, the lowlands Swamp for agriculture usually refers to as
the Bono-rowo, which are commonly planted with paddy at the low water tide, and
harvested at the time when the water level begin to rise at the beginning of rainy season,
followed by the upland crop cultivation while waiting the haversting of the crops just
before the water level inundate the area at the rainy season.
The development of inland swamps had long been practiced in Indonesia with mostly
paddy cultivation, and occasionally with inland fisheries. So far as the water availability
is still accessible, the water control for agriculture conducted by means of regulating the
water level at the drainage channels. In practice, however, the drainage control is not
adequate, rather, additional water supply from external sources occasionally reguired for
maintaining the soil moisture content at appropriate level of the plant growth.
The tidal swamps also posess a
huge potential for agricultural
development in Indonesia. Out
of the overall of about 30
million ha of lowland potential
Indonesia has, about 15%
suitable for agricultural
development. Out of about five
million hectares, part which
has already been developed for
agriculture, aquaculture,
fisheries, including the
majority of tidal lowlands
development in the vicinity of
the coastal areas.

At the initial stage of lowland development, a number of projects had been introduced in
South Kalimantan, including the polder system introduced by Ir. H.J . Schophuys in
South Kalimantan in 1929. The project actually initiated under the initiative of the
Ministry of Agriculture with technical assiatance from the Dutch engineers following
the polder system as had been practiced in the Netherlands. Two experimental projects
for polder development were introduced in Kalimantan in 1930s, namely the Mentaren
Scheme in Central Kalimantan, and the Alabio Polder Scheme in South Kalimantan. The
projects were terminated due to the war, and later the Indonesian Government attempted
Example of lowland-rice harvestingby boat at the
swamp area in Kalimantan
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to continue the project but not have been possible till today because of the lack of
budget and human resources capacities.
Owing to the fact that the swamps lowlands are usually extended to the coverage of
large areas at the flat plains, then swamps development has to be developed in large
scale to serve human settlement as well as aricultural development, rather than on the
small scattered areas. Learning from experince on lowland development, one of the most
challenging problems is the accessibility of the area, which mostly consists of remote
and heavy tropical joungle.
To give the best optimum lowland swamp development with the lowest possible risk of
uncertainties, the following policy and strategy had been set up for sustainable swamps
development: (1) Development of lowland with tidal swamps should be implemented through
staging processes. At the initial stage followed by second stage, simple technology must be
adopted, so as to avoid too costly implementation; (2) The process of drainage control utilizes
the drainage channels aiming for soil leaching so as to make the land-clearing and land-
development more practical,
and yet the provision of other
public infrastructures for
human settlement could be
undertaken simultaneously.
Meanwhile, the soil leaching
process would be accelerated
by continuously maintaining
the interchangeable inflow
and ouflow of water streams
to adjust with dynamic of
tidal movements; (3) Upon
the completion of the first
phase, the land surveying,
obser-vations and data
collections in more details
have to be under-taken.
Parallel with other physical
development, consistent
monitoring of the phenomena
of natural characteristic,
physical as well as chemical transformation in nature should also be observed and
considered in the design; (4) The second phase development, in principle, is directed
toward improvement and provision of additional facilities in such a way that the water
conveyance function, distribution, storage and disposal as well as other functions of
irrigation infrastructures could be accommodated. All the existing structures and
facilities are equipped with regulatory as well as control structures, so to assure the
optimum implementation of operation and maintenance of irrigation facilities in line
with irrigated-agricultural requirement; (5) In the long run, as the existing facilities are
performing well, further efforts should be considered gradually for upgreading the
system, provision of facilities for full operation of the polder with complete appurtenant
facilities as required, aiming for improving the overall system and fulfilling the
requirements of the technical lowland swamp development. (Fore more information,
see the Supplement Paper, An Overview of Lowland Development in Indonesia)
The former Minister of Public Works, Ir. Sutami (right
most, front row) on field inspection at the Alabio
(inland swamp) Polder, South Kalimantan, in1972
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f) River Improvement and Flood Control: River improvement as well as flood control in
Indonesia poses variety of categories ranging from regular repairs to the very urgent works
that must be undertaken as soon as possible, such as river improvement works due to natural
disasters, and prevention works for protecting certain objects from severe river degradations.
Particularly for the young geological river formation, degradation occurs quite frequently
along the river channels due to unstable river-bed materials.
Other category of river improvement works associated with the routine maintenance and river
protections, as well as prevention from periodical flood strikes also conducted. Early in
1930s a number of river maintenance and improvement works were conducted at Citanduy
River at the boundary between West J ava and Central J ava Provinces, such as stabilization of
river flows at the meandering parts of the river.
On the other hand, flood control works usually directed toward specific localities, either for
human settlement in the rural or urban areas or for protecting agricultural areas that are
frequently suffered from flood disasters. Under the special case for protecting irrigation area,
the flood control works usually included as an integral part of the irrigation area referred to.
However, flood protection works in Indonesia are generally lacking of adequate attention due
to financial constraints. Therefore, only selective river basins had been treated for
comprehensive flood control works. These among others were Kali Serang River in Central
J ava, and Brantas River in East J ava. For the latter case, the southern parts of Tulungagung
District, which frequently hampers by flood incidents from the Ngasinanan river (a tributary
of Brantas) had been kept as an effective retarding basin with a total area of about 6,000 ha,
and the total retention capacity of about 100,000,000 m
3
. At the same time, the retarding basin
also improves the basic flow of the Brantas River Basin during the dry season.
g) Volcanic Debris Control: In general, the impact of volcanic eruption is categorized
into two, the primary impact, which produces immediate consequence at the time of
eruption, while the secondary impact produces follow up consequence a while after the
primary strike of the volcanic eruption. The disastrous impacts become more significant
as the volcanic eruption came
up simultaneously with sub-
sequent uncontrollable current
of hot gas cloud as well as
lava and volcanic debris.
After the volcanic debris
ceased from movement, it
would settle temporarily and
filled the bottom part of the
lowland or valley in the
vicinity area at the foot of the
volcano. The volcanic debris
consists of loose materials,
which highly susceptible to
erosion due to high intensity
rainfall. Under such condition,
a slight penetration of
rainwater would trig the mass
Sabo Dam for sediment control at the Merapi
Volcano in Central Java
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movement of accummulated deposit of debris, and eventually become catastropic
current of volcanic debris flow.
To prevent the primary and secondary strikes of volcanic eruptions from disastrous
incidents against human settlement and agricultural areas, a number of sabo dams have
been constructed on J ava Island along the volcanic ring of fire, where volcacic
erruptions frequently occured. To tackle with this problem, the Directorate General of
Water Resources, Ministry of Settlement and Regional Infrastructures established
special implementing agencies that are responsible for project implementation. These
special agencies, among others were: The Galunggung Volcano in West J ava Province,
The Merapi Volcano in Centra J ava, The Kelud and the Semeru Volcanoes in East
J ava,and the Gunung Agung volcano in Bali Province.
h) Reservoir and Weir: Initially, people suspected that the provision of irrigation
infrastructures would resolve all problems concerning water allocation and distribution for
agricultural purposes. With the availability of irrigation networks, provision of irrigation
water would no longer become problematic to meet the farming demands at appropriate time
and quantity. In fact, this presumption would never fully meet their expectations, owing to the
nature of irrigation facilities that also dictated by the dependable river runoff, that had been
determined on the basis of stocastic probability concept.
With the spread of irrigation infrastructural development in Indonesia, the water demands
without persistent dependency on climatic pattern, become increasingly the case during
the first decades of the 20
th
Century. The escalating water demand was initially apparent
from the sugarcane plantation during the full development stage of growth till few weeks
before harvesting. To meet this escalating demand, especially during the dry season, a
large number of field reservoirs were constructed in the scattered areas adjacent with the
sugarcane plantation on J ava Island.
Early at the beginning of the 1920s development of reservoirs became more and more
demanding, particularly for supporting sugarcane plantation on J ava Island. Among the
reservoirs that previously intended to support water supplies for sugar crop plantation the
Gunung Rowo, Gembong, Penjalin, Malahayu, and Situ Patok were the most popular ones
during that period. Later, the provision of reservoirs for stabilizing irrigation water
supplies in non sugarcane areas were becoming increasingly demanding. At the initial
stage, priority was given to irrigation areas at the water scarcity areas such as Pacal and
Prijetan reservoirs in South Bojonegoro District, as well as Tempuran Reservoir in Blora
District. A while before the break up of the Pacific War, a comprehensive plan had been
prepared for construction of major reservoirs such as the Cacaban, Darma, and Cipanas.
The Cacaban and Darma Reservoirs in Central J ava were only completed few years after
Indonesian independence in 1950s. Following this pioneering period, many scattered
reservoirs, ranging from small, medium to large categories have been constructed in
Indonesia, not only for irrigation water supplies, but also for other multifunctionalities of
sustainable water resources development and management.
i) Conservation and Protection of Coastal and River Estuaries: Given the facts that the
rivers in Indonesian archipelago are mostly consisted of small categories with limited
capacities, and yet directly emptying to the sea, much of the river mouths at the estuaries are
utilized by the fishermen as the gateway off to the sea and vice versa for fishing. As a result,
the fisherman utilizes the riverbanks at the coastal estuaries as the wharf for their boats.
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With the absense of appropriate river basin management and conservation at upper and
middle reaches of the river catchment, however, sedimentation at the bottom of the river
mouth at downstream end of river estuary mostly hampers river transportation by
sediment blockages. During the dry season, the river outlet often completely blocked
with sand dune along the coastal areas.
This phenomena had been apparent since early period during the colonial era and
became the high concern of Dutch Engineer at that time. For illustration, the
development of the Bagelen Plain, which was later on referred to as Kedu Selatan area,
bodered on the east with the foot of Menoreh Montain and Karang Bolong Mountain on
the west, had to be incorporated with a series of coastal protection and improvement
works of river estuary before the complete establishment of the area for human
settlement and recidential purposes.
During the first longterm development program (1969-1994), only limited coastal
protection and river improvement works had been undertaken due to budget limitation.
The selection criteria was strictly based on the developed estuary area with the densely
populated area that occasionally encountered by severe estuary problems. Therefore, the
development activities had not addressed the rural settlement of the traditional
fishermens villages.
j) Groundwater Development: Despite the comparative advantage of the utilization of
groundwater relative to the surface water i.e. easily accessible, without too complicated
infrastructures, and less conveyance required however, the development alternative was
not feasible. During the time before the longterm development program, the groundwater
exploitation considered to be highly demanding for sophis-ticated and costly technologies.
The development of groundwater
resources began to conduct at the
followup stage of the first five
year development program by
initiating experimental pilot
projects at the water scarce areas
such as at Gunung Kidul in
Yogyakarta Special Province and
on Madura Island. During which,
the groundwater development was
not only limited to agricultural
purposes, but also extended to a
number of utilizations for the
livelihood of the people for
domestic, livestock, and house-
yard gardening.

Tubewel drilling for ground water exploitation, in
East Java, demanding for sophisticated and costly
MSRI and INACID Chapter II. Early Time and Pre-Historic Era
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CHAPTER II
EARLY TIME AND PRE COLONIAL ERA

2.1. THE STORY OF RICE
The origin of irrigation in Indonesia is something that cannot be alienated with the beginning
of rice cultivation as the staple diet of the countrys population in majority. As the evolution
of the livelihood of the ancient (nomadic) people began when they were introduced with
cultivated sources of food rather than merely dependent upon the wild nature, for instance for
fishing and hunting, as well as consuming wild vegetation, they gradually became adapted to
certain sources of staple food such as roots, banana, corn, and rice. Agricultural practices in
Indonesia started with shifting cultivation, where tropical rain as the mainly source of water to
maintain the plants growth. When the land resources became scarce, the ancient people
began to seek new land for sustaining their agricultural way of life in the lower land plains.
They were mostly started to settle down at the area where water sources available, such as at
the riverbanks, springs of inland swamps. Through time, they learned that the permanent
agricultural practices must be supported with artificial application of water to the plant, apart
from their water demands for day-to-day life. From some archeological evidences, there are
reasons to believe that rice had been used as the staple diet since the hardly traced back
period. No exact date or indications that could explain about the beginning of rice cultivation,
nor the artificial application of water for rice production. So far, the archeological evidences
could only explain that the irrigated-rice cultivation has been practiced since the unknown
ancient period.
With regards to the origin of rice in Indonesia, at least two arguments were currently
renowned. On the one side, a school of thought believed that rice was originated from Yunnan
Province in the mainland of China, while others argued that rice was originated from the
northwest part of Thailand, however, both arguments have not had support with clear
evidences. In the same way, there also no clear evidence about the time when lowland rice
cultivation practiced for the first time in the Southeast Asian archipelago. Another theory
argues, without evidence, that the lowland rice cultivation must have been practiced locally by
indigenous people in some parts of Southeast Asian archipelago such as in North Luzon
(Philippines), West Sumatra, J ava Island, South Sulawesi and also in some parts of Srilanka,
or Madagascar, despite the historical indication that during the ancient time, the Southeast
Asian archipelagoes had already had quite evolved civilization, even not least advanced than
the ancient civilization of India.
Other scholars believed that the beginning of agricultural civilization in Indonesia were
initiated by a group of ancient migrants from Don-Sun Civilization in the Central Asian
Continent landed at the the Brantas Delta, eastern J ava Island, about centuries BC, at the site
renown today as the Kediri Regency. They settled down there making livelihood and conduct
agricultural practice with upland rice as they previously had in the civilization they belonged
in Central Asian Continent. The upland rice cultivation was highly productive due to the
fertile volcanic soils they came across in the new destination. Nevertheless, the agricultural
lands suffered from frequent floods from the Kali Brantas River with high degree of sediment
transport from the Mount Kelud Volcano in the upper vicinity area.
Learning from experience with the frequent flood incidents, these people became gradually
adapted with the risks by preventing their settlement and agricultural areas with the
construction of levees and embankments at the lower parts of the river banks. They even
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initiated the construction of water intakes from the near-by rivers or tributaries. From this
early experience, they build up the new irrigation based agricultural practices with more
sustainable that just with upland rice or rainfed agriculture. In fact, shifting the upland rice
into lowland rice fields or irrigated rice fields is still currently practiced in many parts of the
country today referred to as padi gogo cultivation. With the successful experience they had
for years in the volcanic of Brantas River Basin, these migrants from Central Asia Continent
eventually decided to settle permanently in the area, having irrigated rice fields as the basis of
their livelihood.
Rice as the origin of the term of Java: Learning from the ancient book of Ramayana Indian
civilization, dated back to the period BCs, there written a term of Jawadwipa, which is the
original name of J ava Island as given by early visitors to this area (Jawadwipa stands for
jewawut or rice and dwipa means island, or the island of rice). This term was made-up
when the first Brahmin Civilization arrived to Indonesia they were quite amazed to come
across the large extent of Jawawut (similar variety of rice the Brahmin people had in their
place of origin) cultivations grown by the local people on J ava Island, they named the island
after Jawadwipa, the origin of the name J ava Island as popularly known today. Being
attracted by the jewawut plant on J ava Island, the Brahmin Civilization decided to return back
and settle down on this area.
The above illustration indicates that rice cultivation had already been grown on J ava long
before the Brahmin Civilization came to the Indonesian Archipelago. Other rationale had been
supportive to this evidence, that the term lowland rice fields, sawah in Indonesian lingua
franca is not known or available in the Sanskrit language at all. Other school of thought
argued that the lowland rice fields was not transformed from upland rice fields, rather, it
originated from aquatic variety of rice that was previously transplanted in swampland, then
gradually transformed into artificial lowland rice fields or referred to as sawah in Indonesian
term. Again these arguments were not based on evidences, nor historical analyses, but merely
based on local legends as were told by local people from generations to generations.
2.2.THE JAVANESE HINDU FOLKLORE OF RICE
The origin of rice, as narrated by the J avanese Hindu legend, was bestowed from heaven by
the Goddess of Batara Guru, who created a beautiful young lady, so beautiful that the Creator
himself fallen in love with her. The created lady (Dewi Sri) agreed to become the Batara
Gurus wife as if the Goddess could bestowed her with three wishes: (1) Creation of a kind of
food stuff that would not make us fed up; (2) Creation of a kind of dress or clothing that
would not be weary; and (3) Creation of a kind of musical instrument that could act upon by
itself.
Batara Guru then sent his messenger, Kala Gumbara, down to earth searching for the three
requests. However, before Kala Gumbara managed to complete his mission, he incidentally
fallen in love with Dewi Sri, the wife of Batara Wisnu, and Kala Gumbara was transformed
by Batara Wisnu into a wild pig, to prevent him from articulating his love to Dewi Sri.
Meanwhile, the Batara Guru who cannot wait any longer went down to Earth to meet with his
created young lady. But it happened that the lady could not stand the forceful love of the
Batara Guru and eventually died in the forceful hug of the Goddess. To give respect to her,
Batara Guru changed her name into Tisna Wati and her body buried on the Earth. Forty days
later, it happened that the bright light come out from her grave followed by the growth of
some unfamiliar variety of plants in the vicinity of the graveyard. Right at the head site of the
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grave of Tisnah Wati, grew a coconut tree, rice stems and palm tree at the body site, while
fruit trees and root plants grew at the foot site of the grave.
Despite that the Kala Gumbara had been transformed into a wild pig, he vowed himself to
irritate Dewi Sri, till eventually Dewi Sri proposed to the Deytis to make her body vanished
from the Earth. Her proposal accepted, and as she disappeared, similar variety of plants as the
ones at the grave of Tisna Wati grew. It was told that the rice variety that grew at the grave of
Tisna Wati was the origin of upland rice, while the ones grew at the grave site of Dewi Sri
was the origin of lowland rice cultivation. Many people at the rural area today still recognize
rice as the sacral transformation of Dewi Sri as bestowed by the Goddess for the prosperity of
human on Earth.
Meanwhile, knowing the misconduct of Kala Gumbala, Batara Wisnu became extremely
furious and killed the wild pig, which irritated his wife, and eventually, Kala Gumbala
transformed by Batara Wisnu
into varieties of pests and plant
diseases. Ever-since then, rice
(or paddi in Indonesian) as
bestowed by the Goddess Batara
Gurufrom Heaven, consider by
the farmer as the sacred plant
thats should be treated with full
of respects. Every time the
farmer wants to plant rice, he
should conduct a series of ritual
ceremonies, also at the time
during the growing and maturity
stages as well as a while before
harvesting an post harvesting
storage.
Later on, Dewi Sri and Batara
Wisnu transformed themselves
into a couple of king and queen,
who consistently giving
guidance to human being about planting and cultivating the rice plantation as well as
maintaining the processed rice as a kind of food stuff that would not make us fed-up although
consumes as the staple diet on daily basis. Unfortunately, the other two wishes of Tisna Wati
never had been articulated in the follow up of this legend.
2.3.THE ORIGIN OF RICE
Disregarding the legend of rice, the respect of people on rice in most Asian regions is always
placed at the prominent existence. However, from the food research perspective, the
carbohydrate content of rice is more nutritious relative to other carbohydrate sources such as
potato, cassava, sweet potato, root plants, and sago. To give the prominent status for rice, the
Hindu people gives special terms for rice as dhanya, which stands for as the nurture of
human being. Being the case, it is not surprising that more than a half of the people on Earth
consume rice as the major staple food today.
Location of the statue of Dewi Sri at the village of
Simbatan, Takeran District, Magetan Regency. It was
believed to be the resourceful spring, which provides
adequate water for ricefields at the original site of
Dewi Sris grave
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A wide variety of wild rice grow in Africa and the Asian continent, however, it is hard to tell
whether the wild rice were originated from imported rice or otherwise grow as indigenous
plants belong to the continent. Therefore, the origin of rice was not known for a long time till
agricultural biologists discovered through research that in the Northern of Bangalore, India,
many indigenous rice plants were found. Therefore, some researchers believe that the
Northern Bengalore of India is likely to be the place of origin of rice plants. The present rice
varieties that are renown today were resulted from inter-pollinated technology amongst the
local rice plants and the improved varieties. Since after the Second World War, the
International Rice Research Institute in Los Banos, Philippines and the Rice Research
Institute of the Republic of Indonesia in Bogor have been involved in many research efforts to
develop local varieties into improved rice varieties, including some field experiments for
Indonesian rice varieties. For most application of irrigated lowland rice fields in Indonesia,
broadcast seeding and transplant scedling has been preferred by the farmers, rather than direct
seeding.
2.4. UPLAND RICE FIELD
In Indonesia, cultivation of both lowland and upland rice are commonly practiced. In addition,
deepwater rice are also grown in lowland swamps, both on tidal as well as on inland swamps.
This local rice variety usually takes longer time to grow with less productivity, and it grows
with longer stem to follow the raise of water level. Swamp rice fields are mostly found in
Kalimantan and at the eastern coast of Sumatra, both in tidal (Coastal swamps) and inland
swamps. However, in comparison with each other, lowland rice is mostly the dominant crop
in Indonesia.
Particularly for the remote areas, rural farming communities still grow upland rice, even
sometimes by means of shifting cultivation on the newly opened forest areas. The shifting
cultivation is also known in terms of slashed and burn due to the nature of the planting
technique, which merely cutting the forest vegetation at the initial stage, keep them for a few
weeks till dry, then followed by land clearing by means of burning off the remaining tree
branches and twigs. The rice seeds then buried in the small holes at the topsoil with regular
distance using some kind wooden peg. Under such condition, the loose topsoil usually suffers
from severe erosion as well as potential landslides during the following rainy seasons. As the
crops harvested, the lands left abandoned till several years later when the land fertility has
been recovered. The upland rice cultivation of such, without proper attention on land
conservation is hardly expected to give significant production. Otherwise, the following
prerequisites should be met: (1) Soil condition should be rich enough in soil nutrition that the
plant could absorb easily; (2) Adequate soil microorganisms that could support generation of
adequate soil nutrition; (3) The soil structure is good enough to enable the land cultivation
with minimum land preparation; (4) Adequate soil moisture contents with appropriate
capillary water movement and air circulation at the root zone; (5) Without too much potential
for weeds competition during the growth of the plant; and (6) Under the absence of potential
pests and plant diseases.
For the newly broken forest, such prerequisites are easily met due to the following conditions:
(1) Accumulation of branches, twigs, leaves and organic materials are long enough to allow
oxidation and natural generation of organic fertilizer; (2) The sun shine rarely penetrate the
forest shade directly to the topsoil, so the soil fertility is always under its natural state; (3) The
rain drops rarely hit the top soil directly, so the physical state soil condition is always
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maintain for better plant growth; (4) The natural condition of microorganism always under the
appropriate balance to support the plant growth.
After the first season rice plants had been harvested, the remaining straws are spread over the
topsoil, and later on became organic fertilizer, as they become decaying, however, the
quantity is not adequate to restore the soil fertility back to the original condition.
Subsequently, the occurrence of regular solar radiation would transform the topsoil structure
from organic state into granular soil particles. As the soil transformation continuously to take
part, the approaching rainy season would jeopardize the loose topsoil through erosion process,
resulting soil leaching in addition to potential landslides, particularly at the sloping land
surface.
For the subsequent planting season, the crop production usually decreasing significantly, and
at the third cropping season, practically almost no crop production will be produced. Under
such a decaying soil condition, most of time the land would be abandoned, and the farmer will
be shifting to the next available land. As a result, the shifting cultivation, under no
circumstances, would come up with sustainable agricultural practices, instead it would
accelerate the significant damages of soil properties from time to time and hence jeopardizing
the balanced of natural ecosystem. The land condition might become worse if after being
abandoned, then replaced by the new alang-alang (toll grass), as the soil structure would
completely deteriorated and hardly cultivated. However, for the scarcely populated area with
small-scattered farming, the traditional shifting cultivation practice may improved or adjusted
to sustainable environment with some extra efforts, and with continuous monitoring and
technical surveillance. Therefore, the government has been preventing the shifting cultivation
from continuous practice. In the long run, such an inappropriate agricultural practice would
gradually bring about hazardous impacts to sustainable environment.
For the upland area that had been registered under the permanent status of land cadastral
administration, cultivation of upland rice (referred to as padi gogo in local term) is still
practiced with intensive land conservation as well as appropriate application of organic as
well as chemical fertilizers.
2.5. LOWLAND RICE (WETLAND RICE FIELD)
After a long time experience on upland rice cultivation having occasional mixture with
lowland rice cultivation, wherever possible, the farmer became aware that the lowland rice
cultivation supported with adequate water supply, is far trustworthier for guaranteeing
sustainable production of long-term agricultural practices. Subsequently, with abundant
rainfall in Indonesia, the farmer takes the advantage of it to give water supply for inundating
the lowland rice fields. This land cultivation practice refers to in Indonesia as sawah tadah
hujan or rainfed lowland rice field.
From the point of view of water requirement for lowland rice cultivation the annual amount of
effective rainfall in Indonesia is still more than adequate to meet the water demand for plant
growth. However, the rainfall distributions throughout the year do not meet the crop water
requirement from time to time during the plant growth. During the rainy season, for instance,
most frequently the rainfalls do not occur in a matter of weeks. Most often, during rainy
seasons the rainfalls do not occur at the time the rainfed rice field almost completely suffered
from drought. Meanwhile, excessive rainfall may come at the time the rice fields are not
expecting much water at all. If such a case comes about repeatedly during the plant growth,
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the rainfed rice field hardly reliable to bring about adequate crop production. In most cases,
the average yield of rainfed rice field is only about one third of the average yield of irrigated
lowland rice fields.
Other constraint associates with lowland rice field is the continuous occurrence of weed
competition, with subsequent effect that the lowland rice would suffer from nutrient
deficiency. Meanwhile, the application of manual weeding requires much labor works as well
as budget resources. If the rainfalls do not come till the soil become cracking, or the soil
moisture content dropped to the magnitude below the wilting point of the crop, then the
lowland rice cultivation becomes totally a failure.
In an attempt to resolve the problem of uncertain water supply for rainfed lowland rice fields,
gradual application of artificial irrigation water supply become more and more demanding.
Since the water distribution for rice only conduct during the rainy season, then irrigation
water supply only addresses the water deficit during the absence of rainfalls within the rainy
seasons. Later on, parallel with the need for providing adequate food supplies for the
escalating population growth, implementation of irrigation during the dry season became
more and more important. However, due to the limitation of available water during the dry
season, only about 20% to 30% of lowland rice fields could be cultivated, except about 10%
of irrigation areas that are supported by reservoirs.
2.6. SIMPLE IRRIGATION SYSTEM
Learning from the past experience of irrigation implementation in Indonesia, the simple
irrigation systems constructed at the highland plains have been recognized as the origin of
technical irrigation in Indonesia. Today, the ancient works on simple irrigation system are still
found under full operation in many parts of the archipelago. Most rice field terraces on J ava,
Bali, Sumatra, and Lesser Islands are served by simple irrigation systems by means of plot-to-
plot water distribution approach.
As the land resources for simple irrigation system at the highland plain became scarce, the
farmer began to seek for flatter lands suitable for irrigation implementation by diverting water
from the springs, tributaries or small rivers. At the inception stage, the traditional farmers
carried out canal excavation without considering longitudinal slope of the channel, but only
followed gravity flow of the
water as far as the water is still
flowing. If during the canal
excavation they encountered by
deep excavation or high
embankment, then they stopped
the excavation works from then,
followed by initiating new land
reclamation for rice field in the
sloping side of the hill or valley.
So far as the water is still
available at the downstream site
of the previous river diversion,
the farmers keep going to seek other potential sites for constructing irrigation canals and other
related structures with the same procedure as stated previously. For maintaining the constant
availability of water for their agricultural lands, in some location where possible and
Cross-section of a traditional weir, made of local
materials, bamboo, stone, boulders etc.
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affordable, the weirs constructed with more permanent construction materials as well as with
improved appropriate technicalities.
Given the simplicity of construction techniques the farmers applied, in most cases such a
simple scheme would not be able to resist the striking floods. As a result, farmers frequently
undertake repair works for the head-works or main canals by means of gotong-royong or
mutual aids approach. If such emergency repairs should be taken part frequently, the farmers
must surrender their efforts in lieu of their time and efforts to perform routine operation and
management of the simple irrigation system as well as crop maintenance, but this is
considered as contribution in labour.
2.7. RAINFED RICE FIELD
From previous explanation, it is apparent that for initial land reclamation of rice field either
for irrigated lands or rainfed must be supported with adequate amount of water for puddling,
as the medium for sedling transplantation. For lowland rice cultivation under the rainfed
condition, the initial land reclamation usually performs during the abundant water availability
in the middle of the rainy season.
If the rainfalls do not allow adequate water for puddling, the land reclamation works usually
shift to construction of levees around the land plots to keep the water pounding at an average
depth of 10 cm to 15 cm within the bounded rice plot. As the rainfall continuous, the excess
water allows to overflow from one plot to another plot till the tail end of the field, and
eventually toward downstream tributaries. In practice, however, the first crop of the new
broken land for rice usually yields very low productivity if any at all. This due to the impacts
of the new soil condition that has yet matured enough for supporting appropriate nutrient
demands of the plant growth. The stable land condition for lowland rice is usually taken part
at the third cropping season. Under such condition, the average rice yield ranging between 0.9
and 1.2 ton/ ha of unhusked dry rice, relative to the average rice production of irrigated rice at
about 5.4 ton/ha unhusked dry rice.
2.8. IRRIGATION SCHEMES FOR LOWLAND RICE
The term irigasi in Indonesian language for irrigation, derives from the Dutch term
irigatie with the translated definition from official reports as follows:
The technical measure for transporting water through conveyance canals to
agricultural lands, channeling the water to drainage channels after the optimum
possible agricultural utilization, and eventually return back to the rivers
(Angoedi A., 1984, p.14)
The above definition as stated in a number of official Dutch Colonial documents prescribes
that for the purposeful provision of water on agricultural land, the water diverts from the point
of the optimum possible level at the water sources that allows water flow through conveyance
channels to reach the lower level of farm lands, subsequently convey the excess water to the
drainage channels and eventually to the river.
With regards to the origin of irrigated rice, no historical records that could explain whether
the upland rice cultivation was previously practiced followed by the subsequent application of
irrigation, or the other way round. In facts, both methods of rice cultivations are still currently
being practiced in Indonesia today.
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Based on some historical evidences, there are some indications that the ancient Indonesians
had long recognized the application of lowland rice cultivation to meet the securer demands
of rice as the major staple food. They also recognize that the lowland rice cultivation to be
effective must be supported with artificial application of water from the water sources such as
rivers, lakes, springs and the likes.
Since the rainfed rice only relies the water supply from natural climatic condition, therefore, it
cannot guarantee regular application of water to meet crop water requirement, then the
demand for artificial intervention is required to resolve the problems. The most substantial
constraint of irrigated lowland rice is that the field water requirement should adequate to
inundate the soil, to minimize the weed competition and also to prevent the pest attack.
Therefore, irrigation water requirement must be designed at the best optimum level in such a
way to be economically feasible. At the same time, the follow up operation and maintenance
of irrigation schemes should also be conducted at the best optimum extent to meet the
sustainable level of agricultural productivity.
Taking into consideration of the nature of irrigation based lowland rice cultivation, traditional
irrigation system in Indonesia has long been practiced since before the Hindu Era. At that
time, irrigated rice was merely based on traditional variety with low productivity and also
with longer period of plant growth. The application of agricultural inputs at that time was also
based on traditional practices such as the usage of organic compost, natural fertilizer and so
on. Since early 1970s the introduction of post war Green Revolution in Indonesia brought
about a lot of transformation in irrigated lowland rice cultivation technology. Despite the
production adverse impacts of the Green Revolution, the mass irrigation development and
management in Indonesia between the 1970s and 1980s brought about unprecedented
success for obtaining self-sufficiency of rice in 1984, or fifteen years after Indonesia being
recognized as the world leading rice importing country in 1969.
Prior to the above success, the government of Indonesia launched the mass production of rice
through the Five Year Development Program in 1969. In this program the government
insisted to multiply rice productivities by means of irrigation extensification and
intensification of water management on the one hand, and the use of advanced agricultural
technology, optimum application of agricultural inputs such as improved rice variety,
fertilizer, insecticides and pesticides, on the other.
The local governments responded to the mass intensification program by encouraging the
farmer to participate actively in the program. The entire potential of rice based agricultural
development within the country must be mobilized, including the rainfed areas. However, in
some rainfed areas the application of artificial fertilizer in the non-irrigated area had, in fact,
resulted with contra-productive results. Much of rice crops were found to be severely
deteriorated by the inappropriate application of chemical fertilizer in non- irrigated lands.
From that point in time, the implementation of irrigation based agricultural practice for rice
production has been based on the so called panca usaha tani or five principle efforts for
agricultural productivity. The five principles are as follows: (1) Application of appropriate
agricultural technique; (2) Improvement of irrigation infrastructures and irrigation
management implementation; (3) Balanced application of compost and chemical fertilizer; (4)
Environmentally friendly insecticides as well as pest control, and (5) Application of improved
rice varieties.
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2.9. THE GOGO RANCAH (AGRICULTURAL PRACTICE)
The Gogo Rancah is a system of agricultural practice characterized by dry and wet-land
practices during a season. It is used to be exercised in the irrigated area particularly in the
downstream part of irrigation system where the supply of water is not quite ensured or in the
rainfed area. The main principle is that the gogo variety initially planted to grow for six to 10
weeks without irrigation water supply. At the subsequent stage either irrigation or rainfall is
available to provide adequate water for wet cultural practice. At the time the climatic
condition allows supplementary irrigation water supply, the gogo rancah rice field could then
be irrigated as the normal lowland rice does, then, treated subsequently as the normal irrigated
rice-crop till the flowering stage and subsequent harvesting time. However, should irrigation
water might not possible to apply at the specific demand, the plant allows to grow without
irrigation, then the plant will stay as padi gogo or upland rice, and subsequently, the yield
slightly lower as compared with the late irrigated gogo-rancah.
Under the gogo rancah-growing
mode of upland rice, the rooting
pattern of the plant would
automatically adjust with the
normal lowland rice.
Nevertheless, should irrigation
water supply intervened for one
reason or another before the
flowering stage of the rice plant,
the then gogo rancah could no
longer possible to readjust itself
into upland rice. In most cases,
under such condition, the gogo
rancah would lose its entire
producing capacity at all.
Given the above condition, the
decision to apply for gogo
rancah mode of rice cultivation
should previously consider the
options to stick to upland pattern
or otherwise transform the
upland rice into irrigated land in
condition that irrigation should
not be interrupted until the
flowering stage of the plant. If
the climatic condition allows
irrigation water supply till the
flowering stage, then the choice
is gogo rancah. Otherwise, if the
water avail-ability is uncertain,
then decision should based on
traditional padi gogo or
upland rice without irrigation.
Being the case, the gogo rancah
While waiting for the rainy season, the farmers conduct
land preparation of rainfed (so called the Gogo Rancah
system). After Angoedi, 1984, p.17.
Upland rice cultivation (after Angoedi, 1984, p.18)
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demonstrates its flexibility to make adjustment with the availability of irrigation water
supplies.
Therefore, the gogo rancah paddy variety is suitable to cultivate on the area where the nature
of climatic condition often under the irregular pattern of water availability potential at the
river or other water sources. In some areas such as East J ava Province and Lombok Island in
NTB Province the farmers have been accustomed to application of gogo rancah system of
rice cultivation.
2.10. SWAMP RICE (LOCAL RICE VARIETY GROWS ON SWAMP LAND)
Since the ancient time, swamp rice has already been recognized by local farmers in the
swamp areas of Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and other tidal lowland areas on the river
deltas or coastal plains of the Outer Islands. However, due to difficulties to access and to
regulate the crop cultivation, yet with low productivity, the farmers tended to ignore this rice
variety and cultivate other varieties instead, except when other alternatives are not available.
The first organized human settlement on swamp areas in Indonesia actually took place
centuries ago. The Bugisnese and the Banjarnese ethnicities settled in the coastal lowlands
and gradually reclaimed the swamplands at the manageable size for rice cultivation. The early
settlements on the swamplands include the following: (1) The Sisir Gunting, North Sumatra
1924 (coastal land development by employing polder approach); (2) The Alabio Polder in
South Kalimantan in 1929; and (3) The Serapat in Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan
1890-1920 (located between Kapuas and Barito Rivers).
In most cases, the swamp rice only cultivates by indigenous people in remote tidal areas, for
alternative sources of food. For this reason, the swamp rice remains unpopular even-though its
existence had long been recognized by local people who settled on the tidal swamp areas.
Only in 1957 an engineer named Ir. Pangeran Mohamad Noor (who happened to be the
Minister of Public Works at that time), originated from a South Kalimantan ethnicity,
recognized the high potential of swamp rice for supporting the national rice production
program of Indonesia. Through a number of experimental plots in South Kalimantan as well
as on the eastern coast of Sumatra, the tidal lowland development has become more and more
important in the national rice production program, today.
Following the pilot models, some
major programs commenced in
Kalimantan and South Sumatra
around 1960s. These swamp
settlement among others; Puntik,
Besarang and Marabahan in
Central Kalimantan; Kelampan,
Tamban and Gambut in South
Kalimantan; Batuil, Mentaren,
Belanden, Milono (Besarang),
Songsang, Rantau Rasau in
J ambi Province; and Muara
Sabak as well as Lambur in Riau
Province. Delta Upang and
others in South Sumatera and
Rana Seragi (inland swamps) in
Lampung. (DGWRD, MPW,
2000 p.43).

Swamp rice field at the tidal swamp areas in South
Kalimantan
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Disregarding the specific nature
of the swamp rice, it becomes
evident to day that the potential
role of swamp rice has become
increasingly significant on
agricultural development in
Indonesia.
The nature of water management
for swamp rice field is quite
distinct from the non-swamp
agricultural land. Especially for
the tidal swamps, water mana-
gement take place by means of
interchanging the supply and
drainage in accordance with tidal
fluctuations. The supply canal
will function as irrigation
infrastructure during the high
tide, while during the low tide,
the channel facilitate the
drainage, at the same time for
soil leaching against acidity and
other hazardous materials.
However, appropriate water
management techniques for both
irrigation and drainage functions
are still being developed.

Construction activity for tidal-swamp infra-structural
development
Canal construction on the inland swamp, Alabio South
Kalimantan in 1970s
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MSRI and INACID Chapter III. The Influx of Indian Culture
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CHAPTER III
THE INFLUX OF INDIAN CULTURE

3.1. THE PRE HINDU ERA
With a presupposition of the null hypothesis that the lowland paddy cultivation in Indonesia
originally came from within and developed by indigenous people without external
intervention, then it explains that the Indonesian ancestor must have been ancient post
nomadic farmers and previous livelihood from hunting.
During the transition from pre-nomadic civilization to initial stage of shifting cultivation, the
ancient Indonesian cultivated upland paddy at the slashed and burnt forest areas. This
traditional agricultural civilization forced them to shift from one place to another soon after
the land became no longer productive. At that time, shifting cultivation method was still
allowable due to the abundance of land resources with scarce population.
As population became highly escalated from time to time, the nomadic agricultural practices
gradually transformed into more and more settled or permanent agricultural way of life
followed by subsequent development of permanent population settlement. For inception
choice, determination of area for human settlement dependent upon the prospect of the land
for producing adequate food supplies as well as future expectations for prosperous livelihood
in the area. Through experience, the potential capacity for producing upland paddy soon
becomes exhausted as the agricultural lands do not have consistent water supplies. Hence the
lowland paddies with sustainable water supply facilities become increasingly important. In
this regards, the area for human settlement would become rural community center with
gradual expansion toward permanent agricultural lands in the near by vicinity, till the entire
area become fully developed with adequate support of sustainable irrigation infrastructures.
According to some historical evidences, at about few decades AD, the Indian explorer who
came for the first time to Indonesian Archipelago found a large extent of lowland paddy fields
on J ava Island. The first Indian generation who arrived to Indonesia brought with them
Hinduism and Buddhism influence. The subsequent influxes of Indian culture to Indonesia,
was recorded in the history to be the era with full of dynamic transformation for ancient
Indonesian civilization, especially on J ava Island. As the Indian civilization becomes adapted
to the way of life of local inhabitants, much of the social, economic as well as political system
were gradually become internalized. Even the government system became political modes of
the ancient kingdoms, particularly the kingdoms on J ava Island as well as Sumatra and
Kalimantan Islands.
For example, the oldest kingdom in Indonesia with Indian influence was the Kutai Kingdom
in East Kalimantan established in 400 AD. The subsequent kingdom was Tarumanegara on
West J ava, established between the Fourth and the Fifth Century AD with its famous king
Purnawarman, and the capital center of the kingdom was in J asinga. From this era on,
historical evidences about Indonesia became more obtainable upon the growing of
civilizations awareness on preservation of historical records.
Among the historical evidences, for instance, it was recorded in a Chinese document that in
664 AD, a delegation from Mo-lo-you (Melayu or Malay) Kingdom, ancient Indonesian
visited China for trade promotion on agricultural products. This indicates that trades on
agricultural commodities had already become a major concern of the ancient kingdom of
Indonesia at the middle of the Seventh Century.
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Another record also states that I-Tsing, a Chinese Priest, departed from Canton, China in 671
AD, and stopover in Srivijaya Kingdom of Sumatra for six months to learn Sanskrit Language
on his journey to India. This historical record also explains that the ancient Indonesian
Kingdom of Srivijaya on Sumatra Island already had intercultural link with ancient Indian and
Chinese civilizations in the mid of the Seventh Century. In fact, the same source of record
subsequently discovered that in the year of 692 AD, I-Tsing revisited the Srivijaya Kingdom
several years later, however, no further news whatsoever mentioned about the Srivijaya
Kingdom till the year 1275 AD. Ever-since, from this point in time, no clear evidence about
significant indication on irrigated agricultural development in the context of Pre-Hindu Era in
the ancient Indonesian Archipelago.

3.2. THE FIRST TECHNICAL IRRIGATION STRUCTURE
As far as irrigation history of Indonesias concerned, there are currently three major
milestones that could provide comprehensible evidences to uncover the historical background
of the early irrigation development and management practices in Indonesia. These are the
Harinjing stone inscriptions to be found at the Kepung village, Pare District, within the
Brantas River Basin, East J ava Province. The first and the earlier stone inscription dated back
to the year of 726 of Caka Calendar, or 808 AD. The second inscription dated back to the year
of 843 Caka Calendar, or 921 AD. The third stone inscription dated back to the year of 849
Caka Calendar, or 727 AD (Angoedi, 1984., p.25).
The three stone inscriptions mention that a community leader named Bhogawanta Bori from
the village of Culunggi had been bestowed by the King Warok Dyah Manarah with a special
privilege in terms of exemption of property taxes for his outstanding accomplishment to build
the Harinjing River Dyke for water diversion, and flood prevention for agriculture as well as
human settlement in the a tributary of the Brantas River Basin.
The Harinjing stone inscriptions are presently kept at the National Museum in J akarta, while
the Kali Harinjing Tributary as mentioned in the inscription is now recognized as the Kali
Serinjing Tributary, located at
the junction of three river
tributaries of the Brantas Basin,
namely, Kali Konto, Kali
Besowo, and Kali Nambang
river tributaries. Given the facts
that the three river tributaries
regularly encounter with
volcanic debris flood from the
Mount Kelud, the Harinjing
Dyke had occasionally breached,
and at present, only two big
boulders of the dyke foundation
left at the Kali Serinjing
tributary. Close to the boulders,
an inspection bridge constructed
by one of irrigation projects in
East J ava Province to allow for
irrigation staff to conduct routine
The Harinjing stone inscription near Jombang (Pare) at
the village of Siman Krajan. The original inscription is
now kept at the National Museum Registered under
N. D.173
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inspections, even-though during the flood occurrence. Another more recent stone inscription
contains the more or less similar information is the Batu Gurit, written with the old J avanese
Sandibojo (Sanskrit) Language, also found in the vicinity area.
From a stone inscription dated
back to the year of 907 AD, it
was said that at the year of 823
AD, the Ancient Mataram
Kingdom ruled by Raja Pikatan
Emperor with an administrative
territory covers the Central and
East J ava Province. From this
inscription it revealed that the
ancestry of Ancient Mataram
Kingdom, as a major irrigation
based kingdom in Central J ava,
was descended from the Raja
Sanjaya Emperor. Later on, the
Ancient Mataram Kingdom of
Tulodong (924-929 AD) moved
the center of kingdom
administration from Central J ava
to East J ava. Since the two
regions were administered under
the Ancient Mataram Kingdom,
the irrigated agriculture in these
two regions (currently as two
autonomous provinces), remain
as among the most advance in
Indonesia today.
From a number of historical
evidences, the Majapahit
Kingdom (1293-1520 AD) had
the most significant influence on
the history of irrigation in
Indonesia. Other kingdoms also
had their respective contribution
to other site of the countrys
development, but not as
significant as the Majapahit
Kingdom for irrigation history of
the country.

3.3. THE OLDEST IRRIGATION STRUCTURE ON JAVA ISLAND
The oldest inscriptions on irrigation works in Indonesia indicate that the first irrigation
infrastructure in Indonesia was constructed at the TuguVillage near the Cilincing River on the
Fifth Century AD. The Tugu stone inscription placed at the Tugu Village near Cilincing
A statuette at the Harinjing Monument, illustrating the
mutual aids activity during construction of the
Harinjing Dyke, by manual workers.
A monument errected at the central alignment of the
ruin of the Harinjing Dyke
(Dawuan Srinjing today)
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River, Northern J akarta, however, for preservation, the original inscription has been kept at
the National Museum under the registration number D.124 (Angoedi, 1984., p.28).
Another historical evidence translated by
Prof. Dr. R Ng. Purbatjaraka reveals that the
King of Purnawaman declared his executive
order to excavate a short-cut channel at
River Candrabhaga for allowing the river
flown directly to the sea, along the
downstream site of the palace of Candara
Bhaga (Some people suggest that the river
site is known today as the Bekasi River).
While a study based on geo-morphological
analysis suggests that the Candra Bhaga site
is currently at Cakung River. This stone
inscription indicates that since the Fifth
Century AD, flood and drainage problems
have already been encountered the ancient
city of J akarta.
Since the discovery of Purbacaraka stated
above, the Harinjing Dyke (Katon, East
J ava) that had been previously renown as the
oldest hydraulic structure in Indonesia (804
AD) has now kept aside by the evidences
indicated the earlier construction period of
short cut channel of Cakung River at
Chandra Bhaga (the Fifth Century AD).

3.4. THE KALI BRANTAS RIVER AND MOUNT KELUD
The role of Kali Brantas River on the irrigation history of East J ava is something that cannot
be separated from each other. The downstream part of the Brantas River had long been
regarded as the most important river on East J ava, for it had been utilized as the major river
transportation during the J avanese Hindu Era referred to as the Bengawan (king of the river).
In fact, the Brantas River had been utilized to provide water supply for agricultural purposes
along the delta of the vicinity of Surabaya City since the prehistoric era.
Following the continuous expansion of agricultural lands to the middle and to upper reach of
the river basin, the role of tributaries of the Brantas Rivers for irrigation water supply also
increasing significantly. As a matter of fact, the kali Brantas River has been contributing
remarkably to the prosperity of the farmers in East J ava in particular, and for the people of
Indonesia in general. Particularly for irrigated paddies, the exceptionally fertile volcanic soil
in this area from Mount Kelud is the most important asset for supporting rice production.
However, it is undeniable that the Kali Brantas River occasionally suffers from flood disaster
as the result of blockages of sediment and volcanic debris that produces by the Mount Kelud
Volcano. With appropriate sediment control and sustainable river management, this problem
could be minimized without scarifying the river environment.
The Tugu Stone inscription is now kept at the
National Museum Registered at No. D.124.
(After Angoedi, 1984, p.28)
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For centuries the excessive amount of sediment and volcanic debris from Mount Kelud
Volcano had been accumulated at the mouth of the river and blocked the river stream,
especially at the sharp edged meandering alighnment of the river. Depending on the extent of
maintenance works for the river, the flood may strike the vulnerable part of the dykes or
riverbanks and jeopardizing the agricultural as well as human settlement in the vicinity areas.
For the case of the downstream site of Kali Brantas River, the most vulnerable site is located
at the Karangrejo and Kertosono in Kediri Regency as well as the further downstream end of
the river across Surabaya City at the Serbo Village.
The Kali Brantas River at the downstream near the Kemiri point branching northward, then
from the Gedek site, the river stream turns back to Serbo site along the side of the hills, then
from this point, the river channel turns sharply southward. It was reported that in the year of
1037 the river stream at this particular site suffered from severe damage due to flood incident,
and reportedly to causing substantial problems to agricultural and economic as well as the
routine livelihood of the people in the vicinity of the Brantas Delta. The disastrous incident
was reported to be the cumulative impacts of sediment and volcanic debris from Mount
Kelud, deposited at the Serbo site, blocked the river stream and eventually overflowed to
strike the susceptible bank at the Kali Mas then turn at the present site of Wringinanom
bridge. Eventually, the Brantas River moved westward parallel with the river flow direction of
the currently known Kali Porong River at the vicinity of Surabaya City of Eastern J ava
Province. Upon the completion of the repair works by constructing barrages at the Waringin
Sapta and Kelangen sites -- under the executive order of the King Airlangga, the direction of
river flow turned back toward northward direction.
However, Kali Brantas River transformed back to the new channel alignment in the year of
1294 AD. This was reported to be the impacts of volcanic debris of the Mount Welirang that
penetrate the Kali Brantas River along the Kali Pikatan and its tributaries. This incident
brought about significant physical change of the bifurcation point of Kali Brantas and Serbo
Rivers toward the Mojokerto site, such as the present physical condition.

3.5. THE BIRTH OF KING HAYAM WURUK
The continued existence of Kali Brantas River and Mount Kelud Volcano for East J ava
Province has long been contributing for centuries to the prosperity of the people, apart from
occasional floods along the river and the striking volcanic eruptions against the people in the
vicinity areas. Despite the advantage of fertile volcanic ashes from Mount Kelud, sediment
and debris are continuously become the approaching threat against the Kali Brantas River and
tributaries, due to accumulation of huge volume of sediment and cold volcanic debris at the
top cauldron of the mount, and potentially transform itself into disastrous debris flow at any
time.
According to the Pararaton manuscript (Angoedi, 1984, p. 31), it was recorded that during the
period of 170 years (between 1310 and 1481) nine eruptions of the Mount Kelud had been
taken place. The most notable eruption of Mount Kelud was in 1334, for which the blow-up
followed by simultaneous earthquake. The catastrophic earthquake was simultaneously
worsened by the striking volcanic ash and terrified thunderstorms. The hot magma of the
volcanic eruption shattered several villages and killed hundreds of peoples. It was said that at
the same time with the notorious catastrophe, there born a new king named Pangeran Hayam
Wuruk from the kingdom of Majapahit. Being born co-inside with such a terrible natural
phenomenon, the King Hayam Wuruk was believed by local people to be a sacred person
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descended for governing the kingdom. From this point in time, the historical record stated that
the King Hayam Wuruk ruled the Majapahit Kingdom from the year of 1350 to 1389. During
which, the wise Hayam Wuruk King was said to be assisted by the famous Prime Minister
Gajah Mada, which eventually reported to be the flourishing moment of the Hindu Kingdom
of Majapahit with all the remarkable agricultural and economic development till the death of
Gajah Mada in 1364. King Hayam Wuruk passed away 25 years later in the year of 1389.

3.6. THE FIRST REHABILITATION WORK ON IRRIGATION
According to other stone inscription unearthed from the ruin of the Harinjing Weir of Brantas
River, it was recorded that the Harinjing Weir, which was errected in the year of 804 AD, had
undertaken an unprecedented rehabilitation work on irrigation structure in 1350 AD. The
construction work for the weir was said to implement permanently for unlimited time horizon,
however, the weir had been reportedly flushed away several times due to catastrophic
occurrences.
From the ancient experience on irrigation rehabilitation, it becomes obvious that the hydraulic
infrastructures for irrigation and other related purposes would need rehabilitative works on
top of the routine operation and maintenance. No matter how feasible and robust the
construction had been commenced, the rehabilitation works, even at this modern day, is not
unavoidable. This especially the case when the construction works took part at the volcanic
disaster-prone area. As a matter of fact, it is quite admiring that the ancient work of Harinjing
irrigation weir of the Kali Brantas River had evidently been long lasted for at least 546 years
before the first rehabilitation works.

3.7. THE SALIENT FEATURE OF IRRIGATION ON JAVA DURING THE HINDU
ERA
According to series of historical evidences there are a number of reasons to believe that since
the fist few decades AD (even presumably the decades before) the J avanese farmers had
already been familiar with the basic technique of irrigation development and management,
which later on gradually become more advanced as the result of the transfer of technology
during the Hindu Era.
For illustration, at the Fifth Century AD, the King Purnawarman instructed to excavate a
diversion channel for discharging off the Kali Cakung stream, near J akarta Metropolitan as
known today, toward northern coast of J ava. This was evidently the flood control structure for
preventing the ancient J akarta and its agricultural vicinities from occasional flooding. In some
parts of Central and East J ava, there had been discoveries of ancient weirs, canals and tunnels
that had no longer performing. So far as the current study on the underlying historical
evidences, it is apparent that the ancient agricultural civilization of Indonesia had long been
inventing variety of irrigation development and management techniques ranging from the
most simple structures (weirs, and dykes) at small rivers made of bamboo pegs, stone,
boulder, logs, by the farmers themselves, while the large and permanent structures, such as
weirs, bridges, aquaducts and water diversion gates belong to the responsibility of the
government and their technical staffs to provide for.
In general, the nature of small scheme irrigation structures, which constructed by the farmers
themselves, and had to be operated and maintained by irrigation organization at the village
level, usually so simple that it easily breaches or flushed away by occasional floods. For such
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irrigation structures, the farmers operate and maintain as well as repair the schemes
themselves on mutual basis. While the large structures are operated and maintained as well as
repaired and upgraded, should if necessary, by the government authority with their highly
experienced technical staffs. This role-sharing approach had apparently been adopted by the
ancient irrigated agricultural civilization in Indonesia from generation to generation. It is not
impossible, though, that such a role-sharing approach will continuously to be the case for
farming circumstances that convertible to small land holding agricultural practices.

3.8. ANCIENT IRRIGATION TECHNICAL STAFF
During the Hindu Era, construction implementation for medium and large irrigation schemes
constructed through the executive order of the King. The irrigation infrastructure, which
would be constructed under the executive order of the king refers to as the dawuhan from
the J avanese word, or directly translated as the commandment (of the King). For
implementing the construction execution of the dawuhan, the King authorizes irrigation
technical staffs to act for, or on behalf of the King.
According to information obtained from ancient stone inscription, it was stated that the
assigned technician in practice, did not involved directly with construction execution. Instead,
the royal irrigation technicians authorized the local technical staff from the village to conduct
the construction execution, and subsequently responsible for conducting irrigation operation
as well as water allocation from the constructed weirs down to the farmlands. In spite of this,
there is no information, what so ever stated the physical dimensions of irrigation structures
referred to. It was stated by an anonymous historian, however, that the physical configuration
of a field reservoir area in the Pikatan village had an estimated dimension of about 175 m by
350 m with the total storage capacity of about 350,000 m
3
. The reservoir was also utilized for
military fortification during the Era of Majapahit Kingdom. This evidence explained that,
apart from the advanced irrigation technique, the Kingdom of Majapahit had, its capital town
also equipped with military defense system to prevent the kingdom from potential attack of
the enemy.

3.9. SUBAK ANCIENT IRRIGATION ORGANIZATION IN BALI
Despite the absence of information about the exact date of the first establishment of Subak as
an ancient organization for managing irrigation system in Bali Island, yet, the local people
had been implementing this distinct irrigation based agricultural practices from generation to
generation for centuries till present. Meanwhile, it is quite worthy to note that in Madagascar
and Central Luzon of the Philippines also existed the similar kind of ancient irrigation based
agricultural organization without any clear information about the exact historical date of their
first existence, nor any clear information on the relationship between them, one after another.
With regards to the curiosity about the direct interaction between Subak organization and
other ancient irrigation based organizations, many researchers were in puzzled due to the fact
that as far as the irrigation history is concerned, no single evidence indicating about the ever
existence of any kind of organization similar with Subaks. Regardless of the absence of
definitive information, some scholars yet argue that the existence of irrigation based
agricultural organization like Subak in Bali used to be practiced by the ancient farming
civilization on J ava Island. To the extent of this argument, the pro side could at least give
obvious rationale of similar platform of democratic principle they all have for irrigation
management implementation. So do the similarities of those organizations with the way they
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organized themselves in role sharing, organizational set up with more or less similar usage of
irrigation based agricultural tools and facilities. Again, this postulation is still highly arguable
having had no direct indication of past interrelationship amongst them. On the basis of the
similar democratic principle of role sharing and organizational set up, it is believed that this
principle well explained the sustainability of this organization for hundred of years, yet still
relevant with the underlying irrigation based agricultural practices in those areas today.
In accordance with the the context of subak and arrival of the pioneer Dutch explorer in
Indonesia, followed by the enactment of obligatory cropping pattern for supporting the
provision of adequate raw materials (sugarcane) of the early sugar factory on J ava. This
sugarcane based cropping pattern brought about conflicting of interests for providing
irrigation water during the cropping seasons on the one hand, and allocation of extra water for
sugarcane during the dry season on the other.
During the mandated sugarcane plantation, farmers continuously suffered from severe
economic hardship having the fact that the food crops could only be planted within the limited
land the farmers have. Together with their limited financial capacity, 20% of their lands
should be planted with sugarcane and surrender the overall products to the Dutch Authority in
lieu of the land tax they used to pay. Given this devastating matter, the already limited
farmers income became increasingly discouraging. The traditional agricultural practices the
farmer learned through generations has been attached to paddy to paddy with occasional
upland cropping pattern, and yet no experience at all on cash crops such as sugarcane
plantation.
In the mean time, the sugar
factory, which belongs to the
colonial authority, could easily
provide large agricultural lands for
sugarcane plantation on the basis
of compulsory principle.
Moreover, the colonial trading
company had every privilege to
conduct the manufacturing
process of sugar and subsequently
marketing the products to the
world market with exceptionally
large profit for the colonial
government. As a result, the
farmer became increasingly
impoverished, and the sugar
factory gained multiple folded
profits, yet without adequate financial supports for operating and maintaining the existing
irrigation schemes, if any at all.
The two types of water users cannot be incorporated into one single democratic association
like Subak System in Bali. Thus, presumably if the Subak organization used to be existed on
J ava, they must had been ignored since the Dutch Colonial Ruler introduced sugarcane
plantation by means of compulsory implementation.
For the case of Subak in Bali, there are some reasons to believe that this irrigation based
organization had at least been existed since three centuries before the Era of Majapahit
Kingdom on J ava Island. The Subak in Bali refers to as a group of paddy fields owned by
Sugarcane plantation
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many individual farmers, the land of which, served by one independent irrigation-scheme.
Thus the Subak system is an autonomous organization that has no formal relationship with
local government.
For the day to day activities, the rural community have obligation to take care their village on
mutual basis, however, all activities related with agricultural implementation such as land
preparation, irrigation water distribution, crop maintenance, harvesting, repairs as well as
maintenance of irrigation facilities, agricultural related financial management, and religious
affairs belong to the management
responsibility of Subak Organi-
zation. The Subak members are
not only having associated with
agricultural activities but also
strongly related with socio-
religious circumstances. One
single Subak organization
normally consists of about 100
members, with a special focus on
strengthening of socio-cultural
relationship amongst the
community members, which is
not only in terms of intimate
working relationship, but also
through routine meeting at the
Subak gatherings. The basic
principle adheres to the Subak
organization since the ancient
time, is always tightly concern
with appropriate land and water
related management and
utilizations. This is one of the
reasons why the Subak
organization, which originated
from the Balis own civilization,
is still consistently practiced and
followed by its members from
generation to generation. In fact,
all the developed regulatory
instruments, through mutual
consensus and on democratic
principles, are continuously
respected and obeyed by all the
Subak members.
All the Subak members are mutually agreed to maintain harmonious livelihood amongst the
community members, including the neighboring Subak organization that utilize water from
the same source under the judicious coordination with the Subak traditional leaders.
Meanwhile, the Subak members, referred to as the Klian Subak, have the responsibility to
maintain harmonious relation-ship with the formal leader of the village. All of the concerns as
Regular Subak Meeting in Bali
Rice field terrace cultivated by Subak farmers in Bali
Island
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well as, opinions, proposals and
requests by the Subak members
must be put into special
consideration on equal, trans-
parent and democratic principles,
including the members
obligation to prepare for routine
religious offerings, which is
regarded as one of the
determinant factors of the failure
or success of agricultural
productivities.
Under the Subak regulation
(Awig-awig) the water distri-
bution mechanism, irrigation
service fees, as well as the
subsequent fines for disobedient
members and the annual obligations for religious offerings and other such matters. However,
the Subak system has nothing to do with matters, beyond the internal membership concerns.
(For further details please see supplement paper, Subak Irrigation System in Bali, An Ancient Heritage of
Participatory Irrigation Management in Modern Indonesia).

3.10. THE ISLAMIC AND WESTERN INFLUENCE
3.10.1. THE FALL OF MAJAPAHIT HINDU EMPEROR
Since after the declining of the power of Majapahit Emperor in 1429 AD, many civil wars
took part, and eventually weakened the influence of the kingdom from within the internal
system. The members of the united rulers gradually separate themselves from the supremacy
of Majapahit Emperor. At the same time of the collapsed of the emperor, the power of Hindu
Emperor in Indonesia gradually fading away and eventually intervened by the arrival of
Islamic influence.
3.10.2. THE EMERGENCE OF ISLAMIC KINGDOM
The influx of Arab traders moved toward Indonesian Archipelago through Malacca Strait,
between Sumatra Island and the Malacca Peninsula. During which, the geographic position of
Malacca became increasingly strategic due to the convergence of trade streams among other:
Arab, Gujarat, India from west, and China, Majapahit, Srivijaya, and the eastern and northern
regions of Southeast Asian Countries. Owing to the fact that the voyage that day merely relied
traditional sailing vessel, then Malacca became the stopover point of the trade vessels along
their journey to Indonesian archipelago and vice versa. Soon, Malacca grew into one of the
most strategic harbors and trade centers in the region those days, and hence brought about
remarkable accomplishment of economic prosperity. In the year 1400, the Islamic Kingdom
of Malacca (in the Malaysian Peninsula as known today) was established.
While conducting trade activities, the Arab merchants also took opportunity to spread out the
Islamic religion, which was happened to be growing remarkably in lieu of the influence of the
Hindu Religion which was faded away from Indonesian Archipelago. In fact, the collapsed of
A traditional level for land surveying by the ancient
Balinese, (At Subak Museum, Tabanan, Bali)
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the Majapahit Emperor was part of the cause for the accelerating spread of Islamic faith in the
archipelago. For example, the new Islamic Kingdoms were established in the north coast of
J ava, which frequently visited by Arab traders, such as the Islamic Kingdom of Banten,
Cirebon, and Demak. The latter, was then flourishing remarkably since 1478 under leadership
of the Islamic King Raden Patah who took over the governance after fading of the Hindu
Kingdom of Majapahit.
With regards to the subsequent development and management of irrigated agriculture during
the Islamic Kingdoms, no significant historical records had yet been discovered till the
Western adventurers arrived to Indonesian Archipelago.

3.11. PRE COLONIAL ERA
3.11.1. ARRIVAL OF PORTUGUESE PEOPLE
As far as the historical evidence is concerned, the first Western People came to Indonesian
Archipelago was the Portuguese explorer. The first Portuguese mission came to Indonesia for
the main purpose of buying spices as the most important trade commodity in Europe those
days. Despite the trade objective they initially intended for, their sailing vessels also equipped
with military and navy facilities as well as other such a warfare equipments for self defense
against the pirate attacks along their ocean adventures to the Spices Archipelago and vice
versa.
With the high motivation for gaining enormous profits, the Portuguese invaded Melacca in
1511, and intended to get into monopoly for spice trade. However the trade missions from
other countries prefer to set up free trade implementation instead. And hence, most of the free
trade supporters avoided to stopover in Melacca and established free trade options in other
trade destination harbors.
The new alternative trade routes then established along the western coast of Sumatra Island,
through the Sunda Strait in the south most of Sumatra Island to J ava Sea. The new trade
destination ports then established along the coasts routes such as Bengkulu and Pariaman in
Western Sumatra, as well as Banten, Cirebon, J epara, and Tuban along the northern coast of
J ava Island.
3.11.2. ARRIVAL OF DUTCH TRADE MISSION
Following the route of the former Portuguese Trade Mission, the first Dutch people stepped
foot to J ava was Cornelis de Houtman in 1596. Like the Portuguese predecessor, the Dutch
pioneer traders also intended to seek for spices to sell them at the European market.
At that time, the most outstanding spice producers in Indonesia, which were the Moluccas
Islands, suddenly came up to be the most popular destination for European spice traders,
particularly with the historical relationship, later on, between The Netherlands and Indonesia.
In the year of 1600, the Dutch Trade Mission initiated a new trade representative at Banda for
managing its spice trade activities. Two years later in 1602, the Dutch Trade Mission
established a new trading company referred to as Verenigde Oost indische Compagnie
VOC, or East India Trading Company, to deal with free trade competition against other
countries trade missions that had been around in Indonesia for the same purposes. Later on,
the Dutch took over the governance of Indonesia as its new colony. In 1618, J an Pieterszoon
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Coen became the Governor General of VOC and founded Batavia (J akarta today) as the
capital center of VOC in 1619.
For fully protecting the monopoly on spice trade, the Dutch undertook trade blockade against
Banten, and eventually gave rise to prolong confrontation between the Dutch and the Banten
Sultanate. The Sultanate of Banten under the leadership of Sultan Ageng, continued to
promote improvement of economic development by establishing closer trade relationship with
England and France, and encouraged them to set up trade representatives in Banten.
To the event that it did, unfortunately, Sultan Ageng had unavoidable dissolution with his
own son Sultan Haji, who wanted to take over the power of the Banten Sultanate from his
father. For this purpose, Sultan Haji conducted underground movement by seeking political
support from the East India Trading Company (VOC). In 1680 Sultan Haji managed to take
over the power of Banten Sultanate from his father. However, Sultan Haji had to pay a very
expensive cost in lieu of the political support he obtained from the VOC Trading Company.
As the matter of fact, the VOC insisted Sultan Haji to provide for special facilities and other
privileges in return. Eventually, the VOC Trading Company took full control over the Banten
Sultanate.
3.11.3. INVASION OF SULTAN AGUNG AGAINST THE VOC DUTCH TRADING COMPANY
With the persistent of VOC intervention on J ava Island the Mataram Kingdom, under the rule
of Sultan Agung Hanyokrokusumo, became annoyed, because at that time, the entire J ava
Island except West J ava was under the control of Mataram Kingdom.
In 1628 the navy squad of Mataram Kingdom, without prior notice, attacked Batavia from the
sea. However, the Mataram military team was not managed to invade the Fort of VOC in
Batavia, because VOC had previously aware about the potential invasion from Mataram
Kingdom and had themselves prepared. He decided to get retreat and prepared another attack
shortly.
In the following year (1929) a military troop of Mataram Kingdom resumed subsequent attack
against Batavia with a complete military team as well as warfare equipment. However, the
military convoy had already been quite exhausted after three months travel on foot before
arrived to Batavia. Meanwhile, the construction of barn for food-stock of the Mataram
military troops in Cirebon and Tegal along the route to Batavia destroyed by continuous
cannon bombards from the Dutch Sailing vessels till the food storages completely burnt out
on fire.
Despite the lack of food stocks, the military troop of Mataram Kingdom keep attacked the
forts of VOC in Batavia. The fort Bommel was not managed to invade, however, under the
massive surrounding of the fort, the Governor General of VOC, J an Pieterszoon Coen was
dead due to Cholera epidemic disease. Eventually, the second attack against Batavia was
again unsuccessful due to the lack of food stocks for the troops to keep moving.
Learning from the two consecutive experiences to attack Batavia, Sultan Agung King became
aware that the availability of adequate food stock is a most important determinant factor for
the success or failure of such a massive military intervention. For this purpose, Sultan Agung
decided to mobilize his troops to settle down in Karawang and Sumedang areas and make the
necessary preparation for pursuing adequate food production by means of irrigation based rice
producton while preparing for future attack to Batavia.
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It was reported though, that the subsequent attack to Batavia had never been materialized due
to the death of Sultan Agung King in 1645. The successor of Sultan Agung, who is his own
son, had not had adequate personal integrity as well as leadership capacity to go on with his
fathers plan and commitment.
3.11.4. CONFRONTATION OF VOC WITH THE KING OF GOWA
In the eastern region of Indonesian archipelago, the monopolistic trade policy of VOC for
spices commodity had continuously to encounter opposition from the concerned trade
communities. For spice and rice trade, the Sombaopu Harbor (Makassar) of the Gowa
Kingdom, Southern Sulawesi was the most important center in the central and eastern regions
of Indonesian Archipelago during those days. At the initial stage, the arrival of VOC Trading
Company in Makassar, was well accepted for the Gowa Kingdom, however, after disclosing
the actual objective of the spice trading policy in Makassar, the authority of the Gowa
Kingdom became confronted to the policy.
Since 1616 the VOC Trading Company had frequently encountered with opposition from the
people of Gowa Kingdom but they still seeking for the best strategy to cope with the
problems. In 1634, as the VOC Trading Company became confident enough to confront with
Gowa Emperor, and for the sake of its monopolistic policy, VOC mobilized its specially
trained troop to invade the harbor of the capital town of Gowa, Makassar. At that time, all of
the incoming and the outgoing vessels from Makassar Harbor were going to be arrested by the
VOC Authority disregarding of the owner and the country of origin. Meanwhile, a lot of
sailing vessels from Portuguese, India, China, as well as other European countries anchored in
the harbor of Sombaupu, Makassar.
As the officers of the Gowa Kingdom obtained information about the VOC from the sailors
from J epara, Centra J ava, all of the boat and vessels were instructed to leave the Sombaupu
Harbor, in such a way that at the time the VOC troops arrived to Makassar, not any single
vessels left at the harbor. After several attempts without success, the VOC Dutch Company
appealed the King to make mutual peace treaty. However, in 1638 confrontation resumed
again, and eventually VOC make another mutual peace treaty, and the King of Gowa gave
acknowledgement to the limited trade right of VOC Dutch Trading Company. Despite the
peace treaty, the escalation of black market for spice trade amongst the Gowa, Portuguese,
English, Danish and French trading companies become hardly controllable. This mostly due
to the extent of the large marine territories, that was beyond the capacity of VOC to control.
Being the case, unavoidable warfare incidents often took part within the mutually agreed
peace treaty.
After the end of the open war between the Dutch VOC and Gowa Kingdom, in 1655 and
1667, in which the Gowa Kingdom was defeated, the Dutch VOC insisted the King of Gowa
through a bilateral peace treaty to recognize the monopolistic right of the VOC Dutch Trading
Company on spice trade.
3.11.5. THE STRUGGLE OF UNTUNG SURAPATI
During the emperor of Amangkurat-II of the Mataram Kingdom, which was known to be the
weak governance period, a rebellion undertook by Trunojoyo who came from Madura Island,
due to dissatisfaction with the political and economic condition of Mataram Kingdom at that
time. Trunojoyo managed to occupy the Mataram Palace at Kertasura and took control over
the assets and properties of the Mataram emperor. In an attempt to take control over the
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insurgent, the Amangkurat-II Emperor seek out military support from the VOC Trading
Company, and eventually managed to overthrow the supremacy of Trunojoyo rebellion. In
return to the military support, as was the case for previous military seeker from VOC, the
Amangkurat-II Emperor insisted to be of assistance to VOC for expanding control over the
entire J ava Island including the southern coast.
In this regard, Untung Surapati, a native origin from Bali, with the emperors
recommendation, recruited by VOC to be an army officer. Later on, Untung Surapati, who
considered having a strong personality, promoted to be the first lieutenant of the Dutch army
from native Indonesian people.
In one occasion, Untung Surapati affronted by his subordinate of the Dutch origin, for a
certain policy he determined to implement by his subordinates. Being insulted by the Dutch
officer, he decided to quit his service from the Dutch Army and subsequently confronted and
beat the Dutch ruler from his basic frontier of Priangan and later on retreat to Kartasura. The
Dutch officers led by Captain Tack, assigned to Kartasura to capture Untung Surapati, were
defeated and during which, all of them were killed by Untung Surapatis supporters. From this
point in time, Untung Surapat moved to East J ava and spent his time to rule his followers in a
small kingdom.
As the King Amangkurat-II passed away in 1703, his son Amangkurat-III or Sunan Mas
succeeded him. Nevertheless, Sunan Mas dismissed by force from his position by the Dutch
Authority, and replaced him by King Pakubuwono-I. For which, the King Pakubuwono I gave
reward to VOC Dutch Trading Company to occupy the remaining jurisdiction areas of
Mataram Kingdom in West J ava.
After having dismissed from his ruling position by the Dutch Authority, Sunan Mas went to
East J ava to give support to Untung Surapatis followers. To this point, the Dutch ruler
dispatched a strong military troop to East J ava in 1706 to combat Untung Surapati. On this
incident, Surapati was killed in his effort to defend Fort Bangil. At the end, the Dutch Ruler
occupied the entire J ava Island and Lampung District, Southern Sumatra in 1752.
3.11.6. SITUATION OF THE OUTER ISLANDS AND DISBANDMENT OF VOC
In spite of the strong opposition the Dutch ruler encompassed on J ava Island, the Aceh
Sultanate in Northern Sumatra remained undefeated. Most of the kingdoms were occupied by
the Dutch Ruler, though the full rulers control only limited to the coastal regions. The inland
regions were still hardly controllable by the Dutch ruler. In Kalimantan Island, for instance, in
1750, the Dutch Colonial Ruler still obtained newly occupied territory for subsequent control
of trade in Banjarmasin Kingdom of southern Kalimantan.
For the east region of the archipelago, Moluccas, Ternate and Tidore, the local kingdoms had
previously had no more privilege but determined by the Dutch Colonial ruler. The local
kingdoms were not allowed to undertake spice trade as well as control over spice plantations.
For compensation, the kings paid by the Dutch Ruler in terms of annual salary. The spice
plantations concentrated on the island of Banda and Ambon, which conducted by the local
people in terms of compulsory labor forces with practically closed to the slavery practice.
In the mean time, the Netherlands occupied by the French revolutionary movement in 1795
with special enforcement to combat Feudalism. At that time, after Louis XVI ruler guillotined
to death, the government structure of the Netherlands transformed into the Republic of
Bavaria under the immediate control of the French Government. Being the case, the king
Willem V of the Netherlands decided to move out to England and gave executive order to the
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Governor General of VOC to retain all of the treasures of VOC to the British Ruler on
temporary basis. The British ruler agreed to hand over the property treasures to VOC again
after the French Ruler leaved the Netherlands. In this regards the VOC Ruler in Indonesia
requested by Willem V to momentarily handing over the Dutch Colonial Governance of West
Sumatra, Ambon and Banda to the British Ruler.
In response to the executive order, the Governor General of VOC in Batavia refused to
comply with Willem-V and prepared to defend the colony from the British invasion against
Batavia. However, it was recorded that the British invasion had never been materialized.
Meanwhile, the political reform of the Netherlands also brought about significant impacts to
the Dutch Policy on the existence of VOC Trading Company. In 1798 the Dutch Colonial
Government decided to disband the VOC, and took over the entire financial debts and
liabilities of VOC as due of the 31
st
December 1799.
3.11.7. DIPONEGORO WAR (THE JAVA WAR)
With the persistent intervention of the Dutch Colonial Rule on Indonesian Archipelago,
particularly in J ava, Diponogoro, a prince of J ava, got aggravated with the strong penetration
of western culture as well as the way of life against the local tradition and cultures. Given the
frustrating circumstances, Diponegoro, as a strong Moslem follower, decided to leave the
palace and retreated to the rural area of the Western Capital of Yogyakarta to isolate himself
from the western influence while consistently contemplating as well as devoting himself to
the Moslem Religion.
In 1825, Diponegoro confronted with the Dutch Colonial Ruler having his land property in
Tegalrejo District trespassed by the road construction alignment without prior notice from the
Dutch Colonial Authority. The alignment of the road plan happened to superimpose with the
cemetery of Diponegoros ancestors. Responding to this matter, Diponegoro insisted his
followers to pull off the entire road alignment posts that trespassed his private land property.
For this response, the Dutch Colonial Government Officer, Resident Smissaert, ordered
Mangkubumi (Diponegoros uncle) to arrest Prince Diponegoro, but Mangkubumi refused to
act upon, and in fact, evidently decided to go along with Diponegoro to confront the Dutch
Colonial Ruler.
On J uly 20
th
1825 the Dutch troop went to Tegalrejo to open fire on Diponegoros residence
with cannon bombards. This incident signified the break up of Diponegoro War (J ava War).
The Dutch Colonial Ruler supported by Surakarta, Mangkunegaran, and Yogyakarta
Sultanates to go into battle against Diponegoro and his followers.
On the contrary, many Regents, J avanese aristocrats, Islamic priests and farmers came to join
Diponegoro to combat the Dutch Colonial ruler. Kyai Mojo, a highly influential Islamic
scholar, also decided to join Prince Diponegoro, so did Sentot Ali Basah Prawirodirdjo, a
young J avanese aristocrat entrusted to be the warlord of Diponegoro troops. Within the short
time, Diponegoro war spread out to the entire parts of Yogyakarta, Central and East J ava
territories. With the strong cavalry, directly led by Diponegoro, the strategic regions of
Pacitan and Purwodadi, were soon taken over, and the open wars took part simultaneously in
many regions of the Central and East J ava such as in Banyumas, Pekalongan, Semarang,
Rembang, Madiun and Kertosono. Dring the venomous battle of Lengkong (1825-1826), a
Dutch officer and two Sultanate Princes were killed, at the same time the Delanggu region
took over by Diponegoro followers.
However, since 1827, under the strategic warfare policy of the General Commander De Kock,
the combating position of Diponegoro became declining. The Dutch Ruler mobilized
auxiliary troops from West Sumatra, and South Sulawesi, and applied for the warfare strategy
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so called Fort System. Under the fort system of General De Cock, the Dutch Ruler
immediately erected warfare forts at the strategic location of the regions that had been
defeated. The errected forts connected to each other with access road for facilitating the quick
mobility of the Dutch Army controller. The implementation of this strategy had been
successful to isolate the mobility of Diponogoro troops from one particular location to
another. In 1828 Kyai Mojo arrested by the Dutch after unfair deals, he was then jailed in
isolated detention of Minahasa, northern Sulawesi, in which he passed away under the Dutch
custody, and buried in Tondano, Northern Sulawesi in 1849.
Followed by the arrest of Kiai Mojo, Prince Mangkubumi surrendered to the Dutch ruler in
1829, but the son of Diponegoro, Prince Dipokusumo refused to surrender. The Dutch Ruler
promised to give award of 20,000 Dutch Ringgit for the ones who managed to arrest
Diponegoro dead or alive. In fact, the local people paid the wholehearted respects to
Diponogoro and no one wished to betray him by taking the Dutch offer. Under the frustrating
moment, the Dutch Ruler arrested Diponegoro injudiciously at a ceasefire negotiation in
Magelang Regency, Central J ava, and subsequently denoted the end of Diponegoro War (J ava
War) in 1830.
The Dormant Period of Irrigation in Indonesia: Since after the arrivals of the foreign trade
missions, including the Dutch Adventures, irrigation development and management in the
entire Indonesian Archipelago, with the exceptions of indigenous based irrigation schemes,
had almost been ignored. During which, both the Dutch Authority and the Local Kingdoms
were fully occupied with trading activities, and occasionally encountered by ruling military
interventions to perpetuate the monopolistic trade policy. The prolong wars against the Dutch
Trading Ruler, taken part both on J ava and the other Islands of the Indonesian Archipelago.
Under these circumstances, the development and management of agriculture and other
welfare activities by the local kingdoms on J ava as well as on the Outer Islands remained
untouchable. As a matter of fact, the Dutch Ruler gradually expanding their control over the
archipelago, till the moment when several leaders started to confront the Dutch Policy, with
occasional warfare incidents such as the J ava War.
In spite of the non-active development and management activities on irrigated agriculture for
many years during the crucial periods sated previously, the physical confrontation against the
Dutch Ruler brought about significant lessons learned. This particularly the case for the
subsequent Colonial Policy Reform on the need to pursue welfare development for the local
people such as the famous Ethical Policy (irrigation, emmigration and education), which later
on, proved to be the land mark of sustainable development for the entire Dutch Colonies,
including Indonesia.

MSRI and INACID Chapter IV. The Beginning of Dutch Colonial Era
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CHAPTER IV
THE BEGINNING OF DUTCH COLONIAL ERA

4.1. COMPULSORY AGRICULTURAL POLICY
Upon the disbandment of the Verenigde Oost-Indsche Compagnie (VOC) or The East India
Trading Company on the 31
st
December 1799, the Dutch Government took over the formal
Dutch Colonial Governance in Indonesia on the 1
st
J anuary 1800, having a total debt from
VOC Trading Company at about F.120 million (120 million Dutch Guilders).
Apart from the bankruptcy of the VOC, the Dutch Government also suffered from severe
financial depressions due to the broke up of the prolong war in Europe and later on with
several wars with nationalist movements in Indonesia.
to enforce compulsory agricultural policy, so called the Cultuur Stelsel or Verplichte
corchorus) and sugarcane, as the highly market potential agricultural products in Europe
Dutch Colonial Authority, and products received to be regarded as the payment of land tax in
lieu of the Land Rente (land tax) tax obligation that had been prescribed by the British
(temporary) Colonial Government since 1813.
4.2. THE PERIOD OF GOVERNOR GENERAL DAENDELS
In the period between 1809 and 1811 Governor General Daendels conducted construction of
harbor port for sailing vessels at the Anyer Beach and Ujung Kulon, West J ava by employing
the compulsory work forces of the people of Banten. Because of the lack of health facilities
and food stock, many people suffered from contagious diseases, and deaths to starvation.
Having this devastating matter, Sultan Banten and his Prime Minister protested Daendels in
order to stop the compulsory labor force, but Daendels arrested Sultan Banten instead, and
evacuated him at isolated jail in Ambon. The Prime Minister of Banten Sultanate even
sentenced to death as he was considered by Dandels to be against the Dutch Colonial Policy.
Prior to the completion of the Anyer and Ujung Kulon docks, Daendels launched his
controversial policy to construct the Northern Trans-J ava Highway extended from West to
East of J ava Island (from Anyer to Panarukan) via Serang-Tangerang-Batavia-Bogor-
Bandung-Sumedang-Cirebon in West J ava through to Brebes-Tegal Pekalongan-Semarang-
Demak-Kudus-Pati-Rembang in Central J ava, then to Surabaya-Penarukan in East J ava with a
total distance of more than 1,000 km.
The notorious highway project caused hundred of thousands of deaths and epidemic casualties
due to the lack of food stocks and medical facilities. Despite the intolerable sufferings, the
ambitious colonial project had undoubtedly given unprecedented and remarkable impacts to
the development of J ava Island in particular, and Indonesia in general. Till today, the highway
route is still performing well, although some of its alignments had already been reallocated.
From the point of view of micro hydrological aspects, the road construction had caused
significant blockage of the natural drainage function of the area between Semarang-Demak
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and Kudus. This area regularly suffered from flooding due to the absence of natural drainage
capacities. During the early time before the road construction, the East Semarang and Demak
areas used to be the well-known rice producing areas.
4.3. GOVERNOR LIEUTENANT GENERAL RAFFLES (1811-1816)
Representing The British Colonial Government, Lieutenant General Raffles posted in
Indonesia from 1811 to 1816. Being influenced by the new political approach prescribed by
the French Revolution (freedom, equality, and friendship) Raffles intended to abolish the
maltreatment that had been undertaken by the VOC and subsequently by the Dutch Colonial
Government.
As a matter of fact, the new political approach had previously been introduced at the end of
the 18
th
Century by a Dutch idealist named after Dirk van Hongedorp, who stated that the
J avanese farmers had been encountered by enormous sufferings resulted from the way of
VOC treated them beyond the normal humanity norms.
In the mind of Raffles, the farmer should determine the copping pattern himself, then sell the
agricultural products to whoever he would wish at the free competitive based market
principles.
Basically, the farmers have obligation to pay for tax in terms of land rent to the
government. In reality, however, the goodwill of Raffles was not managed to implement due
to a number of reasons: (1) The fixed amount of land rent that must be paid by the farmers are
hardly determined due to the absence of data about the land ownership, in addition to the
uncertainty of diversified conditions of the soil fertilities; (2) The farmers had been
accustomed to cultivate traditional crops, such as paddy and upland crops, so they had almost
no more capacity to maximize agricultural productivity by cultivating their lands with cash
crops that have inter-market potential; (3) If they do have capacity to cultivate crops that have
international market potentials, they had no capacity to have the crops marketed at the foreign
market, and hence, the farmers eventually surrender the crops to the Village Head or to the
local government authority the way they used to do during the VOC.
4.4. MAJOR PRINCIPLES OF COMPULSORY AGRICULTURAL POLICY
In 1830 the Dutch Colonial Government enforced a new land tax policy. The new taxation
policy was principally adopted the obligatory principles the way it was implemented during
the VOC era in complementary with the compulsory agricultural policy.
Commissioner General J ohnnes Van den Bosh, who was considered by the Dutch People
those days as the Dutch hero, but regarded by the local people as the cruelest ever known
Dutch Officer, initiated the compulsory agricultural policy. Through the compulsory
agricultural policy, Van den Bosh wished to obtain as much money as possible to compensate
financial deficits of the Dutch Colonial Government due to the bankruptcy of the VOC.
The main principle built into the compulsory agricultural policy are as follows: (1) The
Colonial government make consensus with the local population, in order to share part of his
land for cultivating agricultural crops that posess international market potential; (2) The total
land area that must be planted by obligatory types of crops must not exceed 20% of the land
owned by the people; (3) The labor works be required for production of obligatory types of
crops must not exceed the labor works that are required for conducting rice production from
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the farmers land; (4) Land tax for production of obligatory types of crops must be exempted
from land rent; (5) In case the total price of agricultural products paid to Colonial Government
exceed the amount of land rent that have to be paid by the farmer, the Government shall
return the balance to the farmer; (6) The Colonial Government shall be responsible to the risks
of agricultural failure due to unusual climatic conditions, except if the failures were due to the
faulty of the farmers themselves.
4.5. IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPULSORY AGRICULTURAL POLICY
The implementation guideline of the compulsory agricultural policy seemed to be potentially
effective for undertaking productive agricultural endeavors for both the colonial ruler as well
for prosperous livelihood of the farmers. In reality, however, the policy implementations were
not abiding the provisions articulated in the general principle of the guidelines. As a matter of
fact, during the implementation of compulsory agricultural policy, the farmers were
increasingly suffered from perpetuating deprivation, poverty and hunger, instead of gaining
prosperity.
The following experiences had been noted from the policy implementation of compulsory
agricultural policy based on the six major principles as the following elaborations:
Guideline 1. The Colonial government make consensus with the local population, in order to
share part of his land for cultivating agricultural crops that have international market
potential;
From Guideline 1., it is seemingly that the consensus takes part voluntarily without any
intimidation. In practice however, the local authority through the Regent and Village Head
forced the people to surrender part of his land under the immediate supervision and control of
the Dutch Officer. Every Officer is entitled to the special bonus or personal incentive should
he managed to collect more agricultural products to the Colonial Government. The more he
collect, the more incentive he obtains. As a result, the officers are pursuing injustice
competition with each other for obtaining more products to collect. And hence, the farmers,
who mostly illiterate, were continuously became the victims of unfair conducts.
Guideline 2. The total land area that must be planted by obligatory types of crops must not
exceed 20% of the land owned by the people;
In practice, this article is hardly implementable because the landownership is mostly small
scattered. Meanwhile, the nature of tobacco, and sugar cane for instance, would need larger
plot of land to effectively and efficiently manageable. For this purpose, the Dutch government
officers simplify the land arrangement by regrouping the ownerships, determined the best part
of the regrouped land for cash crops and leave the rest for food crops. Having tempted to
obtain more incentives, the officers mostly took more than 20%, often up to 50% of the
farmers land for cash crop on compulsory basis.
Guideline 3. The labor works be required for production of obligatory types of crops must not
exceed the labor works that are required for conducting rice production from the farmers
land.
This article actually means to give adequate time for the farmer to cultivate the agricultural
land for local market potential. In reality, the farmers were mostly forced to do more labor
works than his obligation for the compulsory crops, as a result, his food crops left
unmanageable.
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Guideline 4. Land tax for production of obligatory types of crops must be exempted from
land rent.
In reality, this article was mostly ignored, for the land tax was still levied with increasing
rates, and yet without considering tax exemption at all.
Guideline 5. In case if the total price of agricultural products paid to the Colonial
Government exceeded the amount of land rent that have to be paid bay the farmer, the
Government shall return the balance to the farmer;
In reality, this article was not followed at all. In fact, most of the farmers those days were
practically illiterate, having far more than capable to understand their rights as well as
obligation and responsibilities. Being the case, they mostly relied without reserve to the local
government officers, who in facts, also tempted to gain from such a humble condition of the
farmer.
Guideline 6. The Colonial Government shall be responsible to the risks of agricultural failure
due to unusual climatic conditions, except if the failures were due to the faulty of the farmers
themselves.
In reality, the Dutch Colonial Government staff would instantaneously blamed the farmers for
any striking risks, no matter how realistic the rationale that the farmers had.
With all the evidences, the implementation of Compulsory Agricultural Policy having the
farmers under the already poor, illiterate, and devastating conditions, had been increasingly
suffered from perpetuating deprivation, poverty and hunger, instead of gaining prosperity. In
fact, the Indonesian history had noted such a notorious agricultural program, causing hundred
of thousands of casualties, deaths of hunger as well as epidemics, particularly during the
extreme drought year between 1848 and 1849, in Demak, Central J ava.
4.6. CONSTRUCTION OF EARLY IRRIGATION WEIRS ON JAVA ISLAND
Following the implementation of
Compulsory Agricultural Policy,
which was initiated by J ohnnes
Van den Bosch (1830-1833), the
Dutch Colonial Government
since then, directly involved in
agricultural management,
production and marketing of
agricultural products, including
the efforts to improve irrigation
infra-structures for supporting
the Compulsory Agricultural
Policy.

Stone inscription at the Old Sampean Weir, located at
the upstream site of New Sampean Weir
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In an attempt to provide for
constant availability of irrigation
water, the Dutch Colonial
Government paid special
attention on the future potential
development of fertile agri-
cultural land of the delta
Sampean River in East J ava. For
this purpose, the Dutch
Government dispatched Ir. Van
Thiel to Situbondo to construct a
weir in Kali Sampean River in
1832. The construction of this
weir made of teakwood
framework structure, filled with
stone and boulder. The Total
width of the weir was 45 m and
the height at eight m.
In 1850 the Sampean weir could
no longer utilized, as the
teakwood material for routine
maintenance was no longer
available. For improvement
purpose, the strengthening work
was undertaken by means of
masonry structure early in 1847,
but the weir did not last long.
Up until 1876 temporary weir
structures had been constructed,
and at the same year the masonry
weir was completed, but the weir
did not last long as well.
The Kali Brantas irrigation
scheme with an area of 34,000
ha at the delta of Sidoarjo had
been constructed from 1852 to 1857. While the Mojokerto weir, was rehabilitated in 1972/
1973.
4.7. THE FIRST SUGAR FACTORIES
With regards to the post harvesting process, there are some major differences between coffee,
tea, and cotton on one side, as well as sugarcane on the other. The first category requires a
relatively simple post harvesting process and subsequently brought to the government owned
storage before marketing. On the other hand, the sugarcane required more complicated
process before it became ready-export commodity.
New Sampeam weir, at the upstream site of
Old Sampean Weir
The Old Lengkong Weir preserved as a monument near
the new Lengkong Weir
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For processing of the sugarcane into sugar, the Dutch Colonial Government employed private
companies on contract basis, in which, the government provide constant supplies of sugarcane
as raw material for the sugar factory.
At the initial stage the private
companies received advance
payment for initial capital, of
which to be paid back in terms
of the total amount of bulk-
sugar produced.
To this point, the private
sectors became more and more
encouraged to manage sugar
production. To anticipate the
over enthusiastic participation
of private sector, in 1837 the
Colonial Authority applied for
new policy to hold down the
number of private companies
that eligible to involve in the
sugar production through a
rigid prioritization. In principle,
the private companies must conduct some kind of competitive bidding, although in practice
such procedure was not always the case.
In some regions, the supervisory role for sugar production was entrusted to the Government
officers, but the supervision implementation was found later on to be least effective, and
hence the policy implementation had been treated as the trial cases only.
Given the fact that the private owned sugar factories had been highly profitable, the
application of advanced technology became increasingly demanding for efficient means of
production. In spite of the demand for large amount of capital investment to meet application
of advanced technology on sugar production, the output in return also became increasingly
attractive due to higher efficiency with more effective means of productivity.
During the implementation of Compulsory Agricultural Policy in Indonesia, the Dutch
Colonial Government, for supporting sugar industries mainly implemented irrigation
development and management, with some exceptions. Only after the shift of colonial policy
for giving attention on the prosperity of the local people, then irrigation development and
management in Indonesia received more attention by the Colonial Authority.
The growth of sugar export from J ava during the Compulsory Agricultural Policy:
Year Ton of Sugar
1831 7,300
1835 27,000
1840 63,400
1868 161,800
A sugar factory in East Java, has been producing since
early Duch Time and Still producing today
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4.8. DEVELOPMENT OF SUGAR FACTORIES ON JAVA
The peak implementation of Compulsory Agricultural policy was mostly recognized between
1830 and 1840. Since then, this program had been managed to gain the objective originally
envisaged for recovering the downfall financial position of the Dutch Colonial Government.
During the Compulsory Agricultural Policy, Irrigation development and management also had
significant impacts, particularly on the escalating value and importance of irrigation command
areas soon after the area cultivated for sugarcane and other industrial crops. Irrigation
operation and management on the other hand, also received more attention as the Colonial
Authority became aware of the importance of irrigation for supporting agricultural
production.
In response to the increasing demands for transportation facilities, construction of the first
railway on J ava was also conducted in much earlier 1432 extended between Semarang and
Yogyakarta via Surakarta.
With regards to the pros and contras of the Compulsory Agricultural Policy, despite the
positive impacts, frequent disputes occurred amongst the Colonial Government Officers as
well as between the private sectors and the Dutch Citizens themselves between 1850-1860.
However, the issues often come up later because communication services between Indonesia
and the Netherlands at that time was still using conventional surface mail, which was far from
satisfactory. Besides, radio communication had yet developed.
The contras who opposed to the Compulsory Agricultural Policy consisted of those who had
deep empathy to the desperate sufferings of the local people from inappropriate conducts of
the officers. Most of this category, which consisted of the religious background, requested the
Colonial Government to put an end to the Compulsory Agricultural Policy. The private
sectors also opposed to the policy because they do not want the government monopolize the
trade sector, which implied that they would not have, but very limited opportunity to pursue
economic development by means of investing their capital in Indonesia. They did want to
obtain as much opportunity as possible to undertake agricultural trade and commerce, and let
the government provide development and services of public infrastructures.
In 1860 Deuwes Dekker, a Dutch writer, under the pseudonym Multatuli wrote a book
entitled Max Havelaar, which disclosed inappropriate conducts of the Dutch Colonial
Officers against the already desperate local inhabitants. The book illustrates the desperate
livelihood of the local inhabitant represented by the main actress named Saijah and Andinda.
Through this book, Multatuli managed to communicate non-humanitarian perspective of
Colonial Government to the native inhabitant of the protectorate. The Indonesian people
recognized Multatuli to have opened the new venture to Indonesian voyage into independent
country. On top of this, Multatuli also gave confidence to Indonesian Nationalist movement in
the sense that not all of the Dutch people were in favor of the Compulsory Agricultural
Policy, and thereby ignored the local inhabitants who in majority were desperate farmers. The
second book was written by Frans Van den Putte entitled Suiker Contracten (Sugar
contract) also disclosed the dreadful practice of the Compulsory Agricultural Policy in
Indonesia.
Having all the disclosures, the Dutch Colonial Government eventually got embarrassed and
gradually brought the Compulsory Agricultural Policy to an end. In 1860, the compulsory
plantation on pepper was abolished, followed by nila (genus corchorus) in 1865, and
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abolishment of most of obligatory crops in 1870, except coffee in West J ava, which was only
abolished in 1917 denoted the end of Compulsory Agricultural Policy enforcement.
4.9. THE IMPACTS OF DAENDELS TRANS JAVA ROAD CONSTRUCTION
In Central J ava, the Demak Regency had been notoriously known as the extremely flat coastal
area, that the natural drainage for preventing the area from flood was continuously
problematic. The flood problems became increasingly threatening after the construction of
Daendels Highway (1809-1811) parallel with the coastal lines. The embankment for the
highway construction instigated extra blockage to the natural drainage flows to the sea. To
resolve the problem a parallel
drainage channel (prauw vaart
kanaal) with the Daendels
highway alignment was
excavated. Dissimilar with the
climatic condition with the
subtropical zones, as the Dutch
Engineer assumed based on
experienced in the Netherlands,
only within few years the
drainage channel became
deteriorated due to excessive
tropical rainfall with substantial
rate of erosion. Eventually the
drainage channel that had been
constructed with large amount of
capital investment became
ineffective.
Given the fact of the ineffectiveness, the function of the drainage channel then transformed
into flood conveyance from southern areas. However, the longitudinal slope of the channel is
so flat that it could not convey the excessive water from southern areas, then soil embankment
constructed in 1836 along the bank of Kali Tuntang River to reduce the impact of flood
inundation.
Later, the flooding problems in this area had continuously worsen due to the hardly integrated
construction of polder dykes by the private landowners to prevent their properties -- they
purchased from the Dutch Authority -- from flooding.
As a result, almost the entire part of the Demak area frequently suffered from severe flooding
during the rainy season, and in contrast, during the dry season water became extremely
scarces, even as little as for livestock water consumption. To illustrate these dreadful
circumstances, there is a local expression stated that: Nek rendeng wing Demak ora biso
ndodok, nek ketiga ora bisa cewok, which literally translated as: During the rainy season,
the Demak people cannot sit up, and during the dry season they cannot wash hand.
In 1848 and 1849 the prolong consecutive droughts occurred in Demak area that make the
crop production completely failure. The severe drought recorded to bring about terrifying
famine (Hongersnood, in Dutch term), which caused deaths of more than 200,000 people, not
reckoning the deaths of thousands of livestocks. This was the most notorious incident in the
history of the Dutch Colonial Occupation in Indonesia. In fact, the Dutch authority wished to
The Prauwvaart drainage canal at the present
condition (after Angoedi, 1984. P. 66)
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neutralize this negative image form international outlook instantaneously. This partly because
of the inability to take control the famine, on the one hand, and the impacts of inappropriate
conduct of the Dutch colonial officers during Compulsory Agricultural Policy in Indonesia,
on the other. Being the case, the Colonial Authority in Indonesia, with approval from the
Netherlands Government, initiated the construction of irrigation schemes in Demak area, so
the farmers would not mainly dependent upon appropriate climatic conditions.
Following the new irrigation development policy, the Glapan Weir in Kali Tuntang River
constructed in 1852 and completed in 1859, however, it cannot utilized fully because the
canal networks had yet completed till 20 years later between 1880 and 1890.
Apart from the above evidences, the Glapan Weir in the Semarang-Demak-Kudus region had
been noted by Abdullah Angoedi (1984), as the first Weir in Indonesia after the Enforcement
of Colonial Rule in Indonesia.
1
The irrigation weir was fully dedicated for paddy cultivation,
not only because the lands in that area were not suitable for other cultivation, but also because
the area had potential risk of interchangeable flooding and droughts. The weir was
constructed by using special tile block (klinkers, in Dutch) imported from the Netherlands
because stone materials were not available locally, and hence required very costly
transportation costs.
After the concurrent rehabilitation as well as repair of Glapan Weir, a number of changes had
been made, and therefore, the present shape is no longer similar to its original structure. The
fact that irrigation weir have already been lasted for over 150 years, it must be regarded from
the humanity aspect as the symbol of the past endeavor on irrigated agricultural practice for
future prosperity of the people in the Demak Regency in particular, and Indonesia in general.
Up until the fall of the Dutch
Colonial Power in Indonesia in
1941, hydrological condition of
Demak region remained
unchanged, even most recently
(2004) some apparent evidences
indicate the continuous
degradation of the weir due
acceleration of sediment transport.
For illustration, the original shape
of intake gate of Glapan Weir had
been suffered from sediment
obstruction at the bottom part. At
the time when the weir
constructed, the magnitude of the
angle degree at the entry point
away from river axis was not
properly determined, to meet the
hydraulic characteristic for

1
During the field survey for data collection in Sawahlunto-Sijunjung (currently Sawahlunto-Sijunjung and
Dharmasraya) Regencies, West Sumatra Province, however, it was discovered without much explanation --
that a weir named Batang Mimpi at the Batang Mimpi River, Dharmasraya Regency, in fact constructed earlier
in 1826 or 26 years before the Glapan Weir. Apparently, there must be a certain explanatory rationale behind
the early construction implementation of the weir in the context of both Colonial Policy and the Inner-Outer
Islands context. This matter beyond the scope of this publication, therefore, it still opens for future studies.
Batang Mimpi at the Batang Mimpi River,
Dharmasraya Regency, constructed earlier in 1826 or
26 years before the construction of Glapan Weir
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appropriate characeristic of sediment transport. At the same time, the sediment trap
technology (in 1852) was still at the very infant stage of development with practically no
previous background experience at all.
After quite a long time interval, the continuance work was only started in 1878, consisted of
east canal network from Glapan Weir while constructing Kali Serang Weir near the Sedadi
Area. The plan also covers waterway channel between Demak and Tanggulangin as well as
irrigation infrastructures from the channel together with repairs of irrigation networks with the
total coverage area of about 41,000 ha.
4.10. EARLY DEVELOPMENT GROWTH DURING COLONIAL PERIOD
Before the establishment of the Department of Public Works, which referred to as
Burgerlijke Openbare Werken BOW in Dutch term, all of the construction aspects were
directly managed by the Local Authority. At that time, before the arrival of the western
people, the Regent, Vice Regent, and the relevant staffs entrusted, directly supervised the
construction works related to water resources and irrigation including weirs, canal excavation
and other related structures. The regent mobilized his people for construction works in terms
of forced labor. This was the reason why most of the Dutch Colonial Officer claimed that they
could have the construction works completed with lower costs.
For large construction, there already limited number of Dutch Engineers work for the Dutch
Colonial Government, because during that early day, there was no Indonesian engineer yet, as
the first engineering faculty was only established in Bandung, West J ava in 1924.
At that time, should any problems associated with irrigation works encountered, the Dutch
Engineer usually mobilized to help resolving the problems. Nevertheless, the non-experienced
engineers usually posess but limited knowledge about actual site conditions, on top of the
absence of hydrological as well as climatological data, records, and other such river
information.
Under such condition, not surprisingly if the Dutch Engineers were unable to conduct the
assignment completely. In addition, most of the employers who took control over the
engineers workmanships were non-technical officers. Related to this, many of the Senior
Dutch Officers (Binnenlandsch Bestuur) regarded the employment of engineer as unnecessary
and costly undertakings. It is understandable therefore, that the Dutch Colonial Government
took many years for the establishment of technical institution such as the Department of
Public Works.
In 1846 a water gate constructed in 1846 at the junction of the Kali Surabaya River, equipped
with stoplogs. Later in 1853 and 1857 similar water gate constructed for conducting water
control in the Kali Surabaya River. In 1857 the Dutch Colonial Authority constructed a
barrage across the Kali Porong River at Lengkong site. This barrage is still performing and
still regarded as an important weir for water regulation within the Brantas Delta, especially
after rehabilitation in the fiscal year of 1972/1973.
The Brantas River Delta at Sidoarjo during that time had yet transformed into fully technical
irrigation because some of the 34,000 ha coverage area was still served by simple structure,
others still without intake gates. The planned technical irrigation was only made happened
about 30 years later. This was the Glapan Irrigation Scheme at the Kali Tuntang River in
Central J ava.
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4.11. PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH EAST SEMARANG AND DEMAK REGION
Since about 1850s significant thought had been concentrated on hydrological improvement
for East Semarang and Demak plains located between East Flood Channel of Semarang and
Kali Tuntang Rivers. The low land plain located further east to Kali Serang included in the
Demak Irrigation Scheme formerly called Demaksche Waterwerken. Both areas located at the
lowland plain under the poor condition, often encounter by flood incidents during the rainy
season and severe drought during the dry season.
The rivers from south mountainous areas of Ungaran and Merbabu flow through the lowland
plain of East Semarang. The soil properties of the mountainous areas consisted of loose
materials so easily eroded, that the rivers are flowed from East Semarang conveyed large
numbers of sediment. These rivers are Penggaron, Dolok and J ragung, which in fact, are small
rivers, often used by local people for irrigation by means of simple weirs across the rivers.
Most of these rivers had narrow cross-sections that make them susceptible to local flooding.
The process of accumulation of sedimentation in the long run brought about consequences to
make the bottom level of riverbed and cross-sections increasingly aggravated relative to its
original level. With the continuation of this process, river cross-sections would no longer
capable to accommodate the floodwater discharge and subsequently inundating the lowland in
the vicinity areas.
Both of the lowland plains of East Semarang and Demak are interconnected with each other in
terms of irrigation and drainage control, therefore, both of the plains together are expressed in
terms of J ratunseluna lowland plain in accordance with abbreviation of the river names:
Jragung Tuntang, Serang Lusi, and J uana (J ratunseluna).
4.11.1. THE ISLAMIC KINGDOM OF DEMAK
According to the historical records, King Raden Patah founded the kingdom of Demak in
1478. At that time, the land plain in the vicinity of Demak are known as the prosperous rice
producing area. Despite that the available irrigation schemes were mostly of simple structures,
even only rain-fed, however, the productions are much adequate to export rice to other area
from central J ava via J epara Port. At the time when Cornelis De Houtman landed in Banten
for the first time in 1596, he noticed that at the local market, there were rice and sugar
products sold by the farmer. This indicated that the J epara farmers at that time had already
cultivated sugarcane, the location of which assumed to be in the vicinity of Gunung Muria.
With the fact that agricultural practices in the area dependent upon rainfall, the productivity
would have to be prevented from risks of flood and drought.
4.11.2. CONDITION AFTER ARRIVAL OF THE DUTCH
The initiative of Daendels with his notorious Trans J ava Road project from 1809 to 1811
divided the Demak plain into two with the construction of road embankment of Semarang-
Demak-Kudus. The road embankment functioned as long-side-dyke till eventually made
some kind of polder formation, which inundating the enclosed land, every time the heavy
rainfall occurred.
In 1880 The Dutch Colonial Government sold the public lands to private companies,
especially during financial deficit of the government. As a result, private agricultural lands
became mushrooming, with occasional landlord mode of agricultural practice.
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In order to prevent the private own agricultural lands, the owner constructed dyke around their
lands. This eventually became increasingly encountering surface water flow to the sea, and
hence made escalation of flood problems in the area.
The problems of flooding became more significant as the frequent occurrence overflow over
the dyke of Kali Tuntang River. The left dyke of Kali Tuntang River from Glapan Weir was
set up at a lower level from the crest to allow the flood water overflowed in the form of side
spillway along two km, referred to as Ngroto side spillway, which also contribute additional
water flow to inundate East Semarang plain. This partial measure, in reality, hardly resolved
the underlying problems, and hence, the flood and drought problems against East Semarang
and Demak continuously encountering with frequent interchanges between floods and
droughts according to the seasonal characteristic of the year. And eventually, the famous role
of Semarang and Demak areas as the center of rice production during the Demak Kindom
faded away.
4.11.3. RESERVOIR ALTERNATIVE
From interchangeable striking of floods and droughts incidents in Semarang and Demak
lowland plains, the emergent idea for constructing reservoir to gradually solving the
problems, became more and more popular. The first reservoir sites to consider were
Penggaron and J ragung, which were estimated to have effective reservoir capacities between
20 and 53 MCM. Nevertheless, after a series of geological investigations, these sites were not
technically feasible, not only due to low effectivity, but also because of the problems of
excessive sedimentation that endlessly jeopardizing the economic life of the reservoirs. For
subsequent alternative, Ir. Varkevisser, a Dutch engineer, suggested the Rawa Pening Besar
Plan (Groot Rawa Pening Plan) in 1916 by constructing a cofferdam across the Tuntang
River and the main drainage channel of J ragung at the Tuntang site, having a potential storage
capacity at about 237 MCM.
Through the executive order of Governor General of the Dutch Colonial Government dated
5
th
May 1918, the study team for Rawa Pening was established to scrutinize the prospect of
the reservoir. The study team concluded that, from the perspective of civil engineering, the
construction of cofferdam across the river for alleviating the water level at Rawa Pening
proposed reservoir was not quite complicated. Instead, the social and economic consequences
were far from simple. Further to this, about 4,000 ha of paddy field, must be sacrificed in
addition to the need to relocate about 30,000 people, as well as the need to pursue realignment
of railway from Tuntang area to Ambarawa. With all the conclusions, the Governor General
decided to cancel the non-feasible Rawa Pening Plan in 1923.
4.12. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MINISTRY OF PUBLIC WORKS
4.12.1. BACKGROUND DEMAND FOR INSTITUTIONAL SETUP
Concerning the provision of raw material for sugar industry, the Dutch Colonial Government
continued to undertake development and management of irrigation in Netherlands Indies till
the emergence of new paradigm of colonial approach in Europe as the result of French
Revolution in 1795. The slogan of French Revolution: Liberte', Egalite', Fraternite' (Freedom,
Equality and Friendship) brought about new paradigm to colonial rule during the interim rule of
Sir Thomas Stanford Raffles (British) between 1811-1816, which far in contrast, from the
previous Dutch Colonial Rule, Daendels, between 1809 and 1811.
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Inspired by the French Revolution, the British ruler in Indonesia led by Raffles intended to
alleviate the people sufferings from inhumane conducts of the previous Dutch Ruler. However,
Raffles was not managed to make this goodwill happened due to discontinuation of colonial
power, and the Dutch returned to Netherlands Indies again.
Shortly after Raffles, the Dutch Government assigned Commissioner General Johannes van den
Bosch to enforce compulsory agricultural policy, for quickly recovering the economic downfall
of the Dutch Colonial during the VOC era. At the beginning of this policy in 1830, the already
gradually improved economic condition in Indonesia during Raffles, immediately transformed
by Johannes van den Bosch, back to even worse than the previous condition. Under the
Compulsory Agricultural Policy, Bosch insisted to collect as much funds as possible for
recovering financial crisis of the government, especially after the prolong Diponegoro War
(1825-1830).
Upon the enforcement of Compulsory Agricultural Policy under the absence of appropriate
irrigation infrastructures, agricultural products became decreasingly reliable. For which,
Governor General Rochussen recommended to the Minister van Kolonien (the Dutch Colonial
Minister) through his official letter of 28
th
October 1847, to pursue irrigation development as
the following deliberation:
"Wij mogen den rijstbouw dus niet langer afhankelyk laten van den regen, doch
behooren denzelfde tebevestigen op den straks gemelden zekeren grondslag van
kunstmatige bewatering", (After Angoedi, 1984, P. 82)
Which translates literally as:
"We could no longer allow agricultural implementation of rice production
continuously dependent upon rainfall, instead, we have to maintain constant
supplies of water by developing irrigation infrastructures ".
At the beginning, this recommendation was not regarded seriously as an effective means of
agricultural improvement, due to the absence of experience, technical staffs as well as lacking
of budget and expertise. Nevertheless, the approach became gradually more convincing
through consistent support and guidance from the Colonial Government Authority. The most
substantial constraint was due to the severely lacking of irrigation engineers and experienced
technical staffs. In reality, only five engineers were employed in Netherlands Indies in 1844.
Later on, it was increase between 1844 and 1854 into 10 persons, and yet without appropriate
knowledge about water resources, hydrology, and rivers behaviors under the intense tropical
rainfall pattern.
Given these constraints, the inexperienced engineers often make mistakes on their mostly
trial and error planning and construction approaches for newly implemented irrigation
development and management technologies. On top of these, the available engineers, at the
same time, must pursued every effort to undertake adequate training for technical staffs
necessitated to assist them, which in fact, highly time consuming.
4.12.2. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MINISTRY OF PUBLIC WORKS
The recommendation of Governor General Rochussen to the Netherlands Government
through his official letter of 28
th
October 1847, to start giving attention to irrigated agriculture
particularly for paddy as the staple diet of local people -- apparently received considerable
attention. Most significantly was the establishment of the Department van Burgelijke
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Openbare Werken (B.O.W.) or Ministry of Public Works in 1854, which was responsible for
development of public infrastructures of water resources including irrigation.
At the time of the establishment of the Ministry, only 10 engineers were employed, and then
later after few years, increased to 21 persons, assisted by 14 technical high school graduates.
During the following years the newly established Ministry of Public Works encountered by
problems for recruiting competence personnels due to the lack of university and technical
high school graduates. Therefore, some non-graduated staffs were recruited to fill up the
vacant positions. In the subsequent years, the Dutch Government launched special program in
the Dutch University on engineering education for those who interested to work for
development in Netherlands Indies.
With the establishment of the Department B.O.W (Ministry of Public Works), supported by a
number of professional engineers, the development and management of public woks
infrastructures in Netherlands Indies, ever since, conducted by professional government
officials (Binnenlandsch Bestuur).
In spite of the strategic importance of the establishment of the Departemen B.O.W. in the
Indonesian history of irrigation, it took many years before the Dutch Colonial Government
gave full development endeavor for construction of irrigation infrastructures. More significant
commitment was only apparent when the Colonial Government established the Afdeling
Irrigatie or Irrigation Division of the Department BOW in 1889, or 35 years after the
establishment of the Ministry of Public Works. This was due to the fact that the Departemen
BOW was not only responsible for irrigation development and management, but also for roads
and buildings, as well other public infrastructures such as storages for accommodating
agricultural products.
The first generation of Dutch Engineers worked in Netherlands Indies suffered from not only
technical problems, but also social, economic as well as political problems. Senior non-
technical officers to undertake irrigation development did not immediately entrust most of the
newly employed engineers.
The problems mostly rooted from the past development implementation (before arrival of the
engineers to Netherlands Indies), at the time when the authority for irrigation development
was still under the non-technical government officers or Binnenlandsch Bestuur (BB), who in
fact hold strong power to make decisions. Under such circumstances, the non-technical
government officers were inflicted with overconfidence, and hence regarded that construction
of public infrastructures did not have to be led by technical professionals. Moreover, the over
confident non-technical officers had common practice to employ forced labor (without
payment), which obviously produced relatively cheap construction costs relative to the woks
conducted by professional engineers, with reliable construction quality as well as appropriate
services.
Through a long process, the non-professional government officers eventually were aware
that, irrigation development and management to be fully successful, should be undertaken
through systematical process from land surveying, comprehensive investigation, as well
as appropriate planning and technical designs before the actual implementation of
physical construction. Responding to such the underlying awareness, in 1885 the Colonial
Government decided to establish a task-force institution referred to as (Irrigatie -
Brigade) or Irrigation Contingent, which was responsible for construction preparation of
irrigation works, under the leadership of Ir. Heskes.
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This irrigation contingent consisted of a number of engineers, technical staff (opzichter),
land-surveyors, draft-men, who altogether, conduct preparatory works for irrigation
development implementation. The immediate targets of the task force-were irrigation
construction for paddy field on the government owned lands. They usually set up their
office at the nearest site to irrigation project, with the technical guidelines, direction and
supervision from the Director of BOW or his authorized staffs.
Despite that this independent Irrigation Contingent only existed for five years since it
was merged into the Irrigation Division of the Department BOW (Afdeling Irrigatie van
het Departement der BOW), however, the importance of which, was regarded as the
benchmark of Indonesian History of Irrigation development and management. This was
particularly the case with respect to its success to induce transformation of orthodox
colonial paradigms toward advanced technical school of thought, that irrigation
development and management must be backed up with a series of preparatory works,
including planning, technical design and other non-technical studies prior to actual
physical construction. Apart from this strategic change, the Dutch Colonial Government
also become aware that agricultural development must be prioritized to prevent the
hunger and famine incidents from happenings, such as the cases in 1848/1849, before
establishment of the Department BOW.
With the subsequent opportunities entrusted to professional engineers, it was evident that
irrigation engineering become advancing with the consistent support of professional
engineers. In this regard, Ir. A.G. Lamminga had been contributing significantly to extensive
land surveying and studies as well as investigation on potential irrigation development on the
Northern Coast of Central J ava from Cirebon to Pekalongan within several year field
investigations.
From the data and information concluded by the study, a comprehensive masterplan was then
set up for integrated irrigation development from several rivers, including Kali Pemali irrigation
scheme. From this point on, the Pemali irrigation scheme had been considered as the first model
for modern irrigation development and management in Indonesia, with its dictinct technical
feature following theoretical approach on differentiation between conveyance canal and
drainage canals for technical irrigation. The famous Pemali-Comal irrigation schemes, was then
developed after the subsequent recommendation of comprehensive study and investigation of Ir.
A.G. Lamminga. Through a series of field investigation in Pemali-Comal area, Ir. A. G.
Lamminga formulated the Pemali-Comal Rating Curve, which later on became instrumental
reference for determination of canal designed-capacity, and still referred to (with or without
subsequent adjustment) by many irrigation designers in Indonesia today. (See Supplement
Paper on Brief Review of Irrigation Water Management Studies during Colonial Period).
Further transformation: The term of Public Works or Pekerjaan Umum originally derived
from the Dutch terms as Openbare Werken, and officially used in 1942 as Pekerdjaan
Oemoem, which was referred to by the Japanese Ruler as Kotabu Bunitsu. The official
documents of establishment of the Department of BOW was based on the State gazette
document of 1919 No.2, 124 No.576 and 1925 No.258 and 345.
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Later in 1933, the Department of BOW was transformed further into Department van Verheer
en Waterstaat or Departement of Public Works and Water Resources, based on the State
Gazette Document of 1933 No.509 jo. State Gazette No. 603 and 704.
2

4.12.3. STAGGERED PLANTING SYSTEM
Another irrigation engineering study, which concluded by Ir. Lamminga was determination of
staggered planting system (Golongan System) at the Pemali irrigation scheme, in an attempt to
optimize the water distribution and allocation for the given conveyance capacity. In principle,
the staggered planting system operates for maximizing irrigation water utilization on larger
commading area under the limited availability of water from the river. Under the staggered
planting system in the Pemali scheme, irrigation command areas were subdivided into five sub-
command areas, of which irrigation water distribution was conducted on staggered basis at two
weeks interval from one area after another.
Accordingly, the water distribution demand becomes smaller as compared with simultaneous
water distribution, and hence the block-by-block irrigation command areas of water
requirement might be fulfilled with the existing water available at the river. In this context,
reduction of peak canal capacity implies minimization of canal dimensions, and hence
minimization of construction costs with smaller water capacity at the same irrigation
command area. From series of irrigation development and management experience conducted
in the Pemali Irrigation scheme in 1898, a number of techniques have been invented for
subsequent implementation (with or without adjustments) in many part of Indonesia till today.
4.12.4. ESTABLISHMENT OF IRRIGATION DISTRICT
After the establishment of Department BOW, irrigation development and management had
eversince implemented with subsequent consideration of technical related aspects. From
series of experiences, irrigation development and management have been recognized to be
mutually independent aspects, in terms of the two sides of a coin that cannot be separated
from each other.
Learning from experiences, it had been recognized that for appropriate irrigation operation
and management, institutional aspects becomes necessitated for scrutinizing and conducting
water allocation and distribution, otherwise, irrigation construction with costly investment
cannot fully utilized as previously envisaged in the design.
For optimum operation with manageable size of commanding area the entire irrigation area
divided into manageable irrigation districts referred to as "Irrigatie - Afdeling", or irrigation
districts, covers a commandable size consisting of groups of irrigation areas under one or
more hydrological river boundaries, superimposed with the boundary of local government
administration as if possible. In practice, however, the hydrological boundary of irrigation
districts, are rarely coincided with administrative boundary of local government.

2
Through the follow up course of Indonesias history, it was recorded that the Ministry of Public Works and
Water Resources was transformed into the Ministry of Public Works and Electrical Energy in 1960s, then
become the Ministry of Public Works in 1974. Subsequently, the ministry was separated into two in 2000
namely, The State Ministry of Public Works and the Ministry of Settlement and Regional Developments.
Eventually, the two ministries were merged again in 2002 into the Ministry of Settlement and Regional
Infrastructures (SRI) till present. The Water Resources and Irrigation is currently operated under the
Directorate General of Water Resources of the Ministry of SRI.
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On J anuary the 1
st
, 1889 the first irrigation district was established at Serayu Irrigation
schemes referred to as "Irrigatie-Afdeling Serayu", which covers the Government
administrative boundary of Banyumas and Bagelen Residencies, having its headquarters at
Purworejo. The name of irrigation district per-se was taken after the name of the major river
(Serayu River) flowing in the vicinity areas. The subsequent irrigation district was then
followed by the establishment of "Irrigatie-Afdeling Brantas", or Brantas Irrigation District in
1892, covering the triangle areas of Malang - Kediri - Surabaya. Then followed by "Irrigatie-
Afdeling-Serang", or Serang Irrigation District covering Semarang-Demak and Purwodadi
areas with it headquarters at Demak. The hydrological boundary covers the J ragung,
Tuntang, Serang, Lusi and J uana river catchments.
The irrigation district as irrigation management institution headed by chief Irrigatie-
Afdeling, after well-experienced or senior engineer, referred to in Dutch term as Hoofd-
ingenieur, assisted by several junior engineers and a group of mid-level technical staff
referred to as opzichter. To assist the opzichter, several irrigation water masters or
Mantri Ulu-ulu, or Mantri Waterbeheer, are assigned to conduct irrigation water
distribution management for both private owned agricultural lands and sugarcane
plantation. The routine operation of irrigation canals, structures and appurtenances are
carried out by irrigation formen referred to as Mandor-irigasi or Beambte Waterbeheer,
together with a group of daily worker referred to as ploegkoelies.
Both Opzichter and Mantri-Waterbeheer are the main personnels responsible for
implementation of irrigation water distribution and generally are capable of performing
their task independently. The relationship between Mantri Waterbeheer and the farmers
as water users are mediated by ditch tenders (ulu-ulu), which are elected by the farmers
themselves on the basis of democratic majority rule principle. In practice, however,
irrigation personnels were so busy with routine activities to serve the water users, and
therefore, they are not assigned to manage village irrigation. Instead, village ditch
tenders (ulu-ulu desa) are managing village irrigation schemes.
After a long-term experience, the establishment of Irrigatie-Afdelingen or Irrigation
Districts has been proofed to be highly successful and satisfactory. Under the irrigation
districts institutional arrangement, the farmers had been effectively and efficiently
utilized the existing irrigation schemes. Each irrigatie-afdeling has been managed to
conduct routine guidance as well as training for its own staff as well as for the Mantri
Waterbeheer, on self-sustainable basis.
Having the consecutive successes on establishment and subsequent management of irrigation
under the institutional arrangement, a number of new irrigation districts then subsequently
established, including Pekalen-Sampean irrigatie-afdeling in East J ava, Pemali-Comal
irrigatie-afdeling in the Residency of Pekalongan, as well as Cimanuk irrigatie-afdeling
in Indramayu. In 1909, the Madiun Irrigation Section as a subordinate organization of
Solo irrigatie-afdeling was established, and by 1910, the entire J ava Island has been
divided into irrigation districts, including the being implemented irrigation schemes, as
well as future irrigation systems which were still under the planning stage.

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MSRI and INACID Chapter V. Irrigation Development and Management during Colonial Era
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CHAPTER V
IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT DURING
COLONIAL ERA AFTER WORLD WAR-I

5.1. DEVELOPMENT OF IRRIGATION SYSTEM
After the enactment the so called Ethical Policy at the beginning of the 20
th
Century, the
Colonial Government paid more attention to irrigation development. Furthermore, after the
First World War since 1918, the Netherlands Indie Dutch colony had been suffered from
severe food scarcity due to the impact of the War (1914-1918). During which, a large number
of local people substituted their staple diet with corn, cassava, sweet potato, for they hardly
affordable to buy expensive rice, if any at all. Given this devastation condition, the
government put special attention on irrigation development in attempt to fulfill the needs for
foods.
The priorities of development were initially given to the densely populated region, i.e. J ava
Island. During which, a number of large scale irrigation development projects were
implemented. As examples; in East J ava, around J ember town and Lumajang plain 40,300
hectares (as the first step) of land were developed and irrigated. This area is known as
Bedadung-Bondoyodo (see Item 2 of Section 7.7.2). In West J ava, 78,000 hectares (as the
first stage) was developed and irrigated through Walahar Weir in Citarum River. Later, the
total area expanded to 80,000 hectares, and became the second largest area served by one
single weir (see Item 4 of Section 7.4.2).
Irrigation development out site of J ava Island was not as large as on J ava. In Sumatra there
were also some irrigation developments project including; Simalungun, Batang Mimpi and
Batang Selo Irrigation schemes. During that period, the Government provided financial
assistance to develop and up-grade the existing systems built by the farmers. At that time, the
construction works for Saddang Irrigation Development including Benteng Barrage in South
Sulawesi was also being underway.
In relation with irrigation history, sugar industry has contributed significantly in the
development of irrigation systems on J ava particularly in terms of participation in physical
development, rehabilitation, and financial contribution. This was due to the fact that irrigation
development on J ava was still newly implemented to provide water for sugarcane estates.
The above-mentioned developments were government developed projects in term of
rehabilitation, up-grading, and remodeling of the existing systems, which were previously
developed by the local community as well as some new land development.
The completed and the 1930s being implemented irrigation development projects on J ava
Island are listed in Table 5.1 below:

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Table 5.1. Irrigation development projects completed and being implemented up to 1930
No. Name of Irrigation Scheme
Area
(ha)
Name of River
(Water Source)
I West Java and Banten Provinces
1 Ciujung 31,200 Ciujung
2 Tangerang/Cisadane 52,000 Cisadane
3 Karawang/Walahar 78,000 Citarum
4 Cipunegara 28,000 Cipunegara
5 Cimanuk/Rentang 89,000 Cimanuk
6 Cilutung 15,800 Cilutung
II Central Java Province
1 Pemali 31,200 Pemali
2 Gung-Kumisik 25,900 Gung, Kumisik
3 Comal-Cacaban 26,900 Rambut, Waluh, Comal
4 Bodri 19,100 Bodri
5 Demak 33,700 Tuntang, Serang
III East Java Province
1 Pacal 14,900 Pacal Reservoir
2 Sidoarjo 34,000 Brantas
3 Kraksaan Timur 14,900 Small rivers/streams
4 Banyuwangi Selatan 35,000 Baru, Setail, Blambangan
5 Tanggul Bondoyodo 24,000 Bondoyodo, Tanggul
6 Bedadung 16,300 Bedadung
7 Warujayeng-Turi Tunggorono 15,200 Brantas
8 Madiun 13,400 Madiun
Total area 598,500
Source: Abdullah Angudi; History of Irrigation in Indonesia, 1984.

5.2. CONSTRUCTION OF IRRIGATION SCHEMES AND DAMS
5.2.1. IRRIGATION NETWORKS
Irrigation development listed in Table 5.1, which was carried out by the Dutch Government
has increased food production on J ava Island. This Section will highlight some notable cases
on construction of irrigation infrastructures on J ava.
a) Tangerang Irrigation Scheme
Tangerang Irrigation scheme lies on northern plain of West J ava (presently Banten Province)
just eastward of J akarta, the capital of the Republic of Indonesia. West boundary of the area is
Cidurian River.
Before 1920, this area was private owned lands, which were originated from the property of
Dutch Landlords sold by the government. The people who inhabited this region were very
poor due to excessive burden imposed by the Landlords in term of compulsory work and
unbearable taxes.
To improve the peoples living condition, the government released a regulation on May 14,
1914 regarding the re-buying of the Landlords lands by the government. The lands were than
distributed to the landless community. Through difficult negotiations, the process of
rebuying took about twelve years since the regulation had been in effect. In 1926 large areas
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had been purchased and development of irrigation systems was then resumed. The
government had prepared a plan to develop this area since 1912 simultaneously with
preparation of the above mentioned land arrangement regulation.
Based on the source of water, Tangerang irrigation area is divided into two separate systems
i.e. Cidurian (12,100 ha) and Tangerang-Pasar Baru (40,500 ha) systems. Cidurian system
receives water from Cidurian River through Cidurian Weir, while Tangerang-Pasar Baru from
Pasar Baru Barrage in Cisadane River.
The notable aspect associated with this system is the flood control works of Cidurian system,
which was implemented prior to construction of irrigation systems. Those flood control works
are:
1) Cidurian River improvement works including river channel improvement and flood way
in the form of river short cut;
2) Construction of flood embankments on both sides of Cidurian River banks totaling at
about 20 km; and
3) Cimanceuri River improvement works and construction of flood embankments on both
sides of the river banks.
At that time the completion of Cidurian Weir and Pasar Baru Barrage, irrigation water for
Kresek and Pasilian areas, the land of which, had been re-bought by the government in
1918/1919, was undertaken by utilizing the supply from swamp areas located at the upstream
side.
After completion of the said flood control works as the first stage, the subsequent construction
of Cidurian irrigation system including the weir was started.
Construction of Tangerang-Pasar Baru System and Pasar Baru Barrage was prepared as the
last stage of the development implementation. And hence, until the break up of the Pacific
War, only 46,200 hectares out of 52,600 hectares of the Tangerang irrigation scheme were
completed.
b) Gung-Kumisik Irrigation Scheme
The Gung-Kumisik irrigation scheme with a command area of 25,900 ha lies between Mount
Slamet northward to the sea and the land plain around Tegal. The Gung topography is mostly
wavy in southern part and flat in northern part up to the sea, while Kumisik lies in the
undulating area from the foot of Mount Slamet to the northern plain. Development of this area
was started in 1911, seven years after development of east neighbor, Pemali-Comal areas, and
completed in 1925. Development of this area carried out by utilizing of the existing
infrastructure, which was built by the previously built by the farmers, and classified as simple
irrigation systems. Crop water requirement for this area is about 25% higher than other areas
due to the substantially high porosity of land.
The Gung irrigation system with a total command area of 18,500 hectares obtains water from
the Gung River through Danawarih Weir, of which most of the irrigation infrastructures were
constructed in undulating area with steep sloped canal. To avoid canal scouring, a kind of
gabion was used on canal bed and on both sides of canal. In the flatter area, another weir was
constructed named Pesayangan Weir at the distance of about 7.50 km southward of north
coast. This weir is intended to collect return flow of irrigation area at the up-stream site. The
purposes of the later mentioned weir were to divert water for irrigation, transfer of water to
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neighboring rivers, and sanitary flushing for human settlement area of the Tegal Municipality.
Embankments were also constructed downstream of this Pesayangan Weir for the purpose of
flood protection in the vicinity areas.
Design criteria used in this area was a bit different with the criteria that is usually used in the
design of irrigation system. In this regard, irrigation canals beside as supply canals are also
used as drainage canals. This approach applied to solve the shortage of water, as the return
flow can be used at downstream areas. This approach applies only in wavy topography where
the slopes of canals are quite steep.
Construction of irrigation networks also includes drainage and flood control works i.e.
internal drainage of the downstream part and improvement of Gung River and other two
smaller tributaries.
Kumisik irrigation scheme consisted of a number of small scattered of simple irrigation
schemes, divert water from small streams flowing in the vicinity area. Canals and intake
structures were built by the farmers. Supply canals are also used as drainage canals as they
can collect return flows to supply for downstream areas. Intake structures built as simple earth
weir across the stream. Irrigation area of Kumisik consists of six sub-systems as listed in
Table 5.2 below:
Table 5.2. Sub-systems of Kumisik Irrigation System
No. Name of Sub-system Area (ha)
1 Kumisik 3,920
2 Rajabawah 200
3 Parakan Kidang 1,900
4 Gondang 780
5 Karanganyer 200
6 Lenggor 300
Total 7,300

Development and rehabilitation of these areas is conducted by replacing all simple earth weirs
with permanent weir (named Ciawitali Weir) and utilizing the existing canals with small
modifications and remodeling. Construction of Kumisik system was started in 1909 and was
only completed fifteen years later i.e. in 1924.

c) Banyuwangi Selatan Irrigation Scheme
Preparation works of Banyuwangi Selatan Irrigation Scheme was started with a project
identification in 1912, which then discovered the potential area to be developed as irrigated
agricultural land in this area.
The area, which is mostly of low lying plains located in the southern part of Banyuwangi
Town in East J ava Province. A number of rivers flowing in this area, among others Seboni
River, at the downstream part called Tambong River, Bomo River, Blambangan River, which
also called Pangpang River, and Setail River. The potential areas are listed in Table 5.3
below:

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Table 5.3. Potential areas of Banyuwangi Selatan
No. Name of River
Catchment Area
Upstream of Weir (km
2
)
Potential Area
(ha)
1 Setail 110 7,000
2 Bomo 115 10,900
3 Tambong (Senobi) 98 5,000
4 Simbar (Setail Tributary) 33 3,500
5 Blambangan (Pangpang) 130 2,200
6 Baru 470 27,800
Total 956 53,200

Transfer of water from a river (having more water) to other river (having inadequate water)
and use of return flows were used in the design. Irrigation Development of this area is
incorporated with transmigration program. In this regard, transmigration (at that time) means
resettlement of people from the more densely populated area to less populated areas within
J ava Island. Settlement of people from J ava Island to the other Islands referred to by the
Dutch as Colonisatie or Colonization.
The need of labor for this development project was supplied from other places of J ava and
Madura Islands and some others were mobilized from prisoners. The resettled people were
involved in land development and some others preferred to work in other fields.
Construction of irrigation facilities was started in 1922. The initial step was construction of
Blambangan irrigation scheme with a barrage in Blambangan River. In 1924 construction of
Setail Irrigation Scheme was started with a fixed weir constructed in the Setail River.
Subsequently, was the construction of Kali Baru Irrigation System, which was implemented at
the last stage. Kali Baru Irrigation Scheme obtained water from Kali Baru River through a
weir named Karangdoro Weir. The construction stage of Banyuwangi Selatan Irrigation
System, which was started in 1922, was only completed 17 year later in 1939.

5.2.2. DISCHARGE MEASUREMENT DEVICES
In order to facilitate the appropriate water allocation and distribution, all of the technical
irrigation systems have to be equipped with discharge measurement devices. Within the
period of colonial era, the following discharge measurement devices were used in technical
irrigation systems:
1) Cipoletti Weir; the most popular measurement device used after the World War-I;
2) Ventury Weir; Used after 1930 as alternative of Cipoletti Weir. The head loss of Ventury
is practically less than Cipoletti;
3) Crump de Gruyter steel gate device; a measurement device used at field reservoir;
4) Romyn steel gate; in principle, is a movable broad-crested weir, mostly used in flat area
to meet the prerequisite of less head losses;
5) Thomson Weir; in principle is a V-notch sharp-crested weir used to measure the low
water discharge; and
6) Broad-crested weir.

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5.2.3. CONSTRUCTION OF DAMS
At the earlier time, the objective of dam construction was to provide water for irrigation and
to ensure the water availability within dry season in such away that the cropping intensity
would exceed 200 %, even up to 300 % whenever possible.
Construction of dam in Indonesia had been started before World War I. Shortly after the First
World War, a number of dams were constructed as listed in Table 5.4 below:
Table 5.4. Construction of Dam after the First World War
No. Name of Dam Location
Year of
Construction
Type of Dam
Capacity
(x10
-6
m
3
)
1 Pacal East J ava 1927-1933 Rock fill 41.50
2 Penjalin Central J ava 1930-1934 Earth 9.50
3 Gunung Rowo Central J ava 1918-1925 Earth 5.00
4 Gembong Central J ava 1930-1933 Hydraulic fill 9.62
5 Situ Patok West J ava 1924-1927 Earth 12.00
6 Malahayu Central J ava 1935-1940 Rock-sand with clay core 60.00
Source: After Ir. Abdullah Angudi, History of Irrigation in Indonesia, 1984.

5.3. DECENTRALIZATION OF IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT
5.3.1. DECENTRALIZATION
Establishment of provinces on J ava under the Dutch Colonial Government Administration
was started in 1925. Decentralization of irrigation management applied since 1930. Under the
stipulation of the Decentralization Policy, Provincial Government has a responsibility in
operation, maintenance, and management of irrigation systems.
For this purposes, the Provincial Government has to established an institution named
Provinciale Waterstaatsdienst (Provincial Irrigation Services) chaired by a Hoofd
Provinciale Waterstaatdienst. Each Provinciale Waterstaatsdienst has Waterstaats
Afdelingen (WA), which was previously called Irrigatie Afdelingen chaired by Hoofd
Waterstaats Afdeling.
Each Waterstaats Afdelingen divided into a number of Sections (Sectie) and each section
consists of Sub-section (Onder-sectie). Each Sub-section consists of a number of Kemantren
chaired by Mantri Kemantren (Water Master).
Water distribution is the responsibility of Water Master assisted by a number of Ulu-ulu
which was assigned on elected basis by farmers and the assignment endorsed through the
official Decree of Head of Regency. Maintenance of canals and structures is the responsibility
of Water Master assisted by a number of Mandor (irrigation supervisors).
In the context of Integrated River Basin Management before 1910, the government had
established seven River Basin Waterstaats Afdelingen (RBWA). The main duties of RBWA
were development, O&M, and management of water resources and irrigation within river
basin or integrated basins. Those seven RBWA were: i) Serayu River Basin; ii) Brantas River
Basin; iii) Serang River Basin; iv) Pekalen Sampean (integrated) Basins; v) Pemali-Comal
(integrated) Basins; vi) Madiun River Basin (to be developed under as the Bengawan Solo
River Basin); and vii) in conjunction with the Cimanuk River Basin.
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5.3.2. ESTABLISHMENT OF IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT BOARD (IMB)
Preparation works for establishment of IMB or in Dutch language Waterschap was initiated
in 1919 by Water Resources and Irrigation Services (WRIS), Department of Public Works.
Initially, WRIS established head office of IMB (Centraal Waterschap Kantoor) in
Yogyakarta and a branch in Solo (Surakarta). IMB referred to as the technical institution
operated under the Central Government/WRIS which at the initial stage has the following
duties:
i) Topographical surveys and mapping of irrigation areas;
ii) Preparation of a plan of improvement and up-grading of irrigation networks which was
built by commercial agricultural enterprises;
iii) Establishment of boundary of Irrigation Section, Sub-Section, and Kemantren;
iv) Establishment of Technical Institutions, staffing and recruitment of staff;
v) Compiling and documenting of technical drawings; and
vi) Preparation of budget proposed for initial years.
After the preparation works completed, in 1920 the government released Regulation on Water
Resources and Irrigation Management (Vorstendlandsche Waterschap Reglement). In 1921
two IMBs were established i.e. Opak-Progo IMB in Yogyakarta and Dengkeng-Pepe IMB in
Surakarta (Solo), and in 1924 also established Bengawan IMB in Surakarta.
Each IMB has the following Service area: Opak-Progo IMB at 48,500 ha; Dengkeng-Pepe
IMB at 45,600 ha; and Bengawan IMB at 43,200 ha.

5.4. PARTICIPATION OF IRRIGATION BENEFICIARIES IN O&M
Based on the policy of the Dutch Colonial Government on irrigation development and
management, Operation and Maintenance (O&M) costs have to be provided by irrigation
beneficiaries. The payment of O&M cost was based on type of crops and size of irrigated
area. The amounts of fees to be paid are calculated by multiplying the crop coefficient with
the rate of service fee. Service fee to be decided every Fiscal Year; depending upon the total
cost required for O&M. For illustration, the following example of calculation is presented in
Table 5.5 below.

Table 5.5. Calculation of fee to be paid by irrigation beneficiaries
(Gulden per bau; 1 bau =0.71 ha)
Fiscal Year 1934/35 1935/36 1936/37 1937/38 1938/39 1939/40 Crop
Coeff. Service Fee (Gulden/bau) 0.194 0.227 0.290 0.323 0.247 0.263
24 Sugarcane (seed crop) 4.66 5.44 6.95 7.76 5.92 6.31
8 Sugarcane 1.55 1.81 2.32 2.59 1.97 2.10
8 Tobacco 1.55 1.81 2.32 2.59 1.97 2.10
6 Other commercial crops 1.16 1.36 1.74 1.94 1.48 1.58
3 People crops (Paddy) 0.58 0.68 0.87 0.96 0.74 0.79
Source: Ir. Subandi Wirosumarto, Irrigation History of Indonesia, 1998.
Notes: the present exchange rate (2004) of Gulden is about US$ 0.5
From the view point of institutional arrangement, the membership status of farmers in IMB is
on collective basis, covers all farmers within a village. Contribution of farmers either in
pecuniary term or in kind are collected through the Head of the Village. Head of the Village
also responsible to provide for labor, mobilized them from village amongst the farmers in the
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area for maintenance purpose. The labors are not paid in cash but deducted from the
contribution they have to pay as much as five cents Gulden per man-day. At that time, five
cents is equivalent to the price of about one liter of white rice.
After the Dutch government surrendered to J apanese soldier in 1942, IMB was dispersed and
all aspects related to O&M of irrigation were returned back to the Public Works Services.
5.5. IRRIGATION DURING THE JAPANESE OCCUPATION
Following the J apanese invasion in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, the J apanese occupation in
Indonesia started on March 1942 when General Ten Poorten, Dutch Commander in
Netherlands Indie (Indonesia) signed a Surrender Document to J apanese Soldier. Since then,
the term of Netherlands Indie or Hindia Belanda was not use any longer, and instead,
replaced with the term of Indonesia, till present.
For Military government administrative purpose, during the period of J apanese occupation,
Indonesia was divided into three regions (Gunseikanbu) i.e.: i) Sumatra Island (including the
surrounding islands) with Bukit Tinggi as the Headquarters; ii) J ava Island (included
surrounding islands) with J akarta as the Headquarters; and iii) other Islands with Makassar as
the Headquarters. In each region, the J apanese Military ruler constructed military forts and
warfare bunkers, some of them are still available today. For instance, in Bukittinggi (West
Sumatra) there is a famous tunnel network for defense purpose made by J apanese soldiers,
known as Lobang Jepang (literally meant as J apanese Tunnel). This tunnel network is well
maintained as one of the tourist objects. For territorial government administration of the
J apanese Ruler, each Gunseikanbu led by an army commander called Guseikan.
In line with the military strategy of the J apanese Ruler, irrigation sector plaid a strategic role
in providing for food stuff in supporting the need of J apanese soldiers in the battlefields. To
increase food supply, the J apanese soldiers were forced to collect 50% (half) of food crop
agriculture production of the people. This has caused very severe famine incidents with
millions of people died of starvation during that period.
To handle the urgent irrigation works, the military government mobilized people on
compulsory basis. Some of them were paid, and some others were not. The unpaid workers
(Kinrohoshi) were mobilized for maintenance of, inter-alia, irrigation facilities. The forced
laborers (Romusha) were also mobilized for development projects especially the projects for
military defense purposes.
Within the J apanese occupation period some water resources development projects were
conducted, but most of which never have been completed. The partly completed works were
damaged due to poor quality of works. Those projects, inter alia, were; i) South Tulungagung
Flood Control; ii) Sampean Hulu Weir; iii) Mataram Canal; and iv) Citanduy Weir.
Further to these, the institutions dealing with development and management of irrigation
systems were also reformed. Kresidenan Irrigation Service (KIS) was established in each
Kresidenan (Residency Government Administration)
1
. In J ava case, for instance, KIS
implements its duties under the coordination of Provincial Public Works Services while for
the out side of J ava, KIS directly operated under the command of the respective J apanese

1
Kresidenan was the administrative government area formed during colonial era. On J ava Island, Kresidenan
was an administrative area under the province, provided coordination to some Regencies. However, there was
no province established on the out site of J ava Island. Therefore, on the out site of J ava Island, Residen was
directly under the command of Central Government Administration.
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military commander. Therefore, after the establishment of KISs in each Kresidenan, there
were no more River Basin Waterstaats Afdelingen (RBWA) with river basin(s) based of
service area. The RBWA was then completely abolished.
5.6. LAND TAX SYSTEM
5.6.1. PERIOD FROM 1900 TO 1942
The period from 1900 to 1942 had been well-known as the Ethical Policy or in Dutch
language referred to as the etische politiek. Queen Wilhelmina at the opening speech of the
Staten Generaal (Dutch Parliament Meeting) in 1901 stated that the Netherlands has an
ethical obligation to the people in the colonized territories. The Queen also promised to
investigate and to overcome the problems of social-economical condition of the peoples. The
objective of Ethical Policy was to increase the social and economical conditions of the people
in the colonial territories.
One of the adverse impacts of colonial misconduct in Indonesia was the impoverish process
on J ava that had begun since the imposed of compulsory agriculture policy (CAP) or in Dutch
language as kultuur stelsel followed by authoritative behavior of the Landlords and the
sugarcane or commercial agricultural enterprises investors.
Implementation of the ethical policy on J ava Island consisted of improvement of education
system, development of infrastructures including irrigation, agricultural extension, livestock
development etc. In addition, the government established a committee to investigate social-
economical conditions of the people. Meyer Ranneft and Huender made an investigation on
taxes imposed to the peoples. Meyer Ranneft and Huender recommended to abolish the so
called heat tax (hoofdgeld) and to improve land tax (landrente).
In 1907 the government enacted a regulation on land tax i.e. State Gazette No. 277 of 1907 by
adopting Priangan Tax Regulation of 1896 with some modifications. The modified land tax
was then applied also in Priangan (West J ava) since 1916. In 1927 the government issued a
new Law on Land Tax known as State Gazette No.163 year 1927 which was applied for J ava
and Madura Islands except Yogyakarta and Surakarta.
To protect the people from the pressure of commercial agricultural enterprise investors, in
1918 the Dutch Government released a so called Law on Land Tenant on J ava and Madura
Islands (De Java and Madoera Groundhuur Ordonantie 1918).
In Yogyakarta and Surakarta (Solo) and areas out side of J ava and Madura Islands Outher
Island different Laws were applied. In the area where Land Tax had never been applied, the
people have to pay a kind of tax which was based on local tradition and customs.
With regard to the measurement standard for determining the magnitude of land tax, soon
after matrix system has been applied, all of the standard of measurement must follow such
system. For that reason, in 1939 the government modified the 1927 Land Tax. There were
four new regulations issued to substitute the existing laws. These were: i) State Gazette No.
240/1939 for J ava and Madura; ii) State Gazette No. 241/1939 for Bali and Lombok; iii) State
Gazette No. 242/1939 for South Sulawesi; and iv) State Gazette No. 243/1939 for South-east
Kalimantan.
The difference between Law for J ava and out site of J ava were: i) collection of fee out side of
J ava was 10%, while on J ava only 8%; ii) There was 5% of penalty for tax disobedient, while
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on J ava there was no such penalty; iii) there was an exception for transmigrant settlers for the
first three years tax exemption.
In general, the land tax to be paid by the people ranging from 8% to 20% of net agricultural
products depending upon classification of land and the level of crop production.
State Gazette No. 163 of 1927 prescribed the following formulae;
1) Paddy field with the yield of 20 Pk or more per year, applied as follows:
Tax =(8%-20%) x (Yield 10 Pk) x Unit cost of agricultural product.
2) Paddy field with the yield of less than 20 Pk per year, applied as follows:
Tax =(8%-20%) x (50% of Yield) x Unit cost of agricultural product.
Where: Tax in Gulden per Bau.
Bau is a unit of area at about 0.71 hectares per Bau.
Pk is a Unit of Weigh at about 87 Kg per Pk.
Yield in Pk/Bau decided based on experimental pilot project.
For example: Calculation of Tax for dry land which was conducted by comparing
the dry land with wet land, indicated that the minimum tax was 0.25
Gulden per Bau and the maximum land tax was about 20 Gulden per
Bau.

5.6.2. LAND TAX DURING THE PERIOD OF JAPANESE OCCUPATION
Within the period of J apanese occupation, there was no change on Land Tax Regulation. The
only land tax modification made by the J apanese Ruler was calculation or determination of
the amount of tax to be paid.

MSRI and INACID Chapter VI. Modern Time
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CHAPTER VI
MODERN TIME
Immediately after Indonesias independence, irrigation condition was practically under the
most severely deteriorating condition. All of the physical condition of water resources and
irrigation infrastructures including canals, structures as well as appurtenances were only
remained at an average between 40 to 60% of the original condition before the war.
Meanwhile, the new irrigation development had completely terminated even before the break
up of the Second World War. During which, the country suffered from the worst deficit of
food agricultural production in the history.
Under such a devastating condition, irrigation program was concentrated on mass
rehabilitation followed by application of intensive operation and management of the
rehabilitated irrigation schemes. After the serviceability of the existing schemes recovered,
then irrigation development priority was given to the most affordable extensification as well
as upgrading works, followed by the Five-Year Development Program (PELITA), which gave
special focus on mass infrastructural development through systematical planning and
implementation stages.
The following elaboration describes the chronology of irrigation development and
management after the Countrys in independence in 1945 up to the present time (2004), which
is divided into three major periods as the following: (1) The Period from 1945 up to 1969, that
is the period from independence (1945) to the first year of the First Five Year Development
(PELITA-I) Plan; (2) The period from 1969 to 1994, that is the period from PELITA-I to the
end of PELITA-V or the First Long-term Development Phase (PJ P-I); (3) The period from
1994 to 2004, i.e. the period from PELITA-VI to the period of irrigation reform era with
various policy reforms on development and management of irrigation systems.
6.1. SOCIETAL AND AGRICULTURE SITUATION
6.1.1. POPULATION
Population in Indonesia is the third largest in Asia after the People Republic of China and
India. In 2002 the total population was recorded to be more than 228 million peoples, while in
2001 was only recorded at about 209 million. In 1950 the overall population of Indonesia was
only about 77.2 million, which increased to be more than 119 million in 1969 and by 1995
increased to almost 195 million.
For giving a comparative feature about population of Indonesia and other Asian countries, the
following figure presents population in some selected countries in Asia as shown in Tables
6.1, while the total population in Indonesia between 1950 and 2002 by province is presented
in Table 6.2 at the end of this section.

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Table 6.1. Estimated mid year population of some selected countries in Asia
1997 2001 (x 10
-6
)
Country 1997 1999 2001
Indonesia 197.81 202.83 208.90
Bangladesh 124.30 128.10 131.50
Myanmar 46.40 4 9.13 51.14
Peoples Rep. of China 1,230.10 1,253.60 1,271.90
Hong Kong 6.49 6.67 6.73
India 955.22 986.90 1,017.50
Republic of Korea 45.95 46.62 47.34
Malaysia 21.67 22.71 23.80
Pakistan 128.42 134.51 140.47
Philippines 73.53 7,678.00 80.10
Singapore 3.79 3.95 4.13
Srilanka 17.70 18.28 18.73
Thailand 60.60 61.81 62.91
Viet Nam 74.09 76.60 78.92
Source: Statistical Year Book of Indonesia 2003.

The annual average population growth in Indonesia in the period from 1971 to 1980 was
noted to be 3.2%. The highest growth was Lampung Province at 5.77% followed by East
Kalimantan Province at 5.73%, Bengkulu Province at 4.39%, J ambi Province at 4.07%, and
other provinces were less than 4%. The lowest growth at that period was Yogyakarta Special
Territory at 1.1% followed by East J ava Province at 1.49%, Bali Province at 1.69% and South
Sulawesi Province at 1.74%.
At the middle of the period from 1971 to 1980 the Family Planning have been programmed
and executed. The result of this program has shown the positive impact at the early period
between 1980 and 1990. At that period of time, the annual average national population growth
which previously noted at 2.32 % decreased to 1.98% annually.
Within the period of 1980 to 1990 population growth in Lampung Province, which was
previously noted at 5.77% decreased to 2.67%. While East Kalimantan, which was previously
5.73 % decreased to 4.42% (this was recorded to be the highest growth in the period of 1980
to 1990), and J ambi decreased from 4.07% to 3.4%.
At the period between 1990 and 2002, Family Planning Program had been consistently
undertaken especially until 1998. The result of which was very positive, as indicated by the
national average population growth which decreased to 1.49%, although there was still a
province with more than 3% of population growth. Meanwhile, J akarta, Central J ava, East
J ava, Yogyakarta, and Maluku are amongst the provinces with less than 1% of growth. The
lowest growth was Maluku Province, which was only 0.08% followed by J akarta at 0.17%
and West Sumatra at 0.63%. Population growth in the period between 1971 and 2002 by
province are presented in Tables 6.3, hereunder.

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Table 6.3. Population growth (%) by province 1971 2002
Province 1971 - 1980 1980 - 1990 1990 - 2002
J akarta 3.93 2.42 0.17
West J ava 2.66 2.57 2.03
Central J ava 1.64 1.18 0.94
Yogyakarta 1.10 0.57 0.72
East J ava 1.49 1.08 0.70
Aceh 2.93 2.72 1.46
North Sumatra 2.60 2.06 1.32
West Sumatra 2.21 1.62 0.63
Riau 3.11 4.30 4.35
J ambi 4.07 3.40 1.84
South Sumatra 3.32 3.15 2.39
Bengkulu 4.39 4.38 2.97
Lampung 5.77 2.67 1.17
Bali 1.69 1.18 1.31
West Nusa Tenggara 2.36 2.15 1.82
East Nusa Tenggara 1.95 1.79 1.64
West Kalimantan 2.31 2.65 2.29
Central Kalimantan 3.43 3.88 2.99
South Kalimantan 2.16 2.32 1.45
East Kalimantan 5.73 4.42 2.81
North Sulawesi 2.31 1.60 1.33
Central Sulawesi 3.86 2.87 2.57
South Sulawesi 1.74 1.42 1.49
South-East Sulawesi 3.09 3.66 3.15
Maluku 2.88 2.79 0.08
Irian J aya 2.67 3.46 3.22
INDONESIA 2.32 1.98 1.49
Source: Statistical Year Book of Indonesia 1995, 2003

Population density in Indonesia in 1950 was recorded to be at 40 capita/km
2
, increased to be
about 62 capita/km
2
in 1969, and 112 capita/km
2
in the year of 2002. The highest density was
noted in J ava Island at 382 capita/km
2
in 1950, and 975 capita/km
2
in 2002, while outside of
J ava (Outer Islands) was only recorded at about 15 capita/km
2
in 1950 and 10 capita/km
2
in
2002.
The average population density outside J ava Island varied from nine capita/km
2
in Irian J aya
(Papua) Province to 155 capita/km
2
in Nusa Tenggara Province including Bali Island. In the
island of Sulawesi, the density at that period was 80 capita/km
2
. Tables 6.4 hereunder, shows
population density in major islands from 1971 to 2002, while Tables 6.5 at the end of this
section shows the density by province from 1950 to 2002.

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Table 6.4. Population density (capita/km
2
) in major islands 1971 2002
Island
Area
(km
2
)
1971 1980 1990 2002
J ava (incl. Madura) 132,186 576 690 859 975
Sumatra 473,481 44 59 77 57
Bali & Nusa Tenggara 88,488 75 90 106 155
Kalimantan 359,460 10 12 17 21
Sulawesi 189,216 45 55 66 80
Maluku & Irian J aya 496,486 4 5 7 6
Total Outer Islands 1,787,131 24 31 40 10
Indonesia 1,919,317 62 77 96 112
Source: Statistical Year Book of Indonesia 1968, 1995 and 2003.

The total land area of J ava Island, which is only 6.9% from the entire land area of Indonesia,
is currently populated by more than 60% of the countrys population. In the year of 1950, the
average percentage of people living on J ava Island was 65.35%, while the figure in the year
1971 was 63.83% and went down to 58.65% in 2002. The total land area of Sumatra Island is
473,481 km
2
or 24.7% was populated by more than 21% of people in the year 2002, while
area of Kalimantan Island of 539,460 km
2
(28.4%) was only populated by 5.58% of the
countrys population. Table 6.6 hereunder shows distribution of population at main islands,
while Tables 6.7 at the end of this section presenting percentage of population distribution
from 1950 - 2002 by province.

Table 6.6. Percentage of distribution of population in Indonesia
% of population distribution
Island
Area
(km
2
)
Area
(% of total)
1971 1980 1990 2002
J ava & Madura 132,188 6.9 63.83 62.12 60.22 58.65
Sumatra 473,481 24.7 17.46 19.07 20.44 21.15
Bali & Nusa Tenggara 88,488 4.6 5.55 5.40 5.27 5.34
Kalimantan 539,460 28.1 4.32 4.58 5.09 5.58
Sulawesi 189,216 9.9 7.15 7.08 7.01 7.27
Maluklu & Irian J aya 496,486 25.9 1.69 1.75 1.96 2.01
Indonesia 1,919,317 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Source: Statistical Year Book of Indonesia 1995 and 2003.

6.1.2. CONTRIBUTION OF AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT TO GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT
Despite the fact that Indonesia has long been known as an agrarian country, however, the
country had been notoriously known as the world largest rice importer during the years before
1969. Through mass development of irrigation infrastructures between 1969 and 1984,
Indonesia was managed to attain self-sufficiency in rice production in 1984. However, due to
the rapid escalation of population growth, the self-sufficiency of rice, as the staple diet of the
people, was only lasted for two years. This matter was also accelerated by the underlying
competition on demands for land on the one side and the demand for water on the other.
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After the successive irrigated agricultural development, the contribution of agricultural sector
to gross domestic product was recorded at about 9.14% in 1994, increased to be about 10.57%
in the year of 1999, and decreased again to 8.91% in the year of 2002.
For illustration, the distribution of gross domestic product of Indonesia between 1994 and
2002 presented in Tables 6.8, while Tables 6.9 shows the growth of gross domestic product
per capita in some Asian countries in 1999, 2000, and 2002, for comparative figure.

Table 6.8. Percentage distribution of gross domestic product (%) 1994 2000,
at current market prices by industrial origin
Distribution
Industrial Origin
1994 1995 1999 2000 2002
Food Crops 9.14 9.27 10.57 8.91 8.77
Non-food Crops 2.77 2.80 3.27 2.67 2.60
Livestock & Products 1.86 1.77 2.16 2.14 2.16
Forestry 1.80 1.63 1.26 1.18 1.05
Fishery 1.71 1.68 2.36 2.33 2.90
Total of
Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry, and Fishery
17.29 17.16 19.61 17.23 17.47
Others 82.71 82.84 80.39 82.77 82.53
Gross Domestic Product 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Source: After Statistical Year Book of Indonesia 1995 and 2003.

Table 6.9. Growth rate of per capita gross domestic product of several countries at constant
prices 1999 2002
Distribution
Industrial Origin
1998 2000 2001 2002
Indonesia -14.30 3.40 1.90 2.10
Bangladesh 3.70 4.30 3.60 3.20
Myanmar 3.90 4.40 - -
China, People Rep. of 6.80 7.30 6.80 6.50
Hang Kong -6.50 9.50 1.00 2.90
India 4.80 2.20 3.70 4.20
Republic of Korea -7.60 8.40 2.20 4.00
Malaysia -9.70 5.80 -1.90 1.70
Pakistan -0.40 1.60 0.30 0.80
Philippines -2.80 1.80 1.30 2.10
Singapore -3.40 8.60 -4.90 0.90
Srilanka 3.50 4.30 -2.40 2.30
Thailand -12.00 3.80 1.00 1.70
Viet Nam 2.90 4.60 4.30 4.70
Source: After Statistical Year Book of Indonesia 1995 and 2003.

6.1.3. GROWTH OF IRRIGATED AGRICULTURAL AREA
The total land area for irrigated agriculture of food crop in Indonesia was recorded to be
8,165,133 ha in 2002, consisted of 7,769,733 ha of paddy field and 395,400 ha of sugarcane.
The sugarcane area is particularly referred to in this section because this crop has actually had
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a special relationship with the history of irrigation development in Indonesia which had
previously introduced since early Dutch colonial time.
In addition to this, there is currently a total area of 1.06 million hectares of upland paddy field
with a total productivity of about 2.7 million ton, contributing at about 5.5% of national rice
production.
In 2002, the total irrigated paddy field on J ava possessed 42.80% of the total irrigated paddy
field in Indonesia. While Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Bali Islands at about 27.16%,
13.01%, 11.63%, and 5.40% respectively.
The total production of irrigated paddy field in 2002 was noted at 48,794,236 ton or about
4.66 ton/ha on the average. The highest (average) yield has been on J ava (5.25 ton/ha),
followed by Bali-Nusa Tenggara at 4.61 ton/ha), and Sulawesi at 4.43 ton/ha. Sumatra at 4.05
ton/ha, Maluku and Irian J aya at about 3.10 ton/ha, and Kalimantan at about 3.22 ton/ha.
Table 6.10 hereunder, shows the total land area under irrigated paddy field and production in
2002, while Table 6.11 at the end of this section presenting rice field area and yield by
province in 1994 and in 2002.

Table 6.10. Irrigated land and paddy production in Indonesia, (2002)
Island Area (ha)
Cropping
Area (ha)
Total Yield
(ton)
Average Yield
(ton/ha)
Sumatra 2,087,939 2,674,589 10,826,103 4.05
J ava 3,339,168 5,263,179 27,615,900 5.25
Bali & Nusa Tenggara 413,377 527,965 2,435,966 4.61
Kalimantan 992,165 781,851 2,519,011 3.22
Sulawesi 937,084 1,201,876 5,237,109 4.43
Maluku & Irian J aya - 22,629 70,147 3.10
Indonesia 7,769,733 10,472,089 48,794,236 4.66
Source: Statistical Year Book of Indonesia 2003, BPS Statistics Indonesia

a) Period from Independence (1945) to the First Five Year Development Program (1968)
At the period between 1945 and 1955, or the first decade after independence, there were
practically no significant growths on irrigated paddy field as well as on rice production.
During that period, the government of Indonesia was very busy to deal with political
problems, both on internal as well as on external affairs. The Cabinet was frequently changed,
and hence, it was not possible to plan and implement appropriate development program.
Despite the urgent demand, the government fully understood that the underlying deficit of
food stocks would continuously decreasing due to the severely lacking of adequate attention
on appropriate development and maintenance of irrigation infrastructures. By 1952 President
Soekarno, the first president of Indonesia, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of
Faculty of Agriculture, University of Indonesia entitled "A Matter of Life and Death". In his
speech President Soekarno stated that: at the moment (1952) Indonesia currently having
severe problem on lacking of food. He stated further that in the year of 1960 the shortage of
food will be increasingly more devastating is no immediate actions were taken. In fact, the
statement of President Soekarno came true in the year between 1961 and 1962, when the
prices of rice shoot up to three times due to severe lacking of food stocks. In an attempt to
resolve the problem, at that time, the government promoted consumption of corm to replace
rice (1963). During that devastating moment, Indonesia had been notoriously known as the
largest rice importing country in the world.
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As the consequences, during the period from 1945 to 1967, that was the period after
independence to the First Five-Year Development (PELITA-I), nearly no growth in food
production had been taken part. In the year of 1955 paddy production had been noted to be
almost 13 million ton, in 1961 increased to only about 14 million ton. In 1968, the first year of
PELITA-I, rice production increased to 18 million ton and cropping area increased from 5.6
million ha to 6.3 million ha. The average yield also increased from 2.5 ton/ha in 1961 to 2.9
ton/ha in 1968.
During the above-mentioned period (from 1945 to 1967) the government had implemented a
number of development programs related to rural prosperity. For example in the year 1952 the
government enacted the so called Prosperity Plan of Kasimo. The important measure in this
plan was the establishment of an institution for rural society education. Through this
institution, the irrigation officers and the farmers are able to meet and conduct mutual
dialogue. The other interesting aspect of this plant was the capacity to perform demonstration
of farming techniques. In 1958 the government established a so called Institute of Food
Production and Land Development. The main emphasis was to increase food production
through intensification and extensification programs. In 1959, through the Presidential
Instruction (INPRES-I of 1959), the government established the so called Prosperous Action
Command (KOGM) directly chaired by the president at the central level, and at territorial
level by governor/head of regent/head of district/head of village. But these two institutions
were not success in achieving its targets. In turned, there was no land development progress
and no significant increased in food production were ever achieved during that period. In
1955 cropping area was recorded at about 5.52 million ha, and in 1961 the total area was
slightly increased to 5.59 million ha. The overall rice production in 1995 was 13 million ton,
increased to only 14 million ton in 1961. Subsequently in 1964 the President established the
National Production Council to replace KOGM. But it did not also met the objectives
particularly in rising of food production.

1) Agricultural Extension (BIMAS) and Mass Intensification (INMAS) Programs
In 1963/1964, a group of students of from Faculty of Agriculture, University Indonesia,
initiated a pilot project in the town of Karawang, West J ava. The activity of the pilot project
was mainly giving direction and guidance to the farmers concerning the application of
integrated was agricultural production technology. The production technology was referred to
as Panca Usaha (literally meant as five efforts). The five elements of Panca Usaha
were: i) appropriate land preparation; ii) seed of good variety; iii) balanced and correct type of
fertilizer; iv) appropriate control of pests and diseases; and v) good irrigation systems.
One year later, which was in 1964/1965 the Panca Usaha was improved and developed as
mass demonstration program (DEMAS). Under this program, paddy field divided into small
units at about 50 ha per unit and two agricultural extension workers were assigned in each
unit. The government provided all of the required funds for implementing this DEMAS
Program. In 1965/1966 fiscal year, the Panca Usaha program was expanded and then
named as Agricultural Extension Services for Self Food Sufficiency Program.
The agricultural extension program (BIMAS) was gradually improved through application of
the subsequent BIMAS Program consisted of four activities these were: i) agricultural
extension; ii) production equipments and facilities; iii) credit, government provides credit
facility for farmer in cash, as well as production equipment and facilities; and iv) marketing of
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Based on subsequent evaluation, the implementation of agricultural extension (BIMAS) was
considered to have come up with good achievement. Taking into consideration of the past
success in 1967/1968 the government launched a program so called mass intensification
(INMAS) by introducing new seed variety (commonly known as improved variety or High
Yielding Variety-HYV).

2) Physical Development of Irrigation Facilities
In spite of the difficult condition the government faced, there were still a number of program
implementations conducted within the period from 1950 to 1960s. In this period,
development and rehabilitation were concentrated on J ava Island. During which, some large
projects were completed on J ava, including: i) Lakbok Utara Irrigation Scheme, in Ciamis
Regency, West J ava; ii) Saluran Mataram or Mataram Main Canal in Yogyakarta; iii)
Bekasi Weir in West J ava; iv) Cacaban Reservoir in Central J ava; v) Darma Reservoir, in
West J ava; vi) J atiluhur Irrigation Project, covering a total command area of 240,000 ha, and
considered to be the largest irrigation scheme in Indonesia. The latter project was started in
1950 and completed in 1969.
In order to provide adequate water supply for irrigating such a large area, a large multipurpose
reservoir known as J atiluhur Reservoir was constructed in the upper reach of Citarum River.
This reservoir has a total capacity of about 2,500,000,000 m
3
. Implementation of this reservoir
started in 1960 and completed in 1967. J atiluhur Irrigation Scheme and J atiluhur Reservoir
Projects were designed based on the following concept: i) integration of water resources of
eight rivers flowing in the project area; ii) integration of all the existing irrigation areas and
newly constructed areas located in the project area, by means of integrated River Basin
Management. See also Supplement Paper on Jatiluhur Multi Purpose Reservoir for more
detailed information on J atiluhur Reservoir.

b) Period from PELITA I to the end of PELITA V (1968 1994).
In connection with the subsequent implementation of the five-year-Development Plan
(PELITA); the first five consecutive PELITAs, from 1968 to 1994, was referred to as the first
Long-Term Development Implementation (PJ P-I).
The following elaboration discusses the subsequent growth of agricultural development from
the First PELITA (PELITA-I), to the Fifth PELITA (PELITA-V), which was the period
between 1968 and 1974.
In the First Five-Year Development Program (1968-1974), which so-called as PELITA-I, the
priority of agricultural sector development was aimed to increase food production. At the first
year of PELITA-I in 1974, the main target of rice production was 15.4 million ton, equivalent
to about 29.6 million ton of dry un-husked paddy. During which, some development programs
were implemented. These included intensification program to increase agricultural
productivity/yield and expansion program (land development and expansion of irrigation
areas). To support this program, in 1968, the government promoted the participation of
private sector in BIMAS program. The Private sector, under government supervision,
provided credit facility for farmers in terms of financial facility for purchasing agricultural
equipments and facilities. The implementation of the said program was initially conducted on
J ava Island and Lampung Province. However, the program was discontinued at the end of
1969 due to the problem of sluggish return of agricultural credit.
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In attempting to improve the implementation of BIMAS, in 1969, the government gave
special scrutiny on organization and standard operational procedures. In addition to the
improvement of organization and standard operation procedures, the government also
established a new system and procedure of banking credit. In 1970 the government
established a so-called National BIMAS program, which consisted of five elements of
production supports, namely: Agricultural extension Workers; Village Unit Bank; Kiosks for
agricultural equipments and facilities conducted a special program for improvement; and
Village Cooperative Unit.
Given the strategic role of irrigation in food production, the government subsequently
conducted a special program for improving the existing irrigation system parallel with the
promotion of quick yielding projects. During which, two large projects were developed: i)
J atiluhur Irrigation Project (Prosijat), aimed to complete the on-going development of
irrigation network in area of J atiluhur (240,000 ha); and ii) Irrigation Projects supported by
International Development Association of the World Bank (Prosida). The first main
objectives of Prosida was rehabilitation of: i) Glapan-Sedadi Irrigation Networks in Central
J ava; ii) Rentang and Cisadane Irrigation Networks in Banten Province; and iii)
Development of new irrigation networks of Way Seputih in Lampung Province.
Implementation of the above-mentioned projects resulted with substantial intensification. At
the first year of PELITA I (1968) the overall intensified area under the program was 617,000
ha, while in 1973 a total of 2,834,000 ha was completed.
During the subsequent development implementation in the period of PELITA-II (1974-1979),
the main programs were development of new irrigation networks for the total area of 470,000
ha, and swamp development of about 800,000 hectares.
Following the severe droughts and pest attacks in three consecutive years from 1975 to 1976,
rice production was significantly decreased. This condition forced the government to import
rice from various rice producing countries.
In PELITA-III (1979-1984) the government established a development concept on
agricultural sector. The concept was directed toward accelerating rice production by means of:
i) Revision and improvement of BIMAS and INMAS program. Transformation of BIMAS
and INMAS into Special Intensification (INSUS) program;
ii) Rehabilitation and up-grading of irrigation systems covering a total area of 350,000 ha;
iii) Construction of new irrigation networks covering a total area of 326,000 ha;
iv) Swamp development of 456,000 ha;
v) Tertiary/on-farm development covering a total command area of 1,681,000 ha;
vi) Construction of four big dams i.e. Gajah Mungkur in Central J ava, Widas in East J ava,
Way Rarem in Lampung, and Batu J ae in Lombok Island.
By the end of PELITA-III, that was in 1983 the government, again, improved the
organizational aspects of BIMAS at provincial, regency, district as well as at the village
levels. All of the related institutions (Agriculture, Irrigation) at provincial and regency level
were included in the BIMAS improvement program. Head of District and of Village Heads
were also included in the Improved BIMAS Program at the District and Village levels. Apart
from the said improvement of BIMAS, during the same period, the government also
implemented new INSUS program referred to as General Intensification (INUM) addressed
the farmers who have been included in the INSUS program.
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Approaching the fourth PELITA (1984-89), the successful result of previous PELITA-III has
become apparent. This indicated by the obvious achievement of rice self-sufficiency in
1984, despite that the success had only been lasted for two years i.e., 1985 and 1986. The
main programs in this period were rehabilitation and up-grading of the existing irrigation
schemes at a total of 360,000 ha, land development 600,000 ha, and swamp development at a
total area of 300,000 ha. In 1987, due to continuous escalation of population growth and
competing demands of land and water, as well as the increasing of per capita rice
consumption, the government has to import rice to meet the escalating demands.
To accelerate the growth of rice production, the government, again, undertook a series of
improvement measures on INSUS/INUM at the end of 1986. The improved INSUS referred
to as Supra INSUS and had been implemented since 1987.
In PELITA-V (1989-1994) implementation of Supra INSUS indicated the positive impacts.
Early at the first year at PELITA-V (1989/1990), the Supra INSUS program had been
implemented in a total area of about 2.56 million ha and subsequently increased to 3.16
million ha in 1992. Meanwhile, the average yield increased from 4.7 ton/ha under the INSUS
area and 3.6 ton/ha of which under the INUM areas. National average of yield in 1994
increased to 4.63 ton/ha and the total national rice production was increased to a total of 44
million ton.

c) Period from 1994 to 2002
1) Period 1994 - 1999 (Before Irrigation Policy Reform)
In this Period, attention of the government was not only addressing irrigation development,
but also given to industrial sector, therefore agricultural development in general, development
of irrigation in particular, obtained less priority. During this period, the progress of expansion
of irrigated paddy fields was very low, the achievement was only 60,000 ha or 50 % of the
overall target. As consequences, in 1998 the government had to import 631,100 tons of rice
and almost 1.6 million tons in 1999. Implementation of rehabilitation program of simple
irrigation and village irrigation system at 1.6 million ha and swamp reclamation in Central
Kalimantan at 300,000 ha did not contributed as previously expected. This condition became
worth due to prolong dry season in 1997. In an effort to minimize excessive rice import, the
government strengthened the previously implemented rehabilitation program, as well as
reactivated the Supra-INSUS, INSUS, and INMUM programs.

2) Period of 1999 - 2002 (Period of Irrigation Policy Reform)
In this period, some important changes had occurred in political matter, and also in water
resources aspects. Regional Autonomy and Decentralization of irrigation management laid the
foundation for major shift of authority and budgetary allocation from Central Government to
Regional Government. On April 1999, the government issued a Presidential Instruction
Number 3/1999. Following the said Presidential Instruction, the government released a special
regulation on irrigation through the Government Regulation Number 77 of 2001 regarding
irrigation. On February 2004, the Executive Government together with the Parliament
finalized a new Law in Water Resources, including which is Irrigation, Law No. 7 of 2004.

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91
d) Achievement on Agricultural Development
The progress and achievement of agricultural development during the period from 1955 to
2002 are summarized as follows:
1) Harvested area of irrigated rice increased from 5.5 million hectares in 1955 to 10.5 million
hectares in 2002;
2) Harvested area of maize increased from 2.2 million hectares in 1955 to 3.1 million
hectares in 2002;
3) Harvested area of soybean increased from 0.52 million hectares in 1955 to only 0.56
million hectares in 2002;
4) Harvested area of peanut increased from 0.30 million hectares in 1955 to 0.65 million
hectares in 2002;
5) Harvested area of upland paddy increased from 1.05 million hectares in 1955 to 1.24
million hectares in 1994 and decreased to 1.06 million hectares in 2002.

Growth of harvested area and yield of paddy and secondary crops during 1955 - 2002 is
presented in Tables 6.12 hereunder:

Table 6.12. Harvested area and agricultural product (1955 2002)
Crop 1955 1961 1968 1991 1994 2002
1. Irrigated Rice
Cropping Area (10
-3
ha) 5.517 5.584 6.307 9.168 9.494 10.472
Production (10
-3
kg) *) 12,985.0 13,934.7 17,622.0 42,330.9 43,959.2 48,794.2
Average Yield (t/ha) 2.35 2.50 2.79 4.62 4.63 4.66

2. Maize
Cropping Area (10
-3
ha) 2.204 2.462 3.269 2.909 3.109 3.121
Production (10
-3
kg) **) 1,970.8 2,283.1 3,101.9 6,255.0 6,869.0 9,527.1

3. Soybean
Cropping Area (10
-3
ha) 515 625 676 1.368 1.407 546
Production (ton) ***) 346,200 426,300 389,200 1,555 1,564.80 652,800

4. Peanut
Cropping Area (10
-3
ha) 298 365 390 628 643 648
Production (ton) ***) 206,900 252,200 273,000 652,100 632,000 722,100

5. Dry Land Paddy
Cropping Area (10
-3
ha) 1,053 1,273 1,657 1,113 1,240 1,059
Production (10
-3
kg) *) 1,447.4 1,965.4 2,409.5 2,357.3 2,662.3 2,585.9
Notes : *) dry un-husked rice **) dry grain maize ***) dry peeled peanut
Source: Statistical Year Book of Indonesia 1958, 1968, 1995 and 2003

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Irrigated paddy field area in 1955 was recorded at 5.52 millions hectares, increased to 5.58
million hectares in 1966 and in 1968 such irrigated rice field area increased to 6.31 million
hectares, but increased at 13 % as compared to 1961s production.
In the period between 1968 and 1991, through Intensification and Extensification Programs,
crop yield has increased from 2.79 ton/ha in 1968 to 4.62 ton/ha in 1991. The irrigated paddy
field increased from 6.31 million hectares in 1968 to 9.17 million hectares in 1991.
Within the period from 1991 to 1994, that was at the end of PELITA-V or at the end of the
First Long Term Development (PJ P-I), the average growth of rice field area was 3.56%
(330,000 ha) averaging at 1.2% per year, lower than the same period between 1968 and 1991,
at 1.97%. The national average yield of paddy within the said period was increased by 3.56%.
During the period between 1994 and 2002, which was the irrigation reform era, the programs
of agricultural development were continued. In 2002 the total irrigated paddy field area was
almost 10.5 million ha while in 1994 it was only 9.5 million ha, or increased at about 1.29%
per year. The average yield in 1994 was noted at 4.63 ton/ha, while in 2002 noted at about
4.66 ton/ha (or increased only at about 0.1% per year).
The average increased of cropping area is presented at the above Tables 6.12., while Tables
6.13, 6.14, and 6.15 hereunder show the average increased of irrigated paddy field area, the
average growth of production and average growth of yield 1955 to 2002. The total cropping
area, total production, yield of paddy and secondary crops between 1955 and 2002 are
presented at the end of this section in Tables 6.16, 6.17, and 6.18.
Table 6.13. Average increased of cropping area of paddy
and secondary crops 1955 2002, (%/year)
Year Paddy Maize Soybean Peanut

1955
0.20 3.61 3.56 3.75

1961
1.85 4.68 1.36 0.98

1968
1.97 -0.48 17.08 2.65

1991
1.19 2.29 0.48 0.80

1994
1.29 0.05 -10.20 0.10
2002
Source: Statistical Year Book of Indonesia 1956, 1968, 1995, 2003
Table 6.14. Average growth of production of paddy
and secondary crops 1955 2002, (%/year)

1955
1.22 2.64 3.86 3.65

1961
3.78 5.12 -1.45 1.18

1968
6.10 4.42 49.94 6.04

1991
1.28 3.27 0.10 -1.03

1994
1.37 4.84 -9.71 1.78
2002
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Table 6.15. Average growth of yield of paddy and
secondary crops 19552002, (%/year)

1955
1.00 -0.79 0.24 -0.08

1961
1.71 0.33 -2.60 0.19

1968
2.84 5.50 16.25 2.10

1991
0.09 0.92 -0.37 -1.78

1994
0.08 4.77 1.25 1.67
2002

The comparison of growth of cropping area, of production, and of yield by main islands in
1955, 1968, 1994, and 2002 are presented in Tables 6.19 and 6.20.
Table 6.19. Cropping area, production and yield by main islands (1955 and 1968)
1955 1968
Name of Island Cropping
Area (10
-3
ha)
Total
Production
(x 10
-3
ton)
Average
Yield (t/ha)
Cropping
Area (10
-3
ha)
Total
Production
(x 10
-3
ton)
Average
Yield
(t/ha)
Sumatra 668 2,026.9 3.03 1,168 3,812.8 3.26
J ava 3,926 8,557.7 2.18 3,766 10,372.8 2.75
Bali-Nusa Tenggara 282 857.7 3.04 335 1,001.1 2.99
Kalimantan 237 452.4 1.91 448 877.6 1.96
Sulawesi 374 923.8 2.47 570 1,557.3 2.73
Maluku Irian J aya 0.3
INDONESIA 5,487 12,818.5 2.34 6,287 17,621.9 2.80

Table 6.20. Harvested area, production of paddy, and average yield
by main islands (1994 and 2002).
1994 2002
Name of Island Cropping
Area (ha)
Total
Production
(x 10
-3
ton)
Average
Yield
(t/ha)
Cropping
Area (ha)
Total
Production
(x 10
-3
ton)
Average
Yield
(t/ha)
Sumatra 2,362.087 9,526.75 4.03 2,74.589 10,826.1 4.05
J ava 4,830.643 25,658.85 5.31 5,263.179 27,615.9 5.25
Bali-Nusa
Tenggara
488.438 2,212.52 4.53 527.965 2,436.0 4.61
Kalimantan 723.003 2,017.04 2.79 781.851 2,519.0 3.22
Sulawesi 1,056.467 4,451.07 4.21 1,201.876 5,327.1 4.43
Maluku Irian
J aya
18.280 51.50 2.82 22.629 70.1 3.10
INDONESIA 9,476.918 43,917.72 4.63 10,472.089 48,794.2 4.66

Cropping area, production, and yield by province in 1955, 1968, 1994 and 2002 are presented
at the end of this section in Tables 6.21, 6.22, 6.23, and 6.24.
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6.1.4. IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES POLICY REFORM
In 1987 the government of Indonesia released a new policy on operation and maintenance of
irrigation referred to as the 1987 Irrigation Operation and Maintenance Policy (IOMP). This
policy issued as a precondition for further loan projects funded by the World Bank and Asian
Development Bank (Burn, Bryan; Irrigation Reform). The purpose of this policy has been to
ensure adequate funding for operation and maintenance (O&M) and improve irrigation
management. Government committed to increase budget allocation for O&M, strengthen land
and property tax, as well as mobilize more resources from beneficiaries.
There are three programs included in this policy these were: i) turn-over of small scale
irrigation schemes (the command area of less than 500 ha); ii) implementation of irrigation
service fee (ISF); and iii) efficient O&M.
Given the fact that the IOMP did not achieved the expected targets, the government released a
new policy in irrigation development, which was accommodated in the Presidential
Instruction Number 3 of 1999 (INPRES No. 3/1999) and Government Regulation Number 89
of 2001 on Renewal of Irrigation Management Policy.
The presidential instruction prescribed five principals for irrigation reform including:
i) redefining of irrigation institutions;
ii) empowerment of Water Users Association (WUA);
iii) transfer and joint management;
iv) farmer-managed fees; and
v) irrigation sustainability.
Presently, (February 2004) the Parliament and the Executive Government of Indonesia has
been finalizing the Water Resources Law (UUSDA No.7/2004) as the revision of Law No.
11/1974, Concerning Water Resources Development. This Law also covers the arrangement
of water resources management and its process by establishing a Coordination Board of Water
Resources Management at the Central Level, Provincial Level, and if necessary, at Regency
Level government administration.
This UUSDA defines the roles and responsibility of river basin based water resources
management:
1) Inter-provincial River Basins and inter-state River Basins or Strategic River Basins are
controlled by Central Government;
2) Inter-regency River Basins are under control of Provincial Government; and
3) River Basins which are entirely located at a regency/town are under the control of the
Government at the Regency Level.

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Table 6.2. Population in Indonesia by province (1950 2002)
(x 10
-3
)
End of Year
Province
1950 1961 1969 1971 1980 1990 2002

J akarta 4,579 6,503 8,259 8,382
West J ava 21,624 27,454 35,382 45,776
Central J ava 21,877 25,373 28,521 31,786
Yogyakarta 2,489 2,751 2,913 3,163
East J ava 25,517 29,189 32,504 35,225
Java and Madura 50,456 63,059 76,286 76,086 91,270 107,579 124,332
Aceh 2,009 2,611 3,416 4,041
North Sumatra 6,622 8,361 10,256 11,942
West Sumatra 2,793 3,407 4,000 4,298
Riau 1,642 2,168 3,304 5,383
J ambi 1,006 1,446 2,021 2,494
South Sumatra 3,441 4,630 6,313 8,143
Bengkulu 519 768 1,179 1,656
Lampung 2,777 4,625 6,018 6,889
Sumatra 20,809 28,016 6,507 44,846
Bali 2,120 2,470 2,778 3,230
West Nusa Tenggara 2,203 2,725 3,370 4,152
East Nusa Tenggara 2,295 2,737 3,269 3,945
Bali & Nusa Tenggara 6,618 7,932 9,417 11,327
West Kalimantan 2,020 2,486 3,229 4,198
Central Kalimantan 702 954 1,396 1,966
South Kalimantan 1,699 2,065 2,598 3,068
East Kalimantan 734 1,218 1,877 2,589
Kalimantan 5,155 6,723 9,100 11,821
North Sulawesi 1,718 2,115 2,478 2,911
Central Sulawesi 914 1,290 1,711 2,287
South Sulawesi 5,181 6,062 6,982 8,284
South-east Sulawesi 714 942 1,350 1,935
Sulawesi 8,527 10,409 12,521 15,417
Maluku 1,090 1,411 1,858 1,904
Irian J aya 923 1,174 1,649 2,356
Maluku & Irian Jaya 2,013 2,585 3,507 4,260
Total Outer Islands 26,751 34,526 41,768 43,122 55,665 71,052 87,671
Total Indonesia 77,207 97,585 118,054 119,208 146,935 178,631 212,003
Source : Statistical Year Book of Indonesia 1956, 1968, 1995, and 2002
Name of provinces are based on 1995 data.

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Table 6.5. Population density in Indonesia by province (1950 2002)
(x 10
-3
)
End of Year
Province
Area
(Km
2
) 1950 1961 1969 1971 1980 1990 2002
J akarta 590 7.761 11.022 13.998 12.623
West J ava 46,300 467 593 764 1.058
Central J ava 34,206 640 742 834 977
Yogyakarta 3,169 785 868 919 993
East J ava 47,921 532 609 678 735
Java and Madura 132,186 382 477 577 576 690 814 975
Aceh 55,392 36 47 62 78
North Sumatra 70,787 94 118 145 162
West Sumatra 49,778 56 68 80 100
Riau 94,561 17 23 35 57
J ambi 44,800 22 32 45 47
South Sumatra 103,688 33 45 61 75
Bengkulu 21,168 25 36 56 84
Lampung 33,307 83 139 181 195
Sumatra 473,481 44 59 77 57
Bali 5,561 381 444 500 573
West Nusa Tenggara 35,051 63 78 96 206
East Nusa Tenggara 47,876 48 57 68 83
Bali & Nusa Tenggara 88,488 75 90 106 155
West Kalimantan 146,760 14 17 22 29
Central Kalimantan 152,600 5 6 9 13
South Kalimantan 37,660 45 55 69 70
East Kalimantan 202,440 4 6 9 11
Kalimantan 539,460 10 12 17 21
North Sulawesi 19,023 90 111 130 106
Central Sulawesi 69,726 13 19 25 36
South Sulawesi 72,781 71 83 96 133
South-east Sulawesi 27,686 26 34 49 70
Sulawesi 89,216 45 55 66 80
Maluku 74,505 15 19 25 25
Irian J aya 421,981 2 3 4 9
Maluku & Irian Jaya 496,486 4 5 7 6
Total Outer Islands 1,787,131 15 19 23 24 31 40 10
Total Indonesia 1,919,317 40 51 62 62 77 93 112
Source: After Statistical Year Book of Indonesia 1968, 1995, and 2003
Area of each province is based on 2002 data

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Table 6.7. Percentage distribution of population of Indonesia by province (1950 2002)
(x 10
-3
)
End of Year
Province
1950 1961 1969 1971 1980 1990 2002

J akarta 3,84 4,43 4,62 3,95
West J ava 18,14 18,68 19,81 21,59
Central J ava 18,35 17,27 15,97 14,99
Yogyakarta 2,09 1,87 1,63 1,49
East J ava 21,41 19,87 18,20 16,62
Java and Madura 65,35 64,62 64,62 63,83 62,12 60,22 58,65
Aceh 1,69 1,78 1,91 1,91
North Sumatra 5,55 5,69 5,74 5,63
West Sumatra 2,34 2,32 2,24 2,03
Riau 1,38 1,48 1,85 2,54
J ambi 0,84 0,98 1,13 1,18
South Sumatra 2,89 3,15 3,53 3,84
Bengkulu 0,44 0,52 0,66 0,78
Lampung 2,33 3,15 3,37 3,25
Sumatra 17,46 19,07 20,44 21,15
Bali 1,78 1,68 1,56 1,52
West Nusa Tenggara 1,85 1,85 1,89 1,96
East Nusa Tenggara 1,93 1,86 1,83 1,86
Bali & Nusa Tenggara 5,55 5,40 5,27 5,34
West Kalimantan 1,69 1,69 1,81 1,98
Central Kalimantan 0,59 0,65 0,78 0,93
South Kalimantan 1,43 1,41 1,45 1,45
East Kalimantan 0,62 0,83 1,05 1,22
Kalimantan 4,32 4,58 5,09 5,58
North Sulawesi 1,44 1,44 1,39 1,37
Central Sulawesi 0,77 0,88 0,96 1,08
South Sulawesi 4,35 4,13 3,91 3,91
South-east Sulawesi 0,60 0,64 0,76 0,91
Sulawesi 7,15 7,08 7,01 7,27
Maluku 0,91 0,96 1,04 0,90
Irian J aya 0,77 0,80 0,92 1,11
Maluku & Irian Jaya 1,69 1,76 1,96 2,01
Total Outer Islands 34,65 35,38 35,38 36,17 37,88 39,78 41,35
Total Indonesia 100,00 100,00 100,00 100,00 100,00 100,00 100,00

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Table 6.11. Irrigated paddy field area and rice production (1994 and 2002)
by Province
Area (ha) Cropping Area (ha) Total Yield (ton) *)
Average Yield
(ton/ha)
Province
1994 2002 1994 2002 1994 2002 1994 2002
Aceh 315,210 288,574 322,759 322,385 1,315,662 1,347,988 4.08 4.18
North Sumatra 537,264 524,649 715,380 711,589 2,904,484 2,962,457 4.06 4.16
West Sumatra 227,347 229,641 366,604 417,939 1,709,705 1,857,691 4.66 4.44
Riau 220,368 111,935 115,077 108,199 378,994 354,017 3.29 3.27
J ambi 222,068 131,245 139,830 138,323 478,245 499,491 3.42 3.61
South Sumatra 516,210 440,647 320,777 489,730 1,136,041 1,711,514 3.54 3.49
Bengkulu 81,829 83,113 77,213 88,658 281,830 337,421 3.65 3.81
Lampung 281,401 278,135 304,447 397,766 1,321,784 1,755,524 4.34 4.41
Sumatra 2,401,697 2,087,939 2,362,087 2,674,589 9,526,745 10,826,103 4.03 4.05
J akarta 3,963 2,866 4,803 2,322 22,965 11,303 4.78 4.87
West J ava 1,174,861 1,126,917 1,814,794 1,983,649 9,502,006 10,283,358 5.24 5.18
Central J ava 1,004,413 991,251 1,433,182 1,581,392 7,552,623 8,283,824 5.27 5.24
Yogyakarta 61,150 58,542 97,643 98,049 542,070 537,955 5.55 5.49
East J ava 1,151,912 1,159,592 1,480,221 1,597,767 8,039,187 8,499,460 5.43 5.32
Java 3,396,299 3,339,168 4,830,643 5,263,179 25,658,851 27,615,900 5.31 5.25
Bali 90,310 85,525 150,510 148,025 796,821 809,656 5.29 5.47
West Nusa Tenggara 191,397 214,576 253,176 274,754 1,148,982 1,283,981 4.54 4.67
East Nusa Tenggara 88,485 113,276 84,752 105,186 266,717 342,329 3.15 3.25
Bali & Nusa
Tenggara
370,192 413,377 488,438 527,965 2,212,520 2,435,966 4.53 4.61
West Kalimantan 471,537 287,013 209,125 247,787 571,143 784,839 2.73 3.17
Central Kalimantan 278,353 182,556 100,740 86,796 233.326 239,855 2.32 2.76
South Kalimantan 488,464 415,828 350,515 365,036 1,039,455 1,211,594 2.97 3.32
East Kalimantan 128,166 106,768 62,623 82,232 173,114 282,723 2.76 3.44
Kalimantan 1,366,520 992,165 723,003 781,851 2,017,038 2,519,011 2.79 3.22
North Sulawesi 87,487 83,713 86,330 104,131 369.823 462,872 4.28 4.45
Central Sulawesi 148,247 128,023 126,683 202,907 429,227 780,390 3.39 3.85
South Sulawesi 604,546 661,273 780,525 822,586 3,434,997 3,801,872 4.40 4.62
South-east Sulawesi 64,317 64,075 62,929 72,252 217,024 281,975 3.45 3.90
Sulawesi 904,597 937,084 1,056,467 1,201,876 4,451,071 5,327,109 4.21 4.43
Maluku - - 4,904 3,469 14,426 10,055 2.94 2.90
Irian J aya (Papua) - - 13,376 19,160 37,069 60,092 2.77 3.14
Maluku & Irian Jaya - - 18,280 22,629 51,495 70,147 2.82 3.10
INDONESIA 8,439,305 7,769,733 9,478,918 10,472,089 43,917,720 48,794,236 4.63 4.66
Source: Statistical Year Book of Indonesia 1995 and 2003
*) dry un-husked rice

History in Brief

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Table 6.16. Area of paddy and secondary crops (1955 2002)
Paddy Maize Soybean Peanut
Year Area
(10
-3
ha)
*)

+/-
(%)
Area
(10
-3
ha)
*)

+/- (%)
Area
(10
-3
ha)
*)

+/- (%)
Area
(10
-3
ha)
*)

+/- (%)
1955 5,517 2,024 515 298
1.21 21.64 21.00 22.00
1961 5,584 2,462 625 365
12.95 32.78 8.16 6.85
1968 6,307 3,269 676 390
45.36 -11.01 102.37 61.03
1991 9,168 2,909 1,368 628
3,.58 6.88 2.85 2.39
1994 9,494 3,109 1,407 643
10.30 0.39 -61.19 0.78
2002 10,472 3,121 546 648
*) Cropping Area

Table 6.17. Production of paddy and secondary crops (1955 2002)
Paddy Maize Soybean Peanut
Year Production
(ton)
1)

+/-
(%)
Production
(ton)
2)

+/- (%)
Production
(ton)
3)

+/- (%)
Production
(ton)
3)

+/- (%)
1955 12,985,000 1,970,800 346.200 206,900
7.31 15.85 23.00 22.00
1961 13,934,700 2,283,100 426.300 252,200
26.46 35.86 -8.70 8.25
1968 17,622,000 3,101,900 389.200 273,000
140.22 101.65 299.67 138.86
1991 42,330,000 6,255,000 1.555.500 652,100
3.85 9.82 0.60 -3.08
1994 43,959,200 6,869,000 1564.800 632,000
11.00 38.70 -58.28 14.26
2002 48,794,200 9,527,100 952.800 722,100

1)
dry un-husked rice

2)
dry loose maize

3)
dry peeled crops

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Table 6.18. Average yield of paddy and secondary crops (1955 2002)
Paddy
1)
Maize
2)
Soybean
3)
Peanut
3)

Year Production
(ton)
1)

+/-
(%)
Production
(ton
) 2)

+/-
(%)
Production
(ton)
3)

+/-
(%)
Production
(ton)
3)

+/-
(%)
1955 2.35 0.97 0.67 0.694
6.03 -4.76 1.46 -0.48
1961 2.50 0.93 0.68 0.691
11.96 2.32 -15.59 1.31
1968 2.79 0.95 0.58 0.70
65.25 126.61 97.50 48.34
1991 4.62 2.15 1.14 1.04
0.28 2.75 -2.19 -5.34
1994 4.63 2.21 1.11 0.98
0.63 38.16 7.50 13.37
2002 4.66 3.05 1.20 111

1)
dry un-husked rice

2)
dry loose maize

3)
dry peeled crops

Table 6.21. Cropping area and average yield by main islands (1955)
Irrigated Paddy
Province Area
(ha)
Cropping Area
(ha)
Total Production
(ton)
*)

Average Yield
(t/ha)
Sumatra 668,000 2,026,900 3.034
J ava 3,442,000 3,926,000 8,557,700 2.180
Bali & Nusa Tenggara 282,000 857,700 3.014
Kalimantan 237,000 452,400 1.909
Sulawesi 374,000 923,800 2.470
Maluku & Irian J aya
Indonesia 5,487,000 12,818,500 2.336
Sugarcane 51,000
Total Irrigated Rice 3,493,000
Dry land Paddy 1,044,000 1,434,200 1.374
Total Paddy
**)
6,531,000 14,252,700 2.182
Source: Statistical Year Book of Indonesia 1959
**) Irrigated Paddy and Dry land Paddy

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Table 6.22. Cropping area and average yield by main islands (1968)
Irrigated Paddy
Province Area
(ha)
Cropping Area
(ha)
Total Production
(ton)
*)

Average Yield
(t/ha)
Sumatra 1,168,000 3,812,800 3.264
J ava 3,766,000 10,372,800 2.754
Bali & Nusa Tenggara 335,000 1,001,100 2.988
Kalimantan 448,000 877,600 1.959
Sulawesi 570,000 1,557,300 2.732
Maluku & Irian J aya 300
Indonesia 6,287,000 17,621,900 2.803
Sugarcane 65,500
Total Irrigated Rice
Dry land Paddy 1,657,000 2,409,500 1.454
Total Paddy **) 7,944,000 20,031,400 2.522
**) Irrigated Paddy and dry-land paddy

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Table 6.23. Cropping area and average yield by province (1994)
Irrigated Paddy
Province Area
(x 10
-3
ha)
Cropping Area
(x 10
-3
ha)
Total Production
(ton)
*)

Average Yield
(ton/ha)
Aceh 15.210 322.759 1,315,662 4.076
North Sumatra 537.264 715.380 2,904,484 4.060
West Sumatra 27.347 366.604 1,709,705 4.664
Riau 220.368 115.077 378,994 3.293
J ambi 222.068 139.830 478,245 3.420
South Sumatra 516.210 320.777 1,136,041 3.542
Bengkulu 81.829 77.213 281,830 3.650
Lampung 281.401 304.447 1,321,784 4.342
Sumatra 2,401.697 2,362.087 9,526,745 4.033
J akarta 3.963 4.803 22,965 4.781
West J ava 1,174.861 1,814.794 9,502,006 5.236
Central J ava 1,004.413 1,433.182 7,552,623 5.270
Yogyakarta 61.150 97.643 542,070 5.552
East J ava 1,151.912 1,480.221 8,039,187 5.431
Jawa 3,396.299 4,830.643 25,658,851 5.312
Bali 90.310 150.510 796,821 5.294
West Nusa Tenggara 191.397 253.176 1,148982 4.538
East Nusa Tenggara 88.485 84.752 266,717 3.147
Bali & Nusa Tenggara 370.192 488.438 2,212,520 4.530
West Kalimantan 471.537 209.125 571,143 2.731
Central Kalimantan 278.353 100.740 233,326 2.316
South Kalimantan 488.464 350.515 1,039,455 2.966
East Kalimantan 128.166 62.623 173,114 2.764
Kalimantan 1,366.520 723.003 2,017,038 2.790
North Sulawesi 87.487 86.330 369,823 4.284
Central Sulawesi 148.247 126.683 429,227 3.388
South Sulawesi 604.546 780.525 3,434,997 4.401
South-east Sulawesi 64.317 62.929 217,024 3.449
Sulawesi 904.597 1,056.467 4,451,071 4.213
Maluku - 4.904 14,426 2.942
Irian J aya - 13.376 37,069 2.771
Maluku & Irian Jaya - 18.280 51,495 2.817
INDONESIA 8,439.305 9,478.918 43,917,720 4.633
Sugarcane 496.900
Total Irrigated Land 8,936.205
Dry land paddy 1,239.864 1,239.864 2,584,867 2.085
Total Paddy **) 10,176.069 10,718.782 46,502,587 4.338

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Table 6.24. Cropping area (ha) and average yield by province (2002)
Irrigated Paddy
Province
Area (x 10
-3
ha)
Cropping Area
(x 10
-3
ha)
Total Production
(ton)
*)

Average
Yield (ton/ha)
Aceh 315.210 322.385 1,347,988 4.181
North Sumatra 537.264 711.589 2,962,457 4.163
West Sumatra 227.347 417.939 1,857,691 4.445
Riau 220.368 108.199 354,017 3.272
J ambi 222.068 138.323 499,491 3.611
South Sumatra 516.210 489.730 1,711,514 3.495
Bengkulu 81.829 88.658 337,421 3.806
Lampung 281.401 397.766 1,755,524 4.413
Sumatra 2,401.697 2,674.589 10,826,103 4.048
J akarta 3.963 2.322 11,303 4.868
West J ava 1,174,861 1,983.649 10,283,358 5.184
Central J ava 1,004,413 1,581.392 8,283,824 5.238
Yogyakarta 61.150 98.049 537,955 5.487
East J ava 1,151,912 1,597.767 8,499,460 5.320
Jawa 3,396.299 5,263.179 27,615,900 5.247
Bali 90.310 148.025 809,656 5.470
West Nusa Tenggara 191.397 274.754 1,283,981 4.673
East Nusa Tenggara 88.485 105.186 342,329 3.255
Bali & Nusa Tenggara 370.192 527.965 2,435,966 4.614
West Kalimantan 471.537 247.787 784,839 3.167
Central Kalimantan 278.353 86.796 239,855 2.763
South Kalimantan 488.464 365.036 1,211,594 3.319
East Kalimantan 128.166 82.232 282,723 3.438
Kalimantan 1,366.520 781.851 2,519,011 3.222
North Sulawesi 87.487 104.131 462,872 4.445
Central Sulawesi 148.247 202.907 780,390 3.846
South Sulawesi 604.546 822.586 3,801,872 4.622
South-east Sulawesi 64.317 72.252 281,975 3.903
Sulawesi 904.597 1,201.876 5,327,109 4.432
Maluku - 3.469 10,055 2.899
Irian J aya - 19.160 60,092 3.136
Maluku & Irian Jaya - 22.629 70,147 3.100
INDONESIA 8,439.305 10,472.089 48,794236 4.659
Sugarcane 496.900
Total Irrigated Land 8,936.205
Dry land paddy 1,239.864 1,058.583 2,682,343 2.534
Total Paddy **) 10,176.069 11,530.672 51,476,579 4.464

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6.2. LAND TENURE AND MANAGEMENT
6.2.1. LAND TENURE
a) Farmers Household
About 50% of household in Indonesia are food crops farmers household (mainly paddy,
secondary crops, and horticulture). The total farm household (FHs) in the provinces vary from
46% to 78%. The highest levels of food crop farmers were in Maluku and Irian J aya (Papua)
Provinces at about 78%, while the lowest level was in Sumatra and J ava at about 47%.
Agricultural Census of 1983 and 2003 show the increasing number of land holding farm
household, particularly food crops farm household (FCFH). In 1983 total FCFH noted as
24,458,000 FHs increased to 27,446,000 FHs in 2003 (increased by 12.2%).
Total number of food crops farm household by main islands is presented in Table 6.25 below,
while Table 6.26 at the end of this section shows the food crops farm household by province
in 1983 and 2003.
Table 6.25. Food crops farm household by main islands in 1983 and 2003 (x 10
-3
ha)
Paddy/Secondary Crops Horticulture Total
Island
1983 2003
+/ -
(%)
1983 2003
+/ -
(%)
1983 2003
+/ -
(%)
Sumatra 3,111 3,080 -1.0 1,181 1,902 6 1.0 4,292 4,982 16.1
J ava 9,762 10,759 10.2 5,192 5,079 -2.2 14,954 15,838 5.9
Bali-Nusa Tenggara 1,032 1,334 29.3 623 747 19.9 1,655 2,081 25.7
Kalimantan 846 1,131 33.7 399 585 46.6 1,245 1,716 37.8
Sulawesi 1,193 1,343 12.6 613 697 13.7 1,806 2,040 13.0
Maluku-Irian J aya 291 468 60.8 215 321 49.3 506 789 55.9
Indonesia 16,235 18,115 11.6 8,223 9,331 13.5 24,458 27,446 12.2
Source: Agricultural Census 1983 and 2003, BPS Statistics Indonesia

b) Land Tenure
Nearly 50% of farm households control less than 0.5 ha of land per household and only 22%
control 0.5 1.0 ha of land per household. Farm households control two to three ha of land
only at about 7%. Table 6.27 below shows the Land Holding Farm Household (LHFH) by
Size of Land Controlled in 1983 and 1993.
Table 6.27. LHFH by area of land controlled in 1983 and 1993
1983 1993 Size of Area
Controlled (ha) Total LHFH % Total LHFH %
<0,05 1,271,067 6.52 646,372 3.28
0,05-0,09 1,167,370 5.99 948,296 4.81
0,10-0,24 3,155,471 16.18 3,570,371 18.11
0,25-0,49 3,938,317 20.19 4,417,121 22.41
< 0,5 9,532,225 48.90 9,582,160 48.60
0,50-0,74 2,797,812 14.35 2,934,875 14.89
0,75-0,99 1,445,451 7.41 1,438,870 7.30
0,5 0,99 4,243,263 21.80 4,373,745 22.20
1,00-1,99 3,297,609 16.91 3,312,218 16.80
2,00-2,99 1,294,048 6.64 1,457,561 7.39
>3,00 1,134,312 5.82 988,122 5.01
Total 19,501,457 100.00 19,713,806 100.00
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Average land controlled by land holding farm household is only 0.83 ha. The largest is
Kalimantan Island at 1.98 ha, followed by Sumatra at 1.24 ha, and Sulawesi at 1.21 ha. Table
6.28 shows the average land controlled by Land Holding Farm Household.

Table 6.28. Average land controlled by land holding farm household by main islands in 1993
No. Province
Land
Tenure
(x 10
-6
ha)
Number
of LHFH
(x 10
-6
)
Average Land
Controlled
(ha/RPPL)
1 Sumatra 5.885 4.765 1.24
2 J ava 5.461 1.563 0.47
3 Bali & Nusa Tenggara 1.150 1.323 0.87
4 Kalimantan 2.393 1.207 1.98
5 Sulawesi 2.013 1.664 1.21
6 Maluku dan Irian J aya 580 509 1.14
Indonesia 17.482 21.031 0.83
Source: Agricultural Census 1993, BPS Statistics Indonesia

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Table 6.26. Food crops farm household by province in 1983 and 2003
(x 10
-3
)
Paddy & Secondary
Crops
Horticulture Total
Province
1983 2003 1983 2003 1983 2003
Aceh 314 N.A 88 N.A 402 N.A
North Sumatra 842 822 255 414 1,097 1,236
West Sumatra 429 467 173 243 602 710
Riau 160 158 113 198 273 356
J ambi 185 179 91 140 276 319
South Sumatra 437 541 186 363 623 904
Bengkulu 106 134 39 87 145 221
Lampung 638 779 236 457 874 1,236
Sumatra 3,111 3,080 1,181 1,902 4,292 4,982
J akarta 7 7 11 11 18 18
West J ava 3,082 3,148 1,422 1,538 4,504 4,686
Central J ava 3,014 3,446 1,856 1,607 4,870 5,053
Yogyakarta 370 391 285 159 655 550
East J ava 3,289 3,767 1,618 1,764 4,907 5,531
Java 9,762 10,759 5,192 5,079 14,954 15,838
Bali 262 253 196 217 458 470
West Nusa Tenggara 328 417 130 188 458 605
East Nusa Tenggara 442 664 297 342 739 1.006
Bali and Nusa Tenggara 1,032 1,334 623 747 1,655 2,081
West Kalimantan 344 456 161 196 505 652
Central Kalimantan 126 198 66 129 192 327
South Kalimantan 286 349 106 154 392 503
East Kalimantan 90 128 66 106 156 234
Kalimantan 846 1,131 399 585 1,245 1,716
North Sulawesi 246 261 116 156 362 417
Central Sulawesi 157 167 97 95 254 262
South Sulawesi 673 774 325 352 998 1,126
South-east Sulawesi 117 141 75 94 192 235
Sulawesi 1,193 1,343 613 697 1,806 2,040
Maluku 150 194 88 152 238 346
Irian J aya 141 274 127 169 268 443
Maluku and Irian Jaya 291 468 215 321 506 789
Indonesia 16,235 18,115 8,223 9,331 24,458 27,446

6.2.2. EXPANSION AND RECLAMATION OF IRRIGATED AGRICULTURAL LAND
Indonesia has 34.5 million ha of swamp land both inland swamp or fresh water swamp and
coastal swamp or tidal swamp. Tidal swamps often penetrate the river over hundred of
kilometers upstream as the case on the Islands of Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Irian J aya
(Papua).
The inland and coastal swamps of Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Irian J aya have been sparsely
populated. The activities of the peoples were initially limited to fishing and gathering of forest
products for domestic consumption. In Irian J aya, extensive sago palm areas are found in
swamp areas, which provide staple food for local inhabitants. Agriculture in the swampland of
Sumatra and Kalimantan were initially started around 1925, at the first stage by the local
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people in the coastal swamp areas and later by spontaneous migrants. They settled on the tidal
river banks as well as along the water channel for log transportation and navigation. These
settlers cleared the swamp forest and started cultivating rice and coconuts. The development
was gradually extended into the swamp center by the construction of drainage networks.
Today, about 2.4 million hectares of swamp land had been developed spontaneously by means
of this principle.
Planned swamp reclamation in Indonesia began on a modest scale in 1939, particularly in
Sumatra and Kalimantan. Recognizing the potential of swamp development, the government
began to develop tidal swamp in 1964 and initiated large scale reclamation of swamp land
early in 1970s.
In 1984 a nationwide inventory was completed to identify potentials of low cost agricultural
development. The study was carried out extensively within a total area over 24.6 million ha of
coastal lands and near coastal swamp land in Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Irian J aya. The study
revealed that about 3.7 million hectares of swamp land has been reclaimed. Another 5.1
million hectares of coastal and the vicinity of coastal swamp lands would be suitable for
agriculture development by means of low cost and simple technology approach. In addition,
the lowland swamps covering an area over 15 million hectares may be made suitable for
agricultural purposes, but with higher investment and sophisticated infrastructures.
During the First Five Year Development (PELITA-I) 19691974 the government established
the Project Unit for Tidal Swamp Reclamation under the control of the Ministry of Public
Works. The swamp areas reclaimed by the central and provincial governments increased
sharply from 35,000 hectares in 1972 to a total of about 1.3 Million hectares in 1995 (see
Table 6.29.)

Table 6.29. Development of swamp area in 1995 (in ha)
Province Tidal Swamp In-land Swamp Total
Aceh 0 4,600 4,600
North Sumatra 0 82,510 82,510
West Sumatra 0 19,540 19,540
Riau 142,310 10,410 162,720
J ambi 73,690 13,050 86,740
South Sumatra 359,250 112,200 471,450
Bengkulu 0 9,620 9,620
Lampung 30,000 27,550 57,550
West Kalimantan 93,700 35,550 129,250
Central Kalimantan 67,930 36,100 104,030
South Kalimantan 58,320 113,900 172,220
East Kalimantan 0 6,640 6,640
Sulawesi 0 2,000 2,000
Irian J aya 0 6,000 6,000
Total 835,200 479,670 1,314,870
Source: Swamp Development in Indonesia, Ministry of Public Works

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Private sector participated in swamp development since 1984: Under the participatory
approximately 0.2 million ha has been developed by private sector for estate crops, mainly
oil-palm, hybrid coconut and pineapple. Many of these estates were implemented together
with small-holder farmers either under the Project Management Unit (PMUs) or Nucleus
Estate and Small Holder (PIR-Trans) Schemes.
During the period of PELITA-II and III (19691979) main emphasis was given on increasing
paddy production to support self-sufficiency in this commodity. Rehabilitation and expansion
of swamp schemes were supported by smallholder rice intensification programs aimed at
increasing the use of modern inputs and improving productivity.
Within the PELITA-III and IV (19791989) the development emphasis widened to include
intensification programs for maize and soybean. Due to the fall of oil prices, the government
decided to accelerate development of non-oil sectors and of export oriented commodity.
Within PELITA-IV (19841989) private sector has been actively involved in tree crops
plantation (oil-palm and hybrid coconut) business in tidal swamp areas.
In PELITA-V (19891994) the strategy of swamp reclamation focused on the up-grading of
hydraulic infrastructures and promoting agricultural development through introduction of new
technological packages and strengthening of agricultural support services.
During PELITA-VI (1994-1999), swamp development reflected the water resources sector
policy, rising of quantity, quality, and diversity of agricultural products. During this period
more intensive efforts have been focus on the promotion of efficient and effective utilization
of irrigation and drainage facilities of lowland areas through:
i) improving of O&M system;
ii) increasing farmer participation in O&M;
iii) developing effective Water User Organizations (WUAs); and
iv) involving of village cooperatives (KUDs) in managing local water resources.

The above-mentioned activities were concentrated in the provinces of West Sumatra, Riau,
J ambi, South Sumatra, Lampung, West, Central, and South Kalimantan. The underlying
swampland development projects presently under the construction or being under the
technical consideration include:
i) development of oil-palm and coconut estates in South Sumatra, J ambi, and Riau; and
ii) construction of hydraulic infrastructure for shrimp ponds in Aceh and Central Sulawesi and
Central Kalimantan Provinces.

6.2.3. CLASSIFICATION AND UNIT OF IRRIGATION SYSTEM MEASUREMENT
a) Classification of Irrigated Agricultural Land
Irrigated agricultural lands are divided into three categories:
1) Technical irrigation system
The category of irrigation system in which the supply of water is fully measured and
regulated. This system is mostly equipped with water measurement devices, regulator gates,
and has the irrigation supply canals separated with drainage canals. The system consists of
main canals and secondary canals (referred to as main system), and tertiary canals systems.
Under this category, Operation and Maintenance (O&M) of the main systems are conducted
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by the government while the O&M of the tertiary systems are the responsibility of the farmers
themselves.
2) Semi-technical irrigation system
The category of irrigation system in which the supply of water is of water is technically
regulated but not measured. The water supply for this category is measured and regulated only
at the intake structures at the main canals. Along the downstream of the intake structures
water is technically regulated but not measured. In this category the system is equipped with
regulator gates and not provided with discharge measurement devices. Similar to the technical
irrigation system, this semi-technical irrigation category also consisted of main system and
tertiary systems. The O&M of main system (large scale irrigation systems) is conducted by
the government while O&M of tertiary systems is the responsibility of the farmers themselves
to carry out. The development/constructions of small scale irrigation schemes are only for
independent command area having not more than 500 ha. Construction implementation is
conducted by the government and subsequently handed-over the scheme to the farmers
(through WUAs) for subsequent O&M. The latter category of irrigation hand-over is
popularly known as the turn-over of small scale irrigation systems.
3) Simple irrigation system (also known as village irrigation system)
The category of irrigation system in which the supply of water is measured and not regulated.
In most of the systems under this category, irrigation canals are also functioned as drainage
canals. The systems are mostly constructed, operated, and maintained by the farmers
themselves. The government provides the necessary assistances for construction and/or
rehabilitation. It is important to mention that in some areas, the cropping intensity of these
simple irrigation systems are often more than 200%.
In addition to above-mentioned three categories, there are some other irrigated agricultural
land which are not included in the former category, these are:
i) Rain-fed paddy field. The category of paddy field in which the water requirement is
merely dependent upon rainfall. In some area with high rainfall, cropping intensity of
this category not rarely more than 100%;
ii) Tidal paddy field. The category of paddy field in which the supply of water comes from
rivers affected by tidal fluctuations; and
iii) Others. The category of paddy field in which the supply of water is merely dependent
from the vicinity area of the valley, polder, or in the swampy areas.
The total area of paddy field in Indonesia in 2002 was noted at approximately at 7.8 million
hectares as described in Table 6.30 hereunder:

Table 6.30. Paddy field by classification of irrigation in Indonesia, 2002
Classification Area (ha) % of Total
Technical irrigation system 2,209,200 28.51
Semi-technical irrigation system 988,821 12.78
Simple irrigation system 1,586,953 20.48
Rain-fed 2,015,349 26.01
Tidal Paddy field 615,201 7.94
Others 333,324 4.30
Total 7,748,848 100.00
Source: Agricultural Census 2002, BPS Statistics of Indonesia.
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The above figures show that the largest paddy field is technical irrigation system amounting
to more than two million ha or 28.5%, followed by rain-fed paddy field at about 26%, and
simple irrigation system at about 20.5% of the overall irrigation command area.
In terms of distribution by geographic location, J ava Island has the largest irrigated rice field
with a total area of more than 3.3 million ha, followed by Sumatra Island at about 2.1 million
ha, Kalimantan Island at about 1.0 Million ha, Sulawesi Island at about 0.9 million ha, and
Nusa Tenggara including Bali at about 0.42 million ha. See Table 6.31 for further details, as
presented below:
Table 6.31a. Area of paddy field in main islands by category of irrigation, 2002
Sumatra J ava Bali-WNT Kalimantan Sulawesi Total
Category
Area % Area % Area % Area % Area % Area %
Technical 321,234 4.2 1,516,252 19.6 84,632 1.1 24,938 0.3262,144 3.4 2,209,20028.5
Semi-
Technical
257,771 3.3 402,987 5.2 173,364 2.2 33,297 0.4121,402 1,6 988,82112.8
Simple 455,235 5.9 615,380 7.9 92,070 1.2 189,326 2.4234,933 3.0 1,586,95320.5
Rainfed 50,940 7.1 777,029 10.0 68,380 0.9 339,705 4.4297,295 3.6 2,015,34926.0
Tidal 288,661 3.7 776 0.01 29 0.0 323,556 4.2 2,179 0.0 615,201 7.9
Others 230,621 3.0 4,144 0.05 72 0.0 97,603 1.3 884 0.0 333,324 4.3
Total 2,104,462 27.2 3,316,577 42.8 418,547 5.4 1,008,425 13.0900,837 11.6 7,748,848 100
Source: After Statistics of Indonesia 2003.

Table 6.31b at the end of this section shows the area of paddy field by province in 2002.

b) Measurement Unit of Irrigation System
In terms of physical characteristic, the magnitudes of measurement units of irrigation
schemes, for practical reasons are divided into three main categories. These are:
i) Large scale irrigation system; which is an individual irrigation scheme with a command
area more than 25,000 ha;
ii) Medium scale irrigation system; which is an individual irrigation scheme with a
command area between 5,000 to 25,000 ha; and
iii) Small scale irrigation system; which is an individual irrigation scheme with a command
area of less than 5,000 ha.
In most cases, both the large and medium scale irrigation schemes, with some exceptions, fall
into the technical irrigation category, while part of medium scale and small scale schemes
could be the combination of technical, semi-technical, or simple irrigation category. The
above-mentioned units, however, for practical reason, are not following the terms of small
scale category as are referred to in the Turn-over Small Scale Project. In the latter
mentioned project category, the small scheme referred to the individual irrigation scheme
having not more than 500 ha of command area. However, under the newly enacted Law
No.7/2004, for the purpose of determining the measurement unit for management of irrigation
scheme the following categorizations are applied:
i) The scheme larger than 3,000 ha operated by the government;
ii) The scheme larger than 1,000 ha and less than 3,000 ha operated by provincial
government; and
iii) The scheme less than 1,000 ha operated by local government (Regency/Municipality).
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Table 6.31b. Area of paddy field by category of irrigation in each province, (in ha), 2002
Province Technical
Semi-
technical
Simple Rainfed Tidal Others
*)
Total
Aceh 57,996 55,899 83,331 89,540 525 1,283 288,574
North Sumatra 70,360 76,222 120,083 149,547 25,927 29,110 471,249
West Sumatra 37,149 59,130 94,917 53,130 - 80 244,406
Riau - 7,978 28,663 43,461 28,521 3,312 111,935
J ambi 3,772 9,087 25,426 16,242 53,090 20,452 128,069
South Sumatra 28,004 10,800 41,714 84,530 147,040 148,967 461,055
Bengkulu 21,779 18,144 18,297 19,174 1,556 9,412 88,362
Lampung 102,174 20,511 42,804 95,316 32,002 18,005 310,812
Total Sumatra 321,234 257,771 455,235 550,940 288,661 230,621 2,104,462
J akarta 860 656 995 355 - - 2,866
West J ava 435,828 141,282 293,457 250,531 15 1,528 1,122,641
Central J ava 390,147 124,532 195,072 273,973 313 1,773 985,810
Yogyakarta 18,490 23,481 6,674 9,608 - - 58,253
East J ava 670,927 113,036 119,191 242,562 448 843 1,147,007
Total Java 1,516,252 402,987 615,389 777,029 776 4,144 3,316,577
Bali 2,882 64,871 13,678 801 - 6 82,238
West Nusa Tenggara 66,826 80,686 37,126 33,839 19 - 218,496
East Nusa Tenggara 14,924 27,807 41,266 33,740 10 66 117,813
Total Nusa Tenggara 84,632 173,364 92,070 68,380 29 72 418,547
West Kalimantan - 9,573 82,635 108,212 94,481 4,480 299,381
Central Kalimantan 5,403 14,111 53,007 40,353 54,163 1,680 168,717
South Kalimantan 19,455 4,590 29,887 118,373 157,118 90,954 420,377
East Kalimantan 80 5,023 23,797 72,767 17,794 489 119,950
Total Kalimantan 24,938 33,297 189,326 339,705 323,556 97,603 1,008,425
North Sulawesi 27,707 21,994 19,243 17,254 50 50 86,298
Central Sulawesi 43,396 29,894 36,481 10,095 681 413 120,960
South Sulawesi 168,782 54,803 156,393 247,191 1,250 100 628,519
South-east Sulawesi 22,259 14,711 22,816 4,755 198 321 65,060
Total Sulawesi 262,144 121,402 234,933 279,295 2,179 884 900,837
Maluku (NA)
Irian J aya (NA)
INDONESIA
2,209,200 988,821 1,586,953 2,015,349 615,201 333,324 7,748,848
Source: Agricultural Survey 2002, BPS Statistics Indonesia.

6.2.4. LAND TAX SYSTEM
a) Period from 1945 to 1959
This period also termed as the period after the countrys independence to the period where the
new regulation on Agricultural Tax and Regional Development Tax were applied.
After proclaiming the countrys independence on August 17, 1945 the government took over
the Gunseikanbu Zaimubu from the J apanese Ruler and transformed it to the Department of
Finance. The government also took the over Zaimubu Shuzeika and transformed it to Land
Tax Service as the official executing agency of Land Tax in J ava and Madura Islands.
Within the J apanese occupation period, Hindia Belanda (Indonesia) was divided into three
regions (see Section 5.5.). The authority of Land Tax Services was only for J ava and Madura
Islands. In 1947, when the Dutch Military Action (known as the First Military Action)
reoccupied some territories of the Republic of Indonesia, the Colonial Government put the
Land Tax Services into effect. The head office of the Land Tax Services was in J akarta with
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some branches within J ava and Madura Islands. In Eastern part of Indonesia, the Land Tax
Services operated under the authority of the East Indonesia State that has the head office in
Makassar (South Sulawesi).
While fighting for freedom, the Government of the Republic of Indonesia, in 1948 prepared a
draft Regulation for replacing the Land Tax with Income Tax. The draft was discussed in Solo
at the middle of December 1948 involving high officials of the related Ministries including
the Ministry of Home Affairs. Unfortunately, on December 19, 1948 the Dutch Military
Action (known as the Second Military Action) attacked Solo. And hence, the said discussion
was failed to reach any conclusion.
Following the military action, for tax regulation within regions under the authority of Dutch
Government, a new land tax regulation was released, i.e. Regulation No. 314 of 1948 as the
improvement of the former Regulation No. 240 of 1939. Under the new regulation, the land
tax for paddy field increased from 20% to 100%. However, this new regulation was only valid
for J ava Island excluded West J ava Territory (at that time known as the Pasundan State).
On J uly 6, 1949 the Government of the Republic of Indonesia reorganized all institutions that
were previously enforced by Colonial Ruler. In this context, the Land Tax Services was
temporarily incorporated in the Tax Services under the Department of Finance. At the same
year, the government recognized the 1948 Draft Regulation regarding Substitution of Land
Tax into Income Tax. This regulation was known as the Law No. 1 of 1949. This was the first
Law, which legalized by the Government of Indonesia. The draft of this regulation was firstly
discussed in Solo on December 1948. The main consideration behind the replacement of the
Land Tax with Income Tax was based on assumption that the product output of land in any
form shall be regarded as the income derived from other sectors.
As the result of the Round Table Conference which was held in the Netherlands from
August to November 1949, the two institutions dealing with land tax were incorporated as
Land Tax Services of the Republic of Indonesias Union. Those two institutions were Land
Tax Services under the Government of Indonesia and De Dienst Der Landelijke Inkomsten
under the Dutch Government.
In 1951 a new regulation on Land Tax i.e. Law No. 14 of 1951 was enacted. This Law
substituted the Law No. 1 of 1949 and acknowledged that all Laws, Regulations, Federal
Laws and the likes were revoked. At the subsequent implementation of the said Law, the
actual application was encountered by a difficulty to convert land tax data into income tax
data. During which, a number of efforts were conducted among others, to create a coefficient
for converting land value into income basis, and establishment of an institution dealing with
registration of agricultural and tax of land products. Nevertheless, application of this Law was
not successful due to some institutional constraints.
In attempt to resolve the underlying constraints, in 1951 the government established the State
Ministry of Agrarian, but the duties of this State Ministry were decided after a long
discussions, given the fact that there were several institutions dealing with land and land
taxes.
Following the previous attempts, in 1956 the government established Ministry of Agrarian
and Land Registration Offices, which was operated under the Ministry of J ustice, which was
later on moved to the Ministry of Agrarian. The Land Registration Office (dealing with Land
Tax) under the Ministry of Finance was also incorporated under the Ministry of Agrarian.
Eventually, the Land Registration Office dealing with land tax (under coordination of
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Ministry of Finance) was excluded from the Ministry of Agrarian following a motion from the
Parliament.
For improvement of the underlying constraints, in 1959 the government prepared a Regulation
on Agrarian Tax which was approved by the Parliament as Draft Regulation on Agrarian Tax.
Unfortunately, this draft was never had been legalized by the Parliament due to uncertainties
of local political conditions.
b) Period from 1959 to 1985
This period also referred to as the period of tax of agricultural products and Regional
Development Tax.
At the initial stage, after the failure to replace the Land Tax with Income Tax, the government
released a new regulation on agricultural Products Tax named Law of Agricultural Products
Tax (PHB) in1959. This Law applied not only for land products but also for land as a
property. This was the first Land Tax Law released by the Government of Indonesia. Under
this law, the PHB to be paid at 5% of the average of net annual products of land and subject to
possible increased to 10% upon request from the Provinces or Regencies. In 1960 the
government released a so called Principal Law of Agrarian, which was expanded the objects
of tax beyond the previously known land tax regulation.
Within two years after enactment, this Law had widely applied within the entire territory of
the Republic of Indonesia. The revenues earned from this tax were fully collected and
managed by the government at the Regency level to be used for regional development in
agrarian sector. The tax collectors were Head of Villages but since 1965, it was replaced by a
team consisted of three elements, i.e. civil servants, village administrator and tax officials.
The collectors had the privilege for collection fees at an amount of 10% of the collected taxes.
In 1965 the PHB was further transformed into Regional Development Tax (IPEDA); covered
not only land and products in the rural areas but also in urban areas, and the implementation is
subject to the appropriate control of the Directorate General of Taxes, Ministry of Finances.
c) Period from 1986 till Present
This period also referred to as the period of Land and Building Tax.
In 1985 the government released a Law on Tax related to land and building so called Land
and Building Tax (PBB) through Law No. 12 of 1985.
The tax objects of PBB applied to the entire land surfaces, which is regarded as the real
property based on the market values of the respective tax objects. It is understandable that
market values of irrigated agricultural land were mostly higher than the non irrigated
agricultural lands, and therefore irrigated land was subject to higher land tax relative to the
non irrigated lands. The tax that has to be paid by each citizen was at about 0.5% of the net
assessment value of land and building.
As prescribed by the Law No. 12 of 1985, the tax payment shall be made through banks, post
offices and other financial institutions, which subject to prior approval by the Ministry of
Finance. Provincial and Local Autonomous Governments are responsible to collect tax of
urban and rural areas, while the Central Government is responsible to collect taxes for
commercial agriculture estates, forestry, and mining.
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6.3. DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF IRRIGATION
6.3.1. DEVELOPMENT OF IRRIGATION SCHEMES
During the Pacific War and few years after the countrys independence between 1940 and
1950, there had been very few attentions given to the appropriate operation and maintenance
(O&M), as well as to the development of new irrigation schemes. As the result, almost all of
the existing irrigation schemes on J ava as well as on the Outer Islands were under the severely
deteriorating condition. The absence of appropriate maintenance was further experienced till
early 1969, at the time the government initiated a comprehensive development program
known as the Five-Year Development Implementation (PELITA). At the time before
implementation of the comprehensive development program, the common condition of
irrigation canals and its structures were estimated to be in the range of 40 to 60% of their full
operational function. In the mean time, the rapid escalation of population parallel with the
sharp decline of food production had forced the government to pursue every effort to catch up
the increasing demands of rice production as the staple diet of the people.
In attempting to catch up the escalating demands for rice production, the Government of
Indonesia in fact, had earlier been undertaking some irrigation development efforts through
the establishment of a number of large irrigation and water resources projects. These projects
were undertaken by mobilizing the existing technical, financial as well as human resources
potentials. Among the development projects which were executed under the above program,
the following water resources and irrigation projects gave the most significant highlights:
1) Lakbok Utara Irrigation Scheme in Ciamis Regency, West J ava with a total
command area of about 7,000 ha;
2) Darma Reservoir in West J ava Province with an effective storage capacity of 42
million m
3
and with a total irrigation command area of 22,000 ha of paddy field;
3) Jatiluhur Irrigation Project in West J ava, which was constructed by integrating eight
rivers into one multipurpose system. This multipurpose water resources and irrigation
projects has a total command area of about 240,000 ha, and considered to be the largest
single scheme irrigation work in Indonesia. Water source for of irrigation in this system is
diverted from eight integrated rivers systems controlled by J atiluhur Reservoir on the
River Citarum, the largest amongst the said eight rivers. Construction of J atiluhur
Reservoir was carried out following the development of its related irrigation schemes and
was only managed to complete in 1967 (see the supplement paper entitled J atiluhur
Multipurpose Reservoir;
4) Bekasi Weir, in West J ava was also constructed during the period having its water
supplied for the Tarum Barat main canal with a total command area of 17,300 ha within
the administrative territory of North Bekasi area;
5) Mataram Canal in Yogyakarta Special Territory was also constructed with the main
purpose for inter-basin water transfer from the Progo River to the Opak River, having its
commanding area located between the two major rivers. This, in fact has subsequently
been noted as the first inter basin water transfer in the history of water resources and
irrigation development in Indonesia;
6) Cacaban Dam in Central J ava;
7) Tidal Irrigation Development and management in Sumatra and Kalimantan;
8) Kali Brantas River Basin Development, started with the construction of Selorejo Dam,
Karang Kates Dam, Lohor Dam, which located in the East J ava province; and
9) Tulung Agung Selatan Flood Control in East J ava Province.
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During the above mentioned period, there were two departments dealing with irrigation.
These were: i) Department of Public Irrigation, under the Compartment of Public Works,
dealing with water resources and main irrigation systems; and ii) Department of People
Irrigation under the Compartment of Agriculture, dealing with simple and village irrigation
systems.
In an effort to resolve the shortage of rice production, the government since 1963/64s fiscal
year had been promoted the so called BIMAS and INMAS Programs as described in Section
6.1.3., particularly the area that had been provided with stable irrigation infrastructures. In
line with this endeavor, a number of irrigation improvement programs had been implemented
under the government sponsored project. This include: i) rehabilitation and up-grading
programs of the existing irrigation schemes; ii) extension as well as upgrading of the already
existed irrigation schemes; and iii) improvement of irrigation management.
During the First Five-Year Development Implementation between 1969 and 1974 Irrigation
Rehabilitation Programs, including up-grading, extension, and improvement of irrigation
management were placed at the top most of development priority. In complementary with
these programs, the government also organized a special program for development of new
large scale irrigation schemes to be implemented at the subsequent PELITAs. In this regard,
development of new irrigation schemes was prioritized to the construction of small scale as
well as simple irrigation schemes having a special approach as quick yielding irrigation
development program.
For implementation of the quick yielding program, there were four major selection criteria
applied for determining the development priority: (i) the irrigation command area should not
be more than 500 ha, except with special conditions; (ii) the physical characteristic of the
scheme should be supported with appropriate topographical and geological condition, as well
as appropriate water resources in such a way that the construction implementation would be
carried out without too sophisticated technology; (iii) the construction implementation must
be carried out in stages, initially with simple but functional structures, and subject to gradual
upgrading into semi-technical or fully technical irrigation system; and (iv) paddy fields in
terms of upland or rainfed had previously applied in the area.
Within the subsequent PELITA-II (1974-1979), most of the large scale irrigation systems
have already been included in the irrigation rehabilitation program. During this development
period, irrigation rehabilitation program had been incorporated with up-grading of the existing
canals, structures, as well as the related appurtenances to meet the previously intended
structural functions. Parallel with the underlying irrigation rehabilitation program, some
preparatory stages for subsequent new large scale irrigation as well as for lowland
development projects were also completed. By the last year of the second PELITA period,
several construction implementations of new irrigation schemes and lowland developments
were initiated. For providing substantial support to the small land-holding farmers, during the
initial stage of physical construction of irrigation schemes the government granted special
assistants for tertiary irrigation infrastructural development, which previously under the
responsibility of the farmers themselves.
After the consistent implementation of irrigation rehabilitation within the previous
development phases, during the follow-up PELITA-III (1979 1984), there were practically
only minor rehabilitation works with some up-grading and remodeling works were
undertaken, as well as extension of irrigation command areas where possible. Under the term
of PELITA-III, the physical infrastructural development addressed the continuation of the
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large scale irrigation schemes as well as swamplands development, which were started in
PELITA-II. To give full support to the farmer, during this development period, constructions
of tertiary irrigation systems were taken over by the government, in addition to the previous
technical supports and assistances.
In connection with the overall implementation, summing up the First Long Term
Development Program, the activities within the PELITA-IV (19841989) and PELITA V
(19891994) were given special priority for maintaining the consistency of development
implementation for finalizing the programs which were initiated and implemented during
PELITA-III. Those were mostly consisted of rehabilitation (with up-grading and remodeling),
development of new large water resources and irrigation schemes, swamp development, and
construction of tertiary irrigation networks infrastructures. In addition to the above
development implementation Within PELITA-V, a larger scope of lowlands development
was carried out in comparison with the previous scope of lowlands development conducted
in PELITA-IV.
For further details of the overall picture of the development implementation, targets and
achievements of water resources and irrigation developments within PELITA-I through
PELITA-V (1969 1994), see the following Table 6.32.

Table 6.32. Target and achievement of irrigation development
19691994 (in ha)
Activity
PELITA-I
1969-1974
PELITA-II
1974-1979
PELITA-III
1979-1984
PELITA IV
1984-1989
PELITA-V
1989-1994
Achievement
Rehabilitation and
improvement
936,073 527,840 349,651 401,370 334,300 2,549,234
Extension and new
development
191,246 325,942 325,942 218,451 500,000 1,672,910
Tertiary Development - - 1,680,573 262,152 - 1,940,000
River Improvement Works 289,068 434,523 587,100 442,900 450,000
450,000
to 500,000
*)

Other Irrigation
Development
118,797 - - - - -
Swamp-land Development 179,202 456,189 191,971 450,000 946,159
Source: Mardjono Notodihardjo, Human Resources Development and Technology Transfer,
International Seminar on Water Resources for Sustainable Use in Indonesia, 1992.
*) Annual figure

a) Development of On-farm Blocks
Based on the development policy that had been placed since the colonial area, developments,
operation and maintenance of on-farm blocks or commonly referred to as development of
tertiary irrigation systems, had been the duty and responsibility of the farmers by themselves
through mutual coordination with the water users association. The main duties and
responsibilities referred to, including the development of: i) tertiary canals; ii) diversion
boxes; iii) appurtenance structures such as drop structures, culverts and the likes; iv)
quaternary canals; and v) drainage canals.
For the technical irrigation systems, in general, the government responsible to provide tertiary
off-takes equipped with a discharge measurement devices at about 50 meters downstream of
the tertiary off-take. The remaining works and operational activities such as construction,
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operation and maintenance are the responsibility of the farmers, right from the downstream of
the said water measurement devices to the farm block or paddy fields.
As stated previously, the farmers has been acquainted with the role sharing for development
and management of at-the-farm-level irrigated agricultural practices since the initial stage of
irrigation development during the Dutch Colonial Period. Therefore, such activities are
conducted by the farmer themselves without too much problems, except for the heavy
construction such as deep canal excavation or high embankment. In such a case, the
government usually provides the farmer with the necessary supports and technical assistances.
Similarly, village irrigation schemes were also become the responsibility of the farmers to
develop, operate, and maintain the entire village irrigation infrastructures, except with some
special initiatives in which, the nature of village irrigation infrastructures is so heavy to
shoulder by the farmers themselves. For the latter case, subject to case by case consideration,
the government may provides the farmer with external supports and assistances
After an extensive field practice, within the period of PELITA-II (19741979) the
government, through some evaluation studies, recognized the fact that the construction of
tertiary irrigation schemes was not meeting the required quality standard of construction
implementation. For this reason, the government took initiative to provide for technical
assistance in terms of construction of pilot schemes of tertiary irrigation networks
infrastructures.
Through a number of experiences in the difficulty of the farmer to implement tertiary
irrigation development policy, during the terms of PELITA-III (19791984), the government
took over the farmers obligation for construction of tertiary irrigation system due to inability
of the farmer to maintain proper quality of construction execution. Under the new policy, the
total areas of tertiary farm-blocks constructed by the government during the period were about
1.7 million ha. During which, the design and construction of tertiary systems were carried out
under the close collaboration with the farmers by means of participatory approach. In fact, the
farmers were actively involved in the overall stage of tertiary irrigation development
including the layout design of tertiary networks infrastructures, which should be approved by
the farmers prior to construction implementation. The involvement of the farmer in the
approval of the development planning, including the field drawing set up under the
coordination of village head. Under the same coordination and participatory procedures the
government also assisted the implementation of rehabilitation works of village irrigation
system.
Construction of tertiary blocks has been continued in PELITA-IV (19841989). Total area of
development of tertiary blocks was nearly two million hectares including the areas developed
within PELITA-III.

b) Construction of New Weirs and Rehabilitation of the Existing Weirs
In connection with the construction of new weirs or barrages as well as rehabilitation of the
existing weirs, which in practice were beyond the capacity of the farmers to implement, the
government had initiated construction of such infrastructures since 1950. Within the First
Long Term Development Implementation (PJ P-I) i.e. from 1969 to 1994 quite a large number
of medium and large scale of weirs, (to provide water for irrigation scheme with a total
command area of more than 5,000 hectares) had been constructed and rehabilitated. In
addition, hundreds of small weirs (having less than 5,000 hectares of command area) were
also constructed and rehabilitated.
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In Aceh Province (presently known as Nangro Aceh Darussalam Special Province, northern
Sumatra) for instance, a lot of medium and large scale weirs as well as barrages have been
constructed, among the notable one was the Krueng Aceh Weir with a total irrigation
command area of about 7,000 hectares, which was constructed in 1990 and completed in
1995.
In West Sumatra Province, however, given the irregular topographical condition, construction
of large scale irrigation system were only possible in fairly limited location alternatives.
Instead, only medium and small scale irrigation schemes were constructed in West Sumatra
Province. For example, the medium scale irrigation scheme of Batang Hari with a total
command area of 18,900 hectares, which in fact, located in two provinces, namely West
Sumatra at an area of 16,400 hectares and the rest of about 2,500 hectares in J ambi Province.
Construction execution of the Batanghari Weir was completed in 2002 while the construction
of irrigation networks and their related infrastructures, as well as land development have
currently been underway, and scheduled to be completed in 2006.
In West J ava Province, during the period between 1950 and 1969, there had been a number
weirs constructed and rehabilitated, among others: (i) Bekasi Weir and Cikarang Weir,
under the interconnected networks with the J atiluhur Irrigation Development Project located
in West J ava Province; (ii) Curug Weir, which obtains water from J atiluhur Reservoir and
subsequently divert it to West Tarum and to East Tarum Canals; (iii) Rentang Weir in West
J ava, which was constructed in 1981 to replace the old weir which was constructed in 1911
and was no longer performing its optimum operation capacity as was projected in the original
design. The total area covered by this weir is about 91,300 hectares, and hence constituted as
the largest irrigation system in Indonesia served by a single weir; (iv) Ciujung Weir in
Banten Province (formerly under the territory of West J ava Province) with a total command
area of about 31,000 hectares. Similar with the Rentang Weir, the reconstruction of Ciujung
Weir was also conducted to replace the old ones, which was no longer fully performing. The
reconstruction of this new weir was completed in 1999.
During the same period, in Central J ava Province, there were also some construction
implementations of new weirs to replace the old weirs. These among others were Manganti
Weir, Kali Wadas Weir, and Serayu Barrage. In addition, there were also a large number
of weirs rehabilitated within the same period. For further details please see Table 6.33.,
containing the newly constructed and rehabilitated weirs in Central J ava Province.

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Table 6.33. Construction of new weirs and rehabilitation of existing weir
in Central J ava
No. Name of Weir
Year of
Construction
Year of
Rehabilitation
Irrigation
Area (ha)
Remarks
1. Manganti 1972 - 1986 19,900 Barrage, with 6 gates, electric and
manually operated
2. Kaliwadas, 1872/1974 1988 7,600 1974 replaced old weir, 1988
rehabilitated
3. Serayu. 1939 1996 22,000 Barrage, Replaced the old weir
4. Danawarih 1911 1915, 1918, 1970
1988, 1991, 1997
12,700 Damaged almost every year due
to flood
5. Sokawati 1902 1974, 1998 9,000 !974 incl. rehabilitation of main
system.
6. Glapan 1852-1859 1969, 1987 16,300
7. Sedadi 1880 1969,1987 21,300
8. Nambo 1890 1921, 1971 14,000
9. Notog 1892 1971, 1975-1978 28,300 1990-1997 small repair
11. Bojong 1849 1969, 1975 6,500
12. Sengomerto 1883 1976 5,900 1969-1974 and 1975-1981
rehabilitation of irrigation system.

In East J ava there were also a number of construction and rehabilitation works of weirs
among others: (i) Lengkong Weir constructed between 1970 and 1975 (for replacing the old
weir, which was constructed between 1852 and 1857; (ii) Gunung Sari Weir, constructed
between 1982 and 1985; (iii) Mrican Barrage, constructed between 1989 and 1992; (iv)
J atiderek and Menturus Weirs, constructed between 1990 and 1992; (v) and Gubeng
Weir, constructed between 1990 and 1993. These barrages were reconstructed with some
modification to meet the underlying operational condition of water resources and irrigation
infrastructures.

c) Construction of New Dam/Reservoir
Concerning the construction execution of new dams and reservoir during the post
independence period between 1950 and to date (2004), there were a number of new dams
particularly large dams (with the capacity of more than 100 million m
3
) had been constructed,
of which, were mostly on J ava Island including among others: (i) J atiluhur Multi Purpose
Reservoir in West J ava Province. The construction implementation was conducted between
1960 and 1967 having a total storage capacity of 2,500 million m
3
, with the capacity of power
generation of 6 x 25 MW, and with a total irrigation command area of about 240,000 hectares.
In addition to the above functions, the J atiluhur reservoir also aimed to provide for raw water
supply for drinking water treatment plant of J akarta Metropolitan and the vicinity areas, as
well as municipality flushing for J akarta Metropolitan City. In conjunction with the multiple
reservoir operation, there are currently two large reservoirs located at the upstream site of
J atiluhur Reservoir, i.e. Saguling and Cirata reservoirs, which were aimed for hydro-power
generating. (ii) Mrica Reservoir in Central J ava was constructed between 1981 and 1989,
having a total capacity of 137 million m
3
. The main purposes of this reservoir are hydro
power generating at about 3 x 60 MW and irrigated agriculture with a total command area of
about 20,000 hectares; (iii) Wonogiri Reservoir in Central J ava, constructed between 1976
and 1981, having a total capacity of 440 million m
3
, with a total power generation of 32,600
MWH/year and with a total command area of about 23,200 hectares, and expected to be
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expanded to about 29,600 hectares of irrigation command area; (iv) Kedung Ombo Reservoir
in Central J ava, was constructed between 1985 and 1991, having a total storage capacity of
723 million m
3
, with a total power generation of 22.5 MW, as well as providing for irrigation
at a total command area of about 60,600 hectares; and (v) Selorejo, Karang Kates, and Lahor
Reservoirs, which are amongst the major reservoirs within the structural networks of the
Brantas River Basin Area of East J ava, that was constructed between 1950 and 1967.

6.3.2. MANAGEMENT OF IRRIGATION SCHEMES
a) Management Principle at the Central Government Level
Owing to the facts that during the period after the countrys independence between 1945 to
1959, most attentions were only concentrated to political issues as well as national
reunification, therefore, this period was renown as nations consolidation, during which,
acknowledgment of sovereignty from other countries had been the first priority of the
government. And hence, practically no significant attention had been paid by the government
for addressing economics as well as social issues, including maintenance of water resources
and irrigation infrastructures. In the mean time, within the period from 1945 to 1949 that was
the period from independence to avowal of sovereignty of Indonesia by the Dutch, had been
known as the period of independence war. The allied force, in attempting to maintain the
colonial government in Indonesia, established the so called Netherlands India Civil
Administration (NICA). The Independence war ended at 27
th
December 1949, immediately
after the Dutch Colonial Government acknowledged and handed over the countrys
sovereignty.
Given the importance of irrigation in the countrys development, on J uly 1947, Irrigation
Institution had been established in some areas in Indonesia under the coordination of the
Ministry of Public Works. However, at the initial stage, only limited development and
maintenance endeavors on irrigation infrastructures were managed to undertake by the
Ministry of Public works.
During the period from 1950 to 1960, at the central government level, Water Resources
Services (WRS), Ministry of Public Works and Electric Power had been established as an
institution dealing with water resources development. However, the management of water
resources at provincial level had been constituted as the responsibility of Regional Water
Resources Service (RWRS), operated under the Provincial Public Work Services.
After the establishment of WRS, the government had been managed to prepare a nationwide
program for maintenance, rehabilitation, and development of new irrigation systems. The
large projects described in Section 6.3.1 were initiated earlier at the beginning of this period,
but they were only completed in 1967.
Following the turbulence political condition of the country, earlier in 1964, the Ministry of
Public Works and Electric Power was transformed into the Compartment of Public Works,
which comprised of several Departments. Under this government compartment, the
Department of Public Irrigation was one of the departments assigned to deal with the main
irrigation systems. While the responsibility for development and management of tertiary
irrigation system/on-farm irrigation systems was entrusted to the Department of Peoples
Irrigation, operated under the Compartment of Agriculture. In compliance with the new
assignment, the Department of Public Irrigation had been managed to set up the basic
conception of comprehensive water resources development, which in turned has been adopted
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and implemented under the then established Directorate General of Water Resources
Development (DGWRD), and still currently being existed as the Directorate General of Water
Resources under the Ministry of Settlement and Regional Infrastructures as known today.
As the political reform process continued, in March 1966 the cabinet was further improved,
under which, the Compartment of Public Works and Power was then transformed into the
Department of Public Works and Power. However, on J uly 1966, the Cabinet was further
improved, and the Department of Public Irrigation was transformed into to Directorate
General of Public Irrigation.
At the subsequent period of the countrys development, earlier at the first year of the Five
Year Development Program (PELITA-I) in 1969, the new Cabinet was established, during
which, the Department of Public Works and Power was changed to the Department of Public
Works and Electric Power. Under this new Department, Directorate General of Public
Irrigation had been entrusted as the public institution dealing with water resources
development.
Upon the subsequent achievement of political stability, within the period of PELITA-I (1969-
1974), the government started to put adequate attention on rehabilitation, development,
operation, and maintenance of irrigation systems. During this period, the Provincial Irrigation
Service has been assigned to the implementation of small scale irrigation projects, while the
large scale irrigation projects were implemented under the Central Government project
through the Directorate General of Public Irrigation. Through the subsequent reform process,
during the period of PELITA-II (1974-1979), the Directorate General of Public Irrigation was
again transformed into Directorate General of Water Resources Development. Within the
period of PELITA-III till the end of PELITA-VI (1999) there was no change in institution
dealing with water resources development.

b) Irrigation Management at the Provincial Level
With regards to institutional development for irrigation management at the provincial as well
as at the Regency level till 1975, during which, irrigation management implementation had
been conducted in line with the 1927s Irrigation Management Policy, and in consistent with
the local government administration. Concerning the government administration, however,
in 1974 the government abolished the so called Resident Administration, which was a
government administration at the level between Province and Regency, through Law Number
4 of 1974. Irrigation Sections under the former Resident administration were transferred to
the so called Branch of Irrigation Services, which operated under the coordination and
technical guidance of the Provincial Public Works Services. In actual operation, the
organizational patterns adjusted to meet with circumstances of provincial government
administration.
For conducting the routine activities, the Provincial Public Works Services are generally
assisted by special institutions dealing with water resources development named Provincial
Irrigation Sub-Service (PRISS). In some particular provinces where the water resources
aspects are having quite large scope of works, the PRISSs organizational pattern had been
extended to independent Provincial Water Resources Services (PWRS).
Following the most recent Decentralization Policy, the Regional Office of the Ministry of
Public Works, which formally responsible as the institutional representative of the Ministry of
Public Works at the Provincial Level, has been transformed into Provincial Public Works
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Services, in which irrigation and water resources development and management entrusted to
the PRISSs, except several provinces that their organizational pattern had been extended to
independent Provincial Water Resources Services (PWRS).

c) Water Resources Management under the State-Owned Company
With regards to the Basic Philosophy of Water Resources Development prescribed by Article
No. 33, Sub Article 1 of the 1945s Indonesian Constitution, water and natural resources
contained within, is regarded as the public good bestowed by the Almighty God, and hence,
should be managed properly for the prosperity of the People. In accordance with this
philosophy, Indonesia has adopted the general water resources management philosophy of
one-river, one-plan, and one-integrated-management since 1950. Since then, this
philosophy has been applied for in J atiluhur Irrigation Project (see 4.3.1 and Supplement
5.2). To meet with the provision prescribed by the basic philosophy, the management of
J atiluhur Reservoir and irrigation system operate under responsibility of a public company
named J atiluhur Authority. The above-mentioned philosophy has also been applied in the
Brantas River Basin Development Project in East J ava Province, through a public company
named J asa Tirta Public Corporation, which was officially established in 1990.
At present, the two public corporations have been transformed into J asa Tirta-I and J asa Tirta-
II for J asa Tirta in East J awa Province and J atiluhur Authority in West J ava Province,
respectively.

d) Participatory Irrigation Management, Water User Association (WUA) and
Federation of WUA (WUAF)
1) Participatory Irrigation Management
Concerning the participatory irrigation management, as has been widely promoted within the
last decade, as a matter of fact, the philosophy has long been applied in Indonesia during the
ancient time, ever-since when the farmer initially recognized irrigation technique. Before
Colonial Era, the ancient farmers in Indonesia have already been well acquainted with the
development, operation and maintenance of irrigation infrastructures however simple it was
(see Supplement Paper concerning some examples of ancient irrigated agricultural heritages
in Indonesia). In West Sumatra for example, the farmers in one independent water users
association assigned two maintenance workers, at the beginning of the planting season, for
consistent implementation of irrigation water distribution and subsequently undertake routine
maintenance of irrigation facilities throughout the planting season. For this assignment, the
farmers mutually pay 100 kg of grain paddy per hectare to the maintenance workers. In Bali
Province and other places on J ava Island, the farmers have been implementing sustainable
self-reliance and self-governance in the management of irrigation schemes.
In an attempt to pursue nationwide participatory approach in irrigation management,
implementation of participation of irrigation users in financing the operation and maintenance
of the main systems has been applied since early 1970s. In this regard, the West J ava, Central
J ava, East J ava, and South Sulawesi provinces were amongst the provinces that had been
constituted some kind of irrigation service fee (in the form of contribution of farmers for
O&M costs) since early 1970s. Under this program, the collection of financial contribution
had been undertaken by the local government financial authority at the Regency level.
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For supporting financial allocation on appropriate O&M of irrigation infrastructures, the
government introduced a number of methods for mobilizing adequate financial sources in
addition to the budgetary support provided by the Central Government. Provision of Central
Government budget has been intended mainly for large scale irrigation schemes. While for the
small scale irrigation schemes (having an area of less than 500 hectares), the responsibility for
financing O&M activities had been previously entrusted to the farmers themselves through
coordination of the Water Users Association. This includes village irrigation system as well
as the previously turned over small scale irrigation schemes.
To cover the nationwide application of participatory irrigation management, the subsequent
implementation of Irrigation Service Fees (ISF) had been constituted since the middle of
1980s to a number of large scale irrigation schemes. However, the achievement was not
satisfactory due to a number of constrains, including among others of the non-effective
collecting mechanism, overlapping financial responsibility for O&M, as well as other non
conducive social and economic conditions of the farmers.
For resolving the underlying problems and constraints, the government constituted the Public
Declaration of Irrigation Management Policy Reform (DIMPR) on April 13, 1999. This
declaration was specially released by the government for improving the 1987s Irrigation
O&M policy as well as the Policy instrument for Irrigation Service Fees. In turned, the
DIMPR, followed by Presidential Instruction Number 3 of 1999 (INPRES No.3/1999), which
was officially enacted on April 26, 1999. The Presidential Instruction (INPRES-No.3/1999)
prescribed five principles of irrigation reform as follows: (i) Redefining irrigation institutions;
(ii) Empowering of WUAs; (iii) Transfer and joint management; (iv) Farmer-managed O&M
fees; and (v) Irrigation sustainability.
2) Water User Association (WUA) and Federation of WUA (WUAF)
The initiative of irrigation development in Indonesia was firstly introduced and practiced
amongst the farming community since the first century AD. At the early stage, the ancient
farmers at a particular community formed themselves in a group and organized themselves to
construct simple irrigation canals and intake structures. As the demands for appropriate O&M
of the developed irrigation scheme became increasing, the group continued to organize
themselves for conducting operation and maintenance of the developed irrigation scheme. As
the time went by, this early form of water user association (WUA) in Indonesia had been
developed through time with subsequent adjustment with the underlying condition from time
to time. As a matter of fact, some of the ancient heritages of water users association in
Indonesia are still practiced today with some adjustment with the underlying circumstances.
Amongst the most notable traditional water users association, which still in existence today
are: Subak in Bali, Raksabumi in West J ava, Ulu-ulu Desa in Central J ava, Ili-ili in East
J ava, Tuo Banda in West Sumatra, Panriahan Pamokkahan and Siauga Parjolo in North
Sumatra, Panitya Siring in Bengkulu, Malar in Sumbawa (West Nusa Tenggara), Tudang
Sipulung in South Sulawesi, Kejruen Blang in Aceh, and some others to mention. Most of
which are still practicing irrigation operation and maintenances techniques -- with some
adjustment -- the way they inherited them from their ancestors from generation to generation.
Approaching the post independence period, the establishment of water users association has
become an important issue for supporting appropriate operation and management of irrigation
scheme. For this reason, the formal organization of farmers was firstly established on J une
1950 in Surakarta (Solo) referred to Persatuan Air Surakarta (literally meant as Surakarta
Water Union), under the initiative of the of village heads in collaboration with informal
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leaders. Immediately after the establishment, Persatuan Air Surakarta (PAS) vastly spread
out to other places in Central J ava. Under the subsequent coordination of the PAS, almost all
of irrigation rehabilitation works on irrigation infrastructures in Solo, Central J ava, were
successfully carried out in 1967. Following this distinct achievement, the PAS, awarded by
the Governor of Central J ava with the Grand Prize on Best Irrigation Management Practices
in 1968. From this point in time, the Governor of Central J ava Province transformed the PAS
to the so called Dharma Tirta (literally meant as dedication to water) in recognition to the
outstanding performance demonstrated by the PAS.
Learning from experiences of the PAS, irrigation management techniques by the WUA, later
in the following years the basic approaches had been introduced to other provinces since
1969. Since then, the basic principle adhered to Dharma had been officially spread out to
other provinces in Indonesia. In addition, for accelerating the spread of Dharma Tirta concept
-- with the subsequent adjustment with local circumstances an intensive dissemination had
been undertaken through some pilot schemes under the immediate operational arrangement by
the Directorate General of Water Resources Development, Ministry of Public Works, since
1970. Subsequently, within the period between 1970 and 1974 a large number of water users
associations had been established in many provinces both in the Inner Islands and in The outer
Islands. To mention for few examples among others: Organisasi Petani Pemakai Air (OPPA)
in South Sulawesi Province; Himpunan Petani Pemakai Air (HIPPA) in East J ava Province;
and Mitra Cai in West J ava Province.
At present, after the nationwide implementation, the general name used for water user
association became Perkumpulan Petani Pemakai Air (P3A). Nevertheless, the traditional
name of the water users associations in some particular provinces are still using the previous
terms added to the P3A such as P3A Mitra Cai, P3A Subak etc., except in West Sumatra, the
local government incorporating the traditional Tuo Banda and P3A. Under the newly
merged water users association, the Former head of Tuo Banda included as the member of
management board of P3A.
For strengthening the WUAs in performing their active role toward sustainable irrigation
management, early in 1984, the government put into effect the Presidential Instruction No.
2/1984 concerning the empowerment of P3A. Following this Presidential Instruction, a
number of endeavors have been implemented for empowerment of P3As, including the
immediate support for organizational set-up and follow-up strengthening. Subsequently, in
1994 out of the total required number of 39,900 P3As, some 23,824 units have been
established, and out of these, 35% were still developing, and some 16,000 new P3As were
still need to be established.
In Central J ava Province, for example, the total number of P3As in 1991 was recorded to be
3,836 units and in 2000 increased to be 6,358 units. Out of these figure, some 812 unit were
still developing in 1991 and a total of 1,071 units in 2000. The improvement which were
required for organizational strengthening including among others, coordination mechanism,
internal working relationship, awareness campaign and so on. For general illustration, see
Figure 6.3.1, which shows the example of P3As Organization Structure in East J ava
(HIPPA).
In the larger irrigation scheme where a number of WUAs have been established, coordination
mechanism amongst the existing WUAs need to be constituted in order to allow them to
perform their activities through an effective integrated approach. To facilitate the demand for
coordination mechanism amongst the WUAs, a number of WUAs Federation (FP3A/WUAF)
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scattered over the large irrigation schemes has been established and operated since 1996 till
present. The main duties of the WUAFs are to facilitate and manage appropriate coordination
amongst irrigation systems which consist of some tertiary blocks of which, managed by a
number of independent WUA or P3A.
Amongst the already established and properly managed, the Tulinggula Irrigation Scheme in
North Sulawesi Province has been the notable pioneer in the establishment of WUAF. The
initial effort for establishment of WUA in this irrigation scheme was conducted in 1996 by
assigning nine WUAs to organize themselves, working together in performing the routine
operation and management of the scheme with a total command area of 1,129 ha. The scheme
has been determined as a pilot project, since the provision of turn-over of Small Scale
Irrigation Program prescribed the command area of individual scheme to be turn-over at the
maximum of 500 ha. Since then, the Tulinggula of 1,129 has been decided as a pilot project
for self managed irrigation system. Under this pilot project, the existence of WUA has been
kept as previous ones in terms of internal irrigation water management within the irrigation
block except the working coordination amongst the WUAs that has to be entrusted to the
newly established WUAF for the benefit of all. At present, the Tulinggula WUAF has been
performing well, while continuously making improvement along the process of strengthening
all aspects of irrigated agricultural undertakings, including financial aspects.
With regards to the financial aspects of the Tulinggula WUAF, the new member must
contribute membership fee at an amount of US$ 7.5 per person, which is regarded as the
initial working capital of the WUAF. In addition to that contribution, the members are
encouraged to deposit some of the money they have on optional basis, which regarded as
additional source of shared-capital. For conducting the physical repairs as well as
maintenance of irrigation infrastructures within the administrative area of the WUA, the
concerned WUA subject to the approval of WUAF Board of Management may undertake
part or all the repair works on contracting or sub-contracting basis.
Having this financial management in placed, within two years, between 1996 and 1998, some
152 WUAF members have been actively participating, with a total working capital of about
US$ 7,500 in cash, in addition to agricultural assets of two hand tractors and three grass
cutting machines, as well as rice drying facilities. For consistently maintaining the agricultural
machineries, the WUAF rented out the machineries to its members for individual use, giving
special membership renting rate. With all the well-coordinated activities, the Tulinggula
WUAF had been formally recognized by the local government through a decree signed by
Head of the Local District Government Administration in September 1997. See Figure 6.3.2.,
for further detailed information about typical organizational structure and mechanism of
WUAF.
The organization structure of WUAF as shown in Figure 6.3.2 shows that the WUAF has a
number of Sections for performing variety of different tasks. The O&M Section is the one
which responsible for conducting water distribution to the tertiary blocks, in addition to other
routine O&M of the system. For performing these tasks, the O&M Section is assisted by a
number of Juru Pintu (gate keeper), weir keeper, and some operation and maintenance
personnel.

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a) For one tertiary block in one village b) For more than one water sources in a village

c) For one or more tertiary network in some villages

Figure 6.3.1. Typical organization structure of WUAF (P3A HIPPA) in East Java
Field
Extension
Worker
Group
Sub Block
Farmers
Head of Village,
the Responsible
Person
Management Board:
Chairman, Secretary,
Treasurer, Assistants

Field
Extension
Worker
Head of Village,
the Responsible
Person
Group
Sub Block
Block of
Pump
Farmers
Tertiary
Block
Sub Block
Group
Management Board:
P3
P2
P1
Head of Village A
as the Responsible
Person
Farmers
Sub Block
Group

Group
Sub Block
Head of Village C
as Responsible
Person
Head of Village B
as the Responsible
Person
Management Board B:
Management Board C:
Blocks in Village A
Management Board A:
District Irrigation Committee
Blocks in Village B Blocks in Village C
Group
Sub Block
Village Boundary
Tertiary Canal
Village Boundary
Village A
Village B
Village C
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Figure 6.3.2. Typical organization structure of WUAF

In order to maintain consistent empowerment, the members of WUAF have to attend regular
training programs, which were designed for the all of the members, in accordance with their
respective tasks and responsibilities. The training program consists of operation and
maintenance techniques of irrigation infrastructures, including weirs and gates operation,
calibration of discharge measurement devices, cropping pattern and calendar, water delivery
schedule, as well as comparative observation the more advanced WUAFs.
3) Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Fund
In an attempt to maintain a consistent implementation of governance to cover the entire
administrative territories of the country, earlier in 1950 the government established Provincial
Government Administrations in Indonesia. In the subsequent attempt for administering and
managing the water resources, in 1953 the government enacted the Government Regulation
(PP) No. 18 of 1953 concerning the role of Provincial Government in Water Resources
Management. The Government Regulation prescribes that all matters concerning water
resources management are the responsibility of Provincial Government. However, it was
evident later that the Provincial Government were mostly having but limited capacity for
appropriate implementation of water resources management, among others, due to the
shortage of O&M budget as well as personnel, poor O&M techniques and facilities.
Considering the inability of the provincial government to provide for O&M budget and the
subsequent implementation, within the First Five-Year Development Program (PELITA-I,
between 1969 and 1974, the Central Government gave special support by concentrating
substantial efforts on rehabilitation works. For which, a large amount of Central Government
budget was allocated for rehabilitation works, while the budgetary allocations for O&M were
still put at the subsequent priority.
For continuous support on the provision of adequate budgetary support, during the period of
PELITA-II (1974-1979) the Central Government allocated further substantial amount of
budget in terms of subsidy to the provincial government for conducting appropriate O&M of
irrigation and water resources infrastructures. Upon the follow up implementation, it was
TREASSURER SECRETARY
Organization
Section
Weir
Keeper
Cooperative
Section
Contribution
Section
O&M
Section
Equipment
Section
Gate
Keeper-1
O&M
Staff-1
Gate
Keeper-2
O&M
Staff-2
CHAIRMAN
VICE CHAIRMAN
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recognized that the Central Government subsidy was still far from adequate due to the
escalating budget requirements of the Provincial Government for other sectors of
development. And hence, only limited O&M budgets were allocated for O&M of irrigation
and water resources infrastructures. As a result, both the quality and quantity of rehabilitated
infrastructures were hardly performed in accordance with the previously anticipated
performance, and in turned irrigation infrastructures was deteriorated remarkably fast.
Given the perpetually limited capacity of the Provincial Government to apply for appropriate
O&M with adequate budgetary support, earlier in 1984, at the beginning of PELITA-IV a
number of initiatives were carried out to support improving the quality performance of O&M
of irrigation and water resources infrastructures. These initiatives were: (i) Establishment of
quality standard of irrigation networks to implement appropriate and effective O&M; (ii)
Rehabilitation of the deteriorated schemes by means of special maintenance approach; (iii)
Establishment of standard, manual and procedures for effective O&M implementation; (iv)
Establishment of pilot schemes for implementation of efficient O&M these pilot schemes
known as advanced operation unit (AOU), which was limited to the individual irrigation
scheme with the command area between 5,000 and 6,000 hectares.
For maintaining the secure availability of budgetary allocation, the government gave a
number of alternatives for budget sources including: (i) Contribution of irrigation users; (ii)
Land and Building taxes; (iii) Allocation from Provincial Government revenues; (iv)
Subsidies from Central Government, particularly if items (i), (ii), and (iii) are inadequate.

6.4. OBSERVATION OF WATER RESOURCES METEOROLOGY
6.4.1. EARLY CONDITION OF HYDRO-CLIMATIC OBSERVATION IN INDONESIA
Earlier at the beginning of irrigation development in Indonesia, observation of water resources
meteorology was not received adequate attention. In fact, the early constructions of irrigation
and water resources infrastructures were only based on trial-and-error approach. During
which, no systematical observations nor data collections were undertaken. It was only after
the establishment of the Departemen BOW or the Department of Public Works in 1847, the
technical observation on water resources meteorology was initiated with special focus on
precipitation and river discharges. The water resources concern was only constrained to
rainfall measurement by installing rainfall stations in the areas where water resources and
irrigation development had prospective development potentials. Meanwhile, the other climatic
observations were only entrusted to immediate users of the data for planning, design and
management, such as for communication, transportation and agriculture.
Due to the absence of adequate technical staff for conducting meteorological observation, the
rainfall stations during the early stage were installed in the suitable sites near the public
offices or public schools, and keep the observation of the station with the school teachers to
take care.
As the planning and design technologies advancing through time, observation on water
resources meteorology also extended to other hydro-climatic parameters such as temperature,
sun-shine duration and intensity, air pressure, air humidity, wind velocity and so on. The
responsibility for which, were distributed to the respective agencies, including later on, to the
Agency for Meteorology and Geophysics, Ministry of Transportation, Ministry of
Agriculture, as well as the Ministry of Public works per-s.
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Since the establishment of the Department of Public works, till a moment before the break up
of the War, the climatic records had been observed and recoded quite intensively.
However, during and after the War the records had not been properly taken care due to a
number of constraints, including the severely lacking of financial, human resources, as well as
lacking of clear-cut institutional role-sharing.
6.4.2. OBSERVATION AND CLIMATE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM
For supporting the activities of water resources and irrigation development and management,
the following are among the important parameters that are continuously observed: (1)
temperature; (2) rainfall; (3) sun exposure duration; (4) air pressure; (5) air humidity; and (6)
wind speed having the measurement system as follows:
a. Temperature: Temperature measurement conducted by using thermometer with 0.1
o
C
accuracy;
b. Rainfall: Rainfall data is expressed in terms of total amount of rainfall in mm recorded
rainfall station In this regard there are three types of rainfall data that are commonly
used: expressed in-terms of daily rainfall, maximum rainfall, and hourly distribution
rainfall data; annual min, mean and maximum.
c. Sun Exposure Duration: This measurement is conducted by using Camp bell Stokes to
burn scaled time paper. The result is duration time in % of sun exposure compare to eight
hour a day. Therefore, 100% means that the sun exposure occurred for eight hour on
average per day.
d. Air Pressure: Air pressure is measured by Barometer generally using m-bar unit. The
pressure data obtained in terms of means monthly average air pressure measured at 00.00
GMT oclock.
e. Air Humidity: Humidity is measured by Dry ball and Wet Ball. Air humidity is defined
as percentage of water content in the air measured to provide differences of both
temperatures between dry ball and wet ball, and then humidity value can be matched from
specific table in terms of percentage value.
f. Wind Speed: Wind speed is expressed in knots or km/hour which is measured by
Anemometer, which resulted data of average, maximum dominant wind direction. The
average wind speed expressed in terms of the average value of daily wind speed calculated
from hourly data during a day. The maximum wind speed is a maximum of daily wind
speed obtained from hourly data during a day. The dominant wind direction is expressed in
terms of a number of events happened for certain direction performed at the degree of
angle direction from the north on clockwise direction.
6.4.3. RAINFALL STATION DISTRIBUTION
With regards to the Indonesian Irrigation History, several provinces contribute specific
historical process of water resources meteorology in accordance with the specific
development demands of the respective province.
For further illustration, see Figure 6.4.1., which is depicting the overall distribution of rainfall
station in Indonesia, and the following Table, giving example of rainfall station distributions,
which is presented based on the inventory of the Agency for Meteorology and Geophysics of
Indonesia for Central J ava Province:
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An example of rainfall station distribution in Central Java
No.
STA
Name of Station Coordinate
Elevation
(MSL)
Address Owner/operator
11030 Kersana 06
45S-108
52E 0010 Kb. Bibit Kersana Kab.

Brebes
Diperta Kab.
Brebes
11031 Cilacap 07
44S-109
01E 0006 Sta. Meteo Cilacap BMG

11032 Tegal 06
51S-109
09E 0003 J l. Pancasila 2 Tegal BMG

11033 Gamer Pekalongan 06
53S-109
42E 0004 Balai Benih Gamer Diperta Kab.

Pekalongan
11034 Sempor 07
29S-109
19E 0114 Proy. Serbaguna Kedu

Selatan
PUTL Prop. J awa
Tengah
11035 Semarang Ahmad
Yani
06
59S-110
22E 0003 Bandara Ahmad Yani BMG

11036 Semarang Maritim 06
57S-110
25E 0001 Sta. Meteo Maritim

Semarang
BMG
11037 Semarang Klimat 06
59S-110
23E 0003 J l. Siliwangi 291

semarang
BMG
11038 Kledung 07
23S-110
01E 1399 Keb. Bibit Purnomosari

Kledung
Diperta Prop.
J awa Tengah
11039 Seneng Magelang 07
29S-101
14E 0380 DPU Pengairan Seneng DPU Prop. J awa

Tengah Wilayah.
Kedu
11040 Borobudur 07
07S-110
01E 0270 Proy. Rest. Candi

Borobudur
PD Pemugaran
Candi Borobudur
11041 Ungaran 07
07S-110
23E 0320 SPMA Ungaran Pemda TK.I J awa

Tengah
11042 Getas 07
23S-110
26E 0300 Getas Salatiga PNP Getas

Salatiga
11048 Adi Sumarmo
Surakarta
07
32S-110
55E 0104 Lanud Adi Sumarmo

Surakarta
Dinas Navigasi
Udara TNI AU
11049 Colo Kudus 06
40S-111
05E 0700 Diperta Kab. Kudus Diperta Kab.

Kudus
11050 Rendole Pati 06
43S-111
01E 0017 KPP/TC Rendole Pati Diperta Kab. Pati

11423 Beji 06
26S-110
48E 0020 Kec. Bangsri, J epara Kebun Beji

11424 Karang Kemiri 08
33S-109
33E 0035 Kec. Kemangkon

Purbalingga
BB Sukoharjo
Dep. Tan
11426 Bojongsari 07
25S-109
24E 0068 Kec. Kebun Baru

banyumas
BB Padi
Bojongsari
11427 Wadaslintang 07
37S-110
55E 0224 Kec. Wadaslintang,

Wonosobo
Camat
11428 Wonocolo
11429 Ngambak Kampung 07
01S-110
37E 0024 BB Ngambak

Kapung
11430 Sendang Harjo
11431 Babadan 1278
11432 Panohan
11433 Plumbon
11490 Srimadono

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Figure 6.4.1. Distribution of Rainfall Station in Indonesia
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6.4.4. DISCHARGE MEASUREMENT
a) General Information
As far as the current the discharge measurement practice in Indonesia is concerned, in order
to obtain river discharge data from a water level recorder, four stages of implementation has
to be followed, i.e: 1) collecting water level data; 2) measuring river discharge; 3) analyzing
discharge rating curve; and 4) calculating as well as evaluating discharge data. These stages
are interrelated and very decisive for determining accuracy of the final result of discharge
calculation. The illustrations presented below, has been adopted as the technical guideline
for discharge measurement that had been evolved and developed through time. So far the
river discharges data that obtained from water level recorders throughout Indonesia have
been utilized effectively for supporting the development and management of water
resources and irrigation.
b) Water Level Data Collection
1) Water Level Observation
The water level of a river is the stage of a river measured from a determined height, usually
expressed in terms of meter (m) or centimeter (cm). The zero point is determined at one
permanent datum from the average sea water level (Mean sea level - MSL) or a selected
reference point. This is meant as to obtain uniformity in the use of water level data. To
prevent a negative water level value, water stage at zero point should be placed about 10 to
20 cm below the lowest water stage elevation. This zero point should be made permanent in
accordance with the expected life time of the station by installing a concrete or metal
benchmark.
2) Type of Staff Gauges
At present, the water level observation is generally conducted by application of three types
of equipments, i.e.:
Fluctuation of water level is generally observed from the readings of non-recording
staff gauges in the form of piles, which are read three times a day, namely at 07.00 am,
at 12.00 pm and at 17.00 pm. Additional water level readings have to be conducted
during floods.
Automatic water level recorders in the hydrograph of the water level, which presents
the relationship between water level and time.
Water level observation by tele-metering system. Fluctuation of water levels indicates
the fluctuation of river discharges.
3) Water Level Reading
Recording of water-stage elevation should be implemented prior and after discharge
measurements by reading the depth of the water surface from the water-stage recorder. If
the difference of water surface fluctuation at the start and end of the river discharge
measurement is greater than three cm, correction of the discharge calculation indicating
the depth of water stage will be necessitated.

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4) Measurement of Wetted Perimeter
Measurement of the wetted perimeter of the river is usually conducted by using a
measuring tape along the width of the river, which should be adjusted to the width of
flow area and existing supporting facilities.
Measurement of Depth of a River is usually carried out from the fixed vertical points
by measuring tape, which should be installed firmly to prevent discharge of each sub-
area exceeding 5% of the discharge of the entire wetted perimeter. Depth measurement
by using a chain and hanging weight needs to be corrected when the chain is inclining
toward the vertical axis.
5) Measurement of Flow Velocity
Average value of flow velocity in a flow area usually determines by the average velocity
measurement results of some points of vertical average velocity at one result of: one, two,
three or more points. These measurements should consider the depth of flow, width of
flow and the extent of existing facilities.

6) Method of Measurement
Wading: This method uses a sounding stick to measure flow and depth, and usually be
done manually by holding the stick perpendicular toward the river bottom. If necessary,
the location of measurement should be cleaned from trash or other objects which may
hamper the flow as far as the control section is not changed. Measurement should be done
at normal flow condition.
By using a boat: This method is usually applied when a river is too deep to be measured
by wading and other supplementary devices such as a bridge or cable way not available.
By using a bridge: Physical conditions of the river when the measurement cannot be
taken by wading or by using a boat and/or if cable ways are not available. In this regard,
the presence of a bridge over the river usually instrumental for conducting measurements.
Under this condition, however, other aspects that could influence the accuracy of the
measurement, have to be considered such as the physical shape of the bridge, frequency
of traffic, and other such condition.
By using of cable winch: A cable winch, which is a permanent supplementary device
at the location of measurement, usually equipped with a cable car or winch.
Measurement is usually performed by hanging a weight to the reel cable that will keep
the cable tightly stretched and at the firm position. Therefore, application of the correct
wire and appropriate weight is very important.
By using of cable car: A cable car, which is a permanent supplementary device at the
location of measurement, is considered to be most reliable for discharge measurement
at large rivers. Unlike the cable winch, this device has a relatively stronger cable for
supporting the load of a cable car, which consists of two surveyors, a current meter and
a hanging weight to keep the cable vertical.
c) Discharge Rating Curve Analysis
Discharge Rating Curve Construction: Upon the completion of collection of data on
measurements, the result of discharge measurements are usually formulated into a rating
curve by graphic method. The rating curve is drawn on arithmetic graph paper, with the
horizontal scale representing the discharge value and the vertical scale represents the water
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level elevation. Thus, the discharge rating curve illustrates the inter-relationship between the
water level and the river discharge.
d) Calculation Method and Discharge Evaluation
1) Water Level Data Processing
Preparation for data processing, the following corrections have to be conducted:
1) The height of water level during installment and graph drawing against reading of
the water level stage;
2) The time at installment and recording against time scale on graph;
3) The reversing water stage level;
4) The time delay or speed rotation of graph;
5) Zero elevation on recorder; and
6) Other factors such as condition of mud, blotting graph-pen, graded curve, and
others.
2) Discharge Calculation
When the hourly water stage data or average daily water level data, flow table for each
water level, and shifting of correction are collected, the average daily discharge to be
calculated based on PERDAS Method, for which, the software is available at the
Experimental Station for Hydrology, Research Institute for Water Resources.
3) Discharge Evaluation
The average of daily discharge is plotted on graph paper by using a plotter and computer
program which produced a discharge hydrograph. The discharge hydrograph of two or more
water level recorders have to be compared with the accuracy of actual discharge data.
4) Discharge Publication
Only data, which fulfills the technical criteria and evaluation results, are published as the
river discharge data.

6.5. DEVELOPMENT OVERVIEW OF IRRIGATION MAIN STRUCTURES
Through the course of irrigation history of Indonesia, it is evident that the first emerging
thought on structural development was associated with the artificial intervention for diverting
water from water sources, however simple it was. In fact, from the legend of paddy it was said
that the first paddy cultivation obtained its water from a resourceful spring without any intake
structure what so ever, and yet the water distribution still needed to be conveyed through farm
ditch, no matter how simple it was.
As the demand for expanding paddy cultivation went up in line with population increase, one
must give immediate thought about the most appropriate technique for fulfilling the water
supply demands. In this way, however simplest human intervention on natural state of water
sources would gradually evolved through time as well as experiences, and eventually
accumulated to become irrigation technique that we comprehend today.
Concerning the historical development of irrigation techniques in Indonesia, it is apparent
from the most recent discovery that the ancient population of Indonesia had long been
acquainted with irrigation development and management techniques. The following section
describes the overview of development of main structures, types and technicalities,
particularly intake structures and flood prevention facilities, from the simplest state till the
most recent development implementation.
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6.5.1. INTAKE STRUCTURE
a) Embankment
Since the farmers acquainted with the early irrigated agricultural techniques, they had been
successfully developed the simplest structures that met the demand of water delivery. In line
with the immediate demand, they initially made effort to divert water from spring or small
rivers by means of gravity flow from free intake, in combination with stone, boulder, wooden
peg, bamboo frame, or with earth-fill embankment across the river for lifting the water
surface at the intake point.
Such the simple structures were obviously highly susceptible to flood strike, and consequently
the headwork structure was subject to annual repair or reconstruction. Depending upon the
nature of the damages due to annual flooding, the annual repairs would normally be
incorporated with additional improvement works such as provision of spill-way to reduce the
damage due to flood stream. For the case of Balinese farmer, as an example, the construction
of embankment across the river always facilitated with floodway in the center of the river or
cutting the embankment to let the flood flown downstream, and hence only minor repairs
would be conducted annually. Given the highly diversified natural conditions, as well as
physical characteristics, the development extents of construction technicality were practically
varied from place to place within the Indonesian Archipelago.
Despite the long history of irrigation construction in Indonesia, so far, no obvious historical
evidence that could explain the exact date of the first application of construction technology
on irrigation development. For illustration, according to some scholars, the earliest
construction of embankment as intake structure had only been undertaken by the Balinese
farmer since 78 AD. Other source like R.Goris, a Dutch Anthropologist, argued that Irrigation
with intake structure had only been used by the Balinese agricultural community around years
before 600 AD. Meanwhile, some inscriptions indicate that the Balis farmer with its Subak
traditional organization has developed irrigation schemes with intake structures since 878 AD.
It was said that at that time, the farmers of Bali had already managed to build a soil
embankment of 30 meter high, which in fact, currently classified as amongst the high-
embankment classification in Indonesia today.
For the case of East J ava Province, it was said that in northeast of present town of Kediri the
farmer community had already managed to developed irrigation system with intake structure
(embankment) since 804 AD. This place was known as Harinjing Village, but presently
known as Srinjing Village. The irrigation command area of this scheme located within an area
between the Harinjing River and Konto River, both are currently the Brantas river tributaries.
After 804 AD, it was noted in the manuscript charter of Mpu Sendok, that the societies in
the eastern part of J ombang had managed to complete a weir construction 929 AD. In the year
of 1037, it was subsequently noted that there was a district close to Surabaya currently the
delta area of Brantas River and Porong River had managed to develop an irrigation scheme.
This scheme located in the Waringin Sapto Village, presently known as Waringin Pitu
Village. In the mean time, in 1350 AD, the farmer in Kandangan Village, within the vicinity
of the well known Harinjing/Srinjing Weir, was also noted to have undertaken rehabilitation
work for a large irrigation weir.
Like the historical development on the Inner Islands, irrigation development history on the
Outer Islands, also have but view information concerning the exact time when the first
irrigation infrastructure was initiated. The most recent historical evidences only indicated
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that during the middle of the 19
th
Century, it was noted that a large number of
embankment weirs had been constructed on the Outer Islands, both under the initiative of
the farmers and through the support of the Dutch Colonial Government. The construction
was said to be temporary and simple earth structures in the form of embankment or
bamboo frame filled with soil, stone, boulders. With exception, there were also some
gabion weirs, with stone and boulder fills as well as with wooden posts, which had been
constructed during that period. For example, a weir with simple structure was found in
West Sumatra known as `Bendung Mimpi' (literally meant as Dream Weir). The weir with
an irrigation command area of 350 ha was built in 1826 for supplying irrigation water to
tobacco plantation in the area. The other weir is `Bendung Selo" also in West Sumatra,
constructed in 1931, for irrigating paddy field of 30 ha, which was later on developed to
around 150 ha. At the above-mentioned period, gabion structure for irrigation weirs and
intake facilities had also been acquainted in Outer islands such as Lerang Weir in Bone
Regency, South Sulawesi, which was constructed in 1919, also in Kalimantan and other
islands to mention in the Eastern Regions of Indonesia.
For the case of West J ava, it was said that in 1739, a simple structure named `Katulampa'
Weir was constructed at about five km upstream of Bogor in 1739 to irrigate agricultural
area between Bogor and J akarta. Following this example, up to 1840, there were a large
number of embankments weirs built by the farmers themselves, in the scattered areas over
West J ava territory, including hundreds of small reservoirs or water pond termed as Situ-
Situ in the vicinity of J akarta, Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi areas. However, for most
cases in West J ava, the Colonial Government was only started to put attention on the
development of simple embankment weir in 1932 in order to support the Cultuur
Stelsel or Compulsary Agricultural Policy of the Dutch Colonial Government.
b) Weir
During the subsequent development period, application of permanent masonry weir, as the
improved type of the simple embankment type, have been widely adopted having some
adjustment with local condition. As a matter of fact, since the 4
th
decades of the 18
th

Century, a large number of weir structures, consisted of masonry and concrete that
equipped with intake gate some others not had been developed in Indonesia, especially
on J ava Island. Amongst the most notable ones were Ciliwung-Katulampa Weir in,
West J ava, which was constructed in 1739, Kalikebo Weir in Klaten, Central J ava,
constructed in 1824 and Molek Weir in East J ava, constructed in 1828.
Approaching the middle of 19
th
Century, in addition to the development of new weirs, the
Dutch Colonial Government also conducted rehabilitation as well as replacement of the
existing simple weirs/embankments. Most of the rehabilitation works were additionally
facilitated with equipped with intake gates to allow an appropriate water control. For
example, the Rentang Weir in West J ava, which was built in 1846, was reconstructed with
substantial improvement, including the replacement of wooden structures with masonry
and concrete works. The reconstructed weirs were Bojong, built in the 1849, Glapan
Weir in Central J ava Province built in 1852, and Lengkong Weir in East J ava,
constructed in 1852. Other type of structure that commonly used at that period was free
intakes, especially for large river, to avoid huge construction costs. The examples of such
free intakes (FI) including Mentereng FI in Cisanggarung River, in the vicinity of
Cirebon, West J ava, built in the year 1840; Singomerto FI in Serayu River, in Central
J ava, which was constructed 1880.
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During the period after independence to the end of the Fist Five-Year Development
Program (1945 - 1994) a large number of weirs were constructed, most of which were for
small and medium scale irrigation schemes, with an irrigation command at an average of
about 8,000 ha.
c) Barrage
Depending upon the nature of the rivers, construction of Barrage has been initiated since
early at the beginning of the 20
th
Century. One of the oldest and the largest barrage (in term
of width and commanded area) in Indonesia is Walahar Barrage, was constructed in 1904.
This Barrage is located in Citarum River, the biggest river in West J ava Province.
Meanwhile, in 1905 another large barrage was constructed in Ciujung named
Pamarayan Barrage in Banten Province (before 2000 the Province of Banten was a
territory of West J ava Province). Following the development of the above mentioned
barrages, several others were developed, including the Pasar Baru Barrage, constructed
1926 in Cisadane River, Banten Province, and Benteng Barrage in Saddang River,
about 180 km north of Makassar the capital of South Sulawesi Province, constructed in
1937.
In Central J ava Province, another barrage for designed as flood diversion structure and as
intake of irrigation water, is Wilalung Barrage. This barrage was constructed in 1908 at
Serang River in the eastern vicinity of Semarang, the capital of Central J ava Province. In
addition to divert flood into Serang and Babalan Rivers, Wilalung Barrage also functions
to divert water to Babalan Irrigation Scheme.
6.5.2. CANAL
Similar to the embankment and simple weir, irrigation canal have long been recognized by
the farmers, ever-since during the period when the early irrigation technique had been
introduced. In most cases, construction of embankment/weir carried out simultaneously with
or followed by construction of canals. Some cases shown that before an embankment/weir
was constructed, the farmers had previously excavate the conveyance canals. In some cases
when the water elevation allowed gravity flow, water was diverted from the river to the
excavated canals prior to the construction of other structures. Following the water diversion,
the construction of weir (embankment, bamboo, or wood) was the constructed. Historically,
the canal construction techniques for conveying water to paddy fields have been applied
since the 78 AD, or according to R.Goris, since before 600AD.
For the case of canal construction technique in West J ava Province, it was noted that in
1739 all of the concerned landlords had mutually developed irrigation canal networks from
Katulampa Weir (in Bogor) to irrigation area in the vicinity of J akarta with a total length
of about 56 km. This canal network was developed to facilitate irrigation distribution for the
command areas belonged to Landlords, extended between Bogor and Sunter area in J akarta.
Despite the above evidences, some other experiences in the mountainous remote areas both
on J ava and on the Outer Islands indicated that the traditional farmers had already
constructed irrigation canals, often by high embankment through valleys or deep cuts along
the meandering alignments at the steep hills, cascading terrains, even through tunnels across
breccia rocks with hundreds of meters long. Many of these canal networks in Bali, J ava,
Sulawesi and Sumatra are still functioning under the well maintained condition today, after
many years operation.
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6.5.3. WATER LIFTING DEVICE
In Indonesia, water lifting devices for irrigation purpose, has been practiced by the farmers
since the middle of 14
th
century. Early at the turn of the century, in West Sumatra territory,
the farmers have already widely applying for water-lifting devices for irrigation and other
water utilizations. In this particular case, water is lifted from the river to irrigated paddy
field by utilizing water wheel (see also Irrigation Examples in Chapter VII and
Supplement Paper about traditional irrigated agricultural heritage in West Sumatra for
further details). Such water lifting devices are still widely practiced in many hilly areas of
Western Sumatra Province today, most of which are developed, operated and maintained by
the traditional farmers themselves.
In terms of pump as water lifting device, large electric pumping stations for irrigation have
been implemented since 1930s. It was noted that in Central J ava Province, a pumping
station was set up in 1939 to irrigate the Gambarsari-Pasanggrahan Irrigation Area.
During the Dutch time, there have been a number of pumping stations constructed on J ava
Island. Depending upon the nature of water requirement, the source of water for the water
pumps were taken from rivers or surface water source as well as from groundwater. For
example, in Central J ava Province at this time alone, there are more than 650 small pumping
currently operated for irrigating more than 16,300 ha of paddy fields, on top of the scattered
tubewell pumping stations to provide raw water supplies for municipal and industries.
In Bengawan Solo River Basin, Central J ava, there are also presently a large number of
pump stations for irrigated-agricultural purposes. At present, there are currently 758 units of
medium sized pumps, set up for taking water directly from rivers/canals (surface water) by
means of open channels, and some 658 pump stations are currently operated for
groundwater, having a total command area of about 45,000 ha. In this area, inter-regional
water allocation problems often occurred due to the fact that Bengawan Solo Basin is
located in two provinces, namely is Central J ava and East J ava Provinces. However, most of
the pump stations are located in the downstream region in East J ava Province.
In West J ava Province, on top of the many pumping station for irrigation as well as raw
water supplies for domestic and industries, there is a notably large big scale pumping station
which was built before PELITA-I in Curug area under the J atiluhur Irrigation and Reservoir
Project. In this station, there are two unit of pumping system, namely electric pump and
hydraulic pump, which were both built in 1966 and completed in 1968. The electrics pumps
are utilized for lifting water from Curug Weir (water release from J atiluhur Reservoir) to the
East Tarum Main Canal, to provide irrigating water supply for a total command area of
about 80,000 ha of paddy field. Meanwhile, the hydraulic pump, which is known as
Sediyatmo Pump (as designed by Prof. Dr. Ir. Sediyatmo) consists of 17 units of pump at an
individual capacity of 5.00 m
3
/second for each unit. These hydraulic pumps lift water to
West Tarum Main Canal for the purposes of irrigation water supplies of about 80,000 ha of
irrigated paddy field, and raw water supplies for municipal as well as sanitary flushing for
J akarta Metropolitan City.
6.5.4. FLOOD PREVENTION INFRASTRUCTURE
Indonesia, like other tropical archipelago, also strongly influenced by tropical climatic
characteristics, both in terms of heavy tropical rains during the rainy seasons as well
extreme drought during the dry season. With underlying tendency of over exploitation of
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upper watershed of the rivers with densely populated middle reach and downstream areas, it
becomes apparent that the threat of probable flood and drought incidents are continuously
escalating from time to time.
During the past years, flood problems were only hampering significantly of the densely
populated areas as well as agricultural lands in the lowland plains. Today, however, the
impacts of floods are increasingly hindering the livelihood of the people both in rural and
urban areas, as well as the agricultural and industrial areas without exception. For this
reason, flood prevention, flood control, and flood mitigation became increasing more
important in the water resources development and management.
Since the Dutch time, flood problems had already become one of the burning issues of water
resources and irrigation management. In line with extensive irrigation development
implementation during the past long term development, the issues of flood control has been
scrutinized and addressed in terms of structural as well as non-structural approach.
However, the order of priority was still behind the urgency for sustaining food security as
yet still continuously became the countrys most immediate development objective. Being
the case, preventive measures in resolving the flood problems is still given more priority
without disregarding the repressive, curative or rehabilitative measures.
As far as the history of flood prevention works in Indonesia is concerned, no exact evidence
that could explain about the fist time since the first flood prevention works was conducted.
However, it was noted that on J ava Island, the prevention works has increasingly become
important since the occurrence of the dreadful flood incident in 1861. At that time, the
entire lowland area of South Kedu, even extended to almost the entire part of Central J avas
south-lowland area suffered from severe flood. After the outrageous strike of these floods
the Dutch Colonial government conducts the following works: (1) River improvement
works; (2) Construction of flood embankments; (3) Construction of two connector canals in
the area; and (4) Construction of collector canals/drains. The flood prevention measures
were quite effective to resolve the flood problems in the area, however, the problem remain
significant in the context of the ability to conduct sustainable maintenance of the flood
prevention infrastructures, in addition to the perpetuate over exploitation of upper watershed
of the rivers with densely populated middle reach and downstream areas.
The subsequent flood incident occurred in 1902, which has destroyed almost the entire
agricultural and residential areas of Demak, in Central J ava. To protect the technical
irrigation schemes in Demak from flood strike, in 1908, the government constructed a flood
diversion weir named Wilalung Floods Diversion Weir. The weir equipped with four
spillways located at the upstream of the weir. In addition, this flood diversion weir also used
to facilitate irrigation water intake for supplying the Babalan Irrigation areas. Since the
completion of this weir, until year 1993 there were no more significant floods incidences as
of the flood in 1902.
on J anuary 1993, or about 85 years after the completion of Wilalung Flood Weir, a terrible
floods occurred in this area, however, the flood did not bring destructive impacts. Apart
from the effectiveness of the Wilalung Flood Weir, the flood also happened just after the
completion of Kedung Ombo Reservoir in Serang River at the same river where the
Wilalung Barrage is located, that helped to prevent the flood water from simultaneous
strike.
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Learning from the past experiences of flood preventive measures, a number of structural
measures have been conducted since the Dutch Colonial Period. Amongst the preventive
measures by means of structural approach, the following are the most notable ones: (1)
Flood embankment; (2) River improvement works; (3) Collector drains; (4) Flood ways;
and (5) Flood diversion weirs.
Under the water resources development program, during the long term development
program (1969-1984) quite a large number of flood prevention facilities has been
constructed in Indonesia, particularly for preventing the flood prone areas on urban as well
as on the agricultural producing areas. The result of which has been significantly preventing
almost two million hectares of agricultural as well as residential areas from frequent flood
incidents. Learning from the past experience on flood prevention measures, it is apparent
that the role of O&M of water resources infrastructures remains the most important
determinant factors for the success or failure of sustainable water resources management.
MSRI and INACID Chapter VII. Examples Water Resources and Irrigation Development
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CHAPTER VII
EXAMPLES WATER RESOURCES AND IRRIGATION
DEVELOPMENT

7.1. GENERAL
The following section will highlight some specific examples of irrigation development in
various provinces. The following provinces are selected:
1) North Sumatra;
2) West Sumatra;
3) Lampung;
4) West J ava;
5) Central J ava;
6) East J ava;
7) Bali;
8) West Nusa Tenggara; Lombok Island;
9) South Kalimantan; and
10) South Sulawesi.
In addition to the above selected provinces, examples on groundwater development and on
flood control projects are also presented.
7.2. NORTH SUMATRA PROVINCE
7.2.1. OVERVIEW OF NORTH SUMATRA PROVINCE
North Sumatra province is located in the
northern part of Sumatra Island. It covers a
total area of about 70,787 km
2
, or about
3.69% of Indonesias total land area.
According to the 2002s census, the overall
population of North Sumatra province was
11,942,000, with average growth rate 1.32%
(1990 2002).
Both of the northern and eastern coast of the
provincial topography consisted of vast land
plain. In the west coast of the province also
consists of large land plain area. In the
central part, extends from north to south the
Bukit Barisan mountain, where Danau
Toba (Lake Toba) is located. The lake is
located at the top center of the province.
Irrigation development started as the
consecutive process of the previous
development of agricultural estates in East
Sumatra (East Sumatra is the name for North
Sumatra area in the eastern part) during the
Dutch Colonial Period.
GENERAL MAP OF NORTH SUMATRA PROVINCE
Banda Aceh
Medan
Pekanbaru Tanjung Pinang
Pangkal Pinang
Padang
Bengkulu
Bandar Lampung
Bandung Banten Semarang
Yogyakarta
Surabaya
Denpasar
Mataram
Kupang
Ambon
Fakfak J ayapura Nabire
Manado Gorontalo
Palu
Ujung Pandang
Banjarmasin
Samarinda
Palangkaraya
Pontianak
Kendari
Ternate
J akarta
Palembang
J ambi
MALAYSIA
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
PHILIPINA
AUSTRALIA
MALAYSIA
SINGAPURA
P. Sumatera
P. Sulawesi
P. Kalimantan
P. J awa
P. Papua
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The development of agricultural estates in East Sumatra has increased demands for
agricultural labor, which were mostly come from J ava Island as migrant workers. The most
well known agricultural products from these estates are tobacco, natural rubber, oil palm, and
tea. The tobacco is very famous as wrapper of cigar, and this product was only specially
marketed through free auction at the Bremen tobacco market, Germany.
The wet rice field area in 2002 was recorded at a total of 471,249 hectares, of which consists
of 120,083 hectares of irrigated rice fields, 4,760 hectares of swamp rice fields, and 149,547
hectares of rainfed paddy fields (see Table 7.1. for more detailed information)
Table 7.1. Irrigated Rice Field Area by Irrigation System in North Sumatra Province, 2002
No. Irrigation System Area (ha)
1 Technical Irrigation 70,360
2 Semi Technical Irrigation 76,222
3 Simple/Village Irrigation 120,083
4 Rainfed Paddy 149,547
5 Swamp Development Irrigation 29,110
Total 471,249
Source: Agriculture Survey 2002, Central Board of Statistics.

The history of technical irrigation development in the Province of North Sumatra started
earlier at the turn of the century (1900s) when the Dutch Colonial Ruler, during the
assignment of De Bruin as the Colonial Resident of East Sumatra in Medan. At the inception
stage, irrigation development was merely intended for supporting rubber plantation, then,
expanded to irrigated paddy field for 50,000 ha in the Simalungun Regency as known today.
Having successful with this irrigation development implementation, De Bruin was promoted
by the Dutch Colonial Government to be the Director General of Waterstaat in 1905.
At present, there currently 329,325 ha of irrigated lands had already been developed in North
Sumatra, of which consisted of 132,260 ha of technical irrigation, 135,657 ha semi technical
irrigation and some 61,317 ha of simple irrigation. Overall, there are a number of major
irrigation schemes in North Sumatra Province. These are Simalungun irrigation scheme with a
total area of 49,159 ha, Medan Krio with an area of 1,200 ha, Namu Sira-sira at a total area of
6,350 ha, Batang Gadis with an area of 6,628 ha, Batang Ilung at 4,194 ha, Sungai Ular with a
total area of 18,500 ha, Bah Bolon at about 10,065 ha, Paya Sordang at about 3,907 ha, Gido
Zebua at an area of 1,258 ha, Namo Rambe at an area of 1,036 ha, Batang Angkola at a total
area of 9,200 ha, and Badiri Lopian with a total area of 1,243 ha.
7.2.2. EXAMPLE OF IRRIGATION SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT IN NORTH SUMATRA
a) Simalungun Irrigation Scheme
Since the implementation of the Dutch Ethical Policy (ethische politiek) at the turn of the
century, the Dutch Colonial Rule developed a large number of plantations in the eastern coast
of the province. The plantations were initially developed in the vicinity of Medan, the capital
of town of the province and later on expanded along the eastern coast of province,
subsequently to the up-land areas of Simalungun. During that period, it was recorded that
there were about 400 commercial agricultural enterprises in the entire part of Simalungun
Regency. The required labors, known as the Deli workers (werk Deli), were mobilized from
J ava Island through the estate based contract and/or irrigation based transmigration program
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(migratie) in line with the implementation of the Dutch Ethical Policy. Some of the workers
were also mobilized from Kalimantan Island. The main crops of the agricultural estates were
tobacco, rubber, oil palm, and tea.
In turns of the contract for labor workers terminated, most of the labor from Kalimantan areas
decided to settle permanently in coastal region and developed coastal swamp for agricultural
practices for paddy cultivation based on previous experiences they had in the place of origin,
which is similar to the coastal swamp land in their home town. The workers who are working
for tobacco plantation are allowed to plant rice (dry land rice) on the tobacco land taking the
advantage of intermittent to rotational tobacco cropping system (which cultivated on
rotational basis for only once within eight years) of tobacco cultivation. In practice, however,
almost all of the areas were planted for commercial agricultural enterprises, and hence only
limit land areas were available for rice cultivation. Moreover, the soil types were mostly
consisted of light soil, which demanding for more irrigation water for paddy cultivation.
As the consequences of development of commercial agricultural enterprises without food
crops, the demand for food had been increasing sharply. On the other hand, the land area for
rice cultivation is limited. These conditions had forced the Colonial Government to import
rice from other part of Indonesia for fulfilling the increasing demands. In 1915 it was
recorded that the total imported rice was 91,000 ton, which increased to 146,000 ton in 1917
and subsequently increased to about 181,000 ton of rice in 1929.
In an attempt to resolve the problem, in 1913 the government developed the Bah Korah
irrigation area with a command area of 2,700 ha as a pilot project (Bah in local language
means river). This pilot project had been attracted positive attention of the local people to join
working at the project. The yield of this pilot scheme was recorded to be quite significant i.e.
at about 3.9 ton/ha and subsequently increased to 4.4 ton/ha in 1917.
After successfully completing the Bah Korah pilot scheme in 1914, the government
continued to develop other irrigation areas such as the Panombean scheme in 1915, Tiga
Balata and Dolok Marlawan schemes in 1918, and others minor schemes later on. The
development continued to be implemented until 1942, as the broken up of war, and
immediately after the countrys independence in 1945. Most of the schemes are small schemes
(area less than 500 hectares). Some of them have larger areas between 1,000 ha to 3,000 ha. The
total developed areas of this
scheme referred to as the
Simalungun Irrigation Scheme,
which covers an area of 30,000 ha
just before the work terminated
following the War in 1942.
After the countrys indepen-
dence the project resumed
through gradual implementation
in line with the availability of
resources, and by 1980 the
overall areas of Simalungun
Irrigation Scheme increased to
about 50,000 ha and
subsequently redesigned in 1986
to cover a total irrigation
command area of about 54,000
ha.
Example of the Bah Korah intake gate, in Simalungun
Regency after renovation in 1993
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b) Siauga Parjolo Irrigation Scheme
This irrigation scheme is one of the oldest traditional irrigation schemes, constructed in 1885
in North Sumatra having a small irrigation command area of only 30 ha. The command area is
located at the vicinity of Tangga Batu Barat village, Balige District, Tobasa Regency, North
Sumatra Province.
The water source for this irrigation scheme is diverted from Aek Sidua-dua River through a
conveyance canal at a total length of 3,500 m across the undulating topography (as seen in the
photograph below). The fact that the irrigation scheme was previously designed for two
groups of extended families, the conveyance canal was adjusted accordingly by means of
branched the main canal into two parallel canals to avoid potential conflict of irrigation water
allocation for the two user group. The conveyance systems were constructed between 1885
and 1889 along the foot of the hill with breccia rock, making the construction works
extremely costly. It was only in 1907 the construction work was fully completed.
The interesting feature of this irrigation scheme lies on the evidence that the entire
construction works were merely conducted by the farmers themselves without any
intervention from the government. The construction implementation as well as operation and
management were organized by
traditional water users
association referred to as the
Raja Bondar (canal master, in
local term). The organization of
the Raja Bondar consists of
Chairman, Secretary, Treausurer,
Ulu-ulu (Ditch tender) as well as
Parhara (canal daily worker).
The board of organization is
subject to annual assignment
based on general consensus of
the Association members. The
board of organization employed
irrigation workers for
maintaining the schemes.
Financial sources of the
irrigation operation and
maintenance collected from
annual membership fees after
harvesting.
c) Bah Bolon Irrigation Scheme
The Bah Bolon irrigation scheme is located in the Asahan Regency covering the Districts of
Air Putih, Medang Deras and Lima Puluh.
The distinct characteristic of the service area marked with it locality at the lowland river delta,
at the convergent of four rivers tributaries of the Bah Bolon, which are Pare-Pare River,
Tanjung River, Dalu-Dalu River and Gambus River. The chronological development of the
Bah Bolon Irrigation Scheme presents as follows.

The Sipintu-pintu parallel irrigation canals, Siauga Parjolo
irrigation scheme, extended along the foot of the hill of
breccia rock at the sloping hill of over 200 m deepness
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In the year 1986 1983 Project implementation:
- Construction of Headwork/With five intake gates;
- Rehabilitation and New Irrigation area at 7,630 ha.
till 2004 Rehabilitation works as well as development of new irrigation area
at Simodong Irrigation Scheme with a total area of 2,435 ha.
d) Namu Sira-sira Irrigation Scheme
The Namu Sira-sira irrigation scheme located within two Regencies, namely Langkat
Regency and Kota Binjai Municipality with a total command area of 6,350 ha. The water
source for this irrigation system is diverted from Bingei river which its upper catchment
comes from the Bukit Barisan Mountain.
The development phase of Namu Sira-Sira was started in 1961 having budgetary support from
local government income and with some contribution from the local farming community. The
headwork was initially constructed by means of free intake from the river, followed by a
series of improvement works later on. The chronological development of Namu Sira-Sira
Irrigation scheme illustrates as follows:
In the year 1970 Construction of temporary free intake;
1975 Survey, Investigation and & Technical Design;
1978 Construction of permanent weir (Sekhlist type);
1983 Full completion of headworks construction;
1984-1986 Redesigned of irrigation networks; and
1982-1992 Construction of irrigation networks including tertiary irrigation
networks at a total area of 6,300 ha.

e) Batang Gadis Irrigation Scheme
The Batang Gadis irrigation scheme is located at the South Tapanuli Regency and the Madina
Regency at about 500 km distance from Medan, having a total command are of about 6,628
ha. The headwork is located at the Perbaungan Village, Panyabungan District within the
distance of about 80 km from Sidempuan Area toward Kotanopan. The water source of this
irrigation scheme is diverted from Batang Gadis river, which its upper catchment and spring
comes from Mount Kulabu of the Bukit Barisan Mountain vicinity.
The headwork of Batang Gadis irrigation scheme consists of two weir crest and a pair of
intake gates from left and right sides of the headwork. The chronological development of
Batang Gadis Irrigation Scheme illustrates as follows:

In the year 1961 Survey on agricultural potential by the Directorate of Land Uses; and
In the year 1973-1976 Model Test for Headwork by the Bandung Water Resources Research
Institute, Ministry of Public Works

f) Batang Angkola Irrigation Scheme
The Batang Angkola irrigation scheme is located at the District of Batang Angkola, of the
South Tapanuli Regency and the Siabu District of the Madina Regency covering about 50
Village Administrations. The water source of this irrigation system is diverted from Batang
Angkola River.
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The headwork (weir) is located at the Sayur Matinggi village at about 35 km distance from
Padang Sidempuan and about 474 km from the City of Medan. The irrigation system covers a
total command area of about 9,200 ha consisted of:
Rainfed paddy field =6,100 ha;
Orchard = 771 ha;
Swamp area =1,900 ha; and
Upland dry area = 429 ha.
The chronological development of Batang Angkola Irrigation Scheme illustrates as follows:
In the year 1994-1995 Survey, Investigation and design by PT. Isuda Parama Consulting Eng;
1995-1996 Construction Implementation at about 11% completed;
1996-1997 Construction Implementation at about 31% completed;
1997-1998 Construction of headwork at about 61% completed;
1998-1999 Construction of headwork at about 96.20% completed;
1999-2000 Follow up improvement works; and
2000-2001 Follow up improvement works.

7.3. WEST SUMATRA PROVINCE
7.3.1. OVERVIEW OF WEST SUMATRA PROVINCE
West Sumatra Province, which also known as Ranah Minang, has the firm customs and
traditions, which are well obeyed by all of the community members. The Traditionalists,
Religious leaders, Intellectuals, and prominent community members, are extremely respected
and obeyed as Community Leaders. The principal of democracy, or discussion to reach
consensus or agreement, has long become the communitys philosophy in West Sumatra
Province.
The basic philosophy of leaderships is described
as follows:
Kayu Gadang di tangah padang, tampek
balinduang kapanehan, tampek bataduah
kahujanan, ureknyo tampek baselo,
batangnyo tampek basanda. Pai tampek
batanyo, pulang tampek babarito.

(Literally translated as: Big tree at the center of
the field; provides shelter from heat and rain; the
root is a place to sit down; the trunk is a place to
lean on. A place to ask for those who are going
to travel; and a place to present report for those
who are returning back.)

With regard to management of irrigation system,
the underlying respect for traditionalists and
tradition per-s, has been instrumental to
maintaining the sustainable principle of
togetherness of the Minangese community for
developing and managing irrigation schemes.
Rice cultivation and its associated irrigation
GENERAL MAP OF WEST SUMATRA PROVINCE
Banda Aceh
Medan
Pangkal Pinang
Padang
Bengkulu
Bandar Lampung
Yogyakarta
Surabaya
Denpasar
Mataram
Kupang
Ambon
Manado Gorontalo
Palu
Ujung Pandang
Banjarmasin
Samarinda
Palangkaraya
Pontianak
Kendari
Ternate
J akarta
Palembang
J ambi
MALAYSIA
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
PHILIPINA
AUSTRALIA
MALAYSIA
SINGAPURA
P. Sumatera
P. Sulawesi
P. Kalimantan
P. J awa
P. Papua
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technique have been widely known since Hindu era. In this regards, L.C. Westenenk wrote De
Minangkabausche Nagari in 1918 (quoted from Mutiara Terpendam Sistem Pengelolaan
Irigasi Tradisional di Sumatera Barat by J ohn S. Ambler, Center for Irrigation Study,
Andalas University, 1990) as follows:
Dibalah-balah patigo, si Rauik pambalah rotan, Luhak dibagi tigo, Adat dibaginyo
salapan, nan ampek tabang ka langik, nan ampek tingga di dunia. Nan ampek
tabang ka langik: aso Bulan, duo Mantari, tigo Timua, ampek Salatan. Nan ampek
tingga di dunia: Rumah Gadang, Lumbuang Bapereang, Sawah gadang, Banda
buatan.
(Literally translated as: Splited into three, si Raut (a kind of knife) a rattan splitter, an area
divided into three; tradition is divided into eight, four of them fly to the sky; four others stay
on the earth. The four which flied to the sky were: first is the moon, second is the Sun, third is
East, fourth is South. The other four which staid on the earth were: Rumah Gadang
(traditional house); a Barn full of Ricel; large rice field; and constructed canals).
West Sumatra province is lying in the central part of Sumatra Island. It covers a total land
area of 49,778 square kilometers, or about 2.59% of Indonesias total land area. Based on
population census in 2002, the total population of West Sumatra Province was 4,298,000
people with an annual average growth rate at about 0.63% between 1990 and 2000.
Topographical conditions of this area are mostly undulating, ranging from medium to sharp.
The plain in the west coast is very narrow. Therefore, it is impossible to develop large scale
irrigation scheme in this area, for which, most of irrigation areas are consisted of small scale
irrigation schemes. The main crop is paddy, which have been grown by application of
irrigation technique for a long time and had been institutionalized, through generations, and
yet still currently developing.
The overall paddy fields areas in 2002, was noted as 244,406 hectares, consisted of 191,196
hectare of irrigated rice fields, and 53,130 hectare of rainfed paddy field. (See Table 7.2)

Table 7.2. Irrigated Rice Field Areas by Irrigation System, 2002
No. Irrigation System Area(ha)
3 Simple / Village Irrigation 94,917
4 Rainfed Paddy fields 53,130
5 Swamp Development Irrigation 80
Total 244,406
Source: Agriculture Survey 2002, Central Bureau of Statistics.

Concerning irrigation development and management techniques in West Sumatra, it is evident
from the past experiences that the province has a long history on irrigated-agricultural
practices. In spite of the long term existence, the absence of historical evidence has not been
allowing trace back the chronological existence of irrigation practice in this area, yet
irrigation development and management is undoubtedly the most important heritage of
Minangkabau Society of West Sumatra Province.
Traditional irrigation has been developed quite amazingly, even though the technicality,
materials, as well as agricultural practice were still fairly simple. For illustration, in Agam
Regency, the local farming community had been managed to build an irrigation weir made of
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more than 6,000 bamboo trees of about eight meters length, with the weir dimension at about
five meters height. In the mean time, a gabion weir was also constructed by kaing use of
knitted root fiber, in Pasaman Regency.
Another example is the simple water power engineering that has been practiced and
developed by Minangkabau people since the middle of 14
th
century. Considering the the
generally undulating topographical condition, the people has been quite skillful to application
of watermill technique to turn the wheel which is made from bamboo or wood for generating
energy for a number of domestic purposes, including rice milling, water lifting, even for
household electricity.
This water wheel technology had in fact been developed in line with the day to day demands
for domestic livelihood, among others, the technique to take the advantage of the circling
wheel to lift water from the river to the paddy field of higher location. In this particular
example, the rotating bamboo wheel equips with bamboo tubes, set up wit a certain angle at
the outer ring in such a way that the tube position allows to capture water from the river every
time the tube submerged at the bottom position, then pour out the water to the wooden
chamber, and subsequently flows to the paddy field through farm ditch network.
The basic principle of this water wheel indigenous technology, has in fact, inspired some
Indonesian engineers to develop large scale hydraulic pump for water lifting purposes (For
example, see Supplement Paper entitled Jatiluhur Multi Purpose Reservoir, which
demonstrates application of hydraulic pump to lift water from Curug Weir to Tarum Barat
Main Canal, in West J ava Province.
In spite of the present era modern technology, application of waterwheel for variety of
purposes including rice milling, water lifting and grinding are still currently being applied in
many areas of West Sumatra Province, including Limapuluh Koto, Solok, and Sawahlunto
Sijunjung Regencies. In these regencies, there are still many skilled waterwheel technicians
who are available to construct, setup, operate, and maintain on professional basis. Such the
waterwheel-technicians could be paid in terms of cash or paid in kind (by means of shared
crop production). However, the water discharge lifted by a water wheel is quite limited,
therefore a waterwheel (based on research conducted by West Sumatra Provincial Water
Resources Services) is only available to lift water at an average of about one per second,
Water wheel Tubes on the rotating wheel
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which convertible to the capacity to irrigate a paddy field area of about 0.7 hectare and
mostly are individually or privately owned.
Another distinct characteristic of irrigated agricultural heritage in West Sumatra is the Paraku
with Irigasi Takuak traditional irrigation management system which is still practiced today
(see the detailed description in Supplement paper entitled Traditional Irrigation Heritage in
West Sumatra). In principle Paraku is diversion structure that is made of grooved wooden
bar installed across the canal. Takuak in Minang Language means groove cuts. Paraku has
takuak as many clusters as the land plot that would be irrigated. The groove dimensions is
subject to mutual decision through irrigation institution called Tuo Banda. Tuo Banda also
stands for the Chairman who is responsible to conduct operation and maintenance of irrigation
scheme. As the Chairman, the Tuo Banda is appointed by Ninik Mamak (informal leaders)
and the Penghulu (Ethnic Group Leader). The Tuo Banda must be an experienced farmer who
has a leadership capacity, honest, committed, sense of responsibility. To supervise Tuo
Banda, Ninik Mamak and Penghulu appoint one Penghulu Tepatan (Coordinator) in every
Nagari (equivalent to a Village).
Tuo Banda must take care of the canal maintenance, and the beginning of every planting
season, to coordinate farmers who are obligated to participate in the program to maintain
irrigation infrastructure, especially to maintain Kapalo Banda (Weir) and main system. This
rule is obeyed by all farmers, no matter how big their rice field is.
Violation of the agreed rule by any one, such as water stealing, is subject to customary
punishment by Penghulu Tepatan otherwise, violator could be expelled from the community.
Related to this punishment, there is a local expression used by Minangese people for that
sanction as follows:
Kaateh indak bapucuak, kabawah indak baurek, ditangah digiriak kumbang.
(Literally translated as: The top above without shoot; below under without root; and stem in
the middle drilled by the beetle). Which meant, that anyone who got customary punishment
would no longer had any appreciation from the community like the tree which will soon die.
Since 1982, Tuo Banda institution under the Governors Decree no. 77/GSB/1982, Tuo Banda
became part of P3A (Water User Association). In this decree the position of Tuo Banda has
been transformed into a member of Management Board of P3A.

7.3.2. EXAMPLE OF IRRIGATION SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT IN WEST SUMATRA
a) Batang Mimpi Irrigation Scheme
The development of this irrigation scheme with intake structure was completed 1826 by the
Dutch Colonial Government. To support (Compulsory Agriculture Policy), the Dutch
Government construct a weir in Mimpi River, Darmasraya Regency, about 200 km from
Padang, the capital town of West Sumatra Province. At the beginning, this weir was
constructed as a very simple structure. The purpose was to irrigate 350 hectares of tobacco
belonged to the Dutch Land Lord. With subsequent improvement and rehabilitation, this weir
is still currently being well maintained until now. When independence war was over in 1950,
Batang Mimpi weir didnt receive enough attention from the government, which caused the
weir severely damaged.

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Rehabilitation of weir and irrigation networks were conducted firstly in PELITA-I (1969) and
completed in 1992. Following the rehabilitation work, the irrigation area of Batang Mimpi
was gradually expanded. In 1992, it covered some 739 hectares of paddy field. At the same
time in1992, the government also included the scheme into rehabilitation, up-grading, and
extension program to expand the command area into 1,034 hectares of paddy fields.
Under the most recent irrigation development program, some of the service area Batang
Mimpi irrigation scheme will be incorporated into the Batang Hari newly developed irrigation
scheme. After the entire area of Batang Hari irrigation networks become functioned, the
Batang Mimpi irrigation scheme area would only serve 295 hectare irrigation command area,
(see item c); more explanation about Batang Hari Irrigation Area).
b) Batang Selo Irrigation Scheme
Batang Selo Irrigation scheme is located approximately five km north of Batu Sangkar,
capital city of Tanah Datar Regency, or about 120 km from Padang, the Capital City of West
Sumatera Province. This irrigation system was built by mutually by the community of three
sub-districts in 1931. The canal alignment extends along the breccia rocks, so as the canal
excavation by manual worker was extremely difficult, and yet only serving an area of 30 ha.
Since the Selo River was the only source of surface water to irrigate the three sub-districts,
Batang Mimpi Weir (2004)
Inscription at Batang Mimpi weir stated of its
construction completion in 1826
Sand Trap Batang Selo Weir
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therefore, in 1957 the community continued to develop this scheme. Through strenuous
efforts, the community members were managed to excavate 5.5 km of canal and rehabilitate
the weir, free intake and the existing canal, and expanding the irrigation command area to a
total of 150 ha. The subsequent support from the government the former weir structure was
replaced with gabion, but the canal rehabilitation was still conducted by the farmers. In
addition, between 1982 and 1990 extension of irrigation areas was continued, and the
government provided financial assistance to extend the area to 705 ha, including 85 hectares
of pumping scheme at the tail end of the main canal. During which, the gabion weir was
replaced with broad crested type of weir by wrapping the old gabion weir with concrete.
c). Batang Hari Irrigation Scheme
Batang Hari Irrigation scheme is located in Dharmasraya Regency, about 200 km eastward of
Padang, the capital of the province. This project is located closed to Sitiung transmigration
settlement from Wonogiri, Central J ava. The Sitiung District is located close to the border of
West Sumatra and J ambi
Provinces. The total command
area is 18,936 ha, including
2,555 hectares located in J ambi
Province. Before this project was
started, there were already three
irrigation areas, in the vicinity
areas, namely Batang Mimpi.
Palangko-Piruko, and Siat
Irrigation schemes. Because of
the limitation of structural
capacity, canal, and water
resources, parts of the areas are
currently incorporated to Batang
Hari Irrigation Scheme.

Table 7.3. Batang Hari Irrigation Area
No Name of Scheme
Before Project
(ha)
After Project
(ha)
1 Batang Mimpi Irrigation 1,070 295
2 Palangko-Piruko Irrigation 5,629 725
3 Siat Irrigation 7,017 2,645
4 New Area 0 15,271
Total 13,716 18,936
Source: West Sumatra Province Water Resources Development Services.
With this project, the cropping intensity is currently projected to be about 230%, and the
cropping pattern will be paddy-paddy-and-palawija (secondary crops). At present, the
construction of weir, part of irrigation network, and land development have been completed.
All of these works are scheduled to be completed in 2006.
Scenic view of Batang Hari weir, (2004)
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7.4. LAMPUNG PROVINCE
7.4.1. OVERVIEW OF LAMPUNG PROVINCE
Lampung province is a vast located in the southern part of Sumatra Island. It covers area at a total
of 35,384 square kilometers, or
1.87% of Indonesias total area.
2002 population was 6,889,000
people with an average growth
rate 1.17% (1990 2002).
East coast topography of the
province is plain. In the west coast
lies a narrow plain area. In the
central to west part, there is Bukit
Barisan Mountain with steep slope
southward.
The wet rice field area in 2002
noted as 176,457 hectares, consists
of 165,489 hectares of irrigated
rice field, 10,968 hectares of tidal
swamp and polder paddy field,
and 95,316 hectares of rainfed
paddy field (see Table 7.2. for
more detailed information)
The total irrigated area (which
categorized into technical and
semi technical) by administrative coverage in the province of Lampung is about
263,256 ha of potential area or about 200,600 ha of functional irrigation areas, scattered over
eight regencial administrations including the inter-regency irrigation areas, operated and
managed by the provincial irrigation services. The distribution of irrigation by regency as
follows: (1) South Lampung Regency at a total of 24,090 ha; (2) Tanggamus Regency at
about 19,225 ha; (3) Central Lampung Regency at about 25,343 ha; (4) East Lampung
Regency at about 15,579 ha; (5) North Lampung at about 3,758 ha; (6) Tulang Bawang
Regency at about 25,401 ha; (7) Way Kanan Regency at about 5,854 ha; and West Lampung
at about 2,376 ha. Apart from these regencies, the inter-regency irrigation areas, which
managed by Provincial authority, consists of the Sekampung Scheme at a total area of 58,783
ha, and the Way Rarem Scheme at a total area of about 20,191 ha.

Table 7.4. Irrigated Rice Field Area by Irrigation Type, 2002
No. Irrigation Type Area (ha)
5 Tidal Swamp and others Irrigation 50,007
Total 310,812
Source: Agriculture Survey 2002, Central Bureau of Statistics.

GENERAL MAP OF LAMPUNG PROVINCE
Banda Aceh
Medan
Pangkal Pinang
Padang
Bengkulu
Bandar Lampung
Yogyakarta
Surabaya
Denpasar
Mataram
Kupang
Ambon
Manado Gorontalo
Palu
Ujung Pandang
Banjarmasin
Samarinda
Palangkaraya
Pontianak
Kendari
Ternate
J akarta
Palembang
J ambi
MALAYSIA
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
PHILIPINA
AUSTRALIA
MALAYSIA
SINGAPURA
P. Sumatera
P. Sulawesi
P. Kalimantan
P. J awa
P. Papua
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7.4.2. Example of Irrigation System Development in Lampung Province.
a) Early irrigation development in Tanggamus Regency: There are actually a number of
major irrigation schemes in
Lampung Province, including
the large scheme, small and
medium schemes, including the
village irrigation schemes.
Among the major schemes are
located in Tanggamus Regency
which was started in the vicinity
of Gedong Tataan area in 1916,
during the Dutch Colonial Area,
including the Way Payung in
Kota Agung, which was
constructed in 1916, followed by
the extension to Gading Rejo
area in 1925 and Pringsewu area
in 1928. The Dutch Colonial
Government continued to pursue
irrigation development by
promoting irrigated paddy
cultivation at the Way Semah
and followed by the extension in Padang Ratu Area.
Beside these technical irrigations, some irrigation area also developed through the own
initiative of the farmers, the weir at the major rivers were supported by the government, while
the irrigation networks developed by the farmers themselves. This category later defined as
semi technical irrigation schemes.
Upon the success in the development of these irrigation schemes, the Dutch Colonial
Government then continue to seek for irrigation extension beyond the vicinity of Gedong
Tataan, as most of the suitable potentials were already developed. The result of the study then
recommend to extend the irrigation based agricultural implementation in Sukadana Area,
referred to by the Dutch as the Colonisatie Sukadana
b) Irrigation development in Central Lampung: The history of irrigation development in
Central Lampung Regency is traceable to 1935 since the development of Argoguruh Weir
located at the largest river in Lampung Province, the Way Sekampung River having a total
catchment area of 2,150 km
2
at the Argoguruh Weir. At the first stage, the weir was intended
to irrigate an area of 10,000 ha, of secondary forest areas of the Punggur and the Raman Area.
However the intake capacity was already designed for 25 m
3
/second for irrigating a total area
of 25,000 bahus (0.7 ha/bahu). In 1936 the government decided to expand the intake capacity
to be 35 m
3
/second for the providing irrigation water supplies for irrigation schemes at the
downstream areas. With increasing demand for expanding irrigation area toward Punggur
Utara Area, at the down stream, in 1968 the intake capacity of the Argoguruh Weir was
further enlarged to 54 m
3
/second.
Headwork of Way Payung Irrigation Scheme at Kota
Agung, Tenggamus Regency constructed in 1916
during the Dutch Time (After Rehabilitated in 1990s)
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In order to provide a secure
water supply for the entire area,
several reservoir alternatives
were planned at the upstream
site of the Way Sekampung
River. However, the planned
was never realized due to severe
economic crisis, and due to the
war. The construction of Batu
Tegi Reservoir, as one of the
most feasible alternatives, was
then started in 1990s and
successfully completed in 2004
after the idea had been launched
in 1950s or almost 50 years
later.

c) The Batanghari Utara Irrigation Scheme: This scheme was actually designed to supply
water by utilizing the excess
water form the Way Sekampung
Scheme, and the feasibility
study was completed in 1940.
The weir itself was constructed
in 1953 at the Gedong Dalam
site, popularly known today as
the Garongan Dam. The official
inauguration of the dam was
conducted at the site inspection
of Drs. Mohammad Hatta, the
first vice president of the
Republic of Indonesia. The total
irrigation commading area of
Batanghari Utara Scheme is
5,817 ha.
d) The Raman Utara Irrigation scheme: Parallel with Batanghari Utara Irrigation Scheme,
the Raman Utara was also designed to supply water for transmigration settlement at the
downstream irrigation area by using the excess water from Way Sekampung Scheme, and the
feasibility study as well as technical design was completed in 1939. For the same reason, the
construction was postponed, and the transmigration settlement was conducted in 1955, and
completed in 1958, totaling 2,871 families or 12,308 persons. The Weir at the Raman River
was constructed in 1958, however, the construction implementation was hampered by the
scarcity of Portland cement, and hence, the completion of the weir delayed for more than a
year. The development of Raman Utara Irrigation Scheme was only completed in 1969, and
inaugurated by the Governor of Lampung Province.
The Spillway at the Garongan Dam for Batanghari Utara
Irrigation Scheme, completed in 1953 for irrigating a total
area of 5,817 ha
The old main intake of Argoguruh Weir, constructed in
1935, at the background is the extended intake,
constructed in 1968
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e) Punggur Utara Irrigation Scheme: The most dominant extension of Way Sekampung
Irrigation Scheme was carried out in Punggur Utara Scheme at the downstream area of the
Sekampung-Rumbia land plain. The irrigation exension was conducted by enlarging the
Punggur Utara secondary canal
from a command area of 1,700
ha to a total command area of
25,353 ha. As the construction
implementation of Punggur
Utara completed in 1975, the
overall command area of the
Way Sekampung area became
60,000 ha having the following
elaboration: (1) Sekampung
Irrigation Scheme at 21,500 ha;
(2) Raman Utara Irrigation
Scheme at 6,259 ha; (3)
Batanghari Utara Irrigation
Scheme at about 7,000 ha, and
Punggur Utara Irrigation scheme
with a command area of 25,353
ha.
f) Way Seputih Irrigation Scheme: This irrigation had actually been planned since before
the Second World War under the irrigation based transmigration settlement referred to as the
Bandarjaya Transmigration Settlement, covering a total area of about 38,000 ha. The
transmigration settlement was officially concluded in 1954 by dividing the area into two
major parts, taking the National Road as the boundary between the two parts. The Western
part refers to as the Seputih Bandarjaya, covering an area of 10,000 ha (settled by 4,294
transmigrant families with 12 villages, while the eastern part refers to as the Seputih Mataram
Transmigartion settlement, covering an area of about 28,000 ha. The first stage of Way
Seputih Scheme was developed for 10,000 ha, followed later to be 25,000 ha with Golongan
The headwork of Raman Utara Irrigation Scheme,
completed in 1955 for irrigating a total area of 5,096 ha
The Control Structure at the main canal of Punggur Utara
Irrigation Scheme, with a command area of 25,353 ha
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System or only available to
irrigate 17,750 ha by continuous
flow irrigation system without
Golongan.

g) Way Rarem Irrigation Scheme: The Way Rarem Dam takes it water from Rarem River
through a dam called Way Rarem Dam, with a total irrigation command area of about 22,000
ha located within two regencies, namely North Lampung and Tulang Bawang Regency
previously only under the North Lampung Regency. Construction execution for Way Rarem
Irrigation scheme was started in 1980, with construction of Way Rarem Dam as the second
dam in Lampung after the Way
J epara dam in East Lampung
Regency. With a total capacity
of 22.20 m
3
/second, this
irrigation scheme designs for a
total irrigation command area of
22,000 ha having a total major
canal length at 63.50 km. The
irrigation area at the vicinity of
Abung area was previously
resettled with transmigrants
from J ava in between 1963 and
1964. The overall phase of
construction implementation
was only completed in 1984,
marked with the official
inauguration by Soeharto, the
president of the Republic of
Indonesia.
h) Way Semangka Irrigation Scheme: The Semangka irrigation scheme is located in the
District of Wonosobo, Tanggamus Regency, with a total command area of about 1,550 ha.
The construction implementation was started in 1974 with a free intake from Way Semangka
River. The location of this irrigation scheme is somewhat geologically sensitive being
adjacent with the Semangka Geological Fault. And with the loose soil along the main canal at
the east foot of Bukit Barisan Ridge, the downstream channels often suffered from heavy
The headwork of the Way Seputih, with a command area
of 25,000 ha
The Spillway at the Way Rarem Dam for Way Rarem
Irrigation Scheme, completed in 1981 for irrigating a total
command area of 22,000 ha
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sedimentation. To avoid occasional problems of sedimentation and debris, the main channel
was modified into a close conduit, however, other problem became apparent when the local
people continuously excavate sand and boulder for construction materials at the vicinity of
Way Semangka weir. Hence the weir had been in jeopardy, till a groundsill was constructed at
the downstream of the weir in 1994, then the weir became stabilized, and the water could
even be utilized during the dry season.
i) Way Curup Irrigation Scheme: The Way Curup irrigation scheme with a total command
area of 5,323 ha is located in the District of J epara, East Lampung Regency, with the water
resources comes from the Kemuning Lake at the downstream site. The construction
implementation was started in 1979 with a free intake from Way Curup River. The location of
this irrigation scheme is often suffered from heavy sedimentation as well landslide. To avoid
occasional problems of sedimentation and landslide, the main channel was modified into a
piped scheme for about 1,254 ha. In 2004 a rehabilitation and reconstruction work was
conducted in the Curup Scheme to maintain appropriate function of the scheme. After the
rehabilitative works conducted, then the weir became stabilized, and the water could be
utilized at the maximum extent.
j) Rawa Seragi Irrigation/Drainage Lowland scheme: The Rawa Seragi Irrigation and
Drainage scheme with a total command area of 23,000 ha is located in the District of Palas,
South Lampung Regency, with the water resources comes from the inland swamp with
appropriate drainage control making this area a lot more prospective than other irrigation
scheme in the vicinity area. The majority of population in this irrigation scheme was
originally resettled under the transmigration program. The construction was initiated in 1974-
1975 by constructing flood protection levees along the downstream of Way sekampung at the
Way Pisang Site. By 1978 the overall development of the Rawa Seragih was constructed by
reclaiming the lowland areas and swamps at the Rawa Seragi I, II, III, and IV. In the 1997 and
1998s Fiscal year, further extension of the Rawa Seragi Scheme was conducted by
constructing the J abung Rubber Weir at Way Sekampung Site for a total command area of
7,700 ha from the Right Main Canal of the Sekampung River.
k) Rawa Mesuji-Tulang Bawang (Jitu, Pitu): The Rawa Mesuji-Tulang Bawang (J itu, Pitu)
Irrigation and Drainage scheme with a total command area of 20,000 ha is located in the
Tulang Bawang Regency, with the water resources comes from the inland swamp with
appropriate drainage control for supporting the previously implemented lowland irrigation
and drainage control in other part of the province. The majority of population in this irrigation
scheme was originally resettled under the transmigration program as well as the local
transmigration settlement. The construction was initiated in 1984-1985 by constructing flood
protection levees and drainage channel, which affected by tidal water. In the 1988 and 1989s
Fiscal Year, further extension of the Mesuji-Tulang Bawang scheme was further conducted by
constructing the Rawa Pidada Tulang Bawang at an area of 11,100 ha as well as 20,730 at the
Mesuji Atas scheme in 1991-1992 Fiscal Year. At the initial stage, the scheme encountered by
socio-economic problems having the fact that the local transmigrants were not used to
lowland farming. However, through time, adaptation to tidal swamp farming become
internalized. The project will be further improved by constructing of flood control levees
along the frequently overflow at the top bank of Tulang Bawang-Mesuji river.
l) Batu Tegi Dam: The idea of dam construction at Batu Tegi site had actually been evident
since the Dutch Colonial time, however, the feasibility study was only completed in 1990s.
The construction execution was started in the fiscal year of 1995-1996 at the upstream site of
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the Way Sekampung River
(about 60 km upstream form the
existing Argoguruh weir. The
dam itself is located at the
Village of Way Harong, Pulau
panggung District, Tanggamus
Regency. The dam serves a total
irrigation command area, the
already constructed irrigation
scheme of 66,573 ha (previously
only 43,588 ha without dam).
The effective storage capacity of
this dam is about 690 million
m
3
, with crest elevation at +274
m (MSL), 21 km
2
inundated
area, dam height at 120 m from
river bottom, with a catchment
area of 424km
2
. With the
completion of this dam in 2004, there are currently three dams operate in Lampung Province.
Beside for supporting irrigation scheme, the Batu Tegi dam also equips with hydro-electric
generator at the capacity of 2 x 14 MW, also for providing drinking water for Bandar
Lampung City at about 2,000 liter per second, 200 liter/second for the Metro Municipality, as
well as 50 liter per second for Branti and Natar of the airport vicinity. The dam also functions
as flood control, water based tourism and inland fisheries.

7.5. WEST JAVA PROVINCE
7.5.1. OVERVIEW OF WEST JAVA PROVINCE
Total land area of this province
is 46,300 km
2
, equivalent to
about 2.41% of entire land area
of Indonesia area (before divided
into two provinces i.e. West J ava
and Banten Provinces). The
population in 2002 was
37,157,000 people (not including
Banten Province) with 2.3% of
annual average growth rate
between 1990 and 2000. This is
the oldest provinces in
Indonesia, established by the
Dutch Colonial Government in
1925, followed by Central J ava
and East J ava Provinces in 1926. At that time, the West J ava Province covers the tip of
westward of Central J ava to Cisanggarung River in the eastern part of Cirebon Town. Since
2000, this province has been divided into two, namely Banten Province in the western part
and West J ava Province itself.
Batu Tegi Dam, at the upper reach of Way Sekampung
River, providing water storage to be diverted downstream
to Argoguruh Weir, March 2004
GENERAL MAP OF WEST JAVA PROVINCE
Banda Aceh
Medan
Pangkal Pinang
Padang
Bengkulu
Bandar Lampung
Yogyakarta
Surabaya
Denpasar
Mataram
Kupang
Ambon
Manado Gorontalo
Palu
Ujung Pandang
Banjarmasin
Samarinda
Palangkaraya
Pontianak
Kendari
Ternate
J akarta
Palembang
J ambi
MALAYSIA
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
PHILIPINA
AUSTRALIA
MALAYSIA
SINGAPURA
P. Sumatera
P. Sulawesi
P. Kalimantan
P. J awa
P. Papua
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The northern part of the province consists of fertile plain while the central part southward to
the sea also consists of a vast fertile upland area. Very large irrigated agricultural land lies in
the north plain, while in upland part (hilly area) a large number of medium and small scale
irrigation systems are scattered over the area. The major crops of the community are rice and
palawija (secondary crops).

Table 7.5. Irrigated rice field area by irrigation types in 2002
1. Technical Irrigation 373,695
2. Semi Technical Irrigation 125,278
3. Simple Irrigation/Village Irrigation 250,855
4. Groundwater Irrigation N.A
5. Other Irrigation (swamp, polder) 1,398
6. Rainfed 161,859
Total 913,355
Source: Agriculture Survey 2002, Central Board of Statistics
The rice field area in 2002 was noted at 913,355 ha consisted of 750,098 ha of irrigated paddy
field, 161,859 ha of rainfed paddy field and 1,398 ha others irrigated rice fields (swamp,
lowlands). See Table 7.5 above:

7.5.2. EXAMPLES OF IRRIGATION SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT IN WEST JAVA
a) Rentang Irrigation Scheme
Rentang irrigation scheme takes water from Cimanuk River through intake structure named
Rentang Barrage. The entire irrigation area covers some 90,000 hectares, the largest irrigation
area in Indonesia served by one weir. This irrigation scheme was previously developed as
simple small scale irrigation scheme and then developed into technical irrigation scheme later
on. Rentang Irrigation area consists of three main areas, i.e.: i) Cipelang Irrigation Sceme with
an area of 31,000 ha; ii) Sindupraja Irrigation Scheme with an area of 38,000 ha; and iii)
Gegesik Irrigation Scheme with
an area of about 21,000 ha.
The history of Rentang Irrigation
scheme started in 1840, when a
group of person from local
community developed irrigation
system on the right bank of
Cimanuk River which was later
named Sindupraja Irrigation
Scheme. The irrigation water for
this area was supplied from
Cikeruh River, Cimanuk
tributary by constructing a
simple earth weir across the river
and flowed through Sindupraja
canal. In 1847, the colonial
government constructed a free

Scenic view of Rentang Barrage (2004)
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intake on the right bank of Cimanuk River. The Cipelang irrigation system was constructed
on the left bank of Cimanuk River by diverting water from Cipelang River.
In 1846 a wooden framed weir was constructed to replace Cikeruh earth weir, but it wasnt
last long. The new weir was constructed in the downstream of Cikeruh earth weir. In 1855,
the wooden framed weir was totally collapsed.
In 1891, the free intake in Cikeruh River was constructed in order to replace the damaged
Cikeruh Weir. This intake was built in the upstream of Cikeruh Weir included a connector
canal from the new free intake to Sindupraja Canal.
In 1912, Rentang weir was constructed upstream of Rentang free intake and completed in
1917. The development and extension of irrigation networks were undertaken continuously to
cover the entire command area of 90,000 hectares. The full development was completed in
1940, or 100 years since after the community started the construction work. In the subsequent
PELITA-II the government constructed the new Rentang Barrage and completed in 1982.
b) Mentereng-Ciberes Irrigation Scheme
This irrigation area is located in north-coast of West J ava in the eastern part, and become the
boundary of West J ava to Central J ava Province. The name of this irrigation area is derived
from the name of two irrigation schemes; Mentereng Irrigation scheme with a command area
of 7,700 ha and Ciberes Irrigation scheme with a command area of 3,030 ha; so that the total
irrigation area of Mentereng-Ciberes area is 10,730 ha.
The development of this irrigation scheme was firstly started in 1840, when the Head of
Kuningan Regency constructed the Kuningan weir in order to irrigate the paddy field located
in Cirebes Irrigation Area. In the same year, in 1840, Head of Cirebon Regency also
constructed a free intake structure in Cisanggarung River and Mentereng main canal to
irrigate Mentereng irrigation area.
In 1878, in order to support the irrigation needs of Dutch Sugarcane plantation, government
constructed the permanent weir called Mentereng Weir. Even though this weir was
permanent, but the irrigation networks were still with simple scheme. In 1904, the
government took over the management of Mentereng Irrigation scheme and conducted
rehabilitation as well as upgrading of the existing scheme so that by 1924 all the schemes
hade been up-graded to technical irrigation scheme.
The main water source is Cisanggarung River and Ciberes River. Mentereng irrigation is
supported by Mentereng Weir in Cisanggarung River, whereas Ciberes Irrigation is supplied
by Ciberes River through two weirs, i.e. Ambit Weir and Cangkuang Weir.
As the need of water for the sugarcane plant increased, three reservoirs were built, these were:
i) Sedong Reservoir, completed in 1921; ii) Setupatok Reservoir, completed in 1924; and iii)
Dharma Reservoir, construction started in 1938, but halted because of the World War II,
resumed again in 1957 and completed in 1962. These reservoirs are the main water sources
for Mentereng-Ciberes Irrigation Area and its surrounding areas.
c) Cihea Irrigation Scheme
Cihea Irrigation system is a medium scale irrigation system having a command area of 6,140
ha which is located in a highland area of Cianjur Regency and recognized as the first
irrigation scheme in West J ava built by Dutch Colonial Government. The development of
Cihea Irrigation Scheme was started in 1891 right after the establishment of Water Resources
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and Irrigation Services within the Public Works Department and completed nine years later
i.e. in 1900. However, there were some areas which were not included in the 1891
development. The said areas covered by extension program which was completed in 1910.
Due to undulated highland, Cihea Irrigation network has many drop structures, steep canal,
and three irrigation tunnels with the total length of 981 meters altogether. The Water source of
this irrigation command area is supplied from Cisokan River, a tributary of Citarum River,
which considered as the largest river in West J ava where the three cascading large reservoirs
are located (see Supplement Paper entitled: Jatiluhur Multi Purposed Reservoir).
d) Walahar Irrigation Scheme
Walahar Irrigation Scheme located in northern plain of West J ava known as Karawang Plain,
as a part of the J atiluhur irrigation area. It covers 80,000 hectares of irrigated agricultural land
which is recognized as the second largest irrigation area in Indonesia after Rentang Irrigation
scheme (see Supplement entitled J atiluhur Multi Purpose Reservoir).
In 1930, immediately after the so called J ava War, the Dutch Colonial Government sold all
the agricultural lands at northern part of West J ava to private sectors excluded the Karawang
Plain. However, there were nor records concerning the reason why this plain was not sold.
For some time, there was a doubt in developing this area due to some difficulties in diverting
water from the large Citarum River. Nevertheless, it was evident that local farmers, have
developed part of the area for irrigated agricultural land mainly for paddy field. The areas
which were developed by the farmers were:
1) Right bank of Citarum River, was developed by diverting water from the river through
wooden pipes. In 1905 the government constructed a masonry gated free intake to irrigate
4,600 hectares of land. A canal was also constructed named Sasak Canal. After development
of Walahar scheme, this area incorporated to Walahar area as a secondary block and the free
intake was closed.
2) Waduk Kemojing Irrigation scheme; Local people have developed soil embankment across
the river channel forming ponds/small reservoir since long time ago. They built such small
reservoir in Cikarang Gelam River, a small river flowing in the area, to irrigate 4,260
hectares, but only about 50% was managed to be well irrigated. After completion of J atiluhur
Irrigation Scheme and Curug
Weir, the whole area of this
Kemojing cheme was
incorporated in the commanded
area of West Tarum Canal.
3) Lemah Abang Swamp
Irrigation; Lemah Abang swamp
formed by over-topping of
Ciherang Nungali River. Water
from the swamp used by the
farmers for irrigation. In 1905, at
the same time of construction of
Sasak Canal, this swamp land
was improved. The improvement
works including embankment,
Birds eye view of the Walahar Barrage
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construction of spillway, and gates. After improvement, some 4,260 hectares of paddy field
became fully irrigated. Later, after completion of the whole of the Walahar Irrigation Scheme
development, this area was incorporated into Walahar Scheme.
4) Cilamaya Irrigation Scheme; This area lies in the eastern part of Karawang Plain. The local
farmers had previously constructed a number of simple weirs in this are. Even water supply
was not well regulated and always threatened by flood the simple weirs were able to supply
irrigation water for 12,800 hectares of paddy fields. In 1920, the government implemented the
Development of Cilamaya Irrigation Scheme by constructing a weir in Citarum River as
indicated by original design. Later, during the construction implementation, the weir was
changed to a barrage.
All areas indicated in point 1) and point 3) above and some newly developed areas having a
total command area of 80,000 hectares were incorporated altogether under the service area of
Walahar Irrigation Scheme.

7.6. CENTRAL JAVA PROVINCE
7.6.1. OVERVIEW OF CENTRAL JAVA
Central J ava Province has a total area of 34,206 km
2
, equivalent to about 1.78% of the entire
land area of Indonesia. Population in 2002 was 31,786,000 people with an annual average
growth rate of 0.94% within 1990 to 2000.
This province is one of the oldest provinces in Indonesia, established by the Dutch Colonial
Government in 1926, at the same time with East J ava Province. Central J ava Province covers
most of the central parts of J ava Island except Yogyakarta Special Administrative Province.
The west boundary is West J ava Province, and east boundary is East J ava Province. In the
southern part, Central J ava is bordered by Yogyakarta Special Administrative Territory.
Most of the northern part of this province consists of fertile land plain. From the central part
to the sea in the south consists of
fertile upland area. This hilly
area has medium and small scale
irrigation schemes. From central
part northward to the J ava Sea,
large paddy fields are expanded
over the area.
The total area of paddy field in
2002 was 985,810 hectares
consisted of 709,751 hectares of
irrigated paddy fields, 273,973
hectare of rainfed areas, and
2,086 ha of others irrigated
paddy field such as swamps and
lowlands. See Table 7.6. for
further details below. GENERAL MAP OF CENTRAL J AVA
Banda Aceh
Medan
Pangkal Pinang
Padang
Bengkulu
Bandar Lampung
Yogyakarta
Surabaya
Denpasar
Mataram
Kupang
Ambon
Manado Gorontalo
Palu
Ujung Pandang
Banjarmasin
Samarinda
Palangkaraya
Pontianak
Kendari
Ternate
J akarta
Palembang
J ambi
MALAYSIA
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
PHILIPINA
AUSTRALIA
MALAYSIA
SINGAPURA
P. Sumatera
P. Sulawesi
P. Kalimantan
P. J awa
P. Papua
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Table 7.6. Irrigated paddy field area by irrigation Type, 2002
4 Ground Water Irrigation *) N.A.
5 Other Irrigation 2,086
6 Rainfed Irrigation 273,973
Total 985,810
Source: Agricultural Survey, Central Board of Statistics, 2002
*) Referring to Irrigation Primary Data 2000, Central J ava Provincial Government, there were
650 well-pumps to irrigate 16,307 ha of paddy field.

With regards to water storage facilities, the Central J ava Province has a large number of dams
and Setu (small reservoir popularly called field reservoir). There are 39 reservoirs in the entire
province, with various capacities, starts from 136,000 m
3
, to the largest of 730,000,000 m
3
.
The largest reservoir is Wonogiri Dam located in the famous Bengawan Solo River. There are
176 setus/field reservoirs, in the province. The capacity of which varied from 1,000 m
3
to
550,000 m
3
. Most of these setus are used for irrigation and some others are used for domestic
water supplies as well. Table 7.7 lists reservoirs with the capacity of more than 40M m
3
.
Table 7.7. List of reservoirs in Central J ava with the capacity of more than 40 million m
3

No. Name of Reservoir Name of River
Capacity
(10
-6
m
3
)
Year of Construction
1. Malahayu Kabuyutan 60 1932-1937
2. Cacaban Cacaban Wetan 90 1952-1958
3. Rawa Pening Tuntang 45 1936-1938
4. Kedung Ombo Lusi/Serang 723 1985-1991
5. Wonogiri Bengawan Solo 730 1976-1981
6. Mrica/Sudirman Serayu 137 1981-1989
7. Sempor Glagah 52 1974-1978
8. Wadas Lintang Badegolan 443 1982-1988
Source: Central J ava Provincial Water Resources Service, 2002

7.6.2. EXAMPLE OF IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT IN CENTRAL JAVA
a) Semarang-Demak-Kudus Plain Irrigation Schemes
Irrigation schemes in this area consist of five systems. These are: i) Glapan scheme, ii) Sedadi
Scheme, iii) Weduk Scheme, iv) Babalan Scheme, and v) East Semarang Scheme.
The first two scheme, i.e. Glapan and Sedadi Schemes are highlighted below:
1) Glapan Irrigation Scheme
After famine disasters in 1848/1849, the Colonial Government gave special thought about a
program to increase food production in the area. In 1852, four years after such famine
disaster, the Dutch Colonial government constructed a weir in Tuntang River, named Glapan
Weir, taking the name of the village where the weir is located. Besides construction of weir,
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two main canals were also
constructed i.e. East Glapan
Main Canal to irrigate some
10,700 hectares of land, and
West Glapan Main Canal to
irrigate some 5,000 hectares of
paddy field.
This weir was the first weir
constructed by the Dutch
Colonial Government in Central
J ava. In 1859/1860 Glapan
Irrigation Scheme was completed
and fully operated. Meanwhile,
development of irrigation
scheme was not covered the drainage scheme, so that the development of Glapan Irrigation
Scheme was not achieving the main objective i.e. to increase food production. It was not
surprise that other famine disasters occurred again in 1872, causing tens of thousands of
people died of starvation during the time.
In an attempt to maintain constant productivity of the scheme, immediately after
independence, the Government of Indonesia undertook the first rehabilitation works within
the period of PELITA-I and PELITA-II i.e. between 1969 and 1979, followed by the second
rehabilitation program between 1987 and 1990.
2) Sedadi Irrigation Scheme
After a series of rehabilitative and improvement works, today the total area of Sedadi
Irrigation Scheme is currently 21,330 hectares, consists of three sub-schemes i.e.: i) Upper
Serang with an area of 4,700 hectares; ii) Tuntang-Serang with an area of 10,180 hectares;
and iii) Lower Serang with a command area of 6,430 hectares.
It was reported that ten years after the 1872s famine disaster, i.e. in 1882, the Dutch Colonial
Government prepared a plan named Demaksche Werken (Demak Irrigation Project), which
consisted of: i) Improvement/up-grading of East Glapan Irrigation Scheme; ii) Development
of Sedadi Irrigation Scheme; iii) development of Weduk Irrigation Scheme; iv) Flood control
and drainage improvement in Demak Plain; and v) Lower Serang River Improvement works.
In 1908, a flood diversion weir was constructed in Serang River to divert flood water from
Sedadi Weir Main Canal Intake
Scenic view of Glapan Weir
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Serang River to Babalan River and to irrigate Babalan Irrigation area as a part of Sedadi
Scheme. After the completion of Kedung Ombo Reservoir, Babalan scheme incorporated into
Kedung Ombo commad areas served by Klambu Barrage. See section 7.12. Illustrating further
details about flood control works.
Sedadi Irrigation Scheme and Wedung Irrigation Scheme receive water from Serang River
through Sedadi Weir and a free intake. In case of inadequate water source available in Serang
River to irrigate those two systems, a canal was constructed to connect East Glapan Main
Canal described in 1) above and Sedadi Main Canal. This was considered as a type of inter-
basin transfer from Tuntang River to River Serang.
b) Pemali-Comal Irrigation Scheme
The Pemali-Comal Irrigation Scheme lies in the north coast of western part of Central J ava
Provinces from Cisanggarung River in the west to east of Pekalongan Town in the east. There
are a number of rivers flowing in the area; the largest are Pemali River and Comal River. This
was the reason why the Pemali-Comal term was used for the name of the scheme.
The scheme consists of 11 sub-schemes and a number of small scale schemes as listed in
Table 7.8. below:
Table 7.8. Irrigation sub-schemes in Pemali-Comal Irrigation Scheme
Year of Construction
No.
Name of
Sub-System
Area (ha)
Intake Canals
1. J angkok 7,135 1910
2. Kabuyutan 3,913 1905
3. Babakan 2,723 1904
4. Pemali 30,793 1905
5. Kumisik 7,140 1924
6. Gung 18,431 1930
7. Rambut 8,666 1905
8. Waluh 8,484 1888 1890
9. Comal 9,429 1900
10. Genteng Sragi 12,593 1909 1920
11. Sengkarang 11,802 1900
12. Small Scale 4,711
Total 126,000
Source: Ir. Subandi Wirosumarto, 1997/1998; The Chronological Proces of Water Resources
Development in Indonesia

The subsequent irrigation development in this area was conducted to fulfill irrigation demands
for the Dutch sugarcane plantation. In this context the local people have previously
constructed their own irrigation scheme before the period indicated in the above Table 7.8.
There are three Reservoirs in Pemali-Comal Irrigation Scheme to control the water supply
(mainly for irrigation). These three reservoirs are:
1) Malahayu Dam, with a storage capacity of 60 MCM, constructed between 1932 and 1937;
2) Penjalin Dam, with a storage capacity of 9.5 MCM, constructed in 1934; and
3) Cacaban Dam, with a storage capacity of 90 MCM, constructed between 1952 and 1958.

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During the period between 1960 and 1968, or before PELITA-I, four weirs in Pemali-Comal
suffered from severe damages and have to be reconstructed. For that reason in 1970 i.e. the
second year of PELITA-I, the government set up program to undertake rehabilitation works of
irrigation schemes including canals and structures. These works cover rehabilitation of 43
weirs, construction of seven new weirs, rehabilitation of 1,799 hydraulic structures in the
main and secondary canals, rehabilitation of irrigation canals; construction of 183 km of main
canals, and 767 km of secondary canals.
c) Serayu Valley Irrigation Scheme
This area called Serayu Valley Irrigation because of it lies in Serayu River valley. Serayu
River has the best flow regime in J ava Island. Its spring begins from Mount Perahu, Mount
Sindoro, and Mount Sumbing. The total length of the river is 176 km, and the catchment area
is 363 km
2
.
Serayu valley Irrigation area divided into two part; upstream course and downstream course.
In the upstream course, since the topography condition is undulating, the irrigation area
consists of small and medium scale. Irrigation development in this course is considered to be
cheaper and easier relative to the downstream parts. In the upstream course, the water can be
diverted from the small rivers; even these rivers can be used as conveyance canal as well as
drainage canal. The downstream part which is flat area needs higher investment and higher
technology because it has to divert water from the large Serayu River. Irrigation network in
the upstream course has been developed since the end of 19
th
Century, i.e. in 1883, while the
downstream part was developed in 1930.
This area consists of four medium and large irrigation networks i.e.: i) Singomerto Irrigation
Scheme; ii) Banjar-Cahyana Irrigation Scheme; iii) Gambarsari-Pesanggrahan Irrigation
Scheme; and iv) Banjaran Irrigation Scheme. The first three of these irrigation schemes are
highlighted hereinafter:
1) Singomerto Irrigation Scheme
Before 1880, this irrigation scheme was a small scale irrigation scheme constructed by the
farmers by diverting water from the small streams, the tributaries of Serayu River. Gradually,
the farmers develop irrigation scheme by to diverting water from larger rivers. As a result the
local farmers had been managed to supplying adequate water for 1,800 hectares of paddy
fields in the area.
In 1880, before the establishment of Water Resources and Irrigation Services under the Public
Works Department, the government rehabilitated and upgraded irrigation system in
Singomerto. This works covers the construction of free intake in Serayu River (Singomerto
Village), and free intake in Blimbing River with a canal named Blimbing Canal. Blimbing
Canal recieves additional water supply from Singomerto Weir. Given this up-grading and
rehabilitation works some 5,100 hectares of paddy fields obtained regular irrigation water
supplies. These works were completed in 1884.
In order to have better development of Serayu valley irrigation, Irrigation Brigade was
established by the Dutch Colonial Authority in 1885. This brigade was the embryo of Water
Resources and Irrigation Services. Under the new brigade, Singomerto irrigation network was
rehabilitated, remodeled, and upgraded into technical irrigation. These works began in 1886
and completed in 1903. After the completion of this works, irrigated area has increased from
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5,100 ha to 6,600 ha. To support the so called rising of food production program, in 1970, at
the second year of PELITA-I, Singometo intake equipped with permanent weir.
2) Banjar-Cahyana Irrigation scheme
Banjar-Cahyana Irrigation is located in Banjar and Cahyana Districts, lies between three
rivers; Pekacangan River, Klawing and Serayu Rivers. Therefore, the scheme named after
Banjar-Cahyana Irrigation scheme. Several efforts to provide water for irrigation of this area
have been conducted by the local people by constructing intake structures at Pekacangan
River and at Merawi River (Serayu River tributaries). Water of both rivers contained refined
sediment which decreased the soil fertility and contributed to the decrease of rice production.
Given the inability of the local people to divert water from the large Serayu River, they still
make effort to improve water quality by making sediment pouch. Water tapped from the river
and flows through sediment pouch, so as that the impacts of harmful sediment were
minimized.
Banjar-Cahyana Irrigation Development Plan has been programmed since 1891, but because
of occasional transfers of government officials, the program did not run well. In the general
plan, there were two options, first wasto separate Banjar and Cahyana irrigation schemes and
second was to keep them united. After comprehensive considerations, it was eventually
decided to unite Banjar and Cahyana but intake structures moved to the upstream of the
junction point of Merawu and Serayu Rivers. This was meant to avoid the high sediment
transport of the Merayu River flowing into irrigation canal. The decision for combining
Banjar and Cahyana was made in 1909, and irrigation network development was successfully
completed in 1920.
In line with the above development endeavors, the Mrica Dam (also known as Sudirman
Dam) in this area had also been constructed between 1981 and 1989. However, the impact of
this dam was quite unexpected, the Banjar Cahyana Weir and the upper course of Banjar-
Cahyana Main Canal were sank below water level of the reservoir. For this reason, the intake
gates moved further downstream of the new constructed dam decreasing the length of main
canal by about seven km.
3) Gambarsari Pesanggrahan Irrigation
Irrigation Brigade which was established in 1885, conducted topographic surveys in order to
prepare irrigation development plan of for South Banyumas Plain, where this area is located,
covering a total area of about 35,500 hectares. This project called Serayu Raya Development
Project. For this purpose a weir is planned to be constructed at Serayu River.
Besides Serayu Raya Development Project, at the same year in 1885, Tajum Irrigation
Development (Tajum River is Serayu River tributary) was also implemented by constructing a
weir at Tajum River to irrigate an area of about 18,000 hectares. However, the
implementation of both programs, were canceled due to the high costs and due to the fact that
Tajum water was not enough to irrigate the planned 18,000 hectares.
During PELITA-I, rehabilitation of irrigation scheme including the replacement of pumps was
conducted. Replacement of pumps was completed early in 1973 while rehabilitation of main
system was completed in 1977.
In 1968, before PELITA-I was started the Government of Indonesia reviewed Tajum
Irrigation Development Program (which was planned in 1885). Based on the review, Tajum
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Irrigation was then implemented and completed in 1972. However, the development was not
for 18,000 ha, as previously planned, instead, only about 3,200 hectares was implemented by
means of gravity flow and 700 hectares by means of pump irrigation.
In 1990, i.e. the second year of Pelita V, the government implemented rehabilitation of
Gambarsari-Pesanggerahan Irrigation scheme consisted of: i) replacement of pumping station
with a barrage in Gambarsari Village and then named the barrage after Gambarsari Barrage;
ii) combining the Gambarsari Scheme with Pesanggerahan Scheme; and iii) river
improvement works and improvement of drainage works.
d) South Kedu Plain Irrigation
South Kedu plain is located in the southern part of Central J ava, west of Yogyakarta to the
border of Serayu catchment area in the west. There were several internal drains, rivers, and
canals, constructed after the 1861 large flood.
This area has been developed as irrigated paddy fields since Mataram Kingdom at the 19
th

Century by utilizing small rivers as source of water. In 1830, when the Compulsory
Agricultural Policy was imposed, irrigation canals have to be rehabilitated by the farmers in
order to support the said compulsory policy. After the extreme flood occurred in 1861, which
was noted as the most devastation flood at that time, the Colonial Government paid attention
to the rehabilitation of existing irrigation network. After the said flood, the government started
to rehabilitate and up-grade the irrigation systems, which was previously constructed by the
farmers. Besides irrigation rehabilitation, the government also conducted flood control works
by constructing four canals flowing directly southward to Indian Ocean.
The rehabilitated irrigation network (after the 1861s flood) consisted of nine schemes
(having a total command area of 33,120 hectares). The unit command area varied from 1,500
ha to 6,000 ha and 7,000 ha of small scale irrigation schemes. This works were completed at
the end of the 19
th
Century.
At early the 20
th
Century, part of the networks had been up-graded to technical irrigation
systems and the other parts to semi technical systems.
At the beginning of PELITA-I in 1969 the government gradually rehabilitated irrigation
schemes in this area and the whole network had been up-graded into technical irrigation
systems. Early at the beginning of PELITA-II in 1974, construction of Sempor Dam was
started. The effective storage capacity was designed at the magnitude of 52 MCM, which was
considered to be adequate for irrigating 8,000 ha of paddy fields. This dam was completed in
1978. In line with this, in 1982, i.e. within PELITA-III, Wadas Lintang Dam was also
constructed which a total capacity of 443 MCM of effective storage capacity for providing
irrigation water for a total of 33,000 ha of paddy fields.

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7.7. EAST JAVA PROVINCE
7.7.1. OVERVIEW OF EAST JAVA PROVINCE
The total area of East J ava Province is 47,921 km
2
or 2.5% of entire Indonesia area. In 2002,
the province was populated by
35,225,000 people with an
average growth rate of about
0.70% between 1990 and 2000.
This province is one of the oldest
provinces in Indonesia,
established by the Dutch
Colonial Government in 1926 at
the same time with the
establishment of the Central J ava
Province. East J ava Province
covers the eastern part of J ava
Island. The western part of the
province bordered with Central
J ava and Bali Province eastward.
The total paddy field area in
2002 was 1,147,007 ha consisted
of 903,154 hectares of irrigated rice field, 242,562 hectares of rainfed paddy fields, and 1,291
ha others rice fields (swamp polders). See Table 7.9 below for further details:
Table 7.9. Irrigated rice field area by irrigation type, 2002
4 Ground Water Irrigation NA
5 Other Irrigation 1,291
6 Rainfed Irrigation 242,526
Total 1,147,007

East J ava is well-known with its soil fertility due to frequent supplies of volcanic ash from
Mount Kelud Volcano. During the earlier Colonial Period the area had always been attractive
to sugarcane investors for development of sugarcane plantation. Within the Brantas Delta and
the Brantas River Valley, for example, during the Colonial Period, it was recorded that there
were 36 sugarcane estates and sugar factories in East J ava Province.
7.7.2. EXAMPLE OF IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT IN EAST JAVA
Like other major provinces Indonesia, the East J ava Province also has large number irrigation
schemes that cannot be described one by one. Therefore, only several important irrigation
areas would be highlighted to represent the general illustration of irrigation works in this
GENERAL MAP OF EAST JAVA PROVINCE
Banda Aceh
Medan
Pangkal Pinang
Padang
Bengkulu
Bandar Lampung
Yogyakarta
Surabaya
Denpasar
Mataram
Kupang
Ambon
Manado Gorontalo
Palu
Ujung Pandang
Banjarmasin
Samarinda
Palangkaraya
Pontianak
Kendari
Ternate
J akarta
Palembang
J ambi
MALAYSIA
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
PHILIPINA
AUSTRALIA
MALAYSIA
SINGAPURA
P. Sumatera
P. Sulawesi
P. Kalimantan
P. J awa
P. Papua
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province. However, the small scale irrigation scheme in Madura Island (part of this province),
will briefly be highlighted due to its specific characteristic.
a) Delta Brantas and Brantas Valley Irrigation Schemes
The Brantas Delta is located in the fertile area at the downstream part from bifurcation of
Porong and Surabaya Rivers to the sea, classified as amongst the best soil classifications for
sugarcane plantation. For this reason, during the Dutch Colonial Era, many agricultural
investors from Europe competed to invest substantial amount of capitals for development of
sugarcane plantation, even many of them took over the sugarcane plantation developed by the
local people. Parallel with this competition, the Dutch Authority also imposed the so called
Compulsory Agricultural Policy, in which the local people were forced to plant the pre
determined cash crops commodities in condition that 20% of the crop production shall be
surrendered to Colonial Government Authority, in lieu of the 20% of tax obligation as
previously determined by the Government.
Thus, irrigation development in the Brantas Delta began with irrigation water requirement
assumption for sugarcane plantation as the principal parameter for structural design. In the
later stage, it was recorded at the early 19
th
Century that there were some 33,000 hectares of
irrigated sugarcane areas, served with at least 16 sugar factories in the entire Brantas Delta of
the East J ava Province.
Concerning the development chronology of the Brantas Delta Irrigation Scheme, the initial
program implementation was started in 1852 by constructing Lengkong Weir. The
construction was completed in 1857, but soon after completed, this weir was damaged and
immediately to keep it operational.
The follow up development of irrigation system was initially conducted by means of simple
irrigation system and gradually, upgraded into technical irrigation system. The up-grading of
this system was started around the second decade of the 20
th
Century. During PELITA-III
between 1979 and 1984 and continued at the follow-up PELITA-IV, the constructed
Lengkong Weir was replaced with Barrage type headwork.
During the same period, the Brantas River valley was also developed for sugarcane plantation.
At the end of the 19
th
Century there were 36 sugar factories including the 16 units in the
Brantas Delta. The development of Brantas valley was conducted as the subsequent follow-up
of Delta Brantas development implementation. Under the development program, there were
many of irrigation schemes developed in this valley, including the three most notable ones: 1)
Kedung Kandang Irrigation Scheme; 2) Molek Irrigation; and 3) Warujayeng-Turi
Tunggorono Irrigation schemes.
1) Kedung Kandang Irrigation
This irrigation scheme was firstly developed in 1854 taking its water from Amprong River, a
Brantas tributary, through a simple earth weir across the river, equipped with spillway. This
weir has a total commanded area of 1,100 hectares.
The Dutch Colonial Authority started to put special effort for the development of this
irrigation scheme in 1875 by constructing stop logs on the spillway together with the
provision of a number of hydraulic structures, and extension of irrigation areas. These works
were completed in 1877. In 1893, rehabilitation works were conducted with subsequent
rehabilitation and structural improvements. After the said 1893s rehabilitation work, the total
irrigation command area increased to 1,750 hectares. In 1904, comprehensive rehabilitation of
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Kedung Kandang Irrigation was conducted to cover a number of construction works such as:
i) construction of new weir; ii) extension of irrigation area southward up to 4,550 hectares; iii)
permanent structures equipped with discharge measurement devices; iv) additional water
supply facility from the nearby river. These works were completed in 1911 with a total of
4,550 hectares of simple irrigation system up-graded to technical irrigation systems. Today,
however, much of the technical irrigation command area in the vicinity Malang Municipality
has been converted to urban and industrial areas.
2) Molek Irrigation
Molek Irrigation area was the first area irrigation scheme constructed by means of simple weir
taking its water directly from Brantas River. The construction implementation was started
1830 by developing a small scale of simple irrigation system, following the previously
developed Palakan Irrigation System, which was constructed in 1828 with a total command
area of 600 hectares. In 1900 Colonial Government started to develop the Molek irrigation
network by including the extension of the existing irrigation command areas. Under this
extension program, all the schemes were developed into technical irrigation systems and the
simple weir was replaced with permanent masonry weir. As a result, the total command area
of Molek Irrigation scheme has increased to 5,000 hectares.
3) Warujayeng-Turi Tunggorono Irrigation.
This area as a part of Brantas Valley Syatem located at the center of Brantas River catchment
area. The area consists of two systems i.e. Warujayeng Irrigation System on the left bank
westward and Turi-Tunggorono Irrigation System on left bank northward. Warujayeng
system diverts water through the Mrican free-intake, close to Kediri Town, and Turi-
tunggorono diverts water through Turi free-intake. The initial development of this area was
started in 1901 and completed in 1911. The total irrigation command area after completion of
development of both Warujayeng and Turi-Tunggorono schemes were 16,750 hectares. Turi-
Tunggorono was previously in-land swamp areas named Watudakon Swamp.
In 1900 the Dutch Colonial Government conducted improvement work for the Lower Brantas
and Watudakon Reclamation Works. During which, sugarcane plantation suffered from
difficulties to provide their-own irrigation and drainage as well as flood protection
infrastructures. Therefore, irrigation and flood prevention facilities in this region were mostly
severely deteriorating. To overcome this condition, in 1913 the Dutch Colonial Government
developed a polder system in Watudakon Swamp area named Watudakon Polder. To control
the water inflow to the polder, a ring canal was constructed. This ring canal was connected to
a tributary of Brantas River. For providing irrigation water supply to this polder area, with a
total irrigation command area of 9,800 ha, a free intake adjacent with the Turi Village was
constructed. It was discovered later on that the polder system suffered from severe problem of
sedimentation in the canals due to heavy sediment transport carried into the canals through the
river free intakes. As a result, the carrying capacity of canals decreased sharply within a short
time after irrigation implementation.
To overcome this problem, after Indonesias independence, the Government built a new
barrage named Mrican Barrage to replace two free intakes previously constructed by the
Dutch Colonial Authority. The succeeding irrigation water supply for Turi-Tunggorono area
was conducted by constructing a conveyance canal through the right bank of Brantas River.
By constructing a permanent barrage with its related conveyance canal and hydraulic
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infrastructures a new irrigation scheme with a total area of 14,700 hectares named Papar-
Peterongan, was managed to develop. Parallel with this new irrigation development,
rehabilitation and upgrading works for Warujayeng and Turi-Tunggorono were also
conducted. The overall construction activities including barrage, conveyance canal, and
rehabilitation of irrigation systems was started in 1984 and only completed after 10 years later
at the end of 1994.
b) Bedadung-Bondoyudo Irrigation Scheme
This area located in South J ember Plain, at the southern part of East J ava. At the end of 19
th

Century, this area was still under the primary forest. Development of this area initiated by
government at the end of 19
th
Century after the spontaneous migration and European investors
obtained estates concession for sugarcane estates around J atiroto Region. Preparation of
irrigation development was started in 1887 and three years later in 1890 obtained support
from Kommisi Rentabilitas (Remunerative Committee). This was the starting point of
Bedadung-Bondoyudo Irrigation Development.
Irrigation development consists of five components: 1) river improvement works to improve
flood control system and drainage systems; 2) Bedadung irrigation development; 3) Tanggul-
Bondoyudo irrigation development; 4) Mayang irrigation development; and 5) Mrawan
irrigation development. See Table 7.10 for more detailed irrigation command area of the
Bedadung-Bondoyudo Irrigation Scheme.

Table 7.10. Irrigation area of Bedadung-Bondoyudo
No. Irrigation Sub-section Area (ha)
1 Bedadung 21,000
2 Tanggul Bondoyudo 30,130
3 Mayang 11,500
4 Mrawan 2,100
Total 64,730
1) Bedadung Irrigation Development
In 1905, five years after having approval from the government in 1900, a Master Plan of
Bedadung Irrigation Development was prepared. Construction was started in 1908 initiated by
the construction of weir and completed in 1925. Progress of land development and irrigation
facilities was very low. Therefore land development and construction of irrigation facilities
were only completed before the break up of the Second World War. After completion of that
works, some 16,400 hectares of irrigation command areas were managed developed. Under
this program, a total command area of 4,600 ha at the up-stream of Bedadung irrigation
scheme, which was previously developed by the farmers, was incorporated in Bedadung
system.
2) Tanggul Bondoyudo Irrigation Development
Planning of Tanggul Bondoyudo Irrigation Development prepared in 1913, followed by
construction implementation of irrigation facilities in 1916, and was completed in 1922.
Under the follow-up operation, it was discovered that the annual progress of land
development was going sluggish and was only managed to be completed in 1930. Upon
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completion, Tanggul Bondoyudo Irrigation Scheme has six weirs and seven sub-systems with
a total command area of 25,930 hectares of rice field and 4,200 hectares of sugarcane area.
3) Mayang Irrigation Development
There were two existing irrigation scheme in this area developed by local community i.e.
Kertosari scheme, and Wonojati scheme. Each of the schemes has a weir. The Total area of
these two schemes is 5,400 hectares. The Development implementation of these systems
started in 1919 having two stages. The first stage was construction of a barrage in Mayang
River named Talang Barrage, followed by the second stage by rehabilitation and remodeling
of existing scheme, followed by the subsequent land development with a total command area
of about 6,100 hectares. The total area under this developed system was 11,600 hectares,
however no record concerning the year of completion of this development work.
4) Mrawan Irrigation Development
Through the initiative of local community, construction of simple weir and irrigation network
infrastructures were conducted in Mrawan area before 1900. However, the simple weir was
washed away by flood in 1906. In 1908 a new weir was constructed to replace the damaged
structure and only completed in 1911. Upon completion, the total area served by this weir was
2,100 hectares.
c) Irrigation Development in Madura Island
Administratively, Madura Island includes in the territory of East J ava Province. This Island is
an arid island. In Madura there are two main rivers which have potential for irrigation
development namely, Samiran River and J epun River. These two rivers provide water for
irrigation of two irrigation schemes i.e. Samiran and Sumenep Selatan Scheme. These two
systems are highlighted to give a general overview of irrigation system in Madura Island as
follows:
1) Samiran Irrigation Scheme
There were two simple weirs constructed by local community i.e. Samiran Weir with an area
of 700 hectares, and Pademawu Weir located downstream of Samiran Weir with irrigation
command area for paddy field at 250 hectares. During irrigation operation, Samiran Weir
frequently damaged because its location at the narrow and steep river course, having simple
construction with highly susceptible to flood strike. For the case of Pademawu Weir, since the
location on the flat area, during the rainy season, the weir often flushed by flood, and hence
the farmers have to rebuild the weir soon after flood season over. Soon after establishment of
Water Resources and Irrigation Service in 1898, Department of Public Works put special
effort for development of irrigation infrastructures in this area. Under the scrutiny of the
Department of Public Works, preparation works for irrigation development was started 1891,
and the construction of Samiran Irrigation System completed in 1899, followed by the
completion of new weir in 1900. This development has increased the total service area of
Smiran system from 950 hectares to 2,500 hectares.
2) Sumenep Selatan Irrigation Scheme
Sumenep Selatan Irrigation System has been developed by local community long time ago.
The community diverted water from J epun River and its tributaries by constructing simple
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weirs and simple irrigation scheme. At that time the farmer had developed an area of 1,050
hectares of paddy field under the simple irrigation scheme. During irrigation operation, the
simple weir was frequently damaged due to flood, and hence the command area decreased to
only 185 hectares. In addition to the simple irrigation scheme, a permanent masonry weir was
built by the community named Sultan Weir for the purpose of flushing of Sumenep town and
water supply for Sumenep Prison.
In 1914 construction of Sumenep Selatan Irrigation Scheme continued through contracted
works by improving drainage works followed by improvement and development of irrigation
systems. The total area irrigation area covered by this development work was 6,230 hectares.

7.8. BALI PROVINCE
7.8.1. OVERVIEW OF BALI PROVINCE
Bali as an island Province of Indonesia with a total land area of 5,561 km
2
or 0.29 % of entire
Indonesias region, was populated in 2002 with about 3,230,000 people with an average
growth rate of 0.70% between
1990 and 2000.
Having the distinct geographical
as well climatic pattern between
northern parts of the island,
which has steeper topography
and less rainfall relative to
southern part, the development
of irrigated agricultural land in
the southern area has been more
intensive than the northern area.
The community of Bali
developed the undulating areas
in southern areas in the form of
terrace paddy fields. This rice
terrace view has become one of
the distinct land marks of Bali.
The total irrigated agricultural land of Bali in 2002 was 82,238 hectares, consisted of 81,431
hectares irrigated paddy fields and the rest was in the form of rainfed and pond, as well as
swamp irrigated land. For more details, see Table 7.11.
Through generations, the farming skill of Bali community has been maintained consistently at
a distinct application performance. Land development, construction of water intake, tunnel
and canals, as well as operation and maintenance of irrigation infrastructures are fully
conducted and managed by the community on self propelling basis. All of these irrigated
agricultural activities are conducted by traditional water users association popularly known
as Subak. The term Subak, beside means as community institution, it is also referred to as the
system which operates under the control of Subak as an institution.

GENERAL MAP OF BALI PROVINCE
Banda Aceh
Medan
Pangkal Pinang
Padang
Bengkulu
Bandar Lampung
Yogyakarta
Surabaya
Denpasar
Mataram
Kupang
Ambon
Manado Gorontalo
Palu
Ujung Pandang
Banjarmasin
Samarinda
Palangkaraya
Pontianak
Kendari
Ternate
J akarta
Palembang
J ambi
MALAYSIA
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
PHILIPINA
AUSTRALIA
MALAYSIA
SINGAPURA
P. Sumatera
P. Sulawesi
P. Kalimantan
P. J awa
P. Papua
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Table 7.11. Irrigated paddy field area by irrigation type in Bali Province, 2002
4 Ground Water Irrigation 0
5 Other Irrigation 6
6 Rainfed Irrigation 801
Total 82,238
Concerning the time when the Subak was established, there is evidence that could give an
date about the first time of the existence of Subak in Bali. Some scholars argue that Subak has
already existed since the era of Resi Markandia, an Indian yogist, came to Bali at the first year
of Saka Calendar or 78 AD. While R. Goris a Dutch anthropologist stated in his manuscript
that irrigated agriculture has been practiced by the Balinese farmers community before 600
AD. According to ancient inscriptions unearthed in Sukawana dated back to 878 AD, and in
Trunyam dated back to 891 AD, both mention about the terms huma, which means paddy
field and the term pakaseh, which means irrigation water masterin local language. Meanwhile,
the term Subak also found in the ancient inscription of King Purana in Klungkung dated back
to year 1072 AD. In Badung and Tabanan Regencies the term of Subak originally came from
the word Seuwak, which literally meant as better water distribution system. (See
Supplement Paper on Subak Irrigation System in Bali for more details).
Despite that the evidences do not provide an exact date of the first establishment of Subak, but
they did indicate that the system had been known and practiced in Bali since before the
ancient Hindu Era. As a matter of fact, all the suitable area for irrigated agricultural purposes
had already been completely developed, with all the necessary appurtenance structures, before
Dutch Colonial Era.
During the Dutch Colonial Era, there was no further development of new irrigation systems
conducted in Bali. The government only gave support for rehabilitation and improvement of
the existing irrigation infrastructures, as far as possible to restore the damaged headwork
structures or to replace them with new permanent headwork structures. To prevent the system
from alien technical intervention, the Dutch Colonial Authority did not make any attempt to
involve in modifying or replacing the schemes under the Subak system. Earlier in 1980s,
however, there was an attempt to introduce modern irrigation concept in the development and
management of the Subak system, but it was not applicable, because the farmers were
apparently reluctant to replace or to modify the irrigated agricultural techniques that have
been practiced by them from generation to generation since the ancient era.
7.8.2. EXAMPLES OF IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT IN BALI
Being constrained by topographical and traditional practices, all of irrigation schemes in Bali
are of small scale, unlike irrigation scheme on J ava or other major islands of Indonesia. In
addition, the development and management of irrigation schemes under the Subak System
also accommodate the local topographical, climatic characteristic as well as social and
traditional practices, and hence, each particular scheme has its own distinct characteristic,
despite the similarities in irrigation management approach.
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Earlier at the beginning of Dutch Occupation, the authority found that irrigation schemes had
already been developed within Bali Island, which leaved almost no more remaining land and
water sources to be further developed. Most irrigation schemes were found to be of small
schemes except in some schemes with the command areas at an average of about 1,000
hectares. Within the subsequent period during Colonial Era, practically there was no
development of Subak irrigation schemes conducted in Bali. During which, all of irrigation
operation and maintenance, including the related repairs and reconstructions are conducted by
the farmers themselves on mutual basis. In some cases, the government provided assistance in
rehabilitation of major structures.
Considering the demand for appropriate irrigation governance in Bali and Lombok Islands, in
1912, the Dutch Colonial Authority established Irrigation Services of the Bali-Lombok
Kresidenan (Residency Government Administration). Within the following year (1913) the
government provided financial assistance to rehabilitate the damaged irrigation schemes,
including among others: Sronga Weir in Tukat Daat; A weir in Tukat Sangsang; Ubud Weir
in Tukat Oos; Badung Weir in Tukat Pekrisan; Oongan and Praupan Weirs in Tukat Ayun;
and Rehabilitation of some weirs and tunnels.
During the post independence period till the implementation of the First Five Year
Development Program, most of irrigation repairs as well as rehabilitation works were carried
out by the farmers themselves under the coordination of Subak organization. Within the First
Long Term Development Program (PJ P-I) i.e. 1969-1994, however, there were some new
development and the subsequent establishment of Subak organization. See Table 7.12 below
for the growth of irrigation areas as well as additional number of Subak organizations in Bali
between 1971-and 1993.

Table 7.12. Growth of irrigation area and additional number of Subak
organizations in Bali between 1971 and 1993
No. Year Area (ha) Number of Subak Area/Subak
1 1971 98,689 1,193 83
2 1979 103,279 1,274 81
3 1993 108,494 1,612 67

During the beginning of PELITA-III, i.e. 1979 until the end of PELITA IV i.e. 1989 the
government conducted a comprehensive development and rehabilitation programs. Under this
program, all of irrigation scheme having more than 100 hectares were included in this
program, including some selected schemes in Bali. The total area covered by this program in
Bali was 45,000 hectares. Planning, design, and implementation of irrigation networks were
conducted in accordance with modern technical criteria without disregarding the underlying
traditional Subak practices. In addition, training for Subak was also conducted in the field of
technical, managerial, as well as organizational aspects of irrigated agricultural
implementation.

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7.9. WEST NUSA TENGGARA; LOMBOK ISLAND
7.9.1. OVERVIEW OF LOMBOK ISLAND
Lombok Island, the immediate
neighboring island in the eastern
of Bali, is part of the West Nusa
Tenggara Province with the
capital town of Mataram located
on this island. During the
Colonial Era, both Bali and
Lombok Islands were under the
one Kresidenan Government
Administration.
The total are of West Nusa
Tenggara Province is 20,177 km
2
,
or about 1.05% of the entire
Indonesias land area. The overall
population of this province in 2002 was 4,152,000 people with the average annual growth rate
at about 1.82% within the period from 1990 to 2000. Based on the 2002s Agricultural
Census, the province has a total paddy field at 184,638 hectares, consisted of 179,638 hectares
of irrigated paddy fields, 33,839 hectares of rainfed paddy fields, and only 19 ha of lowland
irrigated field. More than 65% of the total irrigated agricultural land in the province is located
in Lombok Island. (See Table 7.13 for further information).
Table 7.13. Irrigated paddy field area by irrigation type, 2002
Area (ha)
No. Irrigation Type West Nusa
Tenggara Province
Lombok Island
1 Technical Irrigation 66,826 42,071
2 Semi Technical Irrigation 80,686 50,378
3 Simple / Village Irrigation 37,126 13,471
4 Ground Water Irrigation N.A N.A
5 Other Irrigation (swamp, lowland) 19 0
6 Rainfed Irrigation 33,839 14,910
Total 184,638 120,830

The geographical and topographical characteristic of Lombok Island is divided into three
regions namely North Region, Central Region, and South Region.
North Region starts from the top of mountain extending from west eastward to the north
coast. There area has three major mounts, Mount Punikan (+1,490 m), Mount Kondo (+2,946
m), and Mount Rinjani, the highest in the Island (+3,775 m). The topographic condition of the
north region classified as steep and very steep with narrow plain on the coastal zone. Rainfall
in this region is low in the western side and very low in the eastern side.
Central region stars from the top of the above-mentioned mountain to the top of the low
mountain lies in the central part of the island. The western part of this central region has high
GENERAL MAP OF LOMBOK ISLAND
Banda Aceh
Medan
Pangkal Pinang
Padang
Bengkulu
Bandar Lampung
Yogyakarta
Surabaya
Denpasar
Mataram
Kupang
Ambon
Manado Gorontalo
Palu
Ujung Pandang
Banjarmasin
Samarinda
Palangkaraya
Pontianak
Kendari
Ternate
J akarta
Palembang
J ambi
MALAYSIA
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
PHILIPINA
AUSTRALIA
MALAYSIA
SINGAPURA
P. Sumatera
P. Sulawesi
P. Kalimantan
P. J awa
P. Papua
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rainfall with the topographical condition relatively flatter than the northern region. The rivers
flowing in the western side to the western are mostly having stable regime with much water
resource potential. The rivers flowing in the eastern side to the southern and eastern coasts are
mostly having lower water sources due to small rainfall. Therefore, development of irrigated
agricultural land was mostly concentrated on the western part of the central region. The
eastern part of this central region also has a low water resource potential, but the
topographical condition is fairly suitable for irrigated agricultural development.
Southern region starts from the top of the low mountain (the boundary of Central region)
southward to the southern coastal zone. This region has a low potential of water source as it
has very low rainfall.

7.9.2. EXAMPLES OF IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT IN LOMBOK
Introduction of technical irrigation system in Lombok Island started since the involvement of
Dutch Colonial Government in irrigation development in 1916. The first irrigation
development in eastern part of central region was started with construction of a weir in Palung
River for supplying irrigation water to a command area of 2,400 hectares, and the second was
Gebong Irrigation System, both were constructed in 1919.
After intensive irrigation development and management implementation, since 1937-38s
Fiscal Year, Lombok has exported significant amount of rice to other places in Indonesia and
the Netherlands. It was recorded that in 1937-1938s Fiscal Year alone some 46,600 tons of
rice were shipped to other places from Mataram Harbor, of which some 23,000 tons was
exported to the Netherlands.
In 1920 a study was conducted for preparing a comprehensive water resources and irrigation
development planning. The study concluded identification of potential development as the
following:
i) The Potential land in the central region of the island amounting to 43,000 to 50,000
hectares;
ii) The western part of central region has a substantial amount of water sources; with
potential of inter basin water transfer from west to eastern region.
iii) Considering the traditional irrigation practices the potential water transfer from west to
eastern region, could only be done by upgrading the existing Subak irrigation schemes
from simple to technical systems for the more efficient water use, and hence, the excess
water in the western region can be transferred to the eastern region.

a) Jurang Sate Irrigation Development
J urang Sate Irrigation System covering an area of about 27,000 hectares consists of six
schemes located on the west and central parts of the central region. The development covered
the improvement and up-grading of the existing areas and facilitated the transfer of water by
constructing a feeder canal from Sesaot River to Babak River.
Implementation of J urang Sate was started in 1927 and completed in 1940. Construction of
feeder canal from Sesaot River to Babak River by utilizing the Sesaot Main Canal and
expanded to Babak River was started in 1938.

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b) South Lombok Irrigation Development
Development of eastern part of South Lombok was implemented under the South Lombok
Irrigation Development Project. While the development of eastern part of Lombok, was
considered by facilitating inter-basin water transfer from west to eastern region.
South Lombok Irrigation Development consisted of the following components:
i) Construction of Batujahe Reservoir to irrigate a total command area of 3,500 hectares,
completed in 1982;
ii) Rehabilitation and up-grading of J urang Sate Irrigation Scheme covering an area of about
10,450 hectares was completed 1984;
iii) Construction of two High Level Diversion Canals (HLD), at total of about 23 km length
with a capacity of 6.00 m
3
/second, for irrigate about 10,800 hectares in eastern part of
South Lombok, completed in 1982;
iv) Construction of Mujur Reservoir as well as rehabilitation of 8,300 hectares of irrigated
land; and
v) Construction of Swangi/Pandanduri Reservoir as well as rehabilitation of 10,400 hectares
of irrigated land.
Implementation of point iv), and v) (which was planned in 1997-2001), were postponed due
to financial constraints faced by the Government. While the implementation of Babak-
Renggung HLD extension was successfully completed in 1992, and the extension of J angkok-
Babak HLD was completed in 1996. For more detailed information on HLD, see Figure
7.9.1. and 7.9.2. below.

Figure 7.9.1. High Level Diversion Canal
Chapter VII. Examples water Resources and Irrigation Development
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History in Brief

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Weir
Figure 7.9.2. Schematic Diagram of Inter Basin Transfer in Lombok Island
Diversion
Dam
Sesaot-GEB
Ses-Fed
Temusik
Lenek
Tb. Nangka
Ds. Tereng
L
e
n
e
k

U
.

R
.
Sidemen
Simbe
Keru
Feeder
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m
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n
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g

R
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S
e
k
o
t

R
.
M
i
d
a
n
g

R
.
Sakra
J KG/PKG
Peloat
Terara Bendung
Rutus
Pd. Duri
Swangi
Plapak
Tundak
Penendem
Plambik
Kulem
EP-BR Mujur-2
Mujur-1
Pengga
Batujai
Surabaya
Katon
Renggung
Otak Desa
Otak Desa
HLD BABAK-RENGGUNG-RUTUS
Gde Bongoh
BR-SRI
BR HLD
J r. Sate
BJ S
J SHL
J SHLR
BJ S-20
J SHLR
Kuripan
Buntopeng
Baturiti
Datar
Gebong
BT.Kantar
HLD JANGKOK - BABAK
J B-HLD
Montang
Nyurbaya
Mencongah
Majeli
Rp.Pancor
Mataram
Bertais
Pamotan
Ireng Daya
Gegutu
J
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River
HDL
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7.10. SOUTH KALIMANTAN PROVINCE
7.10.1. OVERVIEW OF SOUTH KALIMANTAN PROVINCE
South Kalimantan province is located in
the southern part of Kalimantan Island. It
covers a total area of 43,546 square
kilometers, or 2.30% of Indonesias total
area. 2002 population was 2,597,000 with
an average growth rate of 1.45% (1990
2002).
East and south-east as well as west and
south-west part of the province are large
plain. In the west coast lies narrow plain
area. In the central part from the south
coast to north-east lies Meratus Mountain
where a number of large rivers flowing to
east, south-east, and south-west coast.
The wet rice field area in 2002 noted as
302,004 hectares, consists of 53,932
hectares of inland swamp irrigated rice
field, 248,072 hectares of tidal swamp
and polder rice field, and 118,373
hectares of rainfed paddy field (see Table
7.14. for more detailed information)
Table 7.14. Irrigated paddy field area by irrigation type, 2002
5 Tidal Swamp Irrigation 157.118
6. Others Irrigation (polder etc) 90,954
Total 420,377

7.10.2. EXAMPLES OF IRRIGATION SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
a) Alabio Polder
1) General Condition
The Alabio polder located in Amuntai Regency, South Kalimantan Province, about 180 km
northward from Banjarmasin. The total area of Alabio Polder is about 6,000 ha (see Figure
7.10.1), which previously included in lake Amuntai Swamp with a total area of 38,000 ha.
This Polder lies at about 3.25 m above sea level, between two rivers, Negara River and Alabio
River bordered by Sungai Pandan District in the North and East part, Babirik District in the
GENERAL MAP OF SOUTH KALIMANTAN PROVINCE
Banda Aceh
Medan
Pangkal Pinang
Padang
Bengkulu
Bandar Lampung
Yogyakarta
Surabaya
Denpasar
Mataram
Kupang
Ambon
Manado Gorontalo
Palu
Ujung Pandang
Banjarmasin
Samarinda
Palangkaraya
Pontianak
Kendari
Ternate
J akarta
Palembang
J ambi
MALAYSIA
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
PHILIPINA
AUSTRALIA
MALAYSIA
SINGAPURA
P. Sumatera
P. Sulawesi
P. Kalimantan
P. J awa
P. Papua
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South and Danau Panggang District in the West part. In addition, Alabio Polder is located in
Hulu Sungai Utara Regency not to far from Amuntai City within the distance of about 8 km.

Figure 7.10.1. General layout of the Alabio Polder, South Kalimantan Province

The climatic condition of the Alabio Polder affected by rainy season on Oktober to May and
dry season from May to September. The physical shape of the Alabio Polder is like a large
pond surrounded by constructed earth embankment. In the dry season, the Polder allows
constant water condition by pumping system, so that a total area of about 4,500 ha can be
maintained properly for irrigation, however, in the wet season the whole area is entirely
inundated,
The average annual rainfall based on the data record in the year 1980-1990 is about 2,158
mm, and the average rain-days is 93 days with the average rainfall intensity of 23 mm/day.
The objective of Alabio Polder development is to manage water system for serving
agricultural land by constructing a dyke equiped with pump station.

2) Historical Development of the Alabio Polder
In the year 1929, Ir. H.J . Schophuys in his capacity as the Head of Agricultural Services of
South and East Kalimantan Provinces designed a polder system in the inland swamp area of
Alabio by constructing a dyke around the polder as flood protection from Negara river.
However, the work can not be implemented continuously due to limited fund, experties and
also due to the break up of the Second World War. Subsequently, the development
implementation was conducted step by step as follows:
From 1933 to 1936: Construction of a dyke around the existing polder area, and replacement
of the flap gate made of ulin wood.
In 1948: Review the existing plan and continuation of further research
investigation
Intake Sei Mahar
02 28,23S
115 12,68E
Outlet Pump,
Sei. Kelumpang
02 31,43S
115 07,93E
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In 1949: Design preparation of the Alabio Polder Pilot Project as the first polder
project in Indonesia.
In 1952: Construction implementation conducted by Directorate General of Water
Resources, Department of Public Works and Energy, and setting up a
unit of pumping station at the Babirik site.
In 1963: Construction implementation conducted by South Kalimantan Irrigation
Project (AIRMANTAN):
- Intake water pump station Sungai Mahar Atas with five pumps.
- Main Conveyance Canal Sei Mahar and related diversion structures.
In 1968: Handing over of AIRMANTAN project to P4SA, however, the project
was terminated due to the lack of financial resources.
From 1974 to 2001: Handing over of the project to the South Kalimantan Public Works
Services for completing miscellaneous structures, canal, and
rehabilitation works, as well as operation and maintenance of the polder
system.
From 2001 till present: Entrusted to local government of Hulu Sungai Utara for O&M,
following the Regional Autonomy Policy, including the network
management and water control against the negative impacts of
impounding water at the Alabio Polder.
3) Water Management System of Alabio Polder
The underlying water management of Alabio Polder is conducted by supplying water for
irrigation by using intake structure of Negara River (tributary of the Barito River) through
main canal (as shown in the photograph below), and then using intake pump through
secondary and tertiary canal for maintaining constant water flow for agricultural purposes. On
the other hand, when the Polder has been over irrigated especially at the end of the rainy
season, excess water pumps out through the drainage canal to the down stream of Alabio
Polder, i.e through Klumpang pump station.

Soil investigation during the design stage of
the Alabio Polder (1970s)
Groundwater investigation at the Alabio
site during the design stage (1970s)
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Complimentary to the Negara River intake operation, the excess water at the down stream
site, pumps out from Sei Kelumpang (02 31,43S; 115 07,93E) dewatering pump from main
canal (see photograph) with the total capacity of 5 x 150 m
3
/minute. Under this operation,
about 1,750 ha of rice field can be irrigated annually, while the rest of 1,500 ha can not be
irrigated due to the difficulty to lift up the water to higher land area. Therefore, out of the
6,000 ha command area of Alabio Polder, only about 4,500 ha of rice field can be planted in
the dry season.

Based on the data record from Water Resources Services of Hulu Sungai Utara Regency, the
total potential area of the Alabio Polder illustrated in Table 7.15.

Mr. Y. Sudaryoko (right) former
Director General of Water
Resources Ministry of Public
Works on site discussion with
Mr. H.J. Schophuys (left) at the
site office of Alabio Polder
Intake gate of Alabio Polder
System in Negara River, visited
by former Minister of Public
Works, Dr. Ir. Suyono
Sosrodarsono in 1978.
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Tabel 7.15. Potential area of Alabio Polder for agricultural development
Area (ha) in the year
No.
Area / type of
plant 1988 1989 1990 1991
1. Rice 4,059 4,699 4,596 4,776
2. Corn 3 7 63,5 18
3. Cassava - 6 28,3 12
4. Vegetables 11 6 79,1 33
Note: in 1990, number of farmer is 7,602 family

The main canal below the pumping station
The routine operation of intake
gate is conducted by manual
labor
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b) Tidal Swamp Development
Indonesia has a total of over 39 million hectares of coastal lowlands, including tidal and non-
tidal swamps, The South Kalimantan Province possesses the most dominant swamp areas
such as Anjir Tamban, Serapat, Besarang, Kelampan and Marabahan. In these areas, lowland
developments for agriculture are conducted by means of canal excavation referred to as
canalization system. Basically these canalization works were previously intended for water
transportation to access the isolated areas in South and Central Kalimantan Provinces.
As the availability of appropriate lands for agriculture has become increasingly scarce,
therefore, during the First Development Plan, PELITA I (1969-1974) the government
established a special Project Unit for Tidal Swamp Reclamation (P4S) under the control of
Ministry of Public Works. In South Kalimantan, some area developed as tidal swamp
category, can be seen on Figure 7.10.2.

Figure 7.10.2. General map of irrigation under the Tidal Swamp
Development in South Kalimantan Province

In South Kalimantan Province, there are several dominant river basin areas including Cengal
and Batu Licin, which contribute significantly to the availability of water for agriculture.
Comb Type
Fork Type
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Considering these agricultural land and decided to develop the area for one of transmigrant
destination areas, see also the supplement paper entitled An Outline Review of Irrigation
Based Transmigration Program in Indonesia for more information about Transmigration
Program. Based on the time frame, of transmigration implementation, which was estabilished
in 1934, then in the year 1939 development of irrigation by means of tidal swamp with
canalization for transportation basis. Subsequently, nowadays this system is still being
developed by private sector in an attempt to support the irrigation based human resettlement
program. In South Kalimantan two types of tidal swamp have been developed, these are
Comb and Fork types. The underlying difference of the two principles lies on the
utilization function of water transportations through the existing channels. The Comb type of
tidal swamp gives special importance on the use of major channel as water transportation
facility apart from agricultural purpose, while the Fork type gives special importance on the
use of canalization networks for supporting the internal water control of agricultural
development.
The strategy for swamp reclamation during the Fifth Five Year Development Plan (PELITA-
V) in the year 1989-1994 focused on second stage development activities including the
upgrading of hydraulic structure, promoting integrated agricultural development by virtule of
introduction of new technological packages and strengthening of agricultural support services.

1) Comb Type Tydal Swamp Irrigation System
Based on information provided by the South Kalimantan Special Priority Project (Proyek
Irigasi Andalan), the initial initiative of Comb type tidal swamp irrigation system had been
introduced in Anjir Tamban area during the Dutch Colonial Government. Based on this
experience, the South Kalimantan Irrigation Project developed Dandan Besar and Terantang
Comb type projects few years later.
In actual operation, the Comb type tidal swamp irrigation system has been proofed to be least
effective for drainage function due to into smaller ratio of drainage canal density relative to
the Fork type drainage density.
In addition, the comb type tidal
swamp irrigation system
demands for large canals, which
make it relatively difficult for the
farmer to develop the scheme by
themselves without adequate
support from the government.
The Comb type, however has
special advantage to control the
water level and tidal back water
by using hydraulic structures
such as automatic Flap gate. For
illustration, the Anjir Tamban
Comb type tydal swamp
irrigation scheme is currently
supporting agricultural land of
4,400 ha out of 5,056 potential
The main channel of Anjir Tamban
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area at the J elapat Purwosari District (see the picture illustrating the main channel of Anjir
Tamban).

2) The Fork Type Tidal Swamp Irrigation System
The Fork type of tidal swamp irrigation is essentially developed based on transportation
requirement. Moreover, most of the canals networks dimensions are so large that it should be
developed using heavy equipment and also demanding large amount of budget because of the
special construction requirement as well as its function for transportation. Therefore, it is
mosty developed by government to support transportation system in lowland area instead of
using sea transportation.
Example of Fork type as shown in the following photographs are the lowland channels that
pasesses double function for agricultural supports on the one hand and for transportation, on
the other. This type has large channel dimension especially on its width canal depth, it can not
controlled by weir, gate and others structures because of water transportation reason.
However, this type has disadvantages using hydraulic structures to control tidal back water
because it would disturb the water transportation traffic. Accordingly, the Fork type would be
more effective in the dry season without causing intervention on water transportation traffics.
The photograph (Anjir Terantang) below shows homogeneous type of plantation compare to
the next foto showing the mixed system of plantation.

Although Fork type (main system) using large dimension of canal, in supporting system can
also using wooden hydraulic structures to control water level and discharge as shown in the
photograph below.

Example of homogeneous paddy cultivation at
Anjir Terantang
Mixed crops cultivation (paddy and Citrus)
at Anjir Terantang Fork Type Tidal swamp
irrigation scheme
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7.11. SOUTH SULAWESI PROVINCE
7.11.1. OVERVIEW OF SOUTH SULAWESI PROVINCE
South Sulawesi Province, represents the eastern regions of Indonesia with varying
topographical and climatic conditions. The provinces represent the area with a long history of
traditional kingdoms with various
traditional irrigation practices,
previously with vast shifting
cultivations.
South Sulawesi Province, as a
province at the south west
peninsula of Sulawesi Island
has an unofficial name as: Rice
barn of Eastern Indonesia. This
unofficial name is not without
reasons. Development of paddy
irrigation system started in 1842,
initiated by King Aru Mampu.
During the second and the third
decades of the twentieth century,
the Dutch Colonial Government
had introduced Irrigation-Based
Transmigration Program in
South Sulawesi by constructing a
number of medium scale
irrigation schemes in line with a
large barrage for agricultural, and
power generation in Sadang
River. Several reservoirs were
developed in the area during the
Five Year Development Period
with a distinct multiple purpose
An example of wooden control
structure for Fork type at anjir
Terantang tidal irrigation scheme
GENERAL MAP OF SOUTH SULAWESI PROVINCE
Banda Aceh
Medan
Pangkal Pinang
Padang
Bengkulu
Bandar Lampung
Yogyakarta
Surabaya
Denpasar
Mataram
Kupang
Ambon
Manado Gorontalo
Palu
UjungPandang
Banjarmasin
Samarinda
Palangkaraya
Pontianak
Kendari
Ternate
J akarta
Palembang
J ambi
MALAYSIA
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
PHILIPINA
AUSTRALIA
MALAYSIA
SINGAPURA
P. Sumatera
P. Sulawesi
P. Kalimantan
P. J awa
P. Papua
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dam for raw water supplies, power, agriculture, and flood protection in the J eneberang River.
The province today, is amongst the most developed areas in the eastern region, with the
support of strong traditional water users association (Popularly known as Tudang
Sipulung), making the area as one of the major rice producing areas in Indonesia.
In 1912 the Dutch Colonial Government started its effort to implement substantial irrigation
development in this area. The development of Bantimurung Irrigation Scheme was the first
medium scale irrigation project implemented by the Dutch Colonial Government, followed by
the Saddang Irrigation Development in 1930. The Saddang Irrigation Scheme of 62,000 ha is
the largest irrigation scheme served by one single weir out site of J ava Island, or the third
largest in entire Indonesia after Rentang at 90,000 ha and Walahar at 80,000 ha.
Before the Benteng Barrage, the main headwork of the scheme, was constructed there were
some small schemes previously developed by the Dutch Colonial Government in this area.
At present (2004), the total irrigated agricultural lands in Souths Sulawesi, including swamps
and raifed aeas is currently at 991,545 hectares consisted of 511,015 hectares of irrigated
paddy fields, 231,810 hectares of rainfed paddy fields, and 248,720 hectares of others
irrigated paddy fields category. See Table 7.16 below for further details.
Table 7.16. Irrigated paddy field area by irrigation type in South Sulawesi, 2002
4 Ground Water Irrigation N.A
5 Other Irrigation (Swamps, Fish Ponds) 248,720
6 Rainfed paddy field 231,810
Total 991,545

7.11.2. EXAMPLES OF IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTH SULAWESI PROVINCE
To give a general feature about irrigation development in South Sulawesi Province, the
examples below are presented without necessarily representing irrigation characteristic in the
area. The examples only give highlight of some of the large and medium scale irrigation
schemes with large barrage for agricultural, as well as multiple purpose dams for raw water
supplies, power, agriculture, and flood control that has been developed in the province during
the Colonial Era and during the Five Year Development Period.
a) Lerang waterleiding, Pattiro, and Palakka Irrigation Schemes
The first weir and irrigation canal developed by the Dutch Colonial Government was Lerang
Waterleiding Irrigation scheme in the Kingdom of Bone, with a command area of 100 ha,
located at about 22 km from Watampone Town. The scheme was built in 1919 as a pilot
model and a precondition of settlement of the people suffered from leprosyrous disease in the
area.
Following this pilot scheme, in 1923 two irrigation shemes further initiated. These were
Pattiro and Palakka Irrigation schemes, which were only completed in 1925.
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The marble inscription of
Lerang Waterleiding
Irrigation Scheme, noted the
construction of this scheme
in 1919

b) Bantimurung Irrigation Scheme
Bantimurung irrigation scheme is located in the south region of the province within the
vicinity of Makassar Peninsula. This, in fact is one of the oldest medium scale irrigation
schemes built by the Dutch Colonial Government in the Outer Islands. The total command
area of this irrigation scheme is about 7,100 hectares, but currently only 6,513 ha under the
fully effective irrigation condition.
Based on local manuscript, the development of this area was initiated by King Arung
Mampu. In the notes of the King, the construction implementation was started in 1824 by
excavating a canal from resourceful springs near the famous Bantimurung water fall, extended
through the limestone canal alignment. Having the fact that the canal alignment extended
through the limestone area, it was found that the water conveyance losses was substantially
high.
In an effort to maximize the water potential of this scheme, in 1912 the Dutch Authority took
initiative to construct a weir in Battimurung River at about three km downstream of the water
fall. This location was selected in attempting to avoid canal excavation at the limestone
alignment. Subsequently, the construction of the weir followed by construction of irrigation
canals, diversion structures, as well as other related appurtenance structures. Eventually, the
development of the entire area of Bantimurung with a total irrigation command area of 7,100
hectares was completed in 1920. Given the physical feature that most of the command area
Bantimurung area is situated at the flat plain, after a number of years irrigation practices it
was discovered that the area must be facilitated with drainage and flood control infrastructures
to make the area more reliable. For this reason, the Dutch Colonial Authority undertook
subsequent drainage and flood control works for this scheme 1925.
c) Saddang Irrigation Scheme
Saddang Irratigation Scheme is located in the west side of central part of the province
covering a total command area of 62,000 hectares. This scheme is considered to be the largest
irrigation area served by one individual weir in the Outer Islands, the third largest single
irrigation scheme in Indonesia. Irrigation water for this scheme is diverted from Saddang
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River through Benteng Barrage (after the name of the Benteng Village, in which this weir is
located.
With regards to the chronological process of this irrigation scheme, the initial project study
ion was conducted in 1910, which concluded that the area has a resourceful potential area for
irrigated agricultural development. In 1913, J .A.M van Bruuren, a Dutch Study Team Leader,
reported that the total potential area of this scheme suitable for irrigated agricultural
development was about 120,000 ha.
In 1930, the planning phase of Saddang
Irrigation Development was initiated.
However, due to economic crises, the
progress of technical design works was
very slow. Topographic survey works
were completed in 1933 and all of the
design works were only completed in
1936.
At the following year, in 1937 the
construction implementation was started,
and scheduled to be completed in 1942.
In turned, however, it was happened that
in 1942 the Dutch Colonial Ruler was
surrendered to the J apanese Soldiers, and
hence the project left abandoned. Nevertheless, some 28,000 hectares out of the planned
62,000 hectares were completed and functioned.
In the context of irrigation management, the water Water from Benteng Barrage is regularly
diverted to the paddy fields command area through three main canals, i.e. North Saddang
Main Canal with a command area of 5,000 ha, Rappang Main Canal and Sawitto Main Canal
with a total command area of about 57,000 ha. The subsequent construction of North Saddang
Main Canal was only started during the period after independence and rehabilitated within the
First Long Term Development (PJ P-I), between 1969 and 1994. Within the said PJ P-I all of
the remaining works were completed and a total of 62,000 hectares of paddy field (as
planned) has been under the well managed irrigation area.
For sustaining the effective function of this scheme, comprehensive rehabilitation works were
conducted in 1972 with special emphasis on irrigation canal networks, without including the
drainage networks. In the context of drainage potential, a separate study was conducted in
1977 and concluded that drainage works for Saddang Scheme has but only low economic
viability. In turned, similar conclusions were also resulted with other drainage projects
financed by the World Bank in Indonesia, e.g. Ciujung-Cisadane, and Pemali Comal
Irrigation Schemes. Nevertheless, the Ciujung drainage works was though constructed with
special non-technical consideration.
7.12. GROUNDWATER DEVELOPMENT
The exploration of groundwater for irrigation and domestic water supply has been
implemented since long time ago particularly in densely populated areas in J ava, Madura, and
Bali Islands. The farmers had made various structures for extracting groundwater, such as
shallow wells, water ponds, small boreholes, ordinary household well and the likes.
Benteng Barrage at Saddang River
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Since early 1971, Directorate General of Water Resources Development (DGWRD), Ministry
of Public Works (MPW) has initiated several activities in groundwater development. It was
noted that the potential of groundwater for irrigation presently estimated at about 281,750
hectares.
The government establishes a Sub-directorate of Groundwater Development (PAT) under the
Directorate of Irrigation, DGWRD who was responsible for groundwater development.
Presently PAT managed by Directorate of Technical Guidance, DGWRD. At early 1990s
groundwater projects had been established in seventeen provinces.
In the implementation of groundwater development for supporting irrigated agriculture, the
following criteria are applied:
i) It should be intensive cultivation and densely populated areas;
ii) It should be dray land or rainfed areas, where no surface water irrigation practiced;
iii) Good water quality and with adequate quantity;
iv) Soil type should be suitable for paddy or other high value crops;
v) There would be no problem of land for constructing irrigation schemes;
vi) There should be good respond from farmers and local government;
vii) There should be easy access for marketing of agricultural products;
viii) The area to be irrigated should not be so far from the main road;
ix) The area should not be flood prone area; and
x) Instrumental for of alleviating poverty.

7.12.1. TUBE-WELL MANAGEMENT
For appropriate implementation of tube-well, routine maintenance of wells, pumps, and
engines have to be conducted on regular basis. For the case of groundwater tube-well under
the Directorate General of Water Resources Development, Ministry of Public Works, regular
maintenance works were performed by the staff of Groundwater Development Project
(P2AT), such as daily checking, refueling and lubricating of pump engine. Each tube-well
must be properly checked every 250 hours operation. If during the regular checking some
demands for resolving minor operational problems are identified, the pump operator will
notify the workshop and mechanics team to dispatched operation and maintenance mechanic
as soon as possible, to avoid subsequent major problems. In case major repair and/of overhaul
of engine or pump are demanded, then the repair must be undertaken by special mechanic at
the central workshop.
For the purpose of appropriate water distribution management, each individual water user
must apply for water delivery request through chief of irrigation block to the Water Master
who will subsequently convey the request to the pumps operator for operating the pumps in
accordance with the previously agreed water delivery schedule. In this regard, the pumps
operator should keep the logbook records of the pump operation for further water
management evaluation.
Depending upon the nature of groundwater utilization, the provincial government may set up
some sort of regulatory instrument for appropriate groundwater management in the province
in questioned. For instance, in East J ava Province, the development and management of
groundwater for irrigated agriculture has been formally constituted through the Governors
Decree No. 700 of 1992 followed by Provincial Irrigation Services Decree regarding
technical guidance of implementation of groundwater development and management.
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7.12.2. TUBE-WELL OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE
Considering the levels of technology that are required for development and management of
tube-well, it is obvious that operation and maintenance (O&M) requirement of tube-well is
practically more complicated relative to O&M of conventional surface irrigation. The
rationales for this complication explained as follows:
i) Tube-well O&M involves large diesel engine and pump, which must be maintained by
manual operation;
ii) O&M of pumping irrigations are mostly of new experiences for farmers;
iii) Operation cost per hectare is quite high, continuous financial supports might be required;
at least until the farmers have developed adequate financial capacity;
iv) In line with the government policy, the O&M of tube-well and other equipment should be
taken over to the water users association after two years initial period.
For these reasons, O&M procedures of tube-well, has to be formalized subject to prior
agreement with the water users association, stating their willingness to participate in
maintenance and operation of the installed tube-well schemes.
Based upon the past experiences, some constrains have been faced in O&M of tube-wells,
among others:
i) Most of pumps are ex-import and not easily available in the local market;
ii) After-sale maintenance workshops are mostly remote from the pump location;
iii) Tube-well has to be cleaned and serviced periodically, while the knowledge and capability
of the farmers are limited; and
iv) Recovery capital and O&M costs are beyond the ability of the farmers to pay.
Given the above rationales, the concept of O&M of tube-wells has currently been
recommended, at least until the farmer have developed adequate financial capacity, the O&M
of canals and pump stations will be under the responsibility of the beneficiaries, while the
major repairs, tube-well maintenance, replacement of pumps and engines to be supported by
the government.

7.13. FLOOD CONTROL WORKS
In an attempt to minimize the impacts of flood disaster, a series of flood control works in
terms of structural approach have been carried out in some of the flood prone areas in
Indonesia. The flood protection works varied from the most urgent repressive priority
preventive measures, as well as emergency works for improvement of the behavior and
regime of the rivers.
Due to the fact that most of rivers in Indonesia are of unstable categories, the frequent flood
incidents have almost been brought about severe damages to the river regimes, even under the
low floods. Therefore, most of flood prevention works in Indonesia are mostly associated
with rehabilitation and regular improvement of the river regimes. The damages of river
channels occurred quite frequently and such urgent works have almost become routine flood
prevention activities and hence such urgent works are considered as the first category of
flood control works.
The second category of structural flood control works usually associates with the scattered
river damages that have immediate impacts to particular human settlement, agricultural or
industrial areas. The criteria for determining the priority are dictated by the magnitude of the
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damages, scope of works, including the nature of repair works as well as budgetary
requirements. Base on the criteria, the budget allocation might be placed at annual program,
contingency budgetary program, or to be included in the special development projects.
The third category of flood control works is associated with comprehensive river
improvement works, including among others, river short cuts and channel improvement
works. In fact, river short cuts hade been initiated in Indonesia since 1830s at Citandui River
improvement works, West J ava Province.
Following the structural flood control works categories, a series of comprehensive flood
control works have been implemented in Indonesia during the period of the First Long Term
Development (PJ P-I), between 1968 and 1994, as listed below:
i) Krueng Aceh Flood Control Project in Aceh Province, for protecting Banda Aceh Town,
the capital town of the province, from regular floods of Krueng Aceh River;
ii) Arakundo Flood Control also in located in Aceh Province, for protecting J ambuaye
Irrigation Area and some public roads in the vicinity areas;
iii) Sungai Wampu-Sarangan Flood Control in North Sumatra Province, for protecting oil
palm and rubber estates;
iv) Sei Deli Flood Control also in North Sumatra, for protecting Medan, the Capital City of
the province.
v) Sei Ular Flood Control in North Sumatra, for protecting the famous Deli tobacco and oil
palm estates;
vi) Padang Flood Control in West Sumatra, for protecting Padang City, the capital of West
Sumatra Province;
vii) J akarta Flood Control, for protecting J akarta Metropolitan City, the capital of Indonesia
this flood control work is still underway for the long future;
viii) Citarum River Basin and Cimanuk River Basin Flood Control in West J ava;
ix) Kali Serang and Bengawan Solo Flood Control in Central J ava;
x) Kali Brantas River Basin Flood Control in East J ava; and
xi) J ene Berang Flood Control in South Sulawesi Province.

Due to the constraint faced by the government to provide adequate budgetary support during
the past development phases, the project priorities were only set up for the urgent works, and
postponed the least urgent one, and hence, most of these projects are still currently needing
for continuous improvement to be able to perform their function in accordance with the
previously intended protection level. For illustration, some examples of Flood Control works
in Indonesia are outlined hereunder:
7.13.1. SEMARANG FLOOD CONTROL
The vast growing of Semarang, the capital of Central J ava Province, began after the
Compulsory Agricultural Policy applied in Indonesia by the Dutch Colonial Government in
1830. At that time, the vast growing of Semarang was also accelerated by the support of
import as well as export activities through the Semarang Harbor. Since then, Semarang and its
vicinity areas have been expanding significantly both for urban settlement, industrial as well
as agricultural trades. The topographical condition of Semarang consists of hilly areas at the
upper region and low lying areas as approaching north to J ava Sea coastal areas.
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The upper regions, which free from flood problems, are resided by the high and middle level
societies. While the lower regions of the town are mostly for public utilities and residential
areas, where mostly resided by middle and low level societies. In the western part of the lower
region, a river named Semarang River flowing eastward and at the center of the town, the
river turns to northward and emptying to the J ava Sea. Before 1871, the Lower Semarang was
free from flood. In 1871 the several Landlords in the vicinity agricultural areas along the
Semarang River after suffered from occasional flood decided to make embankment along
the bank of Semarang River to prevent their lands from overflow of the Semarang River.
However, the construction of embankment was not based on comprehensive study, and hence
the embankment has ever since brought about a negative impact to the escalation of flood
discharge of Semarang River and resulted with frequent flood incident in West Semarang
area.
In attempting to resolve the frequent flood problems, in 1874 the Dutch Colonial Government
establish a flood control project referred to as the Semarang Flood Control Project. The main
objective of the project was to protect the western part of Semarang from occasional flood due
to overflow of Semarang River by constructing a flood way named West Flood Way. This
flood way was then determined as the administrative boundary of Semarang in the west.
In the mean time, the Eastern part of Semarang, which has six rivers flowing in it, also
suffered from frequent floods. To tackle the problem, in 1896 the Dutch Colonial Government
conducted the second stage of Semarang Flood Control Works, named East Flood Way
Project. The main work of the project was construction of the East Flood Channel and other
river improvement works. It took nine years before the flood control project was completed in
1905. This flood way was determined as the administrative boundary of Semarang in the east.
Due to rapid growth of Semarang particularly eastward of the town across the East Flood
Way, more attention had subsequently been paid to flood prevention of this area. In 1920 East
Flood Way extended eastward to prevent the new developed areas of the Semarang
Municipality.
7.13.2. DEMAK PLAIN FLOOD CONTROL
For resolving the problem of frequent flood in the Central java Region, another important
flood control work was also conducted in the Demak Plain. The Geographical boundary of
Demak Plain (see Figure 7.13.1) are bounded West with Tuntang River; North with J ava Sea;
East with Serang River; and South with the hill foot, extended from Purwodadi Town
westward to Tuntang River.
Apart from the severe flood indents, the area also suffered occasionally with drought
problems. There were occasional dreadful famine disasters in the Demak plain between 1848
and 1849. During which, hundred of thousands of people died of starvation. The famine was
repeated in 1872 where ten-thousands of people died.
After 1872s famine, Dutch Colonial Government established a team consists of former
Minister of Public Works, former Head of Pekalongan Resident, and former Head of
Semarang Resident Government Administration. In the effort to prevent the repetitive famine
from happening in the Demak Region, the Team recommended some structural measures
including among others: To undertake improvement and development of irrigation and
drainage systems; flood prevention works; and development of transportation networks.
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Implementation of the follow-up recommendation was the subsequent establishment of
Demak Irrigation Project (Demaksche Werken). Irrigation development implementation is
discussed in Section 5.5.2., while the drainage and flood control is briefly discussed in this
section. River networks in the entire Demak Plain is presented in Figure 7.13.2.

Figure 7.13.1. Geographical boundaries of Demak Plain
Mt Muria
+ 1,602
To Surabaya
Semarang
Juana
Pati
Kudus
D
em
a
k
Klambu
Ju
ana
R
iver
Lusi River
S
e
r
a
n
g

R
i
v
e
r
Purwodadi
Kedungombo Dam
Rawa Pening
Not To Scale
Blora
Godong
Boundary
of Demak Plain
S
e
r
a
n
R
i
g

v
e
r

Figure 7. 13.2. Main River Flowing in to Demak Plain
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During flood seasons, Tuntang River and Serang River most of the time overtopped and
inundated the land areas between them. The inflow capacity of the rivers exceeds the capacity
of drainage system in the area between the two rivers, so not be able to catch up the drainage
capacity to prevent the area from temporary inundation area during flood. Consequently, the
irrigation command areas as well as the urban area of Demak town suffered from frequent
flood incidents. To resolve this problem, the government undertook the necessary efforts to
improve the drainage system in the areas between Tuntang and Serang Rivers by remodeling
the drainage system, constructing new drainage canals, and improvement of local streams of
the existing drainage canals. Drainage improvement implemented was regarded as the first
step of flood control works for the Demak Plain.
The second stage is construction of flood embankment on both sides of Tuntang River as well
as Serang River. While the third step was river improvement works consisted of improvement
of Tuntang and Serang River channels. The Tuntang River Improvement Works consisted of
improvement of river channel by enlarging the channel, construction of short cut, and
improvement of river mouth down to the sea, as well as construction of embankments along
both sides of the river banks. Therefore, improvement of Tuntang River was not only to
prevent Demak plain and Demak Town from flooding, but also to prevent the left side of the
river, which belongs to other local government administrative boundary.
Given the fact that the improvement works of Serang River were more complicated relative to
the Tuntang River having the catchment area of Serang River larger than Tuntang River,
therefore, improvement works of Serang River were divided into three stages, namely:
Stage-I., which consisted of: Construction of left embankment, started in 1880s; and
Improvement of downstream part of river system, started in 1890s.
Upon the completion of Stage-I of Serang River Improvement Works as well as Tuntang
River Improvement Works, the Demak Plain, including Demak Town, had been protected
from over-topping of Serang and Tuntang Rivers. And hence, the irrigation systems in the
plain were also safely protected from frequent floods. However, in 1902 there was a notable
flood occurred almost within the entire area of the eastern part of north coast of Central J ava.
In this flood incident the eastern Semarang area was suffered at most, while the Demak plain
was not as significant as the Eastern Semarang areas.
Learning from the most recent flood occurrence, it was apparent that the completion of
Stage-I of the flood protection works did not fully freed the Demak plain from flood. In fact,
there were still two remaining problems which need further attention. First, the enlargement
of capacity of Serang River mouth and second, was the demand for proportional diversion of
excess flood discharge to Babalan River at the up-stream part of J uana River, by constructing
Wilalung Flood Diversion Weir. These Works were implemented as the Stage-II of the
Serang River Improvement Work. At the subsequent phase, after construction of flood
diversion weir, J uana plain along J uana River banks will be affected by flood due to flood
additional discharge diverted to Babalan (J uana) River, which was implemented at Stage-II.
This problem was planned to be resolved at Stage-III of the Serang River improvement work.
For illustration see Figure 7.13.3 which presents the overall condition of Serang River before
Flood Control Program was implemented, while Figure 7.13.4 presents a schematic diagram
of Stage-I and Stage-II of Serang River Improvement Works.
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JAVA SEA
BABALAN
Mt. MURIA
GEMPOL
SONGO
TANGGUL ANGIN
BABALAN K
. J
U
A
N
A
TO KUDUS TO DEMAK
Peca
ng
aan R
iv
er
K
.

M
A
Y
O
N
G
K
.

G
E
L
I
S
S
e
r
a
n
g

R
i
v
e
r
K
.

S
E
R
A
N
G
K
.

S
E
R
A
N
G
K. SERANG
K
.

S
E
R
A
N
G
K. LUSI
GODONG
PENAWANGAN
WILALUNG
MENEO
JETAK
JUNGSEMI
K
. L
E
M
B
O
N

Figure 7.13.3. Schematic Diagram of Serang River
Before Implementation of Improvement Program

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GEMPOL SONGO
JAVA SEA
TANGGUL ANGIN
BABALAN
PRANOTO SWAMP
J
u
a
n
a
R
iv
e
r
TO KUDUS
TO DEMAK
Pecangaan R
iver
M
a
y
o
n
g

R
iv
e
r
G
e
l
i
s

R
i
v
e
r

L
o
w
e
r

S
e
r
a
n
g

W
e
l
a
h
a
n

R
i
v
e
r
R
i
v
e
r
W
u
la
n
R
iv
e
r
M
U
R
I
A
C
A
N
A
L
S
e
r
a
n
g

R
i
v
e
r
Serang River
S
e
r
a
n
g

R
i
v
e
r
Lusi River
GODONG
PENAWANGAN
WILALUNG
Wi lal ung Flood Di version Weir
JETAK
Mt. MURIA
LEGEND :
: Short Cut
: Embankment
: Colmat age Canal
: Mai n Road

Figure 7.13.4. Schematic Figure of Serang River System
after Improvement of Stage-I and II

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Stage-III of the Serang River
Improvement Program was
focused on the improvement of
downstream site of Serang River
and protection of J uana Plain
along J uana River banks from
flood over-flow. This program
was started in 1980, but due a
number of constrains, the works
had yet managed to resolved the
underlying problems, and hence
there still a lot of remaining
improvement works to be do for
completely protecting Demak
and J uana Plains from flood.

The scopes of works that were expected to give further attention in the successive
improvement works were among others:
1) Improvement and enlargement of Wulan River at downstream part of Serang River;
2) Improvement of Wulan River embankments;
3) Construction of Goleng spillway;
4) Extension of the old Serang River coarse from Goleng spillway downward;
5) Extension of the Welahan River to collect water from local streams; and
6) Rearrangement and modification of flood discharge diversions through Wilalung Flood
Diversion Weir.
For further details, see the schematic figure of Serang River improvement Stage-III as
presented in Figure 7.13.5, below.

Wilalung Flood Diversion Weir
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LEGEND :
: Short Cut
: Embankment
: Fl ood Spill Way
: Mai n Rood
: Flood Diversion Weir
J
u
a
n
a
R
i
v
e
r
TO KUDUS
TO DEMAK
G
e
l
i
s

R
i
v
e
r
T
h
e

O
l
d

S
e
r
a
n
g

R
i
v
e
r
B
u
m

R
i
v
e
r
W
e
l
a
h
a
n

R
i
v
e
r
W
u
l
a
n
R
i
v
e
r
S
e
r
a
n
g

R
i
v
e
r
S
e
r
a
n
g

R
i
v
e
r
Lusi Ri ver
JAVA SEA
Mt. MURIA
Goleng Spill Way
Wilalung Flood
Diversion Wei r

Figure 7.13.5. Schematic Diagram Serang River Improvement Stage-III
MSRI and INACID Chapter VIII. Summary and Conclusions
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CHAPTER VIII
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

8.1. GENERAL OVERVIEW
Indonesia, the world largest tropical archipelago in consists of five major islands, and some
30 smaller islands, totaling at about 17,508 islands and isles, of which about 6,000 are
inhibited. The archipelago with a total area of 5,193,150 km
2
of which the 2,027,087 km
2
of
land territory is mostly covered with thick tropical rain forest where fertile soils are
continuously replenished by volcanic eruptions, particularly on J ava Island.
The name that Indonesia has chosen for itself refers to a land of oceans and seas, with a
necklace of islands, islets, reefs and volcanoes, a vast garland stretching along the equator on
the borders of Asia and Australia, the Indian and the Pacific oceans. The overall population is
estimated at about 228 million people (2004) with the growth rate at 1.5%, consisted of 356
ethnics and tribal groups, 583 local languages; 87% Moslem, 9% Christian, 2% Hindu and
others.
This densely populated tropical archipelago has a distinct history of irrigated agricultural
practices that could be traced back to the ancient time, even during decades of BC.
Correspondingly, the irrigation history almost coexist with agricultural practices, no matter
how simple the technology it was.
8.1.1. WATER RESOURCES
The overall accessible water resources potential of Indonesia is estimated at about 2,530 km
3
,
(about 1,847,246 m
3
/annum) scattered over river basins throughout the archipelago, of which
about 2% (96m
3
/capita/year) is currently utilized for agriculture at about 76%, domestic at
about 11.5%, and industries at about 13,5%. These water resources are scattered throughout
the country flowing over at about 5,886 rivers and tributaries with the overall length of about
18,000 km. The major rivers are also served for substantial inland transportation. On J ava
Island, rivers are dominantly utilized for irrigation. Meanwhile, the lowlands areas at a total of
33.4 million ha (consisted 20.1 million ha of tidal lowlands, and 13.3 million ha inland
swamp) in the eastern coast of Sumatra and Papua, with a number of the outer islands of
about 521 scenic lakes, altogether are highly potential for supporting irrigated agricultural
development.
8.1.2. AGRICULTURE
Agriculture is Indonesia's major economic activity. The farms are large plantations where
coffee, palm oil, rubber, sugarcane, tea and tobacco are raised for export. Indonesia is a large
producer of rice which is the main crop grown on small farms. Bananas, cassava, coconuts,
maize, peanuts, spices and sweet potatoes are also grown. Major cash crop in Indonesia is
rubber, which is exported. The total arable land area of Indonesia is 181.17 M ha of which,
some 30.2 M ha is permanently cropped area, while non-arable lands contribute 150.98 M ha.
Forests and woodlands enable Indonesia to produce large amounts of valuable hardwoods like
teak and ebony. Bamboo is also produced in abundance. Estate management and agriculture is
widely practiced on J ava and Sumatra whereas on other islands the estates are fewer. Soils in
Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Sumatra are poor because of excessive leaching by heavy rains and
irrigation is needed where rainfall is less than 1,000 mm while the extensive swampy soils of
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the alluvial plains of Sumatra, Kalimantan and West Papua require drainage before being put
into useful cultivation.
a) The Role of Agriculture: In 2000 some 73.22% of the total land area is devoted to
agriculture. Land area for estates accounted the largest of around 16.7 million hectares, arable
dry land approximately 12.9 million hectares, woods around 8.8 million hectares and wet land
around 7.8 million hectares. The smallest was land used for brackish and fresh-water pond,
which covered only 0.5 million hectares and 0.2 million hectares respectively. The rest of
17.2 million hectares constituted of temporarily fallow land (9.7 million hectares), house
compound and surrounding (5.2 million hectares) and grassland (2.2 million hectares).
Despite this, agricultures contribution to the country GDPs, in 2000, accounted for only
16.39% against 26.11% of manufacturing industry.
b) Agricultural Policy and Strategy: Early in 1970s, agricultural policy in Indonesia has
been primarily concerned with implementing production-based policies designed to pursue
food self-sufficiency. Since 1967, Indonesias agricultural development policy has been
focused on achieving food self-sufficiency in rice. This goal was reached in 1984, when, for
the first time, domestic rice production exceeded domestic rice consumption.
The agricultural development is carried out through a strategy that is aimed at increasing
optimum benefit of domestic resources, extending agricultural development spectrum through
technology diversification, resources, production and consumption, improving the application
of local and applicable technology, engineering, and improving agricultural productivities.
In order to increase rice output, the Indonesian government was forced to expand cultivated
land area. This expansion was accomplished by investing large amounts of government funds
into infrastructure projects, such as the development of new irrigation networks as well as
roads and agricultural processing facilities. The strategy to expand cultivated land area also
relied on Indonesia's transmigration program. This program involved moving families out of
the densely populated areas on the Inner Islands and resettling them on previously sparsely
populated areas on the Outer Islands.
8.2. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT
8.2.1. ANCIENT HISTORY
Irrigation history in Indonesia has been significantly related with lowland paddies as the
staple diet of the people since the ancient time. In this regards, no evidence had been
indicating the exact time when irrigated paddies was initially practiced in Indonesia, except
some stone inscriptions indicating that lowland paddies had long been known in Indonesia.
Likewise, no exact evidence that could presently explains the origin of lowland paddies. A
number of scholars argued that in Southeast Asia in particular, the traditional communities
with distinct agricultural based civilization had already existed, which believed to be much
comparable with other civilizations in Asia, even with ancient Indian.
Another scholar argues that the ancient migrants of Don-Sun Civilization from Asian
continent during the decades of BC stranded in the Brantas Delta of the Eastern J ava Island
and ever-since decided to settle at the Kediri Area (as known today). During that period, they
mutually practiced their livelihood based on civilization they brought along from their place
of origin, including upland paddy cultivation. After settled for some time and learning from
experience, they gradually expanded irrigated agricultural techniques by inventing simple
irrigation for lowland paddies. Having experienced the prospective livelihood in the new
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invented destination, they then decided to settle in this area for good. This ancient civilization
is evidently believed to be the origin of irrigated agricultural practices in Indonesian
Archipelago (Angoedi A., 1984. pp.3, 4.).
8.2.2. THE HINDU ERA
According to the existing folklore as well as some ancient inscriptions, there are adequate
reasons to believe that irrigation development in Indonesia must had been practiced longer
before the Hindu people came to the area. Much of the traditional legends in the community
elucidate that at the time of the fist Hindu generation came to Indonesia, they came across that
the ancient inhabitant had already widely practiced lowland paddies plantations on J ava
Island. Since paddy is an aquatic plant and paddy plantation was discovered by the first Hindu
migrants to be widely cultivated by the local people in the lowlands areas of J ava, there must
had been intervention or involvement of irrigation technique, disregarding however simple it
was.
Based on a number of stone inscriptions on J ava Island, it is strongly argued that during the
Hindu Era, the peoples had widely practiced irrigation for paddies. For illustration, the stone
inscription from Dharmawangsa Emperor dated 958 Caka-Year or 1037 AD stated that a
series of dyke construction works were undertaken by the emperor at the Waringin Sapta, next
to the Brantas river banks for protecting human settlement as well as agricultural areas in the
vicinity the middle reach of the Brantas River Basin (belongs to the East J ava Province,
today). In addition, another stone inscription of the Tulodong Kingdom mentions about the
tax exemption for Bari (a Hindu priest, and his descendants), for constructing the Harinjing
and Srinjing irrigation infrastructures at the western lowland basin of Kediri and Daha
Kingdoms of the eastern J ava Island (Wirosumarto, S., 1997, pp. 3-4).
8.2.3. TRADITIONAL AGRICULTURAL HERITAGES
With regards of the historical evidences on irrigation, however, it must be acknowledged that
the overview presented for ancient history of irrigation has yet come to its ultimate extent. In
fact, there are a number of traditional irrigated agricultural practices that had been descended
from ancient Indonesian civilizations such as -- the Subak System in Bali Province,
Dawur Pranatamangsa in Central and East J ava Provinces, Tuo Banda or Siak
Bandar in West Sumatra Province, Tudang Sipulung in South Sulawesi, Panriahan
Pamokkahanan and Siauga Parjolo in North Sumatra, Panitia Siring in South Sumatra
and Bengkulu Provinces, including some institutional based traditional agriculture such as
Ulu-ulu desa, and Ulu-ulu Vak in Central J ava, Raksa Bumi in West J ava, Ili-ili in
East J ava, Malar or Ponggawa in Sumbawa Island, and Kejrueng Blang in Aceh
Province -- and yet still currently being implemented in many of todays irrigated agricultural
communities in the respective areas. These in themselves are the concrete explanation of the
past existence of irrigation based agricultural practices, though they do not give indication of
the exact date of the initial inventions. Whoever might be the inventors of the ancient
irrigation agricultural techniques, they must have been based on systematical observations and
long-term trials and errors to meet and adjust with the existing demands and constrains from
generation to generations. Above all, the implementation of ancient techniques must have
been based on appropriate and long-term educational extensions, given the presumption of the
absence of formal education and appropriate training techniques in those days.
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8.2.4. THE ANCIENT HYDRAULIC STRUCTURES
As far as irrigation history of Indonesia is concerned, there are currently three major
milestones that could provide comprehensible evidence to uncover the historical background
of the early irrigation development and management practices in Indonesia. These are the
Harinjing stone inscriptions to be found at the Kepung village, Pare District, within the
Brantas River Basin, East J ava Province. The first and the earlier stone inscription dated back
to the year of 726 of Caka Calendar, or 808 AD. The second inscription dated back to the year
of 843 Caka Calendar, or 921 AD. The third stone inscription dated back to the year of 849
Caka Calendar, or 727 AD (Angoedi, 1984, p.25).
The three stone inscriptions reveal that a community leader named Bhogawanta Bori from the
village of Culunggi had been bestowed by the King Warok Dyah Manarah with a special
privilege in terms of exemption of property taxes for his outstanding accomplishment to build
the Harinjing River Dyke for water diversion, and flood prevention for agriculture and human
settlement at tributary of the Brantas River Basin.
The Harinjing stone inscriptions are presently kept at the National Museum in J akarta, while
the Kali Harinjing Tributary as mentioned in the inscription is now recognized as the Kali
Serinjing Tributary, located at the junction of three river tributaries of the Brantas Basin,
namely, Kali Konto, Kali Besowo, and Kali Nambang river tributaries. Given the facts that
the three river tributaries regularly encounter with volcanic debris floods from Mount Kelud,
the Harinjing Dyke had occasionally breached, and at present, only two big boulders of the
dyke foundation left at the Kali Serinjing Tributary.
From a stone inscription dated back to the year of 907 AD, it was said that at the year of 823
AD, the Ancient Mataram Kingdom ruled by Raja Pikatan Emperor with an administrative
territory covers the Central and East J ava. From this inscription it revealed that the ancestry of
Ancient Mataram Kingdom, as a major irrigation based kingdom in Central J ava, was
descended from the Raja Sanjaya Emperor. Later on, the Ancient Mataram Kingdom of
Tulodong (924-929 AD) moved the center of kingdom administration from Central J ava to
East J ava. Since the two regions were administered under the Ancient Mataram Kingdom, the
irrigated agriculture in these two regions (currently as two autonomous provinces), remain as
among the most advanced in Indonesia today.
From a number of historical evidences, the Majapahit Kingdom (1293-1520 AD) had the most
significant influence on the history of irrigation in Indonesia. Other kingdoms also had their
respective contribution to other aspects of the countrys development, but not as significant as
the Majapahit Kingdom for irrigation history of the country.
a) The Oldest Irrigation Structure on Java Island: The oldest inscriptions on irrigation
works in Indonesia indicate that the first irrigation infrastructure in Indonesia was constructed
at the Tugu Village near the Cilincing River on the Fifth Century AD. The Tugu stone
inscription placed at the Tugu Village near Cilincing River, Northern J akarta, however, for
preservation, the original inscription has been kept at the National Museum under the
registration number D.124 (Angoedi, 1984., p.28).
Another historical evidence translated by Prof. Dr. R. Ng. Purbatjaraka reveals that the King
of Purnawaman declared his Executive Order to excavate a short-cut channel at River
Candrabhaga for allowing the river flown directly to the sea, along the downstream site of the
palace of Candara Bhaga (Some people suggest that the river site is known today as the
Bekasi River). While a study based on geo-morphological analysis suggests that the Candra
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Bhaga site is currently at Cakung River. This stone inscription indicates that since the Fifth
Century AD, flood and drainage problems have already been encountered the ancient city of
J akarta.
Since the discovery of Purbacaraka stated above, the Harinjing Dyke (Katon, East J ava) that
had been previously renown as the oldest hydraulic structure in Indonesia (804 AD) has now
kept aside by the most recently discovered evidence of construction of short cut channel of
Cakung River at Chandra Bhaga (the Fifth Century AD).
b) The First Rehabilitation Work on Irrigation: According to other stone inscription
unearthed from the ruin of the Harinjing Weir of Brantas River, it was recorded that the
Harinjing Weir, which was erected in the year of 804 AD, had undertaken an unprecedented
rehabilitation work on irrigation structure in 1350 AD. The construction work for the weir
was said to implement permanently for unlimited time horizon, however, the weir had been
reportedly flushed away several times due to catastrophic occurrences.
From the ancient experience on irrigation rehabilitation, it becomes obvious that the hydraulic
infrastructures for irrigation and other related purposes would need rehabilitative works, on
top of the routine operation and maintenance. No matter how feasible and robust the
construction had been commenced, the rehabilitation works, even at this modern day, is not
unavoidable. This especially the case when the construction works took part at the volcanic
disaster-prone area. As a matter of fact, it is quite admiring that the ancient work of Harinjing
irrigation weir of the Kali Brantas River had evidently been long lasted for at least for 546
years before the first rehabilitation work was undertaken.
c) Ancient Irrigation Technical Staff: During the Hindu Era, construction implementation
for medium and large irrigation schemes constructed through the executive order of the King.
The irrigation infrastructure, which would be constructed under the executive order of the
king, refers to as the dawuhan or commandment (of the King). For implementing the
construction execution of the dawuhan, the King authorizes irrigation technical staffs to act
for, or on behalf of the King.
According to information obtained from ancient stone inscription, it was stated that the
assigned irrigation technicians in practice, did not involved directly with construction
execution. Instead, the royal irrigation technicians authorized the local technical staff from the
village to conduct the construction execution, and subsequently responsible for conducting
irrigation operation as well as water allocation from the constructed weirs down to the
farmlands. In spite of this, there is no information, what so ever stated the physical
dimensions of irrigation structures referred to. It was stated by an anonymous historian,
however, that the physical configuration of a field reservoir area in the Pikatan village had an
estimated dimension of about 175 m by 350 m with the total storage capacity of about
350,000 m
3
. The reservoir was also utilized for military fortification during the Era of
Majapahit Kingdom. This evidence explained that, apart from the advanced irrigation
technique, the Kingdom of Majapahit had, its capital town also utilized the hydraulic structure
as the military defense system to prevent the capital of the kingdom from potential attack of
the enemy.
8.2.5. THE COLONIAL ERA
The Dutch started their venture to Indonesian Archipelago in 1596 by Cornelis de Houtman to
seek spices. For facilitating the spice trade activities, the Dutch Government established the so
called the Vereenigde Oost Indiche Compagnie -- VOC or the Dutch East India Company
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in 1602 with the aim as to exploit the spice islands in the Indonesian Spice Archipelago for
European market. As the VOCs merchant fleets were often not free from pirate attacks,
therefore, their sailings to East were later on accompanied by Dutch warship escorts.
Following the nationalization of the Dutch East India Trading Company by the Dutch
Government in 1799, the exploitation of Indonesian commodities for Europe developed into
Dutch suzerainty over Indonesian territories where the people on such territories were levied
by force or monopolistic to make agricultural tributes to the Dutch. The Capital Sunda Kelapa
was replaced by the Dutch name Batavia (or J akarta today), (IIN, 2002, p.21, and Badrika,
I.W., et.al., 1993, p.184).
Early at the beginning of the Dutch Colonial Era in Indonesia (referred to by the Dutch
Colonial Government as the Netherlands Indie) not much effort were addressed to
irrigation development due to their special attention on spice trade. This was the case because
the Dutch still give concentration of spice products rather than irrigated agriculture, which by
nature, considered as public services oriented undertaking. Apart from that, the previously
developed irrigation infrastructures by the local kingdoms were still available to provide
adequate food supplies for the people. Moreover, there were a number of irrigation works and
expansion of paddy cultivations in Bali Island and in J ava as well as on the Outer Islands
through mutual aid (gotong royong) system. Irrigation for private lands was also constructed
in the Tangerang Plain, Bekasi and Cikarang, as well as in the Vicinity of Batavia and Bogor
for land-lords by virtue of heerendienst or obligatory labor force for the land lord. Among
the past irrigation systems, the Ciliwung Katulampa, Cisedane Empang and Cibalok are still
in operation today after more that 250 years, though their physical conditions are increasingly
deteriorating.
to enforce compulsory agricultural policy, so called as Cultuur Stelsel or Verplichte
corchorus) and sugar cane, as the highly market potential agricultural products in Europe
Dutch Colonial Authority, and the products received to be regarded as the payment of land tax
in lieu of the Land Rente tax obligation that had been prescribed by the Colonial
Government since 1813.
The Colonial government considered the Cutuur Stelsel Program as the highly successful
implementation as the economic crisis had been recovered within not too long. In practice,
however, from the stand point of local people, the Cutuur Stelsel policy was not only forced
the farmer to surrender the 20% of their land products but also insisted to undertake forced-
labor works (heerendienst) at the colonial estate farms. As a result, a slight climate change
from normal pattern would make the farmers suffered from severe devastation and starvation.
During the Cultuur Stelsel enforcement, frequent incidents of hunger were recorded to
make hundred of thousand of deaths due to starvation on J ava Island alone.
a) Pioneering Period for Irrigation Technique: From irrigation engineering point of view,
provision of irrigation for supporting the Cultuur Stelsel Policy considered as the pioneering
period, as irrigation planning and construction implementation were undertaken almost
without any basic technical and agro-climatological data. At that time, practically no data on
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hydrology, hydrometry, geology, topographical maps as well as laboratories to back up the
planning and technical design available. Not surprisingly, that many irrigation schemes were
failure to meet the objective previously envisaged in the design. For example, the Sampean
Weir in Situbondo, which was constructed in 1832, had been totally collapsed before it could
be fully utilized.
Given the special importance of water resources and irrigation, later in1885 the Special
Department for Water Resources and Irrigation Development was established. At the same
year, a special Irrigation Division was established under the Department of Water Resources
to deal with the construction of special irrigation projects. In 1889 the Irrigation Division was
transformed into a formal structural institution termed as Water Resources Services or
Algemene Waterstaatdienst in Dutch term. With the establishment of the Water Resources
Services, the systematic and comprehensive implementation of water resources as well as
irrigation development and management had gradually become more effective. This
institution has been developed and managed consistently, and later after the countrys
Independence, it became the Directorate General of Water Resources, which responsible for
water resources and irrigation development and management under the Ministry of Settlement
and Regional Infrastructures (Public Works) till present.
b) Construction of the Early Irrigation Infrastructure on Java Island: Following the
implementation of Compulsory Agricultural Policy, which was initiated by J ohnnes Van den
Bosch (1830-1833), since then, the Dutch Colonial Government directly involved in
agricultural management, production and marketing of agricultural products, including the
efforts to develop and improve irrigation infrastructures for supporting the Compulsory
Agricultural Policy.
In an attempt to provide for constant availability of irrigation water, the Dutch Colonial
Government paid special attention on the future potential development of fertile agricultural
land of the delta Sampean River in East J ava. For this purpose, the Dutch Government
dispatched Ir. Van Thiel to Situbondo to erect a weir in Kali Sampean River in 1832. The
construction of this weir made of teakwood framework structure, filled with stone and
boulder. The Total width of the weir was 45 m and the height was at eight meters.
In 1850 the Sampean weir could no longer utilized, as the teakwood material for routine
maintenance had no longer available. For improvement purpose, the strengthening work
undertaken by means of masonry structure early in 1847, but the weir did not last long. Up
until 1876 temporary weir structures had been constructed, and at the same year the masonry
weir completed, but the weir did not last long as well. It was only in 1887 the weir
reconstructed with permanent structure that made it strong enough to perform water diversion
till present.
Meanwhile, the Kali Brantas irrigation scheme with an area of 34,000 ha at the delta of
Sidoarjo had been constructed from 1852 to 1857. While the Mojokerto weir, which was
rehabilitated in 1972/ 73s fiscal year is still under the good condition today.
c) Early Development Growth During the Colonial Period: Before the establishment of the
Department of Public Works, which referred to as Burgerlyke Openbare Werken BOW in
Dutch term, all of the construction aspects were directly managed by the Local Authority. At
that time, before the arrival of the western people, the Regent, Vice Regent, and the relevant
staffs entrusted, directly supervised the construction works related to water resources and
irrigation including weirs, canal excavation and other related structures. The Regent
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mobilized his people for construction works in terms of forced labor basis. This was the
reason why most of the Dutch Colonial Officers claimed that they could have the construction
works completed with lower costs.
For large construction, there already limited number of Dutch Engineers work for the Dutch
Colonial Government, because during that early day, there was no Indonesian engineer yet, as
the first engineering faculty was only established in Bandung, West J ava in 1924.
At that time, should any problems associated with irrigation works encountered, the Dutch
Engineer usually mobilized to help resolving the problems. Nevertheless, the non-experienced
engineers usually possess but limited knowledge about actual site of the tropical conditions,
on top of the absence of hydrological as well as climatological data, records, and other such
river information.
Under such condition, not surprisingly if the Dutch Engineers were unable to conduct the
assignment completely. In addition, most of the employers who took control over the
engineers workmanships were non-technical officers. Related to this, many of the Senior
Dutch Officers (Binnenlandsch Bestuur) regarded the employment of engineer as unnecessary
and costly undertakings. It is understandable therefore, that the Dutch Colonial Government
took many years for the establishment of technical institution such as the Department of
Public Works.
8.2.6. ESTABLISHMENT OF MINISTRY OF PUBLIC WORKS
Upon the enforcement of Compulsory Agricultural Policy under the absence of appropriate
irrigation infrastructures, agricultural products became decreasingly reliable. For which,
Governor General Rochussen recommended to Minister van Kolonien (the Dutch Colonial
Minister) through his official letter of 28
th
October 1847, to pursue irrigation development as
the following deliberation:
"Wij mogen den rijstbouw dus niet langer afhankelyk laten van den regen, doch
behooren denzelfde tebevestigen op den straks gemelden zekeren grondslag van
kunstmatige bewatering", (After Angoedi, 1984, P. 82)
This translates literally as:
"We could no longer allow agricultural implementation for paddies continuously
dependent upon rainfall, instead, we have to maintain constant supplies of water by
developing irrigation infrastructures ".
At the beginning, this recommendation was not regarded seriously as an effective means of
agricultural improvement, due to the absence of experience, technical staffs as well as lacking
of budget and expertise. Nevertheless, the approach became gradually more convincing
through consistent support and guidance from the Colonial Government Authority. The most
substantial constraint was due to the severely lacking of irrigation engineers and experienced
technical staffs. In reality, only five engineers were employed in Netherlands Indies in 1844.
Later on, increased between 1844 and 1854 into 10 persons, and yet without appropriate
knowledge about water resources, hydrology, and rivers behaviors under the intense tropical
rainfall pattern.
The recommendation of Governor General Rochussen to the Netherlands Government to start
giving attention to irrigated agriculture particularly for paddy as the staple diet of local
people -- apparently received considerable attention. Most significantly was the establishment
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of the Department der Burgelyke Openbare Werken (B.O.W.) or Ministry of Public Works
in 1854, which responsible for development of public infrastructures including water
resources and irrigation.
At the time of the establishment of the Ministry, only 10 engineers were employed, and then
later after few years, increased to 21 persons, assisted by 14 technical high school graduates.
During the following years the newly established Ministry of Public Works encountered by
problems for recruiting competence personnels due to the lack of university and technical
high school graduates. Therefore, some non-graduated staffs were recruited to fill up the
vacant positions. In the subsequent years, the Dutch Government launched special program in
the Dutch University on engineering education for those who interested to work for
development activities in Netherlands Indies.
With the establishment of the Department B.O.W (Ministry of Public Works), supported by a
number of professional engineers, the development and management of public woks
infrastructures in Netherlands Indies, ever since, conducted by professional government
officials (Binnenlandsch Bestuur).
In spite of the strategic importance of the establishment of the Departemen B.O.W. in the
Indonesian history of irrigation, it took many years before the Dutch Colonial Government
gave full development endeavor for construction of irrigation infrastructures. More significant
commitment was only apparent when the Colonial Government established the Afdeling
Irrigatie or Irrigation Division of the Departemen BOW in 1889, or 35 years after the
establishment of the Ministry of Public Works. This was due to the fact that the Departemen
BOW was not only responsible for irrigation development and management, but also for roads
and buildings, as well other public infrastructures such as storages for accommodating
a) Establishment of Irrigation District: After the establishment of Departemen BOW,
irrigation development and management had ever-since implemented with subsequent
consideration of technical related aspects. From series of experiences, irrigation development
and management have been recognized to be mutually independent aspects, in terms of the
two sides of a coin that cannot be separated from each other.
Learning from experiences, it had been recognized that for appropriate irrigation operation
and management, institutional aspects becomes necessitated for scrutinizing and conducting
water allocation and distribution, otherwise, irrigation construction with costly investment
cannot fully utilized as previously envisaged in the design.
For optimum operation with manageable size of commanding area the entire irrigation area
divided into manageable irrigation districts referred to as "Irrigatie - Afdeling", or irrigation
districts, covers a commendable size consists of groups of irrigation areas under one or more
hydrological river boundaries, superimposed with the boundary of local government
administration as if possible. In practice, however, the hydrological boundary of irrigation
districts, are rarely coincided with administrative boundary of local government.
On J anuary the 1
st
, 1889 the first irrigation district was established at the Serayu Irrigation
schemes referred to as "Irrigatie-Afdeling Serayu", which covers the Government
administrative boundary of Banyumas and Bagelen Residencies, having its headquarters at
Purworejo. The name of irrigation district per-se was taken after the name of the major river
(Serayu River) flowing in the vicinity areas. The subsequent irrigation district was then
followed by the establishment of "Irrigatie-Afdeling Brantas", or the Brantas irrigation
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district in 1892, covering the triangle areas of Malang - Kediri - Surabaya. Then followed by
"Irrigatie-Afdeling-Serang", or Serang Irrigation District covering Semarang-Demak and
Purwodadi areas with it headquarters at Demak. The hydrological boundary covers the
J ragung, Tuntang, Serang, Lusi and J uana river catchments.
After a long-term experience, the establishment of Irrigatie-Afdelingen or Irrigation
District has been proofed to be highly successful and satisfactory. Under the irrigation
districts institutional arrangement, the farmers had been effectively and efficiently
utilized the existing irrigation schemes. Each irrigatie-afdeling has been managed to
conduct routine guidance as well as training for its own staff as well as for the Mantri
Waterbeheer (Watermaster), on self-sustainable basis.
Having the consecutive successes on establishment and subsequent management of irrigation
under the institutional arrangement, a number of new irrigation districts then subsequently
established, including Pekalen-Sampean irrigatie-afdeling in East J ava, Pemali-Comal
irrigatie-afdeling in the Residency of Pekalongan, as well as Cimanuk irrigatie-afdeling
in Indramayu. In 1909, the Madiun Irrigation Section as a subordinate organization of
Solo irrigatie-afdeling was established, and by 1910, the entire J ava Island has been
divided into irrigation districts, including the being implemented irrigation schemes, as
well as future irrigation systems under the planning stage.
8.2.7. DECENTRALIZATION OF IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT
a) Decentralization: Establishment of provinces on J ava was started in 1925.
Decentralization of irrigation management applied since 1930. Provincial Government has a
responsibility in operation, maintenance, and management of irrigation systems.
Provincial Government establishes an institution named Provinciale Waterstaatsdienst
(Provincial Irrigation Services) chaired by a Hoofd Provinciale Waterstaatdienst. Each
Provinciale Waterstaatsdienst has Waterstaats Afdelingen (WA) which was previously
called Irrigatie Afdelingen chaired by Hoofd Waterstaats Afdeling.
Waterstaats Afdelingen divided into a number of Sections (Sectie) and each section consists
of Sub-section (Onder-sectie). Each Sub-section consists of a number of Kemantren chaired
by Mantri Kemantren (Water Master).
Water distribution is the responsibility of Water Master assisted by a number of Ulu-ulu
which was elected by farmers and assigned through Decree of Head of Regency. Maintenance
of canals and structures is the responsibility of Water Master assisted by a number of
Mandor (field irrigation supervisors).
To this extent, it is worth noted that before 1910 the government has established seven River
Basins Waterstaats Afdelingen (RBWAs). The main duties of RBWA are development,
O&M, and management of water resources and irrigation within river basin or integrated
basins. Those seven RBWAs are: i) Serayu River Basin, ii) Brantas River Basin, iii) Serang
River Basin, iv) Pekalen Sampean (integrated) Basins, v) Pemali-Comal (integrated) Basins,
vi) Madiun River Basin (later on, be developed as Bengawan Solo River Basin), and vii)
Cimanuk River Basin.
b) Establishment of Irrigation Management Board (IMB): Preparatory works for
establishment of IMB or in Dutch language Waterschap was initiated in 1919 by Water
Resources and Irrigation Services (WRIS), Department of Public Works. Subsequently,
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WRIS establish head office of IMB (Centraal Waterschap Kantoor) in Yogyakarta and a
branch in Solo (Surakarta). IMB is a technical institution under the Central
Government/WRIS which, at the initial stage, has the following duties: (1) Topographic
Surveys and Mapping of irrigation areas; (2) Preparation of a plan of improvement and up-
grading of irrigation networks which was built by commercial agricultural enterprises; (3)
Establishment of boundary of Irrigation Section, Sub-Section, and Kemantren; (4)
Establishment of Technical Institutions, Staffing and recruiting of staff; (5) Compiling and
documenting of technical drawings; and (6) Preparation of budget proposal for initial years.
After the said preparatory works phase completed, in 1920 the government released
Regulatory instrument on Water resources and Irrigation Management referred to as
Vorstendlandsche Waterschap Reglement in Dutch term. In 1921 two IMBs were established
i.e. Opak-Progo IMB in Yogyakarta and Dengkeng-Pepe IMB in Surakarta (Solo), and in
1924 also established Bengawan IMB in Surakarta.
Each IMB has the following Service area: Opak-Progo IMB at 48,500 ha; Dengkeng-Pepe
IMB at 45,600 ha; and Bengawan IMB at 43,200 ha.
c) Participation of Irrigation Beneficiaries in O&M: In principle, Operation and
Maintenance costs have provided by irrigation beneficiaries. Payment is based on type of
crops and irrigated area. Fee to be paid calculated as crop coefficient multiplied by service
fee. Service fee decided every fiscal Year dependent upon the total cost required for O&M
activities.
Membership of farmers in IMB was on collective basis, covers all farmers in a village.
Contribution of farmers collected through Head of Village. Head of the Village also
responsible for providing required labor, mobilized from village and all have to be farmers,
for maintenance purpose. The labors were not paid in cash but deducted from the contribution
they have to pay as much as five cents Gulden per man-day. At that time Five cent was
equivalent to about one liter of white rice.
After Dutch government surrendered to J apanese soldier (1942), IMB was dispersed and all
aspects related to O&M of irrigation were handed over back to the Public Works Services.
d) The Ethical Policy (Ethische Politiek): Approaching the end of the 19
th
Century, due to a
number of internal and external political considerations -- particularly on the impacts of
French Revolution the Dutch Colonial Government eventually put an end to the Cultuur
Stelsel Policy. Instead, they transform the colonial policy into goodwill strategy referred to
as the Ethische Politiek or Ethical Policy. The slogan of Ethical Policy comprised of three
major endeavors: (1) Irrigation; (2) Emigration; and (3) Education.
As the follow up of the Ethical Policy, the Dutch Colonial Government commissioned a study
in 1902, to examine the possibility of resolving the problem of overpopulation and land
fragmentation on J ava where the large local population surplus was regarded by the Dutch as
a potential source of political tension and unrest. This study recommended moving people
from J ava to the sparsely populated areas in other parts of Indonesias Archipelago.
In response to this recommendation, the first resettlement experiment was carried out three
years later by moving 155 families from J ava to Lampung, Southern Sumatra under the
Irrigation Based Approach. The objective of the resettlement program was not only to reduce
the population pressure on J ava but also to contribute to the development of sparsely
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populated "Outer Islands" (Geertz, 1963) by providing more manpower for agricultural
development.
Subsequently, the first stage of migration started in October 19
th
1905, initiated by H. G.
Heytings who, with the help of two assistants and two irrigation water masters,

moved the 155
families from J ava to Gedong Tataan in South Lampung District of Southern Sumatra. This
was recorded in the history as the birth of irrigation based human resettlement program
termed as colonisatie or transmigration program in Indonesia. The impacts of which were
subsequently documented as the historical momentum of the spread of irrigation development
and management throughout the archipelago.
e) Pre Independence Period: Despite the obvious advantages, one of the immediate
consequences of the widespread of irrigation development and management implementation,
the land and water resources potentials gradually declined, especially on J ava and other
densely populated islands. In line with this, the rapid escalation of population also brought
about demands for intensification of irrigation on the Inner Islands on the one hand and
extensification of irrigation on the Outer Islands, on the other. Being the case, irrigation
development policy addressed the water conservation program on J ava Islands and the
program of irrigation expansion on the Outer Islands. For determining the priority, the
underlying constrains of continuous declining of resource potentials and population demands
are regarded as the determinant parameters that dictate the extent of development priority.
After a sound analysis the development priorities were set up for the eastern coast of Sumatra,
then, set up for South Sulawesi. Subsequently, the irrigation development priorities were
directed toward other Outer Islands areas, with special focus on the transmigrant destination
areas. Unfortunately, the development was practically terminated in 1930s due to severe
economic crisis and followed the break up of the Second World War.
For the Inner Islands, intensification program was directed toward construction of reservoirs
at the upper reach of the river basins on the highland areas, which intended to improve the
retention capacity of the river basin during the dry seasons. During the period before the War,
several reservoirs ranging from small to large size were constructed in West J ava, Central
J ava and East J ava Provinces. For instance, the constructed reservoirs with the storage
capacity of larger than 30 MCM among others were the Malahayu Dam in Central J ava, and
the Pacal Reservoir in East J ava Province. While the medium sized reservoirs with the storage
capacity between 10 and 30 MCM among others were the Prijetan Reservoir in East J ava, the
Gembong reservoir in Central J ava, and the Situpatok Reservoir in West J ava Province.
Parallel with the development of the medium sized to large sized reservoirs, some 50 small
reservoirs were also constructed on the Inner Islands aiming for improving the water storage
capacity to serve irrigation demands during the dry seasons on the densely populated areas.
In the period of 1940s there were practically no irrigation development undertaken at all due
to the subsequent break up of the Pacific War. During the 2
nd
World War up until the
Indonesian Independence, irrigation development was completely terminated, except some
minor repairs on compulsory basis, during the J apanese Occupation for supporting food
supplies of the J apanese Armed Forces. During which, 50% irrigated agricultural products
had to be surrendered to the J apanese authority for supporting their food supplies. As a result,
millions of Indonesian people suffered from hunger and starvation in a matter of a couple of
years invasion. In addition, a number of construction projects for irrigation infrastructures
under the compulsory labor forces (referred to as romusha), such as weir in Citanduy River
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for the North Labok area and the Tulung Agung Tunnel (Neyama) in Tulung Agung were
only partly utilized, shortly before the structures completely collapsed.
During the pre-independence period, till the time before the Second World War, several large
irrigation schemes in the northern coast of J ava Island as well as in the other parts of the
country were also completed. These were the Ciujung, Cisadane, Citarum-Walahar irrigation
schemes in North Coast of J ava, the Setail Scheme in Banyuwangi, the South J ember plain,
the Bagelen, and Southern Banyumas Areas. In addition, the constructed Irrigation schemes
on the Outer Islands among others were the Simalungun Scheme in North Sumatra, Klingi
and Blitang in South Sumatra, Way Sekampung in Lampung, Sadang and J eneberang
schemes in South Sulawesi. For the latter case, the irrigation schemes had not been fully
completed, because the construction terminated as the 2
nd
World War break up.
8.2.8. POST INDEPENDENCE PERIOD
At the inception stage, irrigation development and management in Indonesia after
independence encountered by severe economic and political uncertainties, and hence, no
significant achievement was recorded during this period. Meanwhile, the capacity of the
newly established goverment to provide financial support for irrigation development and
management was almost paralyzed.
Apart from the severe economic condition, the human resources capacity to undertake
irrigation development was also practically unreliable. After the handing over of the
countrys sovereignity from the Dutch Colonial Government, irrigation development in
Indonesia conducted under the support of dutch engineers, at the same time, recruitment
of new engineers was not possible to meet the development demand due to the lack of
university graduate engineers.
a) Development Programs: At the earlier stage after Independence, the Government
made a series of irrigation development planning both for short term, medium term as well
as long term, with a special priority on the short term objective, which was the three-
year development plan from 1951 up until 1953. However, under the limited potentential
of financial as well as human resources, the short-term development plan had never been
materialized, till the new plan (Five-year Development Plan of 1956-1960) launched. As
time passed by, the new five-year development plan came up with the same position as the
previously intended development plan.
The subsequent developmen plan of 1961-1968 also faced the same problems and
constraints, which unable it to be fully implemented. Political and economic uncertainties
of Indonesia were then became more crucial with the emerging issues of integration of
West Irian (West Papua) into the Republic of Indonesia, followed by confrontation with
British and Malaysia, and culminated wih the attempted coup of the Communist Party on
September 30, 1965. During this period, practically no irrigation development was
undertaken till the political situation under the New Order Government had become
stabilized.
b) The Five-Year Development Plan: Under the New Order Government, the socio-
political condition gradually became stablized, and the confrontation policy was replaced
with the closer economic and political relationship with the neighbouring countries.
During which, the stabilized political condition brought about new opportunity for the
country to conduct new economic development policy and implementation. In addition,
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the development policy had been undertaken remarkably with the benefit of the oil boom.
From this poin of time, the New Order Government lounched the Long-term Development
Plan as the subsequent commitment on the initial implementation of the first five-year
development plan in 1969.
At the first five-year development plan, water resources development had been prioritized
by the Government of Indonesia. Despite the special priority, the budgetary allocation for
water resources and irrigation development had been lower than the actual requirement.
Beside, the budgetary allocacation had only been possible for large projects, and hence,
the distribution of irrigation development has not not been possible to reach the entire
parts of the country.
The large projects that had been undertaken during the first five year development
implementation including: The Cacaban Reservoir in Central J ava Province. The Darma
Reservoir in West J ava Province, Selorejo and Karangkates Reservoirs in East J ava
Province, the continuation of J atiluhur Reservoir with a total irrigation service area of
about 240,000 ha, and the Lakbok Irrigation Scheme in West J ava Province. At the same
perod the flood control project of the south Tulung Agung (Phase-I) in East J ava
Province, in addition to raw water supplies for urban and industries, as well as flood
control, power generation, and water based recreation at the J atiluhur Reservoir.
c) Multiple Purposes Water Resources and River Basin Development: In an attempt to
make the optimum advantage of water resources development and management, the project
implementations in general has been based upon integrated river basin approach as far as
possible. This approach is especially implemented for river basins that are interdependent or
having the same impacts, or belongs to the shared water ecosystem or environmental impacts
from each other for being served the same areas.
Given the integrated and multiple purposes natures of these projects, the construction
implementation had been undertaken through appropriate coordination amongst the
related agencies. The projects acitivities were based on participatory approach by
involving the stakeholdes throughout the development phases of the project with the
basic principle of One-river, One-plan, and One- integrated-management. In the long
run, however, the large river basins development was based on comprehensive master
plans by means of integrated basin water resources planning, toward future integrated
basin water resources management under one institution or one water resources operator.
During the first 25 years long term development program (1969-1984) there were seven
multiple purposes and river-basin development projects namely: the Brantas River Basin
Project; the J ratunseluna (J ragung, Tuntang, Serang, Lusi, J uana); Bengawan Solo;
Serayu; Citanduy; Citarum; and J enebrang River Basin Projects. Following the river basin
development projects, the management of Brantas and Citarum River Basins have been
transformed into state owned companies, the J asa Tirta-I for Brantas River Basin
Project, and J asa Tirata-II for the Citarum River Basin Project. Both state owned
companies have been intended for undertaking sustainable basin water resources
management as the Operating Institutions.
d) Irrigation Works: Approaching the first long-term development program, the physical
condition of irrigation in Indonesia had been under highly deteoriorating. Irrigation
infrastructures including canals and structures were practically suffered from severe damages
due to the lack of maintenance. It was estimated that the remaining service function of
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irrigation system was only between 40% and 60% of the overall capacity. Meanwhile, the
new irrigation development had been completely stopped since before the War. And hence,
the cropping intensity as well as agricultural productivity declined significantly. During
which, Indonesia had been suffered from severe deficit of rice production as the staple diet of
the people.
Under such condition, the effort was concentrated on the implementation of Operation
and Maintenance of the existing facilities while pursuing the immediately affordable
repairs to increase the serviceability of the existing irrigation infrastuctures. In the mean
time, the development of new scheme had been concentrated on quick yielding projects,
while extending irrigation areas through improvement, rehabilitation and upgrading of
the already existing schemes. Due to the long time requirement for provision of new
irrigation schemes, then construction of new irrigation schemes were only based on the
most urgent priority such as large schemes particularly for the project that had been
terminated during the War. With this development policy, within 15 years, Indonesia
had been managed to attain self sufficiency on rice production since 1985 after
previously known as the lagest importing county for rice at the early stage of the five-
year development in 1969.
For sustaining self sufficiency on rice production, while keeping pace with the new
irrigation development for the escalating population increase, the policy of irrigation
development in the remaining period of the First Long Term Development Program was
set up for irrigation development by means of appropriate economic planning as well as
feasible technical consideration. The development stage directed toward systematical
planning sequences from project identification, reconnaissance study, pre-feasibility
study, economic and technical feasibility study, then technical design prior to the
subsequent physical implementation.
In line with the above policy, and for supporting agricultural extensification program, a
special irrigation development program was set up for supporting the mass development
of small-scale irrigation schemes, referred to as the simple irrigation-scheme having
the general criteria as follows: (1) The service area limited to the maximum of 500 ha
for each individual scheme, with some exceptions depending upon local circumstances;
(2) The topographical condition allows construction of simple irrigation scheme in that
particular location; (3) The construction implementation through stages, such that each
stage should directly having productive function to support irrigated agricultural
activities of the rural community; (3) To meet the immediate support for rural
agricultural community, and to avoid problems on land compensation and other non-
technical aspects, special priority also given to the previously rainfed land for paddies as
far as possible.
e) Irrigation Development Strategy during the First Long-Term Development:
Given all the technical as well as the non-technical problems and constraints on
irrigation development implementation, the overall policy and strategy for irrigation
development and management had been adjusted as the following: (1) Irrigation
development priority should address rehabilitation works of the already existing
irrigation schemes, that had been abandoned due to the absence of timely operation and
maintenance endeavors; (2) Under the special condition, either due to the magnitude or
due the accessibility for the scattered location, rehabilitation works should be divided
into phases. The first phase addresses the major botle-necks, then the following phases
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targeted to full operation of the scheme to meeting appropriate operation; (3) Whenever
possible, rehabilitation works must be incorporated with other upgreading,
reconstruction as well as re-modeling and extension works, to meet the optimum
possible extent of the irrigation scheme referred to; (4) For the large new-schemes, all of
the development activities must be conducted through adequate and systematical preparatory
works, planning and technical design. Both the technical as well as the non-technical aspects
associated with the development, such as social, economic, cultural, as well as environment
must be considered soundly.
Following the irrigation develoment strategy, right at the beginning of the First Five
Year Development, mass rehabilitation program had been conducted for almost the
entire irrigation schemes in Indonesia, that had been suffered from severe degradation
interms of physical as well as serviceability. The first priority was given to large
irrigation schemes that had significant impacts to downstream areas, rather than the
small scatttered schemes.
f) Lowlands (Swamps) Development: Parallel with conventional irrigation schemes,
Indonesia posess a huge lowlands potentials scattered over the country, in particular on
Sumatra Island, Kalimantan, and Irian J aya (West Papua), covering inland swamps, tidal
swamps and barakish water or saline water swamps.
The development of inland swamps had long been practiced in Indonesia with mostly
paddy cultivation, and occasionally with inland fisheries. So far as the water is still
available, the water control for agriculture conducted by means of regulating the water
level at the drainage channels. In practice, however, the drainage control is not adequate,
rather, additional water supply from external sources occasionally reguired for
maintaining the soil moisture content at appropriate level of the plant growth.
Out of the overall of 30 million ha of lowland potential Indonesia has, about 15%
suitable for agricultural development, which about five million ha of which, partly has
already been developed for agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries, including the majority of
tidal lowlands development in the vicinity of the coastal areas.
At the initial stage of lowland development, a number of projects had been introduced in
South Kalimantan, including the polder system introduced by Ir. H.J . Schophuys in
South Kalimantan in 1929. The project actually initiated under the initiative of the
Ministry of Agriculture with technical assiatance from the Dutch engineers. Two
experimental projects for polder development were introduced in Kalimantan in 1930s,
namely the Mentaren Polder Scheme in Central Kalimantan and Alabio Polder Scheme
in South Kalimantan. The projects were terminated due to the war, and later the
Indonesian government attempted to continue the project but not have been possible till
today because of the lack of budget and human resources capacities.
Owing to the fact that the swamps lowlands are usually extended to the coverage of
large areas at the flat areas, then the swamps development has to be developed in large
scale to serve human settlement as well as aricultural development, rather than on the
small scattered areas.
g) Simple Irrigation System: Learning from the past experience of irrigation implementation
in Indonesia, the simple irrigation systems constructed at the highland plains have been
recognized as the origin of technical irrigation in Indonesia. Today, the ancient works on
simple irrigation scheme are still found under the full operation in many parts of the
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archipelago. Most rice terraces on J ava, Bali, Sumatra, and lesser islands are served by simple
irrigation systems by means of plot-to-plot water distribution approach.
As the land resources for simple irrigation system at the highland plain became scarce, the
farmer began to seek for flatter lands suitable for irrigation implementation by diverting water
from the springs, tributaries or small rivers. At the initial stage, the traditional farmers carried
out canal excavation without considering longitudinal slope of the channel, but only followed
gravity flow of the water as far as the water still flowing. If during the canal excavation they
encountered by deep excavation or high embankment, they stopped the excavation works
from then, followed by initiating new land reclamation for paddy field in the sloping side of
the hill or valley.
So far as the water still available at the downstream site of the previous river diversion, the
farmers keep going to seek others potential sites for constructing irrigation canals and other
related structures with the same procedure as stated previously. For maintaining the constant
availability of water for their agricultural lands, in some location where possible and
affordable, the weirs constructed with more permanent construction materials as well as with
improved appropriate technicalities.
h) Swamp Paddy (Local Rice Variety Grows on Swamp Land): Since the ancient time,
swamp paddy has already been recognized by local farmers in the swamp areas of Sumatra,
Kalimantan, Sulawesi and other tidal lowland areas on the river deltas of Outer Islands.
However, due to difficulties to access and to regulate the crop cultivation, yet with low
productivity, the farmers tended to ignore this rice variety and cultivate other varieties instead,
except when other alternatives are not available.
In most cases, the swamp paddy only cultivates by indigenous people at the remote tidal
areas, for alternative sources of food. For this reason, the swamp paddy remains unpopular
even-though its existence had long been recognized by local people who settled on the tidal
swamp areas. Through a number of experimental plots in South Kalimantan as well as on the
eastern coast of Sumatra, the tidal lowland development has gradually become more and more
potential in the national rice production program, today.
Following the pilot models, some major programs commenced in Kalimantan and South
Sumatra around 1960s. These swamp settlement among others; the Puntik, Besarang and
Marabahan in Central Kalimantan; the Kelampan, Tamban and Gambut in South Kalimantan;
the Batuil, Mentaren, Belanden, Milono (Besarang), Songsang, Rantau Rasau in J ambi
Province; and the Muara Sabak as well as the Lambur in Riau Province. (DGWRD, MPW,
2000 p.43).
The nature of water management for swamp paddies is quite distinct from the non-swamp
agricultural lands. Especially for the tidal swamps, water management takes place by means
of interchanging the water supply and drainage flow in accordance with tidal fluctuations. The
supply canal will function as irrigation infrastructure during the high tide, while during the
low tide, the channel facilitate the drainage, at the same time for soil leaching against acidity
and other hazardous materials. However, appropriate water management techniques for both
irrigation and drainage functions are still currently developing.

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8.2.9. PERIOD FROM INDEPENDENCE (1945) TO THE FIRST FIVE YEAR DEVELOPMENT
(1968).
At the period from 1945 to 1955, the first 10-year period after independence, there were no
growth on irrigated rice field as well as on rice production. Government of Indonesia was
very busy in solving political problems, both internal and external affairs. The Cabinet had
changed frequently. Therefore, it was not possible to establish the urgently required
development plan on water resources and irrigation.
Despite the urgent demand the government fully understood that the deficit on food
production will be more and more significant due to insufficient attention on development and
maintenance of irrigation infrastructures. In 1952, the first president of Indonesia, Soekarno,
delivered a speech in the opening ceremony of Faculty of Agriculture, University Indonesia
entitled "A Matter of Life and Death". In that speech, President Soekarno stated that: at this
moment (1952) Indonesia had a problem on lacking of food. He stated further that in the year
1960 that the shortage of food will be increasingly more devastating if no immediate actions
were taken. In fact, the statement of President Soekarno came true, in the year of 1961-62s
when rice prices jumped at three times due to severely lacking of food stocks. In an attempt to
surmount this problem the Government promoted the so called food diversification program,
for example to promote consumption of corn instead of rice (1963). At that time Indonesia
was notoriously known as the world largest rice importer.
Consequently, during the period from 1945 to 1967 that was the period immediately after
independence to the First Five-Year Development (PELITA-I), almost no growth took place
in food production. In 1955 paddy production noted as almost 13 million ton, and in 1961 the
production increased to only about 14 million ton. In 1968, the first year of PELITA-I rice
production increased to 18 million ton and the cropping area increased from 5.6 million ha to
6.3 million ha. The average yield also increased from 2.5 ton/ha in 1961 to 2.9 ton/ha in 1968.
During the above-mentioned period (from 1945 to 1967) the government had implemented
some development program. For example in 1952 the government proclaimed the so called
the Kasimo Prosperity Plan. The important measure in this plan was the establishment of an
institution for rural society education. Through this institution, the irrigation officers and the
farmers were able to meet and conduct the required dialogues at the same time. The other
interesting measure of this plan was the effort to implement demonstration of farming
techniques. In 1958 the Government established a so called Institute of Food Production and
Land Development. The main emphasis of this institute was to increase food production
through intensification and extensification. In 1959, through Presidential Instruction
(INPRES-I /1959), the Government established the so called Prosperous Action Command
(KOGM), which directly chaired by the president at the Central Level, and at the Territorial
Level by the Governor/Head of Regency/Head of District/Head of Village. But these two
institutions were not success in achieving their targets. There was no land development
progress and no increase of food production. In 1955 the cropping area with a total of 5.52
million ha had been recorded, and by 1961 the record was increased to 5.59 million ha. In the
mean time, the yield of paddy in 1955 was recorded at about 13 million ton, which increased
slightly to only 14 million ton in 1961. In an attempt to improve this situation, in 1964 the
President established the National Production Council to replace KOGM. However, this
council was not managed to meet the objectives previously intended, particularly in rising of
food production.
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8.3. DEVELOPMENT OVERVIEW OF IRRIGATION MAIN STRUCTURES
As the demand for expanding paddy cultivation went up in line with population increase, one
must give immediate thoughts about the most appropriate techniques for fulfilling the water
supply demands. In this way, however simplest human intervention on natural state of water
sources would gradually evolved through time as well as experiences, and eventually
accumulated to become irrigation technique which we comprehend today.
Concerning the historical development of irrigation main structures in Indonesia, it is apparent
from the most recent discovery that the ancient population of Indonesia had long been
acquainted with irrigation development and management techniques.
8.3.1. INTAKE STRUCTURE
a) Embankment: Since the farmers acquainted with the early irrigated agricultural
techniques, they had been successfully developed the simplest structures that met the demand
of water delivery. In line with the immediate demand, they initially made effort to divert
water from spring or small rivers by means of gravity flow from free intake, in combination
with stone, boulder, wooden peg, bamboo frame, or with earth-fill embankment across the
river for lifting the water surface at the intake point.
Such the simple structures were obviously highly susceptible to flood strike, and consequently
the headwork structure was subject to annual repair or reconstruction. Depending upon the
nature of the damages due to annual flooding, the annual repairs would normally be
incorporated with additional improvement works such as provision of spill-way to reduce the
damage due to flood stream. In fact, it was said that the ancient farmers of Bali had already
managed to build a soil embankment of 30 meter high, which in fact, currently classified as
amongst the high-embankment classification in Indonesia today. In 1037, it was subsequently
noted that there was a district close to Surabaya currently the delta area of Brantas River and
Porong River had managed to develop an irrigation scheme. This scheme located in the
Waringin Sapto Village, presently known as Waringin Pitu Village. In the mean time, in
1350 AD, the farmer in Kandangan Village, within the vicinity of the well known
Harinjing/Srinjing Weir, was also noted to have undertaken rehabilitation work for a large
irrigation weir.
Unlike J ava, irrigation development history on the Outer Islands, also have but view
information concerning the exact time when the first irrigation infrastructure was initiated.
The most recent historical evidences only indicated that during the middle of the 19
th

Century, it was noted that a large number of embankment weirs had been constructed,
both under the initiative of the farmers and through the support of the Dutch Colonial
Government. The construction was said to be temporary and simple earth structures in the
form of embankment or bamboo frame filled with soil, stone, boulders and other such
materials. With exception, there were also some gabion weirs, with stone and boulder fills
as well as with wooden posts, which had been constructed during that period.
For the case of West J ava, it was said that in 1739, a simple structure named `Katulampa'
Weir was constructed at about five km upstream of Bogor in 1739 to irrigate agricultural
area between Bogor and J akarta. Following this example, up to 1840, there were a large
number of embankments weirs built by the farmers themselves, including hundreds of
small reservoirs or water pond termed as Situ-Situ in the vicinity of J akarta, Bogor,
Tangerang and Bekasi areas.
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b) Weir: During the subsequent development period of simple structures, application of
permanent masonry weir, as the improved type of the simple embankment type, have been
widely adopted with some adjustment with local condition. Amongst the most notable
ones were Ciliwung-Katulampa Weir in, West J ava, which was constructed in 1739,
Kalikebo Weir in Klaten, Central J ava, constructed in 1824 and Molek Weir in East
J ava, constructed in 1828.
Approaching the middle of 19
th
Century, in addition to the development of new weirs, the
Dutch Colonial Government also conducted rehabilitation as well as replacement of the
existing simple weirs/embankments. Most of the rehabilitation works were additionally
facilitated or with equipped with intake gates to allow an appropriate water control. For
example, the Rentang Weir in West J ava, which was built in 1846, was then reconstructed
with substantial improvement, including the replacement of wooden structures with
masonry and concrete works.
The reconstructed weirs were Bojong, built in the 1849, Glapan Weir in Central J ava
Province built in 1852, and Lengkong Weir in East J ava, constructed in 1852. Other type
of structure that commonly used at that period was free intakes, especially for large river,
to avoid huge construction costs.
During the period after independence till the end of the Fist Five-Year Development
Program (1945-1994), a large number of weirs were constructed, most of which were for
small and medium scale irrigation schemes, with an irrigation command area at an average
of about 8,000 ha.
c) Barrage: Depending upon the nature of the rivers, construction of Barrage has also been
initiated since early at the beginning of the 20
th
Century. One of the oldest and the largest
barrage (in term of width and commanded area) in Indonesia has been the Walahar Barrage,
which was constructed in 1904. This Barrage is located in Citarum River, the largest river in
West J ava Province.
Meanwhile, in 1905 another large barrage was also constructed in Ciujung named
Pamarayan Barrage in Banten Province (today). Following the development of the above
mentioned barrages, several others were developed, including the Pasar Baru Barrage,
constructed 1926 in Cisadane River, Banten Province, and Benteng Barrage in Saddang
River, about 180 km north of Makassar the capital city of South Sulawesi Province, which
was constructed in 1937.
In Central J ava Province, another barrage designed as flood diversion structure and as
intake of irrigation water, is Wilalung Barrage. This barrage was constructed in 1908 at
Serang River at the eastern vicinity of Semarang, the capital of Central J ava Province. In
addition to diversion of flood into Serang and Babalan Rivers, Wilalung Barrage also
functions to divert water to Babalan Irrigation Scheme.
8.3.2. CANAL
Similar to the embankment and simple weir, irrigation canal also have long been recognized
by the farmers, ever-since during the period when the early irrigation technique had been
introduced. In most cases, construction of embankment/weir carried out simultaneously
with or followed by construction of canals. Some cases shown that before an
embankment/weir was constructed, the farmers had previously excavated the conveyance
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canals. In some cases when the water elevation allowed gravity flow, water was diverted
from the river to the excavated canals prior to the construction of other structures.
Despite these evidences, some other experiences in the mountainous remote areas both on
J ava and on the Outer Islands indicated that the traditional farmers had already constructed
irrigation canals, often by high embankment through valleys or deep cuts along the
meandering alignments at the steep hills, cascading terrains, even through tunnels across
breccia rocks with hundreds of meters long. Many of these canal networks in Bali, J ava,
Sulawesi and Sumatra are still functioning under the well maintained condition today, after
many years operation.
8.3.3. WATER LIFTING DEVICE
In Indonesia, water lifting devices for irrigation purpose, has been practiced by the farmers
since the middle of 14
th
century. Early at the turn of the century, in West Sumatra territory,
the farmers have already widely applying for traditional water-lifting devices for irrigation
and other domestic water utilizations. Such water lifting devices are still widely practiced in
many hilly areas of Western Sumatra Province today, most of which are developed,
operated and maintained by the traditional farmers themselves.
In terms of pump as water lifting device, large electric pumping stations for irrigation have
been implemented since 1930s. It was noted that in Central J ava Province, a pumping
station was set up in 1939 to irrigate the Gambarsari-Pasanggrahan Irrigation Area. During
the Dutch time, there have been a number of pumping stations constructed on J ava Island.
Depending upon the nature of water requirement, the source of water for the water pumps
were taken from rivers or surface water sources as well as from groundwater. For example,
in Central J ava Province at this time alone, there are more than 650 small pumping currently
operated for irrigating more than 16,300 ha of paddy fields, on top of the scattered tubewell
pumping stations to provide raw water supplies for municipal and industries.
In Bengawan Solo River Basin, Central J ava, there are also presently a large number of
pump stations for irrigated-agricultural purposes. At present, there are currently 758 units of
medium sized pumps, set up for taking water directly from rivers/canals (surface water) by
means of open channels, and some 658 pump stations are currently operated for
groundwater, having a total command area of about 45,000 ha.
In West J ava Province, on top of the many pumping stations for irrigation as well as raw
water supplies for domestic and industries, there is a notably large big scale pumping station
which was built before PELITA-I in Curug area under the J atiluhur Irrigation and Reservoir
Project. In this station, there are two unit of pumping systems, namely electric pump and
hydraulic pump, which were both built in 1966 and completed in 1968.
8.3.4. FLOOD PREVENTION INFRASTRUCTURE
Indonesia, like other tropical archipelago, also strongly influenced by tropical climatic
characteristics, both in terms of heavy tropical rains during the rainy seasons as well
extreme drought during the dry season. With the underlying tendency of over exploitation
of upper watershed of the rivers with densely populated middle reach and downstream
areas, it becomes apparent that the threat of probable flood and drought incidents are
continuously escalating from time to time. During the past years, flood problems were only
hampering significantly of the densely populated areas as well as agricultural lands in the
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lowland plains. Today, however, the impacts of floods are increasingly hindering the
livelihood of the people both in rural and urban areas, as well as the agricultural and
industrial areas without exception.
Since the Dutch time, flood problems had already become one of the burning issues of water
resources and irrigation management. In line with extensive irrigation development
implementation during the past long term development, the issues of flood control has been
scrutinized and addressed in terms of structural as well as non-structural approaches.
As far as the history of flood prevention works in Indonesia is concerned, no exact evidence
that could explain about the fist time since the first flood prevention works was conducted.
However, it was noted that on J ava Island, the prevention works has increasingly become
important since the occurrence of the dreadful flood incident in 1861. At that time, for
instance, the entire lowland area of South Kedu (Central J ava), even extended to almost the
entire part of Central J avas south-lowland area suffered from severe flood. After the
outrageous strike of these floods the Dutch Colonial government conducted the following
works: (1) River improvement works; (2) Construction of flood embankments; (3)
Construction of two connector canals in the area; and (4) Construction of collector
canals/drains.
The subsequent flood incident occurred in 1902, which has destroyed almost the entire
agricultural and residential areas of Demak, in Central J ava. To protect the technical
irrigation schemes in Demak from flood strike, in 1908, the government constructed a flood
diversion weir named Wilalung Floods Diversion Weir. The weir equipped with four
spillways located at the upstream of the weir. On J anuary 1993, or about 85 years after the
completion of Wilalung Flood Weir, a terrible floods occurred in this area, however, the
flood did not bring destructive impacts.
Learning from the past experiences of flood preventive measures, a number of structural
measures have been conducted since the Dutch Colonial Period. Amongst the preventive
measures by means of structural approach, the following are the most notable ones: (1)
Flood embankment; (2) River improvement works; (3) Collector drain; (4) Flood way; and
(5) Flood diversion weirs.
Under the water resources development program, during the first long term development
program (1969-1984) quite a large number of flood prevention facilities has been
constructed in Indonesia, particularly for preventing the flood prone areas on urban as well
as on the agricultural producing areas. The result of which has been significantly preventing
almost two million hectares of agricultural as well as residential areas from frequent flood
incidents.
Learning from the past experience on series of flood prevention measures, it is apparent that
the role of O&M of water resources infrastructures remains the most important determinant
factors for the success or failure of sustainable water resources management in the future.
8.4. PRESENT STATUS OF IRRIGATION IN INDONESIA
8.4.1. PRESENT STATUS
The total area of irrigated agriculture of food crop in Indonesia especially paddy, secondary
crops and sugarcane in 2002 was recorded to be 8,165,133 ha consists of rice field (wet land)
at 7,769,733 ha and sugarcane at 395,400 ha. The sugarcane area is particularly referred to
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because it cannot be separated from the irrigation history of Indonesia, which was previously
started from irrigation for sugarcane area during the Dutch Colonial Era. Further to this, apart
from the existing irrigated rice field (wet land), there are also dry land paddy totaling of about
1.06 million hectares having a total yield at about 2.7 million ton, contributing at about 5.5%
of national rice production.
With regards to the national figure, the J ava Island presently contributes the largest irrigated
rice field (in the year 2002) with a total of 42.80% followed by Sumatra Island at about
27.16%, Kalimantan Island at 13.01%, Sulawesi Island at 11.63% and Bali-Nusa Tenggara
Islands at about 5.40%.
The total figure of rice production under irrigated based cultivation in 2002 was recorded to
be at 48,794,236 ton with an average of about 4.66 ton/ha. The highest average yield is
presently on J ava at about 5.25 ton/ha; followed by Bali-Nusa Tenggara Island at about 4.61
ton/ha; and Sulawesi at about 4.43 ton/ha. For the Island of Sumatra, the average yield is
currently at about 4.05 ton/ha., Maluku and West Papua at about 3.10 ton/ha; and Kalimantan
Island at about 3.22 ton/ha.
8.4.2. IRRIGATION AND WATER RESOURCES POLICY REFORM
In 1987 the Government of Indonesia released a new policy on operation and maintenance of
irrigation referred to as The 1987 Irrigation Operation and Maintenance Policy (IOMP).
This policy issued as a precondition for further loan projects funded by the World Bank and
Asian Development Bank (Burn, Bryan; Irrigation Reform). The objective of this policy is to
ensure adequate funding for operation and maintenance (O&M) and improve irrigation
management. Government committed to increase budget allocation for O&M, strengthen land
and property tax, and mobilize more resources from beneficiaries.
In relation with the policy reform, there are three main programs included in this policy.
These are: i) turn-over of small irrigation schemes (area of less than 500 ha); ii) of irrigation
service fee (ISF); and iii) efficient Operation and Maintenance.
Owing to the fact that the IOMP was not managed to achieve the targets previously
envisaged, the government issued a new executive order on irrigation development through
the Presidential Instruction Number 3 of 1999 (INPRES No. 3/1999) and the Government
Regulation Number 3 of 2001 regarding the Renewal of Irrigation Management Policy.
The presidential instruction prescribes five principals aspects for irrigation policy reform
including: (i) redefining of irrigation institutions; (ii) empowering WUA; (iii) transfer and
joint management; (iv) farmer-managed fees; and (v) irrigation sustainability.
Presently, during the preparation of this manuscript (February 2004) the Parliament in
coordination with the executive authority of the Government of Indonesia, are currently
finalizing the new Water Resources Law (UUSDA No.7/2004). This Law also covers the
arrangement of water resources management and its process by establishing a Coordination
Board on Water Resources Management at the Central Level, at Provincial Level, and as if
necessary at the Regency Level.
This UUSDA also expected to define and prescribe the roles and responsibility of river basin
based water resources management as follows: (1) Inter-provincial River Basins and inter-
state River Basins or Strategic River Basins are controlled by the Central Government; (2)
Inter-regency River Basins are under the control of Provincial Government; and (3) River
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Basin which is entirely located in a regency/town, operate under the control of the Regency
Level Government Administration.
8.5. NON TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT AND
MANAGEMENT
8.5.1. SOCIO-CULTURAL, AND ECONOMIC ADAPTATIONS OF TRADITIONAL IRRIGATION
Based on experiences on the underlying management of traditional irrigation system, it has
been demonstrating the indigenous capacity of the traditional farmers to undertake community
based irrigation development and management with skilful irrigated farming techniques, hard
working community, adapted to sustainable environment, as well as conducive to socio-
cultural as well as economic adaptation. The basic principle of traditional democratic
leadership and togetherness principles have been identified as the distinct commitment of
irrigation based farming community, especially to reach consensus and resolving the related
conflicts. Nevertheless, there are some evidences to indicate the existence of threats against
the sustainable traditional practices, due to the decreasing of appropriate scrutiny of socio-
cultural dimensions of irrigation development and management with some illustration as the
following elaboration.
Firstly; The internal aspects in terms of socio-cultural dimensions are continuously impeded
by external factors resulting significant shift of values, behavior and attitude. The farming
communities have been adapted to a number of agricultural technologies, including improved
variety, and other modern agricultural inputs. As a result, the various technological changes
brought about significant transformation of socio-cultural dimensions. The farmers are no
longer conducting their agricultural practices by virtue of mutual aids, renown as the gotong-
royong system, especially for performing land development, land preparation, transplanting
and communal storage of the harvested paddy at the community owned barn. Today, the
agricultural practices are tending to be dominated by individual profit gaining consideration
rather than on community based business approach, and hence, the farming community
attitude the farmers used to have, increasingly jeopardized by gradual extinction.
Secondly; The external factors that are immediately influence traditional irrigation system are
associated with the excessive external supports from the government to traditional irrigation
system in terms of physical development without considering the socio-cultural dimensions of
traditional farming community. As a result, water distribution mechanism amongst irrigation
schemes are often hampered by severe disorientations including the emergence of
dependency attitude at the same time of extinction of traditional mutual aids (gotong royong)
system, especially where the government conducted reconstruction and development without
involving the traditional community as well as the traditional leaders.
8.5.2. IRRIGATION BASED-TRANSMIGRATION IMPLEMENTATION
Concerning the long-term development prospects, it is probable that the transmigration
program will be continued in the future. It is, therefore, essential to consider and clarify the
policy objectives of the resettlement programs. These objectives must take into account the
constraints imposed by the prevailing social values and norms of the settlers as well as the
socio-economic conditions of the region in which the transmigration program to be
undertaken.
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It is essential for the success of future programs that the implementation to be accompanied
by consistent monitoring and evaluating of actual conditions in the resettlement schemes from
phase to phase. To date, this has not been done in a systematic way, and without significant
improvement in this respect, future development of the transmigration program will
continuously be hampered by unforeseen problems and constraints.
It is not easy to set a clear policy that governs what should be done to make future settlement
schemes more successful. Much depends on the agricultural potential of a project. This factor
largely determines the choice between farming systems, i.e., whether the project is to be based
on a "food crop system", a "swamp reclamation system", a "tree crop development" or
whether some form of non-agricultural resettlement must be chosen.
Rainfed agriculture seems to have poor prospects, due to low productivity, soil limitations and
limited market prospects for the food crops produced. Irrigation-based resettlement, on the
other hand, requires a high capital cost and a long development because of the inherent
problem of high water requirements for the newly established paddy type projects. This issue
still needs further research in the near future.
Swamp reclamation schemes on the other hand, have good prospects but also require careful
studies of the agricultural prospects and the human settlement environment. Tree crop
development and cash crop systems also have good prospects, but the tree crops require a
long time to become productive and also great skill in the post harvest operations, including
secondary processing, storage, and marketing. Increasing production and reducing marketing
constraints -- including crop diversification and encouragement of poultry, livestock and fish
ponds operations -- are basic requirements for sustainable agriculture. This, however, is not
just time consuming, but also requires active participation by the farmer.
The social dimensions of transmigration have in the past been studied in a relatively narrow
context. Because of the interaction between the social and technical problems it is essential to
use an integrated approach, incorporating the social aspects in conjunction with
-
the technical
and economic dimensions of the development projects.
Land allocation for transmigrants is another aspect from which a number of problems arose in
the past. Because of the urgent requirement to resettle people as soon as possible, the Master-
Plan for the future land use in the resettlement area was frequently modified or abandoned. In
these cases, human settlement tends to cause an imbalance between the productive functions
and the ecological aspect of the land. Additional land allocation problems stemmed from the
fact that the government did not immediately provide security of land tenure upon settlement.
Furthermore, without adequate pre-resettlement preparation by the implementing agency,
transmigrants encounter undue stress upon arrival at the site, which retards their development
activities.
Current experience in irrigation development indicates that there must be a command area
large enough to economically serve the irrigation requirements and still small enough to be
managed efficiently. The question than is: To what extent does the single irrigation
command area determined in order that it can be managed effectively? The answer to this
question is still open for future research as it is beyond the scope of the present study.
8.5.3. LOWLAND DEVELOPMENT
In general, the lowland development implementation is conducted in such a way that it create
new environment that is conducive to agricultural development and human settlement.
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Despite this objective, the agricultural development in lowland areas are relatively less
productive as compared to the upland areas, beside the underlying constraints on it
accessibility as well as environmental sustainability.
The problems of lowland development are usually associated with multi-dimensional aspects
such as: water allocation and management, agronomy, socio-economic, and environment.
a) Water Allocation and Management: (1) The implementation of gradual approach on
lowland development is mostly associated with land reclamation technology, which is
relatively new for Indonesian engineers. Therefore, planning methodology and standards are
yet available, and hence much experience and empirical works are needed on the basis of trial
and errors; (2) Implementation of large-scale land reclamation is highly susceptible to
environment. Therefore extra efforts and investments are required for planning as well as
construction implementation if the unwanted impacts are to be avoided; (3) The inappropriate
water allocation and management would bring about significant reduction of agricultural
productivity due to land salinity as well as excessive seawater intrusion; (4) The effort to
separate conveyance and drainage channels usually encountered by a number of constraints
such as the following: (a) The farmers are not patient enough to wait before water is
distributed to meet their demands for agricultural purposes; (b) Water requirements are not
normally similar one each individual farmer; (c) The water channels are commonly utilized
for water transportation, and hence the regulatory structures such as, flap gates and check
structures are regarded by the farmers as the obvious obstacle on water transportation rather
than solution; (d) Lacking of operation and maintenance endeavors would result in a number
of problems, including sedimentation and poor performance of the overall scheme.
b) Environmental Aspects: One of the most vulnerable aspects of lowland development to
take into consideration is the impact of physical intervention on the sustainable balance of
aquatic ecosystem. This is partly due to the nature of the swamp area as the marginal land for
agricultural development. Therefore, any abrupt change due to development intervention such
as land reclamation, would encounter the natural balance of aquatic habitat, including the
natural equilibrium of pests, aquatic weed, and other such bio-environment.
Other crucial environment aspects of lowland development is about the impacts of escalating
degradation of upper watershed of the river basin due to uncontrollable human activities such
as traditional shifting cultivation, logging and other such activities. This aspect, therefore,
needs to be scrutinized through appropriate integrated watershed management. Further to this,
the lowland development must be addressed by virtue of environmental-friendly approach,
should the agricultural practices in such an area to be environmentally sustainable.
8.6. CLOSING REMARKS
Learning from the long journey to explore the unlimited path of almost untraceable
existence of irrigation civilization throughout the course of Indonesias history, it is
apparent that the role of irrigation remains the most essential ingredient of human life on
earth for generations, even far beyond the ultimate edge of time boundary.

Our journey along the Indonesias history of irrigation: From the milestone of Ancient
Era to the influx of sub continent migrants; From the Budhist and Hindu generations to
Islamic Era; From the Western Adventures and Spice Trades to Pre Colonial Era; From
Colonial Era to Pre Independence Struggle; and From Post Independece Development
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toward the underlying modern era of globalization; we all learned that irrigation is a
matter of life and death of human civilization on our mutually owned Mother Earth.

From our long experiences, we learned together that irrigation is not only a matter of
technical, but far beyoud that boundary limit, it is a matter of social, cultural, economic,
religion, beliefs, tradition, ethics, even political concerns of human being, without
exception.
No matter how sensible and justifiable the policy instruments of sustainable governance
system a country has either by virtue of centralized, decentralized, or combination
between the two approaches one should bear in mind of the most urgent demand for
integrated approach, should the water resources and irrigation development and
management to be sustainable.
Under the present implementation of regional autonomy in Indonesia, the dilemmatic
issues of sustainable irrigation development and management are not only become the
national concern of development sectors but also become the central issue of local
autonomous government. It is therefore imperative that the development and
management should be based on integrated approach with systematic development
stages, and most important is to maintain appropriate balance of irrigation-based
environmental ecosystem.
In an attempt to pursue integrated approach on basin water resources and irrigation
development and management, the development sectors, together with local autonomous
government should consider the integrated principles as follows: (1) Application of
inter-sectoral and inter-regencial coordination; (2) Giving the highest importance to the
national development objective; (3) Giving special attention on the empowerment
human resources; (4) Consistent implementation of reliable and effective research and
development related activities; (5) Setting up an optimum implementation of planning
through systemic approach, as well as appropriate monitoring and evaluation, with
consistent regulatory enforcement.
8.7. THE WAY FOREWARD
From illustration presented in the previous chapters, as far as irrigation history of Indonesia is
concerned a number of lessons learned, and hence worth to be considered for determining the
way forward:
1. Despite the very long history of Irrigation based paddy production, it is seemingly still
play a very important role in the Indonesian economy in the years to come, and therefore it is
imperative to consistently improve irrigation techniques for effective rice production with the
minimum possible water consumption by means of appropriate operation and management of
irrigation water, and yet without sacrificing the sustainable balance of water as well as
environmental ecosystem.
2. Beside the main agricultural productive function of irrigation, particularly for rice as the
staple diet of Indonesian people, it is apparent that irrigated paddy field has a prospective
potential for development of other important functionalities such as conservation of
agricultural and environmental ecosystem as well as development of leisure agriculture. These
potentials could be enhanced by means of beautification of irrigation and drainage canals as
well as irrigation infrastructures to meet the demand for agro-environment tourism.
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3. Irrigation is still considered to be the most important functions of agricultural production
therefore, it is imperative to consistently maintaining the adequacy of irrigation water for food
production in the short term and for other value crops in the long run. For this purpose, the
possibility of implementing the water saving approach must be continuously scrutinized
through effective research and development activities. Most importantly that irrigated
agricultural development in the future should not only constrained to the conventional
production function, but also to the effective implementation of ecological as well as living
functions of irrigation development and management.
4. From the long-term experiences on irrigation based agricultural production, it is evident
that determinant factors of the success or failures of irrigation implementation lies not only on
the adequacy of budgetary support, but also lies on effective operation and management, as
well as active participation of water users and stakeholders through effective institutional
arrangement toward long term sustainability of irrigation development and management.
5. As an aquatic plant, the water consumption for paddy for optimum production is still
considered to be substantially high however, the conventional irrigation practices for non-
paddy crops in the lowland paddy area is still demanding for improvement in such a way to be
able to maximize crop production per drop of irrigation water. In this context, however, the
non consumptive irrigation allocation at the lowland paddy area is essentially returning back
to the nature through ground water penetration, and hence contributing the externality
functions of irrigation, including maintaining appropriate balance of ecosystem. This aspect
therefore, must be considered soundly in the future operation and management policy and
implementation of irrigation development and management in Indonesia.
6. Learning from experiences, it is undeniable that the active participation of water users
either through individual or through the water users association is the most important
determinant factor of the sustainability of water users association function. Participation in
this context must therefore be consistently maintained throughout the entire process of
irrigation implementation, from planning, design, construction as well as during the operation
and maintenance implementation.
7. Given the fact that the demand for sustainable food security with affordable price of
paddy as the staple food for members of the communities as consumers, therefore,
government commitment for supporting appropriate irrigation development and management
is still demanding at least till the farmer has developed his capacity for fulfilling the minimum
level of livelihood.
8. Both the structural as well as the non-structural approaches in the development and
management of water resources and irrigation infrastructures are two side of the coin that
could not be separated, and therefore both aspects must be kept at appropriate balance in the
future development and management of irrigation infrastructures.
9. Having the present constraint on water resources availability (both for surface and
subsurface water sources) on the already developed areas, it is apparent that the future
irrigation development and management must not overlook the conjunctive water use
approach between surface water and subsurface water, as an effective recommendation for
minimizing the negative impacts of excessive groundwater exploitation on the one hand and
over utilization of surface water on the other.
10. It is apparent from implementation of small scale irrigation development that are scattered
over the country that this irrigation category has least risk of adverse impact to environment
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relative to the large scale irrigation schemes, and therefore this approach should be considered
for application on the farming circumstances under the small land ownership situation.
Further to this, the application of Participatory Irrigation Management PIM approach
giving special scrutiny on the externality function of irrigation based paddy cultivation,
with special context of social function as well ecological function of irrigation.
11. Given the fact that irrigation development in Indonesia is still dominated by conventional
irrigation for food crops, it is imperative that the state of the art should consider other
irrigation development alternatives, including irrigation for industrial as well as commercial
value crops by means of save water approaches, micro irrigation, drip irrigation, sprinkle
irrigation, as well as drainage for lowland areas, followed by post production, agro-industries
and other such approaches.
12. The future prospects of lowland for agricultural development, particularly for food crops,
horticulture, plantation and fishponds are highly potential. There are varieties of agricultural
commodities that suitable to be developed in the lowlands areas, namely coconut, palm oil,
cocoa-seed, rambutan, oranges and pineapple. The tidal lowlands that are affected by brackish
water are suitable for aquaculture such as prawn fishpond, milkfish and other brackish water
fisheries.
13. For obtaining the maximum advantages, the future lowland developments must carefully
consider a number challenges and constraints including among others: (1) Lowland
development involves cross-sectoral activities, therefore it requires intensive inter-agency
coordination among the relevant institutions, to be properly maintained and enhanced from
time to time; (2) Lowland development takes relatively a long time process, which demands
for long-term commitment on financial investment; (3) Given the facts that lowland
development possesses good prospect for agricultural development in a large spectrum,
therefore, development planning of lowlands would be increasingly become more complex in
line with the demands for sustainable and environmentally sound development; (4) The
subsequent follow up stages of lowland development requires adequate economic and social
infrastructure supports in line with the underlying demands for sosio-economic development;
(5) The complexities associated with the prospective lowland development would require
more than just capable human resources but also demanding for highly qualified personnel
who are knowledgeable, dedicated and well experienced having supported by appropriate
management effective training program as well as reliable R&D supports; (6) In order to gain
a maximum advantage of the developed lowland infrastructures, effective operation and
maintenance of the water resources facilities must be undertaken and improved by the water
users association from time to time.
14. The irrigation based transmigration implementation in Indonesia, has been with various
level of achievement, nevertheless, it has a good prospect to implement in the long run. For
future implementation, it is essential to consider and clarify the policy objectives of the
resettlement programs. These objectives must take into account the constraints imposed by the
prevailing social values and norms of the settlers as well as the socio-economic conditions of
the region in which the transmigration program to be undertaken. For the success of future
programs, the implementation should be accompanied by consistent monitoring and
evaluating of actual conditions, as well as improvement of the resettlement schemes from
phase to phase.
15. Overall, in order to be able to achieve sustainable development and management of water
resources and irrigation, it is imperative to give special thoughts on the demands for
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integrated basin water resources management (by means of quality and quantity) involving all
the relevant stakeholders with consistent political commitment of the government at all
levels, followed by consistent effort for encouraging integrated and participative approaches
for all toward appropriate spatial planning and implementation, sustainable environment,
institutional setup, financial sustainability, human resources development, appropriate
technology as well as regulatory instruments together with its consistent implementation.

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MSRI and INACID The Ancient Irrigated-Agricultural Heritages in Indonesia
History in Brief

MSRI and INACID

SUPPLEMENT PAPER

THE ANCIENT IRRIGATED-AGRICULTURAL
HERITAGES IN INDONESIA


History in Brief

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THE ANCIENT IRRIGATED-AGRICULTURAL HERITAGES IN
INDONESIA
INTRODUCTION
The general implementation of modern agricultural practice often counters the
exi stence of traditional practices in the society. Some practices are consistent with
modern practices, others are significantly backward. Yet, farmers in many areas are still
following traditional agricultural practices, which passed down from generation to
generation.
This paper presents some aspects of traditional agricultural practices in Indonesia by
comparing and contrasting their technicality with the current agricultural circumstances.
The paper focuses on the Pranat amangsa (Ancient Javanese Agricultural Calendar)
and on some comparative examples of the Subak traditional agricultural system in Bali
Island, Indonesia.

ANCIENT VERSUS MODERN AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES
Agricultural practice in Indonesia (especially for low land paddy cultivation) has a very
long history, which according to Fruin (1922) it can be traced to over 2,000 years back.
During such a long period of time the farmers inherited the agricultural know-how from
generation to generation. (fruin,1922: 122-129)
For example, the agricultural calendar known as the Pranatamangsa of the ancient
Javanese farmers, the Subak system in Bali, the Tua Banda system in Western Sumatra,
the Tudang Sipulung system in South Sulawesi and few others to mention, are still
followed largely by many farmers in the rural areas of Indonesia. These traditional
agricultural practices in fact, are not less sophisticated than the nature of ancient calendar
of Egypt, China, Maya and Burma.
1
As far as the Indonesian traditional agricultural practices are concerned, there are not
much studies or researches that have been carried out to uncover the underlying
phenomenon. Only Van Thien (1933) in his book "De Javaanche Geestenwereld"
describes some limited concerns about the Pranatamangsa.
Learning from some empirical evidences, the more we contemplate on the traditional
irrigated agricultural practices the more we learn about their practical implications. This
matter is particularly true for the farming practices under the small landholders'
circumstances. In fact, there is a reason to believe that traditional agricultural practices
were based on very sound and systematic observation. Whoever the inventors may have
been, they were aware that technology should be adjusted to accommodate the users. In
this notion, they approach the farmer through what was currently known, and adjusted
the innovations to the simplicity of the farmers' attitude. Therefore the farmers no matter
how simple their ways of thinking are they can adopt the system.

1
Daldjoeni, Drs. N., in "Pedesaan, Lingkungan Hidup dan Pembangunan" (Rural Area Environment
and Development), Alumni , Bandung 1979.
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Given the above evidence, it is apparent that the present agricultural practices need to
take into account the underlying traditions. The new innovations should therefore be
made gradually, and adjusted cautiously, to avoid undesirable socio-cultural impacts that
can significantly hamper the development process. This is somewhat time consuming,
but it is much better than the existence of never-ending phenomenon of what is identified
today as irrigated agricultural involution.

THE "PRANATAMANGSA" ANCIENT AGRICULTURAL CALENDAR OF
JAVA
Despite the fact that no exact evidence about the history of the Pranatamangsa has
ever been discovered, this traditional agricultural calendar was known to have been
practiced by ancient Javanese farmers long before the Hindu Era in the Indonesian
Archipelago. Aartsen (1953) believes that the lowland agricultural pattern for paddy
2

has been practiced in Indonesia for over 2,000 years (1953:141). The Pranatamangsa
was believed to be followed by most of today's Javanese ancestors, and yet it is still
comprehended by many rural traditional Javanese farmers today.
Historical evidence indicates that the Pranatamangsa has been widely used to guide the
agricultural activities since the "Old Mataram Kingdom", during the "Pajang" era, and
during the "Islamic Mataram" period (Fruin, 1922: 122-129). Learning from the nature
of the Pranatamangsa, Fruin further believes that such a well-sequenced procedures
could not have emerged by itself. Thus, the invention must have been based upon very
long and sophisticated observations. Whoever the inventors, they must have been expert
in the art of observation, regardless of its having been done so long ago.
The basic techniques of the Pranatamangsa are actually incorporated with the
simplicity principles. Simple that every farmer can easily adopt the technique without
involving sophisticated learning process. The complexity of the technique becomes
obvious if it is comprehended from the implications of school of thoughts of what today
are called agricultural environment, cosmography, bioclimatology, socio-cultural
circumstances and others. From the point of view of agricultural practices, the ancient
agricultural calendars like the Pranatamangsa, will remain appreciated today because
the application principles are already accommodating the environmental circumstances of
agricultural activities. This is particularly apparent in the rural areas where people depend
mainly upon agricultural resources they inherited since the Ancient Time.
One of the unique aspects of the system is that the complication of natural phenomena
are bound together in such a way that it is easy to comprehend even by the illiterate
farmer. Every aspect of agricultural patterns is deliberately connected with the natural
characteristics. The agricultural patterns were seemingly developed to be able to
accommodate the natural phenomena after a series of scrupulous observations. Most
importantly, the application principle always capable of accommodating harmonious

2
Lowland paddy cultivation in Indonesia has long been practiced in the form of inundated
bounded field with continuous irrigation flow during the growing period of the plant. This
paddy field is referred to as "sawah" in Indonesian term. However, in case of rainfed
lowland paddy field, the term "sawah tadah, hujan" is used. While the upland paddy is
referred to as "padi-gogo"
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relationship between human, cosmic, nature and reality (Daldjoeni, 1979: 69), without
much concern about the nature of the underlying relationships per-s.
Cosmographic Background
The term Pranat amangsa literally means as a manual for determining the appropriate
time (calendar) for agricultural practices and for some other aspects of human life. It is
believed that the calendar was developed in the Central Java in the vicinity of the Merapi
and Merbabu mountains (Tanoj o, 1964:35-42). In principle, the calendar
accommodates the seasonal changes and natural phenomena for lowland paddy
cultivation in the area mentioned above. However, it applies also for other places in the
neighbouring areas with minor adjustment.

The basic principle of the Pranat amangsa agricultural calendar is that one year (365
days) is sub divided into four main-seasons: (1) Kat i ga, (2) Labuh, (3) Rendheng
Figure 1. Basic Feature of the Pranatamangsa Agricultural Calendar
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and (4) Mareng
3
. Each main-season is derived further into three more seasons or
"Mangsa", which eventually resulting in 12 distinct seasons (See Fi gure 1, t he
general out l i ne of t he Pranat amangsa agri cul t ural cal endar). It was said
(Handamangkara, 1964), however, that the original concept prescribed only 10 seasons
a year, and the remaining 64 days were considered to be the resting days of the year,
within which the farmers were prohibited from undertaking any farming activities. This
was meant to let the soil rest between the harvest time and the next planting season
4
.
To enable the farmer recognizes the resting period, the 64 days is further divided into two
distinct seasons: (1) Dest a, and (2) Sandhi , instead of the 11
th
and the 12
th

seasons. These terms derived from Hindu months, Jaista and, Asadha, which are literally
meant, to occupy the same period. Unlike the routine guidance for determining
seasonal changes of the previous ten seasons, the changes of last two seasons are not
determined in terms of the cyclical position of any particular "stars" in the sky (see
Table- 1 for more details).

It can be seen further from Figure-1, that each of the above mentioned seasons of the year
has distinct character and duration in terms of number of days. The first sixth seasons
consists of 41, 23, 24, 25 and 43 days respectively, while the following six seasons
consists of 43, 26, 25, 24, 23, and 41 days respectively
5
. The New Year falls on June 22
nd

every year.
Determination of Seasonal Changes
For determination of the seasonal changes in the Pranatamangsa, the farmer does not
have to take very complicated calculations, nor to prepare written calendar like most
people have today. The seasonal changes are determined by certain physical
measurement, complemented with positional changes of particular stars in the sky. In
addition, some indications from the nature (for example, the behaviour of particular
animals etc.) are also used as the complementary explanation of the seasonal changes.
One can tell the seasonal change, for instance, by measuring the length of the
shadow away from one's body while standing under the bright sunshine at 12.00
noons for any solar position throughout the year. The measurement unit of each
seasonal change is determined by the specific length called pecak which is more
or less the same size as the average length of an ordinary person's foot, or about
25cm (see Figure 2, for pictorial illustration). Thus, each pecak unit corresponds to
a particular number of days of the season previously mentioned. The shadow of the
body at 12.00 noon on 13
th
of October and on the 1
st
of March every year for
instance, are positioned exactly vertical and overlap with the body. This is because
the sun positions at these particular days are exactly 90
above the meridian. At such

condition, the farmer will understand the beginning of the season, and then they can
anticipate the next seasonal changes corresponds to every full Pecak length of the

3
The f our mai n seasons ar e symbol i cal l y r epr esent i ng f our Li f e el ement s ( i ncl udi ng
r esour ces) as t he f ol l owi ng: Katiga char act er i zes t he Maruta or wi nd, Labuh characterizes
t he Agni or f i r e, Rendheng char act er i zes t he Tirta or wat er , and Mareng char act er i zes t he
Bantala or ear t h
4
Fr om t he poi nt of vi ew of "sust ai nabl e agr i cul t ur al concept ", t he i mpl ement at i on of
t hi s cr oppi ng cal endar i s consi der ed t o be an ef f ect i ve way of pr event i ng t he soi l
f r om r api d det er i or at i on due t o over f ar mi ng. I n some cases, per i odi cal r est i ng of
t he soi l i s al so empl oyed t o be an ef f ect i ve measur e of pr event i ng t he massi ve pest
or i nsect at t ack - - t hi s hel ps i nt er cept i ng bi ol ogi cal cycl e of t he pest s or i nsect s.
5
In case of the year that has 366 days, the number of days for the eighth season (Kawolu) becomes 26.
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247
shadow extending from the body at 12.00 noon. The interval days within the season
is determined by estimating the linear interpolation of the shadow length against the
assigned number of days in that particular season. Therefore, the change of the
season occurs every time the measurement of the shadow extends away from the
body at one or more folds of pecak standard unit, no matter how many days have
passed
6
.

6
In practice, this method of determining seasonal change is very effective and reliable. The measurement
tool is also practical, because everyone relies his own natural measurement standard (i.e. length of foot
instead of using the standard measuring tape or yardstick.
Figure 2. Determination of Seasonal Changes in the Pranatamangsa
1 MARCH
ST
1 MARCH
ST
(
T
R
O
P
I
C

O
F

C
A
P
R
I
C
O
R
N
)
O
R
D
I
N
A
R
Y

H
U
M
A
N

H
E
I
G
H
T
E
Q
U
A
T
O
R

0
O
21 MARCH
ST
EL
EL
SL
NL SL
H
23,5
0
23,5
0
7,5
0 0
0
5
3
1
I
II III IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX X
XI
XII
4
2
6 12
ONE FULLPECAK UNIT
(LENGTH OF HUMAN SHADOW,
MEASURED IN ORDINARY
HUMAN-FOOT LENGTHS UNIT
ABOUT 25 CM)
(MEASURED AT 12.00 MOON)
7
8
9
10
11
2
1

D
E
C
E
M
B
E
R
S
T
2
1

J
U
L
Y
S
T
2
3
,
5

S
O
U
T
H

L
A
T
I
T
U
D
E
O
2
3
,
5

N
O
R
T
H

L
A
T
I
T
U
D
E
(
T
R
O
P
I
C

O
F

C
A
N
C
W
E
R
)
O
SOLAR POSITIONS DURING THE YEAR
13 OCTOBER
TH
23 SEPTEMBER
TH
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TABLE-1. COMPARISON OF COSMOGRAFY, COSMOLOGY AND METEOROLOGY IN THE PRANATAMANGSA (SURAKARTA)
METEOROLOGICAL CONDITION
NAME OF THE
SEASON
STARTI-NG
DAY OF
THE
SEASON
LENGTH OF THE
SEASON (DAYS)
SOLAR
DECLINATI
ON
(DEGREE)
REPRESENTING
STAR SYMBOL
LENG OF
SHADOW
(PECAK)
SHADOW
DIRECTION
N=NORTH S=SOUTH
=NONE
REPRESENTED LIFE
ELEMENT
COSMIC
COLOR
SUN-SHINE
DURATION
(%)
HUMI-
DITY
(%)
RAIN
FALL
(MM)
TEMPERA
TURE
(C)
K
A
T
I
G
A
1
2
3
KASA
KARO
KATELU
JUN-22
AUG-02
AUG-25
41
23
24
+23.5
+17.0
+10.5
SAPI GUMARANG
TAGIH
LUMBUNG (CRUX)
4
3
2
S
S
S
MARUTA
MARUTA
MARUTA
YELLOW
YELLOW
YELLOW
72
72
72
60.1
60.1
60.1
67.2
32.2
47.2
27.4
27.4
27.4
L
A
B
U
H
4
5
6
KAPAT
KALIMA
KANEM
SEP-18
OCT-13
NOV-09
25
27
43
+02.0
-07.5
-17.0
JARAN DAWUK
BANYAKAREM (SCORPION)
GOTONG MAYIT
1
0
1
S

N
AGNI
AGNI
AGNI
RED
RED
RED
70
70
70
75.5
75.5
75.5
83.3
151.9
402.2
26.7
26.7
26.7
R
E
N
D
H
E
N
G
7
8
9

KAPITU
KAWOLU
KASANGA
DEC-22
FEB-03
MAR-01
43
26
25
-23.5
-17.0
-07.5
BIMA-SAKTI
WULANJARNGIRIM
(CENTAURI)
2
1
0
N
N

TIRTA
TIRTA
TIRTA
WHITE
WHITE
WHITE
67
67
67
80.0
80.0
80.0
501.4
371.6
252.2
26.2
26.2
26.2
M
A
R
E
N
G
10
11
12
KASAPULUH
DESTA
SADHA
MAR-26
APR-19
MAY-12
24
23
41
+02.0
+10.5
+17.0
WALUKU (ORION)
LUMBUNG (CRUX)
TAGIH
1
2
4
S
S
S
BANTALA
BANTALA
BANTALA
BLACK
BLACK
BLACK
60
60
60
74.0
74.0
74.0
181.6
129.1
149.2
27.8
27.8
27.8
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Comparing of the Cosmography, Cosmology and Meteorology in the Pranatamangsa
Despite the fact that no historical evidence that could tell exactly when the
Pranatamangsa was actually invented, it is quite amazing to know that this ancient
knowledge is still corresponds with the modern science that people comprehend today,
for instance, with cosmology, cosmography and climatology. In fact, there remains a lot
more phenomenon of the Pranatamangsa that need to be discovered in terms of scientific
explanations.
For comparative configuration, Daldjoeni (1978), puts together some salient features of
the Pranatamangsa in one table, showing, contrasting and comparing them with same
features of the cosmological and climatological conditions of the vicinity of Surakarta,
Central Java (see Table-2). This table clearly demonstrates the distinct characteristics of
the Pranatamangsa in comparison with the cosmological as well as the climatological
characteristic of Surakarta, Central Java. For instance the characteristic relationships
among them are as follows:
(1) The Katiga main season occurs when the sun forms human shadow between two and
four pecaks southward away from body position (between 22
nd
June and 17
th
September)
-- at the same time the cosmic colour is dominated by yellow, the sunshine duration is
about 72% of the length of the day, the humidity is about 60.1%, the average rainfall is
about 48.87mm, and the mean temperature is about 27.4
o
C;
(2) The Labuh main season occurs when the sun forms human shadow between one
pecak southward and one pecak northward away from body position (between 18
th

September and 21
st
December) -- at the same time the cosmic colour is dominated by red,
the sunshine duration is about 70% of the length of the day, the humidity is about 75.5%,
the average rainfall is about 214.5mm, and the mean temperature is about 26.7
o
C;
(3) The Rendheng main season occurs when the sun forms human shadow between zero
pecak and two pecaks northward away from body position (between 22
nd
December and
25
th
March) -- at the same time the cosmic colour is dominated by white, the sunshine
duration is about 67% of the length of the day, the humidity is about 80%, the average
rainfall is about 375mm, and the mean temperature is about 25.2
o
C; and
(4) The Mareng
,
main season occurs when the sun forms human shadow between one
and four pecaks southward away from body position (between 26
th
March and 21
st
June)
-- at the same time the cosmic colour is dominated by black, the sunshine duration is
about 60% of the length of the day, the humidity is about 74%, the average rainfall is
about 153.3mm, and the mean temperature is about 27.8
o
C.

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TABLE-2. COMPARISON OF SEASONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PRANATAMANGSA AND METEOROLOGICAL DATA (IN SURAKARTA)
METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS
NAME OF
THE
SEASON
SYMBOLIC CHARACTERISTICS OF SEASONAL
CHANGES IN ACCORDANCE WITH
RESPONSES OF THE NATURE AND
CREATURES TO SEASONAL CHANGES
NATURAL PHENOMENA AND
HUMAN STATE OF MOODS SUNSHINE
DURATION (%)
RELATIVE
HUMADITY (%)
RAINFALL
(MM)
TEMPER
ATURES
(C)
K
A
T
I
G
A
1

2
3

SOTYA MURCA ING EMBANAN (JEWEL
FALLS FROM THE INLAY)
BANTALA RENGKA (SOIL CRACKED)
SUTA MANUT ING BAPAK (THE CHILD
OBEYS HIS FATHER)
1

2
3

THE FALLING LEAVES,
SIRCULATION OF THE STARS
HOT WEATHER
DRYING UP THE WLLS, AND
DUSTY WINDS
52

52
52
60.1

60.1
60.1
67.2

32.2
47.2
27.4

27.4
27.4
L
A
B
U
H
4

5

6

WASPADA KUMEMBENG JRONING KALBU
(THE TEAR FLOWS INTO THE INNER HEART)
PANCURAN EMAS SEMAWUR ING JAGAD
(THE GOLDEN WATER TAPS SPREAD OVER
THE WORLD)
RASA MULYA KASUCEN (STATE OF NOBLE
FEELING
4

5

6

THE DRY SEASON IS ENDED

THE RAINY SEASON STARTED

GREEN SURROUNDING AND
SECURE FEELING
70

70

70
73.5

73.5

73.5
83.3

151.9

402.2
26.7

26.7

26.7
R
E
N
D
H
E
N
G
7

8

9

WISA KENTAR ING MARUTA (THREAT OF
HURRICANE DISASTER)
ANJRAH JRONING KAYUN (DISSEMINATION
OF PEOPLES OPINIONS)
WEDARE WACANA MYLYA (THE
EMERGENCE OF NOBLE WORDS)
7

8

9

EPIDEMICS AND FLOODING

CATS MATING SEASON AND
CONTINUOUS LIGHTNING
THUNDERY WEATHER AND
SKIN IRRITATION
67

67

67

80

80

80
501.4

371.8

252.5
26.2

26.2

26.2
M
A
R
E
N
G
10

11
12

GEDONG MINEP JRONING KALBU (THE
HOUSE IS CLOSED IN ONES MIND)

SOTYA SINAR WEDI (DIAMOND WHETTING)
TIRTA SAT SAKING SASANA (THE WATER
SOURCES ARE DRYING UP)
10

11
12

EGGS LAYINGS (OF THE BIRDS)
DIZZINESS AND EXHAUSTED
FEELING
EGGS MATCHINGS SEASON
THE RAINY SEASON ENDED,
THE DRY SEASON STARTING
60

60
60
47

47
47
181.6

129.1
149.2
27.8

27.8
27.8

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In addition, each particular season is symbolized by the periodical appearance of a
particular star at a certain position in the sky as the following: (1) The Kasa season with
the appearance of' the Sapi Gumarang star; (2) The Karo season with the appearance of
the Tagih star; (3) The Katelu season with the appearance of the Lumbung (Crux) star;
(4) The Kapat season with the appearance of the Jaran Dawuk star; (5) The Kalima
season with the appearance of the Banyakarem (Scorpio) star; (6) The Kanem season
with the appearance of the Gotong Mayit star; (7) The Kapitu season with the appearance
of the Bima Sakti star; (8) The Kawolu season with the appearance of the Wulan
Jarngirim (Centaurus) star; (9) The Kasanga season with the appearance of the Wuluh
(Pleyades) star; (10) The Kasapuluh season with the appearance of the Waluku (Orion)
star; (11) The Desta season with the appearance of the Lumbung (Crux) star; and (12)
The Sadha season with the appearance of the Tagih star.
Pranatamangsa versus the Behaviour of Nature
Another unique characteristic of the Pranatamangsa is that each particular season
indicates distinct relationship with nature. This can be identified from the auto-reaction of
the living creatures to seasonal changes. For instance, the seasonal change can be seen
immediately from distinct change of behaviour of living creatures, plants, animals, even
human beings. Therefore, the farmer is capable of anticipating the seasonal changes by
keep observing behavioural changes of the natural phenomena.
Very often, for instance, the continuous marching of ants toward higher places gives
indication of the approaching heavy rainfall, and the horizontal position of spider web
indicates the approaching of good weather condition in the next few days. Many other
such occurring in nature that are used by the farmer to predict weather condition or
seasonal changes. Thus, by applying the rule of the Pranatamangsa, and observation of
the behaviour of nature, traditional farmers are always certain of the agricultural pattern
such as planting schedule, land preparation, including the precaution efforts for
preventing the crop damages from flooding, hurricane, pest attacks, plant diseases and so
on.
In this traditional practice, however, the farmers are not and will never want to know the
logical explanation of each of the above matter. Instead, they just take them for granted.
More importantly, they will never dare to disobey the rules of what they believe to be
prescribed by Mother Nature or the Creator of the Universe. They believe that the
Creator will give punishment should they disobey the rule of the nature.
7

The following illustration summarizes the seasonal characteristics:

7
This attitude is apparently indicating t he st rengt h and at t he same t i me t he weakness aspect s
of t he t radi t i onal agricul t ural pract i ces. The st rengt h, i n t he sense t hat the
agri cul t ural pract i ces is al ways i mpl ement ed wi t hout j eopardi zi ng t he bal ance of
environment al habi t at and t he t radi t i on wi l l remai n sust ai nabl e i n t he l ong run. The
"weakness" i s i n the sense that t he t radi t i onal farmer i s i ncl i ned t o show l ess
i ni t i at i ve, t o overl ook t he val ue of t ime, and t o behave scept ical l y t o any new ideas or
t echnol ogy that t hey had never know before.
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In an attempt to compare and contrast the seasonal characteristics and responses of
natural behaviour, Daldjoeni (1978), also prepared a recapitulative table regarding the
seasonal characteristics and the meteorological data of the Surakarta Region, Central
Java (See Table-2). From the table, it can be seen how each season of the Pranatamangsa
is formulated in terms of seasonal character (meteorological condition) with response to
natural phenomena, the behaviour of life creatures and human being to the seasonal
changes.
(1) The Kasa season is characterized as "Sotya Murca Ing Embanan" or Jewel falls
from the inlay, and falling leaves and circulation of the stars characterize the natural
behaviour. The meteorological condition is characterized by the sunshine duration at
about 52% of the length of the day, relative humidity at about 60%, average rainfall at
about 67mm, and the temperature is at about 27.4
o
C.
(2) The Karo season is characterized as "Bantala Rangka" or soil cracking, and the
natural behaviour is characterized by hot weather. The sunshine duration at about 52% of
the length of the day, the relative humidity at about 60%, the average rainfall at about 32
mm characterize the meteorological condition, and the temperature is at about 27.4
o
C;
(3) The Katelu season is characterized as "Suta Manut Ing Bapak " or child obeys his
father, and the natural behaviour is characterized by the drying up of wells and the dusty
wind. The sunshine duration at about 52% of the length of the day, the relative humidity
at about 60%, the average rainfall at about 47 mm characterize the meteorological
condition, and the temperature is at about 27.4
o
C;
(4) The Kapat season is characterized as "Waspa Kumembeng Jroning Kalbu" or tear is
brought into the inner heart, and the natural behaviour is characterized by the ending of
the dry season. The meteorological condition is characterized by the sunshine duration at
about 70% of the length of the day, the relative humidity at about 75.5%; the average
rainfall at about 83rnm, and the temperature is at about 26.7
o
C;
(5) The Kalima season is characterized as "Pancuran Emas Semawur Ing Jagad" or the
golden water taps spread in the entire world, and the natural behaviour is characterized
by the beginning of rainy season. The sunshine duration at about 70% of the length of the
day, the relative humidity at about 75.5%, the average rainfall at about 152 characterize
the meteorological condition, and the temperature is at about 26.7
o
C;
(6) The Kanem season is characterized as "Rasa Mulya Kasicen" or noble feeling,
and the green surroundings and secure feeling characterize the natural behaviour.
Sunshine duration at about 70% of the length of the day, the relative humidity at about
75.5%, the average rainfall at about 402mm characterize the meteorological condition,
and the temperature is at about 25.7
o
C;
(7) The Kapitu season is characterized as "Wisa Kentar Ing Maruta" or the threat of
hurricane, and the natural behaviour is characterized by the season of disease and
flooding. The meteorological condition is characterized by sunshine duration at about
67% of the length of the day, the relative humidity at about 80%, the average rainfall at
about 50l mm, and the temperature is at about 26.2
o
C;
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(8) The Kawolu season is characterized as "Anjrah Jroning Kayun" or the spread
over of opinion, and the cat mating season and continuous lightning characterizes the
natural behaviour. Sunshine duration at about 67% of the length of the day, the relative
humidity at about 80%, the average rainfall at about 372 mm characterize the
meteorological condition, and the temperature is at about 26.2
o
C;
(9) The Kasanga season is characterized as "Wedare WacanaMulya or the emergence
of noble words, and the natural behaviour is characterized by thundered weather and skin
irritation. Sunshine duration at about 67% of the length of the day, the relative humidity
at about 80%, the average rainfall at about 253mm characterize the meteorological
condition, and the temperature is at about 26.2
o
C;
(10) The Kasapuluh season is characterized as "Gedong Minep Jroning Kalbu" or the
house is closed in one's mind, and the natural behaviour is characterized by the birds
laying, exhausted feeling and dizziness. Sunshine duration at about 60% of the length of
the day, the relative humidity at about 47%, the average rainfall at about 182mm
characterize the meteorological condition, and the temperature is at about 27.8
o
C;
(11) The Desta season is characterized as "Sotya Sinarwedi" or diamond whetting, and
the egg hatching (of the birds) characterizes the natural behaviour. The meteorological
condition is characterized by sunshine duration at about 60% of the length of the day, the
relative humidity at about 47%, the average rainfall at about 129 mm, and the
temperature is at about 27.8
o
C; and
(12) The Sadha season is characterized as "Tirta Sah Saking Sasana" or the water
disappearance from its source, and discontinuation of rain and staring of the dry season
characterize the natural behaviour. Sunshine duration at about 60% of the length of the
day, the relative humidity at about 47%, the average rainfall at about 149 mm
characterize the meteorological condition, and the temperature is at about 27.8
o
C.
Socio-Cultural Functions
One of the crucial aspects of implementing the sustainable agricultural practices in the
society is related to the difficulty to formulate regulation that can meet the demands of
the farming circumstances as well as the society as a whole without causing any
inconvenience. As the matter of fact, it is always difficult to establish good regulation
that could apply to the poorly educated members of the farming community as most
farming situation in the rural areas in Indonesia.
There are some traditional regulations, which appear logical and technically sound. But
in most cases, the farmers just take them for granted. For instance, moving into a new
house during the Katelu season is traditionally restricted. This is very obvious and
logically explainable because the days of the season are very dry and windy, and foods
are scarce. Thus, at such season, the farmers are highly susceptible to disease and hunger.
However, not all of the traditional restrictions can be explained in terms of logical way of
thinking.
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Therefore, it is almost certain that the role of the Pranatamangsa is more effective if it is
geared toward encouraging the socio-cultural participation in the traditional agricultural
community. Thus the implementation of modern innovation in the traditional society
should first of all convinces the farmer that their participation in the activities is
worthwhile. Failure to do so will cause severe consequences. It may take very long time
and much effort to restore the farmers' confidence after failure of the first trial. Despite
the fact that todays farmers are no longer practicing the traditional agricultural activities
as that of their ancestors did, the socio-cultural functions of the Pranatamangsa or other
traditional agricultural heritages remain very important to consider by any change agents
if the agricultural development efforts should be successful.

CONCLUDING REMARKS
Learning from some examples of agricultural practices prescribed both by
Pranatamangsa of the ancient Java, it is apparent that the irrigated-agricultural practices
in Indonesia has been developed to meet the farmers circumstances so it could sustain
from generation to generation since the old days.
The main principles built into both systems are based on the ability to regulate the
suitable techniques, time, space and environment in order to meet the livelihood of the
people. The underlying approach is based maintaining a proper balance, and the ability of
acquiring harmonious
-
relationship between human and nature on reciprocal basis. The
basic techniques of most traditional practices are incorporated with the simplicity
principles, so that every farmer can adopt the technique without involving sophisticated
learning process.
Despite the fact that the ancient practices were invented long time ago, it is quite
amazing to know that much of their techniques are still convertible to the modern science
that people understand today. The more we can comprehend the traditional irrigated-
agricultural practices the more we learn about their technicalities. In fact, there is a
reason to believe that the traditional agricultural practices were based on systematic
observations. Today, there remains a lot more phenomenon of the Ancient Agricultural
Heritages that need to be uncovered in terms of scientific explanations.
Given the above evidence, it is apparent that the introduction of modern agricultural
practices needs to take into account of the underlying socio-cultural heritages, which are
still accommodating the farming society. The new innovations should therefore be
introduced gradually to avoid undesirable socio-cultural impacts that could significantly
jeopardize the agricultural development process. This sounds time consuming, but it is
much better than giving allowance for the existence of never-ending phenomenon of
what is identified -- in the modern world today -- as irrigated agricultural involution.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Aartsen, J. P. Van, 1953. "Ekonomi Pertanian di Indonesia", Pembangunan,
Jakarta 1953.
Daldjoeni, Drs. N., 1978. "Antologi Geografi Sosial", Alumni, Bandung, 1978.
Daur Pranatamangsa ", Alumni, Bandung.
Daldjoeni, Drs. N., 1979. "Pedesaan, Lingkungan Hidup dan Pembangunan",
Alumni, Bandung.
Fruin, Mess. W., 1922. "Geschieldenis Van Java" d1.2, Volkslectoordienst,
Batavia.
Gany, A. H. A., 1979. "Comparison of Estate and Small Holder Irrigation
Projects in their Impacts on Rural Development", with special reference
to Indonesia, M. Sc. Thesis, Southampton University, England.
Gany, A. H. A. , 1979. "Nilai Ekonomi Air terhadap Petani Pemakai Air",
PRISMA No. 3, March 1979.
Gany, et.al., 1979. "Irigasi di Lampung dan Permasalahannya", Lampung
Propincial Public Works Service, Teluk Betung, Indonesia.
Gany, A. H. A., 1980. "Pola Pemukiman Petani Berpemilikan Kecil dalam
Usaha Pengembangan Irigasi", PRISMA, No. 7, July 1980.
Gany, A. H. A., 1989. Field Water Management Impact on the New Irrigated Area,: In
Rydzewski J. R. (ed), 1989. Irrigation, Theory and Practice, John Wiley and
Son Ltd. & Pentech Press. London.
Geertz, Clifford, 1963. Agricultural involution, the Processes of Ecological
Change in Indonesia. Berkley.
Handanamangkara, 1964. "Primbon Jawa: Sabda Guru" Penerbit Keluarga
Subarno, Sala .
Hien, H. A. Van. , 1933. "De Javaanche Geestenwereld dl. 3, Kolf, Batavia.
IPB, Biro Pengabdian Masyarakat., 1969. "Modernisasi Pedesaan Vol. 1-5,
Perkembangan Penduduk dan Kebijaksanaan Pangan, IPB, Bogor, 20th May
1969.
Koentjaraningrat, Prof. Dr., 1979. "Manusia dan Kebudayaan Indonesia" Jembatan,
Jakarta.
Mears, L. A. , 1981. The New Rice Economy of Indonesia. Gajah Mada University Press,
Yogyakarta, Indonesia. 1980.
Sayogyo, Prof. Dr., 1977. Golongan Miskin dan Partisipasi dalam
Pembangunan Desa PRISMA, LP3ES, No. 4., March 1977.
Tanojo, R. 1964. Primbon Jawa Sabda Pandita Ratu, T. B. Pelajar, Sala
1964.
Surjani, Drs. A., 1979. "Pembangunan Masyarakat Desa", Penerbit Alumni,
Bandung, Kotak Pos 272, Bandung, Indonesia.
Wehlburg, Ir., 1933(?)., "Nota Irigatie Way-Sekampung", unpublished report
(in Dutch), translated by Soenaryo Soekadis B. I. E. into Indonesian for
Lampung Provincial Public Works Service.

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MSRI and INACID Subak Irrigation System in Bali
History in Brief

MSRI and INACID

SUPPLEMENT PAPER

SUBAK IRRIGATION SYSTEM IN BALI


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SUBAK IRRIGATION SYSTEM IN BALI
An Ancient Heritage of Participatory Irrigation Management in Modern
Indonesia
1

By A. Hafied A. Gany

ABSTRACT
The Subak system is an ancient irrigated-agricultural practice of the Bali Island,
Indonesia. This system serves small-scale landholders where lowland paddy is mainly
practiced. The exact date of Subak was not known, however, most recent evidence
suggested that the Subak system was believed to have been existed in 800 of Saka
Calendar or in 882 AD.
Learning from agricultural practices of the Subak system, it is apparent that the system
has been established to meet the farmers' demands through a togetherness approach
among it members. The main principle built into this system is based on the ability to
maintain proper balance, and harmonious relationship between human and nature on
reciprocal basis. The basic techniques are incorporated with the simplicity principles, so
that every member of the community can adopt the technique without involving
sophisticated learning process.
Although the Subak system and its practices were invented long time ago, much of their
techniques are still convertible to the modern practices that the people understand today.
In fact, there is a reason to believe that the traditional agricultural practices adopted by
the Subak organization were based on systematic observations.
Today, despite the underlying irrigation development and management practices in
modern Indonesia, there remains a lot more phenomenon of ancient agricultural practices
-- demonstrated as an example by the Subak System -- that need to be uncovered in an
attempt to contribute practical technicalities for implementing sustainable irrigated
agricultural development under the small-farming circumstances.

INTRODUCTION
The Subak system is an ancient irrigated-agricultural practice of the Bali Island,
Indonesia (See the General Map of Bali Island). Like most irrigation schemes in
Indonesia, the Subak system also serves small landholders where lowland paddy
monoculture is practiced in majority. The exact date of Subak was not known, however,
some stone inscriptions indicated that the Subak system was known to be part of the
Balinese life since hundreds of years ago. Some scholars estimated that the Subak system
was established during the life of Markandeya, a yogist from Java in the first century of

1. The main substance of this article was prepared -- with some adjustment -- based on a booklet entitled:
"Subak Irrigation System in Bali, An Ancient Heritage of Participatory Irrigation Management in
Modern Indonesia" which was presented by the author as an Irrigation series publication, a booklet,
published by the Research Institute of Water Resources, Ministry of Settlement and Regional
Infrastructures in 2002.
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the Saka Calendar (DPU Pengairan Propinsi Bali, 1972). Since the term Subak is
originally written in Balinese Language, according to Suwadnya, 1990:7, it should
actually be written as Subhak as prescribed by Markandeya.
According to R.Gory (in Gany, 1975), paddy irrigation has been practiced in Bali for
more than one thousand years. The early monograph of R. Gory stated that there is some
evidences suggested that irrigation in Bali has been existed since 600 AD. Since that era,
the farmers in Bali were very skillful in excavating and constructing irrigation tunnel
across the high ridges or high lands. The more recent evidence suggested that the Subak
system was believed to have been existed in 800 of Saka Calendar or in 882 AD.
At that time, the term huma (or upland or rain-fed paddy field in Indonesian term known
today) was also known in Bali to be similar to lowland paddy field. Another stone
inscription which was found in Prinyan or Trunyan, dated back to 813 of the Saka
Calendar or 891 AD, indicated that the makar aser which is known today as the pekaseh
or water master, was in fact already known by the farmer during that ancient period (IPB,
1974:3). Another scholar, Dr. Wertheim, indicated that the Subak was believed to have
been widely practiced since between 896 and 1022 AD. Meanwhile, another stone
inscription also indicated that the Subak had already been established during the time of
the King Marakata Panghodja Stanuttunggadewa in 994 Saka Calendar or 1022 AD (IPB,
1974:3). The most recent stone inscription indicated that the Subak was widely practiced
in 1072 AD for organizing the farmers activities in conducting irrigation for paddy
cultivation (Goris, in Dinas PU, 1972). According to Fukuda and Park (1976:24), one of
the most obvious historical evidence of the Subak, in the form of ancient stone
inscription, is still kept and preserved today at the Banjar Sengguan Pemejan Temple in
the Klungkung Regency.
SINGARAJA
D. TK.II BULELENG
GIL IMANUK
D. TK. II JEMBRANA
D. TK. II TABANAN
NEGARA
BANGLI
GIANYAR
D. TK. II GIANYAR
KELUNGKUNG
D. TK. II KARANGASEM
AMLAPURA
BANGLI D. TK. II
D. TK. II KELUNGKUNG
TABANAN
DENPASAR
D. TK. II BADUNG
B
A
D
U
N
G

S
T
R
A
I
T
NUSA PENIDA
GENERAL MAP OF BALI ISLAND, INDONESIA
JAVA SEA
0 10 km
L
O
M
B
O
K

S
T
R
A
I
T B
A
L
I

S
T
R
A
I
T
B
A
L
I
N
E
S
W
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Despite that the above evidences do not provide an exact date of the establishment of
Subak, however, they did indicate that the system had been known and practiced in Bali
since the ancient Hindu Era. The word Subak itself according to the Purana inscription,
dated back to 994 Saka Calendar or 1072 was believed to be originated from the term
kesuwakan, which is similar to the term kesubakan or presently referred to as the Subak.
In the district of Tabanan, however, the Subak term was believed by the local people to
be originated from the word seuwak, which is literally meant as "a better water
distribution system".
2
The definition of the Subak and Pekaseh stated by the Sang
Markandeya in his note refers to as the Purana Markandeya in Balinese Language as
Sang mikukuhan sawah kewastaning Subhak sang mikukuhang toya kewastaning
Pekaseh Ika newenang mengepah toya pinika . (Suadnya, 1990:03). This term
freely translates as The people that are performing irrigated agricultural activities is
called Subhak, the people that are managing water is called Pekaseh, who is
responsible to conduct water distribution .
Apparently, no clear information what so far about the inventor, nor the initiator of the
Subak. Some people believed that the initiative was instructed by the kings as they
believed that the Subak system hold an important role in the economy of the kingdoms.
Another scholars argued that the first initiative of the establishment of Subak came from
the farming community
themselves by initially
clearing the forests for
providing their immediate
agricultural purposes on
mutual aid basis. The king
then gradually supported
the resulted agricultural
lands by providing
irrigation systems. This
indicates that the kings and
the people had been
involved actively in the
activities of the Subak since
the ancient era of the
Balinese kingdoms.

BASIC PRINCIPLE OF THE SUBAK APPROACH
Autonomous and Religious Ties of the Subak Practice
The Subak employs a principle of independence and religiously tied practices in
managing irrigation systems under the circumstances irrigation based agricultural
endeavors. The general philosophy of the Balinese adheres to the Trihitakarana
principle which believes that happiness can only be fulfilled when the Creator the

2. The name of each individual Subak system usually given according to several criteria: (1) after the
name of the nearest village; (2) after the water sources, such as Basangkara. Luwus, Joanyar; (3) after
the nearest religious temple, such as Andeldewa; (4) according to the land development system such as
Babakan Anyar and so on.
The Subak Musium in Tabanan, Bali, where a number of
historical evidences of ancient irrigation of Bali are kept
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people and the nature are confined in harmony. The Subak members, thus, establish
and maintain irrigation infrastructures based on this philosophy through mutual
cooperation without disregarding the judicious and fair dispersion of obligation, rights,
and responsibilities amongst their members. These activities are implemented through the
mutually agreed regulatory instruments, which is referred to as the Awig-Awig.
3
This
regulatory instrument is not only addressing the irrigation circumstances, but also in fact,
giving also more comprehensive concerns with all agricultural aspects, including crop
production, farmers' organization or institution, financial circumstances, facility
maintenance and other similar rural development activities. The law or regulatory
instrument of the Subak is therefore, established to accommodate or to deal with every
aspect of life and/or development which are prescribed by the organization on consensus
basis.
The Awig-Awig Principle of Internal Regulation Enforcement
Despite the fact that the general approach of the Subak is based on sensible personal
consensus or "togetherness principle" amongst the members, however, the Awig-Awig
regulation is still required by the Subak members for enforcing the regulation agreed
upon by the members of the organization. Basically, the Awig-awig is developed by
means of bottom-up approach,
4
to promote democratic, flexible, sensible, fair and
organization-bound regulation, toward secure farming undertakings in the entire
administrative area of each Subak organization. Each Subak system owns an independent
Awig-Awig regulation that applies to the members, within a distinct physical boundary of
the Subak irrigation system.
In general, the written or the unwritten (memorized) regulation prescribed by the Awig-
Awig are concerned with: (1) duty of the members to cultivate paddy in accordance with
the agreed schedule; (2) obligation of the members to perform mutual aid for maintaining
irrigation facilities; (3) means of settling disputes or conflicts among the members; (4)
obligation to participate in the ritual or religious offering ceremonies in the temples.
In most cases, about 90% of
the members are happy with
the regulations and sub-
missively obeyed them
(Gany and Faisol, 1975).
There are few cases,
however, where the
disobedient members were
punished or fined in
accordance with the kinds of
violations they committed.

3. The Awig-Awig is a Balinese term, which is generally meant as the formal regulatory instrument or law
of an organization or group of community members. This law is often referred to, in some other places,
as Sime or Pasura.
4. Most of the Awig-Awig clauses are established on the basis of consensus among the members
themselves from the grass-root level in each Subak administrative authority. The Local Government
gives the farmers freedom to decide whatever they think appropriate. The Awig-Awig Regulations were
previously administered by means of local consensus. But recently, they prescribe the regulation in the
form of written text or some kind of guide book.
An example of the Awig-awig regulatory instrument of
Subak it may be written on palm leaves, bamboo or
wooden stick
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ORGANIZATIONAL PATTERNS OF THE SUBAK
From the point of view of land plot, the term Subak refers to as a group of paddy field
blocks, which are obtaining irrigation from the same water source. These farm blocks are
organized together into one management unit, which is called Subak organization. The
Subak has a full autonomy to manage its activities through the establishment of its board
of organization, by law, financial mechanism, regulatory instruments, and enforcement of
sanction to the members without allowing involvement or interference of other external
organizations. The main principle of organizational responsibility of the Subak is to
manage irrigation implementation among the members themselves such that each of the
individual members has equal, transparent and fair treatment for the sake of their goal
toward mutual prosperity. The Subak organization also has the responsibility to preserve
the watershed environment, to conduct proper maintenance of irrigation infrastructures,
farm roads, determination of cropping patterns, land preparation and crop scheduling.
Beside, Subak also has a responsibility to manage the harmonious relationship with
external organizations such as local government agencies concerned. This includes the
responsibility of conveying the members' opinion, suggestions and/or comments to the
related authorities.
Geographically, the average area covered by one Subak organization is about 100 ha,
depending upon the magnitude of the area covered by the irrigation command area of the
Subak system. However, due to individual characteristic of the topographical condition,
one Subak organization may covers an area in the range of 10 to 800 ha. Under the very
special condition, one independent Subak area, however, may cover an area even smaller
than 10 ha, for instance, Subak Belimbing only covers an area of 3.545ha while Subak
Aseman covers an area of 799.175ha (Gany and Faisol, 1975:10). For allowing effective
organizational control, the large Subak system usually, but not necessarily, sub-divided
into two or more blocks. These blocks are referred to as Tempekan in the district of
Bangli, Gianyar and Klungkung, while in the District of Buleleng they are referred to as
Banjaran or Layakan, Munduk in the district of Badung and Arahan in the district of
Jembrana. Natural creeks, small valleys, small rivers or village roads usually form the
boundary area of each individual Subak.
In the entire Bali Island, there are 1,410 independent Subak systems. Each of the Subak
scheme is equipped with distinct irrigation infrastructures, farmers organization and
awig-awig regulation (see Table-1 for further details). From this table, one could see
that there were very little changes of physical features of the Subak through time --
comparing the data of 1971 and 1979. This explains that the Subak practice has already
been so sustainable in terms of organizational, social, cultural as well as infra-structural
management from generation to generation.
The Subak members which are referred to as the Krama Subak, are mostly elect their
own representative by means of democratic principle in terms of majority rule. The
elected president of the Subak is called Kelihan Subak
5
, who is responsible for
organizing the implementation of the day-to-day activities of the Subak organization. In

5. The Kelihan Subak in Some parts of Bali are also known as Penyarikan, Pemekel or Klian Gede. They
are nominated for election based upon a number of selection criteria among others are: (1) to be a
member of the Subak Community, (2) to be literate, (3) to be willing to have the position, (4) not to be
engaged in any other occupation, (5) having previous experience in the Subak irrigated agriculture, and
(6) to be capable of organizing the Subak organization and its related circumstances.
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performing their responsibilities, the Kelihan Subak, in general, are assisted by one or
more assistant(s) called Kesinom -- particularly for carrying out the water distribution
and routine inspection of irrigation networks. The Subak member who is responsible for
disseminating or delivering information to each Subak member is called Juru Arah or
Saya. The Juru Arah or Saya also works to assist the Subak (the basic structural
organization of the Subak presented in Figure 1).
Table -1. IRRIGATION AREA COVERED BY SUBAK ORGANIZATION
IN BALI, (1971, 1979 AND 1993)
NO. OF SEDAHAN NO. OF SUBAK IRRIGATED PADDY(ha)
DISTRICT
AREA
(Km
2
)
1971 1979 1993 1971 1979 1993 1971 1979 1993
Remark
Buleleng 1,357 10 10 10 255 279 269 14,192 14,537 14,377
Jembrana 830 5 5 5 73 93 108 7,995 8,284 8,860
Tabanan 844 27 27 27 310 351 373 25,381 25,643 25,275
Badung 509 10 10 10 146 131 147 19,215 19,218 16,166
Gianjar 367 10 10 10 181 198 299 15,754 16,427 17,894
Bangli 312 3 3 3 46 48 50 3,226 3,200 3,510
Klungkung 530 5 15 5 44 45 45 4,858 4,425 4,476
Karangasem 857 10 10 10 138 138 119 8,068 7,804 8,565
Total 5,606 80 90 80 1,193 1,283 1,410 98,689 99,538 99,123
Source : 1. Laporan Penelitian Tentang Strategi pembangunan daerah propinsi Bali 1972, Koordinator Perguruan
Tinggi VI, Surabaya
2. Provincial Irrigation Services of Bali, 1979
3. Provincial Irrigation Services of Bali, 1993
From the point of view of organizational coordination and mechanism, the highest
coordinating authority in the Subak organization is called the Sedahan Agung. The
Sedahan Agung (which is also elected by the Subak representatives) is responsible for
supervising the entire Subak organization in one District (Regency) or Kabupaten of the
local government administration.
In some cases, for instance in Buleleng District, the Sedahan Agung is elected from civil
servant who is actually responsible to the Bupati (Regent) on the routine coordinative
basis. This has been applied since 1968 (IPB, 1974:7). For coordinating the Subak
groups (Subak federation), the Sedahan Agung has the following responsibilities:
(1) To manage and to arrange the general water allocation for the entire district
administration; (2) To solve the problems pertaining to the Subak circumstances that
cannot be solved by the Subak members themselves; (3) To collect land taxes; (4) To
maintain proper coordination among the Subak organizations within the Kabupaten
(Regency) and/or between the Subak organizations and the local government agencies or
other external organizations; and (5) To organize traditional ceremonies related to the
Subak activities in the entire district government administration.
The administrative area of the Sedahan Agung
6
varies from District to District in Bali,

6. The Sedahan Agung is elected based upon a general criteria that the candidate must be capable and
have previous experience of administering and conducting Subak organization. In addition, the
candidates must have leadership capability and must be willing to accept the position.
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depending upon several aspects such as topographical condition, administrative
boundary, watershed boundary, locally specific condition and so on. See the general
illustration of administrative area of the Sedahan Agung portrayed in Table-1.

General Principle of the Subak Membership
Basically, the Subak membership is categorized into two kinds according to the land
ownership status: (1) land owner; and (2) land tenure -- i.e. the farmer who cultivate the
land on behalf of the landowner. Formerly, the Subak membership does not specify
rigidly, because most of the farmers within the administrative area were cultivating the
land for themselves. Today, therefore, the ones who directly cultivate the land are
deserved the privilege of the Subak membership.
7

From the point of view of membership obligation, the Subak consists of three categories:

7. For the case the landowner who resides in the remote town and does not involve directly with the
activities of the Subak, all of the farming obligations of the Subak membership are shared with the
landowner on mutual consensus or agreement. The mutual obligations are varied from place to place. In
general, however, the landowners are responsible of paying for all of the expenses related to the
provision of irrigation infrastructures and facility maintenance, while the labor requirements are
contributed by the land tenures.
ORGANI ZATION STRUCTURE OF SUBAK
SEDAHAN AGUNG
DEPUTY REGENT (BUPATI)
FOR COORDINATING
THE SEDAHAN
AND SUBAK
SEDAHAN
YEH
SEDAHAN
YEH
SEDAHAN
YEH
S U B A K S U B A K S U B A K S U B A K S U B A K
HEADED BY
PEKASEH
HEADED BY
PEKASEH
HEADED BY
PEKASEH
K E S I K O M A N
J U R U A R A H
TEMPEKAN
CHAIRED BY
KELIHAN
TEMPEK
CHAIRED BY
KELIHAN
TEMPEK
CHAIRED BY
KELIHAN
TEMPEK
TEMPEKAN TEMPEKAN
K E R A M A S U B A K
AUTONOMOUS
ORGANIZATI ON
Figure 1. Basic Structural Organization of Subak
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(1) The members who are directly involved in irrigation activities of the Subak. These
members are usually organized themselves in the so-called sekeha yeh (water user
association), also referred to as the krama pekaseh; (2) The members who are not directly
involved in the farming activities. Instead, these types of members -- usually referred to
as pengampel -- are obliged to finance the farming expenses in accordance with the
mutually agreed Subak regulation; (3) The Subak members who are not required to work
directly on the irrigated farming activities. This type of member refers to as leluputan,
usually consists of religious priests
8
who are responsible for performing the religious
ceremonies of the Subak organization.
The Subak membership terminates when that particular member is no longer cultivating
the land for one reason or another. In case of death, the membership will be transferred to
the children or descendants. If the land is sold, the membership will be transferred to the
new owner -- so long as the new owner cultivates the land on his own.
Obligation, Right and Responsibility of the Subak Members
In general, the obligations, rights and responsibilities of the Subak members are consisted
of three main aspects:
Subak Infrastructures and Rural Facilities: (1) Construction and maintenance as well
as rehabilitation of irrigation infrastructures such as weirs, irrigation structures, canals,
water measurement devices and so on; (2) Construction and maintenance as well as
reconstruction of Subak and rural facilities such as farm roads, temples, subak assembly
facilities and other facilities for ritual and religious ceremonies.
Socio-Economic Concerns: (1) To obey the subak regulation, both the written Awig-
awig and non-documented norms; (2) To implement the consensus resulted by the Subak
assembly (meeting); (3) To implement the executive order of the board of organization;
(4) To undertake general election for determining the members of Board of Organization;
(5) To attend the Subak Assembly (both periodical and incidental ones); (6) To maintain
an appropriate water utilization; (7) To pay for the membership fees and or other fees
related to the Subak activities, fines etc. in terms of money or in kind; (8) To pay the land
taxes or other fees stipulated by the local government authority; (9) To take precautious
action for preventing irrigation water from theft or illegal off-takes; and (10) To
undertake mutual aid for pest control.
Concerns with the Religious and Ritual Ceremonies
For the Subak organization, the religious as well as the ritual practices are considered to
be the very significant determinant factors affecting of the irrigated agricultural
implementation. Some of the religious and ritual practices are conducted individually,
others are conducted together. Among the religious and ritual ceremonies that are
currently practiced are: (1) Welcoming ceremony for the initial commencement of
irrigation distribution or mapag toya, which is conducted together every year at the
beginning of the planting season; (2) Individual ceremony at the beginning of land
preparation or ngedagin. The commencement of this ceremony is determined and

8. Despite the fact that the majority of the people in Bali are Hinduism, the Subak members who are
belonged to other religions such as, Moslem, Christian etc. are in fact not constrained by any
difficulties in conducting the Subak activities. The non-Hindu members are mostly supporting the ritual
or religious ceremonies, though they are not participated directly in person.
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conducted by each individual member in accordance with his preferable time allocation;
(3) The Pangwiwit ceremony, which is conducted by the pekaseh and the religious priests
as well as the local leaders at the first commencement of seedbed preparation; (4) The
Nandur ceremony, which is conducted individually at the time, the transplanting is to be
started; (5) The ceremony for preventing the attack of plant diseases or neduh. This
ceremony is conducted by involving all of the Subak members, especially when a general
indication of pest attacked has become apparent significantly. In this kind of ceremony,
each Subak member will obtain the so-called air-suci or the holy water, which is utilized
by each of him or her for conducting individual ceremony on his own farm; (6) The
Pecaruan ceremony, which is conducted to prevent the plant disease from happening.
This ceremony is conducted together at the period of about one month growth of the
planted paddy; (7) The Nyambutin ceremony conducted by each individual member at
about one and a half month growth the paddy; (8) The Biayakukung ceremony conducted
by individual Subak at the maturity stage of the planted paddy; (9) The Miseh ceremony
is conducted at the maturity stage of the paddy, just before harvest; (10) The Ngusaha
ceremony, which is conducted at about 10 days before harvest, particularly for the main
crop season. The whole Subak members conduct this ritual ceremony, which is meant to
express gratitude to the Almighty God the Creator for having endowment with good
crop. Prior to the commencement of this ceremony, no one allowed to start the harvest;
and (11) The Mantenin ceremony, conducted by individual in respecting the generosity
of the Almighty God the Creator, few days after the crop has been kept in the household
storage.
Membership Rights
Beside obligations and responsibilities, the Subak members also have privileges for being
involved in the organization. The membership rights include among others: (1) To have
an appropriate irrigation allocation proportional to the size of agricultural land he has; (2)
To elect and to be elected as the member of board of Subak; (3) To convey his opinion,
suggestion and proposal in the general assembly (4) To be represented by other person in
conducting the activities related to his membership; (5) To provide information
concerning violation of the Subak regulation to the Board of Subak and therefore, to be
deserved of having part of the fine money -- in accordance with the provision stipulated
by the Subak regulation -- that must be paid by the violator; (6) To be deserved of having
part of the Subak property -- in accordance with the underlying regulation; (7) To have
judicious and fair treatment from the Subak Board of Organization.

WATER DISTRIBUTION AND MANAGEMENT
General Water Distribution Principle
The majority of irrigation areas operated by the Subak organization consist of simple
irrigation with simple structures and appurtenance facilities. However, the Central
Government in the last decade has provided some technical assistance for improving the
infrastructures of irrigation system operated under the Subak organization. This technical
assistance is particularly provided for the large-scale irrigation schemes.
Under the Subak system, the farmers themselves through the elected representatives
conduct the water distribution system. The water distribution pattern is based on a
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certain water requirement consideration as the following: (1) the water delivery is
assigned to the farm land on plot-by-plot basis; (2) each individual plot with a seed
requirement of one tenah of paddy seed
9
per plot, is called tek-tek unit area
10
; each area
covers by a farm plot of one tek-tek unit is measured by a traditional standard of water
measurement device.
Subak Irrigation Structures
To provide a complete series of water management practices, The Subak system in
general is equipped with every irrigation facilities required to serve for the farm plot. The
irrigation structures are mostly of the simple ones -- temporary construction using the
locally available materials such as timber, bamboo, coconut log etc. -- but most important
is that the irrigation facilities are capable of serving each farm plot effectively.
The structural layout of a Subak scheme varies from place to place but in general each
scheme consists at least a number of irrigation structures as follows:
Empelan or Diversion Weir
Empelan is a kind of temporarily constructed weir -- usually made of log of coconut tree
or bamboo, or stone that are put together. Some empelans are made of soil embankment
so simple that they are strong enough to hold water at a certain elevation so it can be
conveyed to the farmland by means of gravity flow. In some cases, the structures are
equipped with spillways that are built at suitable location, for example at the massive
rock layer, cliff and so on. This type of irrigation structure is mostly constructed at the
river site, otherwise at the site of water source.
Telabah (canal) and Aungan (tunnel)
Conveyance canal for irrigation is called telabah, while irrigation tunnel is known as
aungan. The subak members themselves on the mutual-aid basis construct these
facilities. Excavation and construction of tunnels are undertaken by manual labor with
very simple equipment and with traditional techniques learned from generation to
generation.
The telabah is divided into several types according to the function and the scheme layout:
(1) Telabah Gede or main canal extends from the river; (2) Telabah Pemaron or
secondary canal branched from the telabah gede; (3) Telabah or tertiary canal branched
from secondary canal; (4) Telabah Cerik or quarternary canal; (5) Kekalen or conveyance
canal which serves the farm ditch. This type of small canal is connected with the tali-
kunda -- which conveys water directly to the farm block or paddy plot (6) Tali- kunda is
the smallest canal that delivers irrigation water to each individual paddy field on plot-to-
plot basis.
Supplementary Structures
For conveying the water crossed the existing roads, canals, valleys, creeks or small rivers

9. The farm plot water requirement is determined by the amount of seeds of paddy that are planted in a
certain size of farm plot -- refers to as sesukat which is called Tek-Tek. The amount of seed
requirement for each te-tek unit is called tenah which is comparable to about 25 to 30 of grain paddy.
10. Tek-tek is the Balinese term which is literally meant as to cut one thing into small pieces.
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-- including the necessity to conduct appropriate irrigation operation, a Subak irrigation
system is equipped with supplementary structures. These structures are among others: (1)
Abangan or aqueduct; (2) Jengkuwung or large culvert; (3) Keluwung or small culvert;
(4) Petaku or drop structure; (5) Pepiyuh or sipillway; (6) Telupus or siphon; and (6)
Titi or small crossing bridge (PRIS, Bali, 1983:5-8).
Pemaron or Diversion Structure
The water distribution is carried out by making use of diversion structures which consist
of several types: (1) Tembuku Aya or main diversion structure; (2) Tembuku Pemaron or
secondary diversion structure; (3) Tembuku Gede or tertiary diversion structure; and (4)
Tembuku Cerik or quaternary diversion from which the water flows to the paddy field
through the kekalen. Like other structures for Subak system, these diversion structures
are also built with temporary structures, taking the advantage of the locally available
materials.
Telabah Pengutangan or Drainage Channel
Since the farm level irrigation distribution practice of the Subak organization is
conducted by means of plot-to-plot conveyance method, the tail-plots must be equipped
with facility to convey the excess water to natural drains. For this purpose a Subak
irrigation system is facilitated with telabah pengutangan or drainage channel, which are
eventually mounted to the main, drains (pakung), otherwise, to the natural river streams.
For further details some examples of the features of the Subak irrigation schemes are
presented in Figure 2 and 3.
Buildings for Religious and Ritual Ceremonies
For conducting the religious and ritual ceremonies -- which are among the important
practices of the Subak organization -- a number of buildings and facilities are provided.
These buildings and facilities are: (1) Pura Bedugul or small temple which is built for
each diversion structure; (2) Pura Ulun Suwi or temple for communal use within one or
more Subak areas receiving water from the same water source; and (3) Pura Ulun Danu
or temples that are built for each lake or reservoir such as Lake Batur, Lake Beratan,
Lake Buyan, Lake Tamblingan, which are considered to be the source of prosperity of
the Balinese people.
Water Measurement Device
To provide reliable water distribution for each farm plot, a standard water measurement
device is installed for each individual farm plot in accordance with the size of the plot in
terms of tek-tek unit. Thus, each of the tenah seed unit is translated into tek-tek unit of
farm area; the unit area is further converted into a certain magnitude of water
measurement. This water requirement unit is also called tek-tek. The water measurement
device is usually made of a piece of timber or log, cut at the desired length with a cut-off
grove for measuring the water flow. The size of the cut-off grove of one tek-tek unit, for
instance, is measured in terms of ordinary human finger thickness, about four fingers
width and one finger depth, which is comparable to about 8.00 cm width and 2.00 cm
depth (see Figure 4 for illustration).
For larger farm plots, the size of cut-off is determined by multiplying the single tek-tek
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standard illustrated above, proportional to the size of the command area. Thus, one tenah
of seed or one tek-tek unit area will get one tek-tek unit requirement of water. The water
requirement for larger area is served in terms of multiplication of the one tek-tek water
flow standard.
TEMPLE
TEMPLE
INTAKE
TUNNEL
TEMPLE
TERTIARY CANAL
RICE FIELD
DRAINAGE CANAL
PRIMARY CANAL
TERTIARY CANAL
SUBAK
C
SUBAK
B
SUBAK
A
SECONDARY DIV. STRUCTURE
TEMPORARY
DIVERSION STRUCTURE
WEIR

Figure 2. An Example of Subak Irrigation Scheme
In practice, this simple water measurement procedure is widely implemented by the
Subak water users' association without ever being tempted to use more water than they
are actually deserved. The Subak members are bound together in some sort of traditional
entity or feeling of togetherness in the society. In addition, they are tied up with social as
well as religious norms so intensely that taking an excessive amount of water makes no
sense to them.
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I
2
3
II/4
5
III/6
7
IV/8
9
VI/12
9
V/ 10
7
7
9
VI/12
5
5
R
I
V
E
R
NOTES
I/1
2
3
II/4
5
III/6
7
IV/8
9
V/10
11
VI/12
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
Wear at the River
Temuku (Main Intake)
Telabah Gede (Main Canal)
Telabah (Primary Canal)
Temuku Aya (Primary Diversion)
Temuku Pemaron (Secondary Deversion)
Telabah (Secondary Canal)
Temuku Gede (Tertiary Diversion)
Telabah (Farm Ditch/Tertiary Canal)
Temuku Cerik (Quarternary Diversion)
Andungan (Silt Trap)
Pengalapan (Farm Block Intake)

Figure 3. Typical Irrigation Structural Networks of Subak Scheme

Rotational Water Delivery and Cropping Schedule
During the water scarcity in the dry season, the water distribution for Subak members is
conducted on rotational basis. The rotational water distribution system is conducted on
mutual consensus. All water disputes are settled down with judicious arrangement among
the Subak members themselves.
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ONE TEK-TEK UNIT OF WATER FLOW
ON CONTINUOUS BASIS
B
B
B
+ 8.00 cm
L
L
One tek-tek unit of water flow
WL
+ 2.00 cm

Figure 4. Typical Tek-tek Water Measurement Device
The Subak members themselves also determine the cropping schedule by clearly stating
the water distribution obligation. In the determination of cropping pattern and water
delivery schedule, for instance, they adopt three cropping -- and hence water distribution
-- schedules: (1) the Ngulu; (2) the Maongin; and (3) the Ngesep. The Ngulu means water
distribution from the head, which is referred to as the water delivery for the crop rotation,
which starts earlier (between November and December). The Maongin means water
delivery from the neck, which is referred as to the second crop rotation starts two months
later (between January and
February). The Ngesep
means late, which is
referred to as the third crop
rotation, which is
implemented between
March and April. In
practice, this crop rotation
is very effective for
managing the staggered
planting date, so that the
crops do not consume water
simultaneously, and hence
the water constraint can be
minimized.

The tek-tek, Subak Irrigation water measurement device
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In comparison with the most recent irrigated agricultural techniques -- that the people
knows to day, it is quite amazing to observe the fact that the traditional agricultural
practices under the Subak system are perfectly confirmed with the current (modern)
irrigation application for low-land paddy. For example, the field water requirement,
which has long been practiced by the traditional Subak, is perfectly comparable with the
most recent calculation on the ultimate field water distribution demand for lowland
paddy. In addition, the modern agricultural research has demonstrated that the occasional
necessity of 24 hours per day water distribution is recommended for optimum growth of
paddy during the early growing stage. As the matter of fact, the Subak farmers in Bali
through generations have long implemented this sustainable water management practice.
THE SUBAK ASSEMBLY
Internal Coordination
Every Subak system prescribes a regular meeting among the members (usually conducted
every 35 days) to discuss all aspects concerning their farming circumstances such as,
operation and maintenance of irrigation infrastructures, maintenance of temple and other
rural as well as public facilities, to solve the underlying irrigation distribution problems,
to settle disputes and so on. In such a meeting, discussions are mostly focused on the
most immediate and urgent issues, such as monthly working schedule for the following
month, acceptance of new membership, membership contribution, financial status, ritual
ceremonies and so on. Apart from this routine meeting, incidental meeting are also
advocated for discussing and overcoming the urgent problems such as emergency works
for improvement and repairs of irrigation network facilities, pest or disease attacks,
emergency action for food relief and other such matters.
Depending upon the urgency of the problem to solve, the meeting of the Subak may be
conducted in the form of general assembly or involving the complete team or selective
members of the board of Subak only.
The incidental meeting of the Board of Subak usually conducted at the residence of the
Pekaseh. This meeting usually conducted one day prior to the general assembly of the
Subak members, discussing about the programs that are going to be implemented.
The general assembly for the members consists of routine and incidental (on demand)
ones. In most cases the routine assembly is conducted every 35 days. This meeting,
which is usually conducted at the pura bedugul,
11
must be attended by all of the
members.
In the routine meeting, the discussion usually concerning the internal circumstances such
as the following: (1) replacement of Juru arah; (2) routine announcement of the violators
of the awig-awig and execution of fine; (3) financial circumstances; (4) routine
maintenance of Subak facilities; (5) agricultural circumstances, crop maintenance, credit
facility etc.; (6) ritual and religious ceremonies; (7) suggestions, comments, proposals,
recommendations of the members; and (8) announcement concerning instructions to the
members for implementing the member's obligations and other organizational
responsibilities.

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Coordination with External Organization
For discussing the external cooperation or for solving the external problems related to
other subak or other organizations, the meeting is usually attended or coordinated by the
Sedahan or the Sedahan Agung for the meeting related to the agencies or organization at
the Regency, District (Kabupaten) level.
Depending upon the context and urgency, the Subak assembly may be conducted through
coordination of other government agencies such as Regional or District Agricultural
Extension Services, Provincial or District Irrigation Services, Local Government
Authorities and so on. For further details, see the schematic chart of the interagency
coordination of the Subak, which is presented in Figure-5. In this chart, other line
organizations and agencies give the necessary technical guidance to Subak according to
the immediate demands without direct intervention to the Subak -- as autonomous
organization.
INTERAGENCY COORDINATION OF SUBAK
BUPATI (REGENT)
SEDAHAN AGUNG
CHIEF,
AGRI - EXT
SERVICES
OTHER
RELATED
AGENCIES
CHIEF
IRRIGATION
SERVICES
SUB-DISTRICT
LEVEL
DITCH TENDER PEKASEH
KELIHAN TEMPEK
KESIKOM
JURU ARAH
KERANA SUBAK
SEDAHAN
SUB-DISTRICT
AGRIC. EXTENSION
FIELD EXTENTION
LINE OF COMMANDING
NOTES :
LINE OF COORDINATION
LINE OF GUIDANCE
AUTONOMOUS ORGANIZATION

Figure 5. Schematic Chart of Interagency Coordination of Subak
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FINANCIAL SOURCES AND MANAGEMENT
Financial Sources
As far as the financial circumstances are concerned, the Subak rural agricultural
organization relies all of its financial sources from the members. The magnitude of the
membership fee is collected proportional to the size of agricultural land owned by the
Subak members. This membership fee can be paid either in cash or in kind. The Subak
funds may also come from penalties, fine money, labor contribution for performing
operation and maintenance of irrigation infrastructures, temples and other public
facilities.
The Subak keeps all of the funds collected chief, while the utilization of that fund -- for
instance, for the routine maintenance of irrigation system or for financing traditional or
religious ceremonies -- is subject to approval of the members through the Subak
assembly prior to implementation.
Determination of Membership Fee
The magnitude of the membership fee varies from place to place, depending upon several
aspects including size of land ownership, location, crop production, accessibility and
other location specific. Determination of the membership fee is based upon the general
consensus of the Subak assembly, both in terms of it kind and its magnitude.
The followings are several kinds of membership fees:
Incidental Membership Fee
This incidental fee usually levied to the member in the form of cash to cover the non-
routine financial requirement, for instance, for incidental repairs of irrigation structures,
recovery of damages caused by local disaster such as land slides or floods. The
magnitude of this fee usually determined by the nature of the required works divided
equally or proportionally to the members, based on consensus.
Periodical Membership Fee
This type of membership fee may be paid in cash or in kind, but in most cases, the
payments -- especially after harvest -- are paid in kind. There are several types of
periodical membership fees:
1. The Pengoot or Pengampel, which is considered to be the payment in lieu of the
annual service charge for the members who could not undertake the mutual works, they
are responsible for. In some cases, for instance in the Kabupaten Badung, the active
member or ngoot ngayah is not levied with this type of fee. For agricultural lands
consisted of more than one tek-teks the fees are levied to the members who are not active
participants (ngoot ngutang). Part of this collected fee usually spent for paying the active
members or for expenditures related to the ritual or religious ceremonies.
2. The Sarin Tahun is a form of periodical membership fee, which is paid in kind --
generally in the form of grain paddy -- immediately at each harvest season. Some Subak
collect this type of fee on annual basis to finance the ritual and religious ceremonies,
others prescribe bi-annual collection at the harvest seasons of the main as well as the
secondary crops. The magnitude of this contribution varies from place to place. The
Subak Pengembangan in Tabanan District, for instance, a paddy field with the unit size
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of 500 square meters has to contribute a so called sarin tahun at about 1 kg of grain
paddy per year (about 20kg of grain rice/ha/year).
3. Membership fee in term of compensation or incentive for the member of Subak Board
of Organization. Some Subaks obliged their members to pay for a special form of
membership fees on top of the Pengoot, Sarin Tahun and incidental fees. This, for
example applies in the Tamblang and Pangkung Gondang of the District of Jembrana. In
these areas such a special contribution is collected in the form of grain rice at an amount
of 4 kg for each paddy field with a unit size of less than 0.75ha, which obtains water
from a single water off-take gate. For the paddy field with the size of more than 0.75ha
and obtains water from a single water source, the paddy contribution is determined by the
Subak assembly -- proportional to the size of the paddy field in questioned.
Mechanism of Internal Financial Auditing
In most Subak organization the responsibility to conduct financial account is entrusted to
the Pekaseh, helped by one or more financial assistants, for collecting fees, book keeping
and so on. This type of financial account is mostly carried out in a very simple book
keeping system. The members usually rely the annual or periodical settlement of account
to the Pekaseh and his assistants (IPB, 1974:22-23).
Each Subak authority on the basis of mutual agreement and consensus usually prepares
annual planning for routine works. However, this type of annual working schedule is
rarely prepared in written format. The board of organization rarely prepares financial
disbursement schedule. Budgeting system is mostly conducted on the basis of "balanced
budgeting system". For financing the emergency works, the members are obliged to
contribute extra fees on the basis of the amount of money required for the works.
Execution of Sanction for the Violator
For enforcement of the Subak regulation or Awig-awig, each Subak Board of
Organization has a prerogative obligation to execute the prescribed sanctions. The
sanctions are generally executed in the order of importance as: (1) remainder or warning;
(2) penalty or fine; (3) temporary cease of irrigation water allocation; (4) to sell by
auction the violator's property; (5) withdrawal of the privilege of the Subak membership.
Penalty for violators varies from Subak to Subak, depending upon the nature of
organizational regulation. One Subak prescribes the penalty in cash or in kind, others
insist the violator to pay in labor in lieu of money.
As far as the violations of the awig-awig regulation is concerned, they are mostly
associated with the cases as follows: (1) absence or late participating in the meeting; (2)
crop damage due to unguided cattle grazing; (3) late land preparation for regular
cultivation; (4) water theft; (5) inability to comply with the executed penalty; (6) absence
in attending mutual aid obligation; (7) damages of farm ditches, canals levees, irrigation
facilities or crop due to carelessness.

CONCLUDING REMARKS
Learning from agricultural practices demonstrated by the Subak system in the Island of
Bali, it is apparent that the irrigated agricultural practices has been developed to meet the
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farmers evolutionary demands and circumstances through a long range practice, so that
the system could sustain, without major changes, from generation to generation.
The main principle built into this system is based on the ability to regulate the suitable
techniques, time, space and environment in order to meet the livelihood of the people
through "harmonious-togetherness principle. The underlying approach is based on
the ability of maintaining a proper balance, and the ability of acquiring harmonious
relationship between human and nature on reciprocal basis. The basic techniques are
incorporated with the simplicity principles, so that every members of the community are
able to adopt and/or apply the technique without involving sophisticated learning
process.
Despite the fact that the Subak system and its practices were invented and evolved long
time ago, it is quite amazing to know that much of their techniques are still convertible
and/or adaptable to the modern practices that the people understand today. The more we
can comprehend the traditional irrigated-agricultural practices the more we learn about
their technicalities. In fact, there is a reason to believe that the traditional agricultural
practices adopted by the Subak organization were based on systematic observations.
Today, in modern Indonesia, there remains a lot more phenomenon of the ancient
heritage of participatory irrigated agricultural practices, adhered to the Subak, that need
to be uncovered in terms of scientific explanation.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Adi, I. Gede., 1972. Sistim Subak di Kecamatan Kesiman. Unpublished thesis, Faculty of
Laws and Social Science, University of Udayana, Denpasar, Bali.
Ardjana, Ngk. Njm. Rai, 1972. Organisasi Subak di Desa Pejeng. Unpublished thesis,
Faculty of Laws and Social Sciences, University of Udayana, Denpasar, Bali.
Bali, PRIS, 1983. Subak System in Bali: A Brief Description, Bali Provincial Public
Works Services, July 1983.
Dinas P.U. Propinsi Bali, 1972. Sekelumit Tentang Subak sebagai Sistim Pengairan di
Bali, (unpublished report).
Dinas P.U. Propinsi Bali, 1972. Masalah Pengairan dan Pemanfaatan Air Irigasi bagi
Pertanian di Daerah Propinsi Bali, (unpublished report).
Gany, A.H.A., and Halli, S.S., 1993. Land Development and Transmigrant Farmers in
Southern Sumatra, Indonesia. In International Migration. Quarterly Review Vol.
XXXI No. 4, 1993. International Organization for Migration (IOM), PO Box 71,
1211 Geneva, Switzerland.
Gany, A.H.A. and Zakaria, Ir. F., 1975 Persubakan di Bali. A Report for the Provincial
Government of Lampung, 1975.
Gany, A.H.A., 1994. Integrated Water Resources Management Published in Indonesian
Language, Majalah Pekerjaan Umum Edisi Khusus No. 03/1994/XXVII, Jakarta.
____, 1989. Field Water Management Impacts on the New Irrigated Area. In Rydzewski
J.R. (ed), Irrigation, Theory and Practice, John Wiley and Son. Ltd. & Pentech
Press.London.
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____, 1993. The irrigation Based Transmigration Program in Indonesia. Ph.D.
Grader, C.J., 1960. The Irrigation System in the Region of Jembrana, Bali, Studies of
Life, Thought and Ritual. Selected Studies on Indonesia, Vol. V. Les Editions A.
Manteau S.A., Bruxelles W. van Hoeve Ltd. The Hague and Bandung. Edited by
W.F. Wertheim et.al.
IPB, and University of Udayana, 1974. Subak, Organisasi Tata Guna Air pada Tingkat
Desa di Bali, Institute of Agriculture Bogor, And University of Udayana, Bali,
November 1974.
Jelantik, Sushila, 1973. Sekelumit tentang Subak (In Indonesian) or A brief
information about Subak, Bali Provincial Public Works Services.
Kordinator Perguruan Tinggi VI., 1972. Laporan Penelitian tentang strategi
Pembangunan Daerah untuk Propinsi Bali., Vol. II., Surabaya, Indonesia.
Park, Kee Sung, 1976. Subak Irrigation System in Bali, Indonesia. Japan International
Cooperation Agency (JICA), 1976.
Persatuan Sarjana Rakyat Indonesia Singaraja, 1969. Subak Sebagai Sistim Pengairan
di Bali.Reproduced by Dinas P.U. Propinsi Bali.
P.N. Virama Karya, 1971., Laporan Reconnaissance Pola Induk Tata Air Pulau
Bali.Virama Karya, Jakarta.
Prosida, 1972. Subak Kumpul di Bali, Prosida, Jakarta.
Suadnya, 1978. Subak Irrigation System in the Pesedahan Yeh Otan, (In Indonesian)
Tabanan Regency, Irrigation Section, Bali Provincial Public Works Services.
Suadnya, Ir., 1990. Mengenal Subhak in Indonesian Language, or Introducing Subak,
Irrigation Sub Services, Bali Provincial Public Work Services.
Teken, I.B., 1967. Organisasi Pengairan Pedesaan Subak di Bali. A case study: Subak in
Desa Luwus, Tabanan, Bali., Bogor Institute of Agriculture.
University of Udayana, Denpasar, Bali., 1975. Laporan Survey Persubakan di Bali
(October 1974 - March 1975).
Winaya, P. Djapa, 1973.Organization of Water Association in Bali., A paper specially
prepared and presented as a lecture for the American Students from the Lewis and
Clarke College, Oregon, U.S.A., at the Udayana University, Denpasar, Bali.
Wedante, I.G Ngurah., 1957. Subak di Bali. An Unpublished Study for "Sekolah
Pendidikan Kemasyarakatan Negeri 4 tahun", Surakarta, Central Java.

MSRI and INACID Tudang Sipulung As The Indigenous Irrigated Agricultural
History in Brief

MSRI and INACID

SUPPLEMENT PAPER

TUDANG SIPULUNG AS THE INDIGENOUS
IRRIGATED AGRICULTURAL HERRITAGE IN
SOUTH SULAWESI PROVINCE


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TUDANG SIPULUNG AS THE INDIGENOUS IRRIGATED AGRICULTURAL
HERITAGE IN SOUTH SULAWESI PROVINCE

INTRODUCTION
Historical Background: Like many other provinces in the Outer Island, South Sulawesi
Province also has a long history in irrigated agriculture. It possesses quite significant
heritages in agricultural practices, particularly on irrigated paddies being rice as the
major staple diet of the people in this area. Irrigation based agricultural heritages has long
been implemented in this area by relying on the togetherness principle under the
coordination of informal leaders.
A prominent scholar, Tjondronegoro (2001), stated that paddy has a very long tie with
traditional people from west to eastern part of the archipelago, even longer before BC. In
fact, there are two school of thoughts about the spread of paddy in Indonesia; the first,
argues that it was spread from the Malaysian Peninsula, the second states that its came
from India since the Hindu Time.
In Bugis (a major ethnic group in South Sulawesi), calls paddy as ase or pare, but
other ethnic group of South Sulawesi also call paddy as pala, paha and some other
local terms. Meanwhile, according to Fachruddin (2002) paddy is not the original plant
(crop) from Indonesia, but rather from the coastal areas of Southeast Asia, brought by
emigrant, which were the origin of Indonesian people. This illustration is consistent with
the ancient manuscript of Sureg Galigo, a classical literature of Bugis ethnicity.
According to this classical manuscript, it was happened that the first food crop invented
by Batara Guru and his wife (We Nyilik Timo) as they descended from Heaven to the
Earth were lame (sweet potato), aladi (local radish), utti (banana), and tebbu
(sugar cane), read in the manuscript as follows:
. Turning his head aside, the sacred man says, it is apparent that
our sweet potato La Oro, our root plant (radish). Also apparent that our
banana already fruiting, meanwhile our sugar cane also growing, also
apparent our bitter melon and our kace (tree bean) .. Galigo
119: 142-144 in Fachruddin, 2002.
Beside, the Galigo manuscript also mentioned about wetteng or jewawut and
bata (sorghum), which are the paddy variety and recommended by Batara Guru to
consume as the staple diet as read in the manuscript as follows:
Please, Batara Guru descent to the Earth. Do take it and bring
it to the palace. However, do not consume it right away. Instead, the one
you must consume at fist is jewawut and wetteng, which will take care
and secure your food during your stay on Earth (Galigo I, 1995 in
Fachruddin 2002).
These evidences indicate that the concept of food diversification has already been
identified and practiced since the ancient era of Batara Guru. The concept suggests that

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that before you consume your rice, you have to give priority to your sweet potato, keladi,
banana, jewawut, and sorghum consecutively. If this concept consistently implemented,
the currently suggested food security program would had been materialized longer before
this modern era.
In South Sulawesi Province, sorghum is still planted in Jeneponto Regency, which
known as batara tojeng or bata, also in the regency of Bulukumba and Selayar. In the
latter regency, even the locally processed sorghum is still served as traditional food at the
special ritual ceremony.

TRADITIONAL IRRIGATION BASED FARMING COMMUNITY
Traditional farming community in South Sulawesi Province has long been practiced by
the Buginese (the dominant population of South Sulawesi) ethnicity, Makassarese and
Torajanese. One of the most important principle attached to the success of farming
community is pivoted on the informal leaders, who not necessarily irrigation or
agricultural experts, but most essentially to have capacity for organizing as well as
managing the community concerns judiciously, and with equal treatment. The tradition
farming community by the people is conducted in terms of organized activities from
construction of irrigation infrastructures, land preparation, transplanting, crop
maintenance, as well as post harvesting activities. In most cases, the Bugis ethnicity of
Sidenreng Rappang, Pinrang, Maros, Polewali Mamasa, Luwu, Bone, and Enrekang,
refer the traditional practice as Tudang Sipulung. While the Bugis ethnicity of the
Bulukumba refers the practice as mattiro laong ruma, and for the Bugis ethnicity of
Soppeng, refers the traditional farming community as mattudang tudangeng. In the
Regency of Wajo, the traditional farming community refers to as manre sipulung or
eating together, and in Mamuju refers to as malimbo, while the Pangkajene Kepulauan
and Barru Bugis Ethnicity refer to the practice as mappalili.

Traditional irrigation weirs made of boulder and coconut trunk in Soppeng Regency
Especially for the Makassarese ethnicity living in Gowa and Takalar Regencies, the
traditional farming community known as appalili, in the Regency of Jeneponto
referred to as emposipitangngari. Meanwhile, for the Torajanese, the traditional
agricultural practice referred to as mamesa kada. In general, however, the term of
tudang sipulung has now become widely accepted in South Sulawesi Province today.
In fact tudang sipulung is considered by the Bugis ethnicity of South Sulawesi as the

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implementation of the ancient cultural heritage formerly called as tudang paddiuma
(Fachruddin, 2002) having the same purpose as conducting gathering for discussing the
agricultural schedule including all of the related activities as well as all equipment
required for the agricultural implementation, organized judiciously by traditional leaders
with fully democratic principle.
During the gathering, all persons invited, especially in the Regency of Sidenreng
Rappang, must put on traditional costume, and generally all the consensus reached at the
meeting are obeyed by the community members. This matter is particularly relevant with
the democratic principle of bottom-up approach. Most interestingly, that the meeting
usually attended by the so called pappananrang or pallontara who are reliable in
conducting traditional climatic forecasting by means of annual rainfall characteristics as
stated in the traditional books referred to as lontara in combination with modern
climatic forecasting by the Agency for Meteorology and Geophysics. The government
officials, community leaders, traditional leaders, farmers group, agricultural extension
services, researchers, as well as agricultural enterprises in the area usually attend such a
traditional gathering. Through time, some adjustments have been made in accordance
with local tradition as well as farming circumstances. And despite all the local
characteristic and adjustments, the tudang sipulung traditional agricultural practices
are still exist and widely practiced in South Sulawesi, today (Fachruddin, 2002).
Like many other traditional agricultural practices in Indonesia, the tudang sipulung
also has similar legend with
the origin of paddy as
mostly the case of Javanese,
in which, the princess of
Batara Guru Goddess and
Dewi Sri who is
Vishnus wife, who later on
became the Goddess of
Agriculture (particularly for
paddy). In South Sulawesi
Province, however, paddy is
believed as not the original
plant of Indonesia, but
rather, it spread along the
coastal lines of Southeast
Asian brought by ancient
migrants to Indonesia, as
known today.
The social status attached to irrigation based paddy cultivation: Like many other
traditional communities in Indonesia, paddy in South Sulawesi Province also regarded as
the crop with a high social value. For the older farming generation, the larger the size of
land for paddy cultivation the farmer owned the higher the social status he would be in
the community. In many occasions, during the price of paddy become extremely low, the
farmer still put rice cultivation at the top priority crop amongst the available alternatives.
The well to do farmers has obligation to share livelihood opportunities for the rest of the
An example traditional motto of Bugis ethnicity, about
agricultural and democratic phylosophy,
written in Bugis Script

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community members in neighborhood as share croppers during harvesting time as well
manual laborers during the land preparation or crop maintenance.
In relation with the folklore paddy in South Sulawesi, the Sure Galigo ancient
manuscript of Bugis community stated that paddy crop, was only known at the first year
of the descendance of Batara Guru to the Earth. At that time his wife, We Saunriu,
delivered a baby girl named We Odanriu, who in fact passed a way only a week after her
birth. The baby girl buried in the middle of the jungle at the top of the high mountain,
however, after three days Batara Guru had a strong inner desire to pay a visit to her
daughters grave. He was then quite overwhelmed to come across that her daughters had
already transformed by itself into a vast colorful extended plantation, with yellow, black,
white, blue and red colors. Under the surprising astonishment he went to his father to
inquire about such an unusual phenomenon. Batara Gurus father explained: My
beloved son, the alien crop is so called sangiasseri, which has been transformed from
your daughters grave into paddy (Galigo I, 1955:180 in Fachruddin 2002).
For this reason, the ancient Bugis community had a special respect to paddy and regarded
it a sacred crop that has to be maintained and preserved from generation to generation.
During which, all the phases of crop cultivation from land preparation, transplanting,
crop maintenance till harvesting and storage, each had some sort of ritual ceremony to
pay special respect to paddy.
Rituals for respecting of paddy as a sacred crop: Further explanation stated at the
Galigo ancient manuscript, that the follow up guidelines for crop cultivation was initiated
when the daughter of King Sawerigading, named We Tenridio, suffered from a severe
illness, that enabled her to eat and talk. Under such condition, the twin sister of King
Sawerigading, named Tenriabeng, advised that her niece We Tenridio could only be
cured by feeding her with wette or rice flake, therefore they need to start cultivating
rice for making rice flake. Under the order of King Sawerigading, all the preparatory
equipments and facilities for rice cultivation were prepared. These include parewa
tedong paddiuma consisted of a couple of water buffalo and a series of plowing and
harrowing equipment such as ajoa paraja or saddle, rakkala or plough, salaga
or harrow, baba or whip and pabbeleq or sickle. Such land cultivation equipments
and facilities were brought to the field, conducted land preparation as well as preparing
seedbed, including irrigation repair (mappadeceng teppoq - sepeq) and maintenance
(mappiara sepeq).
As the land preparation completed, the king instructed to conduct malluka lappo or
bringing the paddy seed out of the storage place, maddemme bine seed soaking, and
pre broadcasting rituals. All of the preparatory stages, followed by traditional and ritual
ceremonies, then bring the seed to the readily puddled field for mangampo or seed
broadcasting. The ritual ceremonies are conducted with series of dancing, singing, as
well as traditional music with all the traditional costumes, umbrella and other such
traditional as well as ritual accessories. These followed after two weeks by massisi
bine or pulling of seedling and mattaneng or transplanting. After three months plant
growth, the ceremonies followed by mappasili and mallekeq sangiasseri to make
wette or rice flakes. Eventually, a harvesting ceremony conducted prior to the actual
harvesting (mengngala) following by welcome ceremony at the time the harvested paddy
brought back for storage at the barn. All of these processes and its associated ceremonies

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since then became the traditional practice for respecting paddies as the sacred crop by
traditional.
Other written legend Paupaunna La Dado put special concern on role sharing between
man and woman on paddy cultivation. During the Sawerigading Emperor in South
Sulawesi, it was said that the man should be capable of conducting all of processes for
paddy cultivation from land preparation up until crop harvesting. The activities for
planting, harvesting, as well as preparation of food for field activities are mostly
conducted by women.

CROPPING SCHEDULE
The cropping schedule of the traditional farming communities in South Sulawesi
Province determined by the person so called Pallontara or Pappananrang which
responsible for planning the cropping schedule based on seasonal changes and cropping
characteristics, as well as irrigation management practices. For making consensus on the
cropping schedule as well as irrigation water allocation, the farming community under
the tudang sipulung mechanism, conduct regular meeting (normally at the beginning
of the planting season). The meeting usually conducts by inviting the water users as well
as the relevant stakeholders, and the decision-making in such a meeting always based on
democratic principle. For illustration, the following Table presents the cropping schedule
that had approved at the meeting for different regencies.

An example of traditional irrigation weir in Soppeng
Regency, which had been reconstructed into permanent
structure during the Dutch Time
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Example of planting schedule after mutual consensus on regular meeting in several Regencies of South Sulawesi Province
(Bone, Soppeng, Sidrap, Pinrang, Luwu, and Wajo Regency) for Dry Season of 2003 and Rainy Season 2003/2004
I. WESTERN REGION
April-Sept (Dry) Oct-March (Wet)
Cropping Pattern and Cropping Schedule
No Regency
Cropping
Schedule
(ha)
Paddy
(ha)
Second
Crop. (ha)
Paddy
(ha)
Second
Crop. (ha)
Total
(ha)
A M J J A S O N D J F M
1 Pinrang 77,629 35,319 1,073 38,442 - 74,834
2 Polmas 17,831 7,318 50 9,668 - 17,036
3 Majene 108 54 - 54 - 108
4 Mamuju 708 354 - 354 - 708
5 Barru 3,788 570 210 2,828 - 3,608
6 Pangkep 16,410 2,114 - 12,125 - 14,239
7 Maros 14,811 5,979 484 10,479 - 16,942
8 Gowa 26,122 8,596 4,360 16,261 - 29,217
9 Takalar 15,691 4,561 1,822 13,171 - 19,554
10 Jeneponto 12,497 1,963 375 9,539 - 11,877
Total 185,595 66,828 6,374 112,921 0 188,123

II. EASTERN REGION
No Regency
Cropping
Schedule
(ha)
Paddy
(ha)
Second
Crop. (ha)
Paddy
(ha)
Second
Crop. (ha)
Total
(ha)
1 Bantaeng 6,985 2,473 - 2,854 - 5,327
2 Bulukumba 27,862 13,630 - 14,338 - 27,968
3 Sinjai 9,530 4,353 418 4,526 223 9,530
4 Bone 30,389 18,339 - 12,085 1,210 31,634
5 Wajo 6,481 2,733 - 2,298 - 5,031
6 Luwu 70,279 33,501 - 27,775 45 61,301
Total 151,526 75,029 418 63,856 1,488 140,791

III. TRANSITION REGION
No Regency
Cropping
Schedule
(ha)
Paddy
(ha)
Second
Crop. (ha)
Paddy
(ha)
Second
Crop. (ha)
Total
(ha)
1 Soppeng 28,985 13,466 6,767 15,011 61 35,305
2 Sidrap 54,969 22,121 69 25,447 16 47,653
3 Enrekang 730 318 - 365 - 683
4 Tator 2,526 1,027 - 1,070 - 2,097
5 Pare-pare 145 - 49 96 - 145
Total 87,355 36,932 6,885 41,989 77 85,883
Total I+II+II 424,476 178,789 15,667 218,766 1,565 414,797
Wet Dry
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CLOSING REMARKS
Like many other provinces in the Outer Island, South Sulawesi Province also has a long
history in irrigated agriculture. In Bugis (a major ethnic group in South Sulawesi), calls
paddy as ase or pare, but other ethnic groups of South Sulawesi also call paddy as
pala, paha and some other local terms. Paddy is believed in South Sulawesi (as
illustrated in the ancient manuscript of Sureg Galigo a classical literature of Bugis
ethnicity) as not the original plant (crop) from Indonesia, but rather spread along coastal
areas of Southeast Asia, brought by emigrant, which were the origin of Indonesian
people, known today.
Despite the modern era today, the traditional irrigated agricultural heritages in the Bugis
Ethnicity of South Sulawesi, is still regarded as something to do with the harmonious
relationship amongst God, Human and Nature. This matter is clearly explained from the
fact that irrigation based agricultural practices is regarded as not merely technological
matter, but rather they tend to perceive it from the perspective of socio-agro-religious,
and ultimately submitting the failure or success of their irrigation based farming to the
Almighty God, after every efforts and endeavors have been pursued strenuously.
Todays practices always regarded the ancient irrigated agricultural heritage as had been
tested through a long-term trial and error, and would not change the practice abruptly
should any change required or demanded for adjustment with the underlying
circumstances. These include the traditional irrigation water management as well as other
crop maintenance and protection measures.
From irrigation perspective, the agricultural community in South Sulawesi Province
regarded the water as one of the most important live ingredient, bestowed by the
Almighty God, for all the human being, and therefore be regarded as social commodity
with implicit economic value in it. Irrigation water to the Bugis community should be
regarded as not unlimited natural resources and hence it should be mutually taken care,
conserved and preserved on sustainable basis.

LIST OF REFERENCE
Abbas, Syamsuddin, 2002. Religious and Cultural Values as the Driving Force of
Agricultural Development, in Indonesian Language, published paper, Ministry of
Agriculture 2002.
Fachruddin A.E., 2002. Paddy from the Perspective of Bugis Culture. A paper in
Indonesian Language, presented at the national seminar about paddy, Makassar,
South Sulawesi,August 1, 2002. Yayasan Padi Indonesia.
Government of South Sulawesi Province, 1996. Formulation of Pallontara Traditional
Historian, in Tudang Sipulung, South Sulawesi. A paper presented in Indonesian
language, Ujung Pandang, 1996.
Saenong, et.al., 2003. Cropping Schedule in Rice Culture. A paper in Indonesian
Language on Seminar entitled Agricultural Calendar, 2003.
Tadjang, R. Hasan L., 2001. Qualitative Traditional Climate Forecasting and its
Application in South Sulawesi Province. A Paper in Indonesian Language,
presented at the workshop entitled, National Climate Forecasting for Agricultural
Practices, 2001, in Badung, West Java.

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MSRI and INACID Traditional Irrigation Heritages in West Sumatra
History in Brief

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SUPPLEMENT PAPER

TRADITIONAL IRRIGATION HERRITAGES IN
WEST SUMATERA


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TRADITIONAL IRRIGATION HERITAGES IN WEST SUMATRA


INTRODUCTION
There are a number of historical evidences of the ancient Kingdom of Minang Kabau in
West Sumatra Province, elucidated that the ancient community in this area had long been
renowned as generally associated with the livelihood in the lowland areas adjacent with
natural water sources such as springs, tributaries, brooks, lakes or natural water ponds.
Long before they were accustomed to irrigation, the community had been practicing
shifting cultivation with carbohydrate source upland crops such as cassava, sweet potato,
wild radish, beans, and upland paddies with some minor lowland paddies, in the
pounding water. In case the family unable to perform the land preparation by members of
the family, they usually conduct their land preparation by communal mutual aids, so
called as julo-julo.
To meet the escalating demands for livelihood parallel with the increasing of population,
they gradually began to notice that plant needs additional water supply to maintain the
steady growth, but they have to transport the water from a distance. Through the long
time experiences, the artificial supplies of water by means of diverting from water
sources to the lower field were gradually evolved. From this, the community began to
practice artificial irrigation having paddy as the major for supplying the staple diet of the
people. This traditional irrigation paddy practice is known in local language as Ulu
Banda or Kapalo Banda which are literally meant as intake structures or main
conveyance channels.
Traditional irrigation system
Agricultural practice for paddy during the initial stage was so simple that could only be
performs by family members or extended families. However, in line with the increasing
demand for foods, the irrigated agricultural practices were extended to larger group of
people beyond the extended family, and hence the need to organize the water
management entrusted to the traditional leader for managing the intake structure (kapalo
banda) and channels. The traditional leader responsible for managing the intake
structures as well as water channels is called the Tuo Banda or water master known
today. From this point of time, the history of irrigation water management in terms of
traditional irrigation system was emerged in West Sumatra. So far, there is no historical
evidence to explain the exact date when the first irrigated paddy was implemented in
West Sumatra; however, the indigenous people as they were told from generation to
generation, strongly believe that the first irrigation practice in this area had long been
practiced before the Hindu Era. (The Hindu period in Indonesia was marked by the
introduction of the Sanskrit language and the Pallawa script by the Indian Prince Aji
Caka, in 78 AD).
Based of a number of evidences, most traditional irrigation in West Sumatra is only
averaging 24 ha and managed by the community by themselves. However some of the
schemes involving sophisticated indigenous technology utilizing the available materials.
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Till today, the irrigation schemes of it kind are still under the well maintained, despite the
sophisticated technology with only irrigating quite a small land area. In the mountainous
area of the West Sumatra, some of the sophisticated irrigation schemes are still in
existence today. Similarly, several diversion weirs are still in good operation, which often
irrigate medium scale irrigation schemes.
During the initial introduction of traditional irrigation system, the farming community
already familiar with irrigation management, even there still an evidence that could be
seen today, in Agam Regency, an intake weir so called kapalo banda with the length
of 80 m across the river, constructed at the height of 5 m using more than 8,000 bamboo
bars. Another example is found in the Pasaman Regency, where a Kapalo Banda
constructed with traditional gabion made of bamboo so called Tikalak batu having the
lengths of tenths of meter across the river. The most famous traditional irrigation devices
in this area that could be found in along the rivers of Batang Sinamar, Batang Ombilin
and Batang Pariaman, till today is water wheel made of bamboo.
In most cases, the traditional weirs for tapping water from rivers are constructed with
simple structures made of stone, bamboo, timer and so on. These weirs are deliberately
prevented from fully watertight structure, to allow water the access water flows
downstream for maintaining natural water ecosystem along the rivers. Therefore the
water for irrigation is always shared amongst the community in the upstream, middle,
and downstream.

Environmentally Friendly Traditional Irrigation Practice
Plot-to-plot irrigation system: The most crucial aspects faced encountered by
traditional irrigation in hilly areas has been associated with the needs to maintain
sustainable ecosystem by means of plot to plot irrigation water distribution in the
cascading paddy fields. Having adequate water availability in the area, in most cases,
traditional irrigation is conducted without using any sophisticated devices. The plot-to-
plot irrigation water distribution in practice, has proven to be sustainable and
environmentally friendly
agricultural practice, since
it allows the water flow for
providing constant supply
for water requirement while
maintaining the balanced of
ecosystem along the
downstream of irrigation
plots.
During the dry season,
particularly when the
availability of irrigation
water become scarce, the
traditional farmers are
conducting proportional
irrigation distribution by
using simple water
Example of plot-to-plot irrigation system for the area
where plenty of water sources available
(environmentally friendly irrigation practice)
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distribution devices made of wooden log, sets up at horizontal level over the diversion
point in the channel. The device functions as water check, as well as water measurement
proportional to the water right volume of each individual plot, which is the improvement
of plot-to-plot water distribution during the water scarcity season.
The water regulatory device of its kind is expressed in terms of paraku or takuak
has been practiced from generation to generation in West Sumatra since the ancient time,
and yet still practiced today. Despite its strengths and weaknesses, this evidence indicates
of the existence of environmentally friendly irrigated agriculture, and tested through
time since the ancient time.
The Paraku Irigation Water Distribution Sistem: To allow appropriate, fair and
balanced irrigation water distribution for the area with limited but constantly available
sources such as in the Lintau Buo District, Tanah Datar, Regency, the plot-to-plot
irrigation distribution is not recommended. Instead, the farmers are consistently adapting
the paraku or takuak to irrigate the land area ranging between three to 12 ha per
individual block, with the average conveyance channel of about 1.5 km. The Bandar
Tongah irrigation scheme in Tanah Datar Regency, represents this figure, and currently
still under the well-operated and maintained condition.
In contrast with the plot-to-plot system the water distribution system in Bandar Tongah
Irrigation scheme is conducted by delivering the water directly to each paddy farm block
(which consists of about 50 farm plots referred to as ameh) through independent water
channels referred to as saluran cacing. In such a scheme, the canal density is more dense
as compared to the plot-to-plot system, however, farmers are committed to contribute
part of their lands for the on farm water channel alignment. For appropriate water
allocation and distribution, one or more paraku water control devices are set up on the
branching point of the on farm water channel. The device is made of weather-resisted
timber (usually the wood of jack fruit, or durian tree) placed horizontally across the farm
water channel either on primary, secondary or tertiary canals. The water distribution
conducts proportional to the
irrigation areas through two
or more, up to four
rectangular notches, cut at
the top-surface of the
wooden log. The widths and
the depths of the rectangular
notches are set up
proportional with the unit
area of the land to be
irrigated. One irrigation unit
area is referred to as an
ameh irrigation unit (one
unit consists of eight
bilah fraction units; an
ameh is equal to two
kupang fraction units; a
kupang is equal to two
An example of the Paraku water control device
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tali fraction units; and one tali is equal to two bila or jari fraction units). Thus,
one ameh =two kupang =four tali =eight bila or jari. In terms of area, one ameh
irrigation unit is convertible to about half a hectare.
In principle, the water distribution is conducted by means of continuously overflowing
the water through rectangular notches, and then diverts the individual water distribution
from the notch to each particular farm channel. The bottom level of the rectangular
notches, are set up horizontally at the same level one after another. The water flow
would then be proportional to each farm plot disregarding the fluctuation of the water
flows at the main irrigation canal. During the rainy season (the season of plenty), or
during the dry season (the season of scarcity) the water distribution would be consistently
distributed proportionally. The surplus water is normally channeled to drainage canals for
maintaining the needs of balanced natural ecosystem.

Figure 1. Schematic sketch of the Paraku traditional control device
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Operation and management of Irrigation scheme: During the irrigation season,
particularly at the beginning of the planting periods, all of farmers are committed to
involve themselves in irrigation activities, including the routine maintenance of irrigation
infrastructures and operational activities of water distribution. Especially for maintenance
of the canals, the farmers are participating spontaneously on the basis of equal treatment,
based on the previously approved commitments, disregarding the farm sizes owned by
them. However, for irrigation operation and maintenance during the crop maintenance,
two or more persons referred to as Siak Banda are specially assigned by the farmers
for conducting the routine maintenance of main canals, including minor repairs,
unplugging the canal leakages, removing the trash and garbage blocking the water flows.
The assignments of siak banda are normally based on the premise that they should be
the genuine farmer from the tail end of irrigation block to assure the fair water
distribution up to the tip end of the irrigation block. The farmers pay the Siak banda in
accordance with water allocation of each farmer at the rate of 50 kg of unhusked dry
paddy per unit ameh or about 100 kg of unhusked dry paddy per hectare per crop.
For the farmers whose lands are located outside of the hydrological boundary of
irrigation area previously determined assigned in case if the lands could obtain water
from the system, after rehabilitation work are eligible to utilize irrigation water as far as
the water is still available. However, they are not obliged to have irrigation water as if the
lands in the original irrigation area have yet adequately fulfilled. In fact, such as the
exclusive irrigated lands owners, by any chance, are prohibited to participate in irrigation
operational activities including the payment contribution to the Siak Banda. The
rationale of this regulatory principle is based on the effort to prevent the traditional water
right from excessive distribution beyond the previously determined water allocation
descended from their ancestors from generation to generations.
With regards to farmers commitment to obey the mutually developed regulatory
instrument, the traditional water users association terms as Paraku are strictly follow
the principle of ritual sanction to disobedience regarded as the sacred cow or exorcism
oath, Kaateh tidak bapucuak, kebawah tidak beurek, ditengah digiriak kumbang,
which literally means as the sanctions of the disobedient to public commitment of
irrigation would be The top will not get sprout, the root would not grow at the bottom,
and the stem at the center would be destroyed by beetle pest. Apart from the symbolic
consequences of fatal sufferings, they believe, the dishonest or the disobedient would
have, the disobedience would also excluded from the day-to-day social interaction within
the traditional community.
Water Wheel Irrigation System
The traditional water wheel technology in West Sumatra, as claimed by the traditional
farmers, has been in existence since early 14
th
Century. The device is made of bamboo,
with the shape of wheel bamboo structure, center pivoting on wooden axis by employing
the stream flow to turn the wheel for lifting the water or supplying energy for rice mill on
flower mill on top water lifting function. The water wheel usually placed at the save
location on either or both side of the straight river alignment, protected by bamboo
clumps or deep-rooted vegetations to defend the structure against occasional flood
streams.
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Initially the water wheel was utilized for rice milling and other means of food processing
as well as for other sorts of grinding tools. Through time, the water wheel had been
gradually transformed into water lifting device in terms of kincir penaik air or
irrigation wheel, with some improvement by using local materials with indigenous
technology.
Today the water wheel irrigation is still widely applied along the Batang Sinamar River
in the Lima Puluh Kota Regency, as well as along the Batang Ombilin River in the
Solok and Sawahlunto Sijunjung Regencies, and yet still under the properly maintained
condition. The magnitude of water discharge of the lifted water is the function of water
flow availability, size of bamboo tube (ladle), duration of plunge on each immersion of
bamboo tube, number of rotations as well as position of the tube against the angle of river
stream axis. However, a number of field experiments, indicate that the average water
lifting capacity of the water wheel is about one liter per second.
In general the common size of the water wheel ranging between the diameter of 5.00 m
and 9.00 m, with the gross width of 0.80 to 1.00 m. The axis usually made of hard type of
wood with the diameter of about 25 cm. The bamboo tube ladles are placed at the outer
diameter with certain angle vertically and horizontally from wheel axis. All of the
materials for constructing
the water wheel are
obtainable from local
sources. Attempts were
made by a number of
research institutions to
improve the structure of the
wheel by introducing
imported materials and
advance technology, but the
farmer refused to apply the
technology for they are not
used to the technology, and
yet the materials for
replacing the damaged
component have to be
imported from other places
which are time consuming,
and costly.
Given the fact of the underlying traditional practice of flooded irrigated paddy, the water
wheel irrigation is utilized for continuous irrigation water supply. The management
system for water wheel operation varied from place to place ranging from community
owned, built-operate, as well as, to built-operate and leasing system with the service and
operation guaranteed by the provider of the water wheel.
Socio-Cultural, and Economic Adaptations of Traditional Irrigation
The present irrigation system in West Sumatra has been demonstrating the indigenous
capacity of the traditional farmers to undertake community based irrigation development
Water wheels erected in both sides of the Batang
Lampasin River
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and management with skilful irrigated farming techniques, hard working community,
adapted to sustainable environment, as well as conducive to socio-cultural as well as
economic adaptation. The matri-linear principle of ethnicity system prohibits the
lowland paddies to be owned by individual, as well as the basic principle of traditional
democratic leadership and togetherness principles have been the strength of irrigation
based farming community to reach consensus and resolving the related conflicts.
Nevertheless, there are some evidences to indicate the existence of threats against the
sustainable traditional practices.
Firstly; The internal aspects in terms of socio-cultural dimensions are continuously
impeded by external factors resulting significant shift of values, behavior and attitude.
The farming community of Minangkabau in West Sumatra has been adapted to a number
of agricultural technologies, including improved variety, and other modern agricultural
inputs. As a result, the various technological changes brought about significant
transformation of socio cultural dimensions. The farmers are no longer conducting their
agricultural practices by virtue of mutual aid or berjulo-julo, especially for performing
land development, land preparation, transplanting and communal storage of the harvested
paddy at the community owned barn. Today, the agricultural practices are tending to be
dominated by individual profit gaining consideration rather than on community based
business approach, and hence, the farming community attitude the farmers used to have,
increasingly jeopardized by extinction. The traditional alek banda have almost been
neglected in many traditional communities. Similarly, the continuous tendency of the
Minang People to other parts of the country to some extent enlightens the ninik mamak
tradition is no longer practiced once they settled down in the outer areas of the
Minangkabau.
Secondly; The external factors that are immediately influence traditional irrigation
system in West Sumatra are associated with the excessive external supports from the
government to traditional irrigation system in terms of physical development without
considering the socio-cultural dimensions of traditional farming community. As a result,
water distribution mechanism amongst irrigation schemes are often hampered by severe
disorientations, especially where the government conducted reconstruction and
development without involving the traditional community as well as the traditional
leaders. Many, to be the impacts of dependency attitude from too much external
interventions on the already sustainable traditional irrigation schemes without
considerable attention on socio-cultural dimensions, for instance, have argued the
absence of mutual aid tradition.
LIST OF REFERENCE
Arsis Ahmad, 2003. Water Wheel for Irrigation, Department of Agricultural
Technology, University of Andalas in cooperation with Institute of Irrigation
Studies PSI-SDAL, UNAND, Padang, 2003. (In Bahasa Indonesia).
Helmi, Endry Martius, and Osmet, 1998. Adjustment of Institutional Aspects of Water
Resources Management and Empowerment of the Water Users Association,
Institute of Irrigation Studies, University of Andalas, Padang, West Sumatra,
1998. (In Bahasa Indonesia).
J ohn S. Ambler; The neglected aspect of Traditional Irrigation Management in West
Sumatra.
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Soenarno, 1978. Irrigation Component of ISSP-I, Workshop of ISSP-I, Directorate
General of Water Resources, Ministry of Settlement and Regional Infrastructures,
J akarta 1987.
Suzanne E. Siskel and S.R Hutapea, 1995. Irrigation in Indonesia, the role of
community and research, Pustaka LP3ES Indonesia, J akarta, 1995.

MSRI and INACID Brief Review of Irrigation Water Management Studies during Colonial Period
History in Brief

MSRI and INACID

SUPPLEMENT PAPER

BRIEF REVIEW OF IRRIGATION WATER
MANAGEMENT STUDIES DURING COLONIAL
PERIOD

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293
BRIEF REVIEW OF IRRIGATION WATER MANAGEMENT
STUDIES DURING COLONIAL PERIOD

ABSTRACT
The principles of water distribution are still practiced with some adjustments in their
elements. Sugarcane is no longer the first priority crop even-though the Glebagan system
is still practiced. Pasten is still used as a decision making criteria in water allocation and
the Golongan system is continually planned for the early planting season, and primarily
for efficient allocation of water and labor supply during the land preparation period.
This paper reveals the study in Pekalen Sampean that the Golongan system has been
developed in a more complex arrangement than that during the colonial past; normal
pasten however, is still fixed, not changing over time as suggested by Van der Giessen, a
concept that requires elaboration of demand for water over time. (AES, 1975).
INTRODUCTION
Serious attempts to study performance of irrigation systems in J ava date back to 1894,
when the colonial ruler examined two different regulations in water allocation in two
selected irri gation systems in East J ava namely "Pekalen" and "Pategoean" irrigation
systems (Hasselman, 1914).
The Pategoean regulation is based on the principle that the local communities should be
free to undertake water distribution in conformity with their own cultural practices. For
this purpose, available water is allocated proportionally to irrigation territorial units
1
of
the respective local communities.
The Pekalen regulation is based on the principle that water distribution should be
controlled by the government. The establishment of a yearly "cultural plan" is the main
feature of this regulation. A cultural plan consists of two major components namely the
cropping system plan and the water distribution plan (Gruyter, 1933 and Graadt van
Roggen, 1936). The cropping system plan deals with the arrangement of the crops within
a irrigation system in a given time period. The water distribution plan deals with
allocation and scheduling of water supply to meet crops demand for water of a given
cropping system plan.
The water distribution plan aimed at fair water distribution among crops within an
irrigation system, which during the colonial period implied fair water distribution
between government promoted crops (sugarcane) and farmer's crops (paddy and
secondary crops).
Pekalen regulation seemed the most likely fit to the ruler's interest in controlling water
and in promoting sugarcane so that this regulation was definitely enforced since 1901.

1
Irrigation territorial unit is not clearly defined by Hasselman. It can be either a portion of the village area,
irrigated by a certain irrigation system or sub-unit of irrigation system such as a tertiary or a secondary
unit.
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Even-though Pategoean regulation was not recommended by the colonial ruler, some
reflections of its principle were practiced in various irrigation systems in J ava
(Witzenburg, 1936). Development of the "Ulu-ulu Pembagian"
2
institution sponsored by
Humans in Pemali Comal systems, Central J ava, referred to this principle (Graadt van
Roggen, 1932 and Witzenburg, 1936). Irrigation water is proportionately distributed to
all tertiary units within the irrigation system, and Ulu-Ulu Pembagian is responsible for
water distribution within a tertiary unit.

Studies on Water Management
Studies of water management during the colonial period, therefore, were generally
undertaken within the context of Pekalen regulation, which is particularly related to
development and improvement of cultural plan.
The earlier study was undertaken by Paerels and Eysvogel (1926), who measured the
normal water supply in Pemali Comal irrigation systems, Central J ava. They defined
normal supply as that which causes no stress on crops during the crop growing season. In
Pemali Comal, it is about 0.25 liter/sec/ha to 0.35 liter/sec/ha assuming that all irrigated
areas were planted with secondary crops.
Van Maanen (1931) studied the relationship between delivery requirement and size of
irrigation unit (either tertiary or secondary unit). He stated that the greater the size of
irrigation unit, the smaller the delivery requirement. This relationship was depicted in a
well-known "Pemali curve" which has been used for a long time as the basic reference
for designing canal capacity. (Figure 1). This difference in delivery requirement,
however, was to a large extent caused by differences in water allocation. He found that
rotation system was more easily implemented in larger irrigation units.

2
Ulu-ulu is a village official responsible for water management. In Pemali Comal systems, Ulu-ulu
pembagian is responsible for water management at a tertiary unit. For further description of Ulu-ulu
system in J ava see for example Riss (1975) and Hutapea et al (1979).
Pateguhan Intake
Structures, East Java
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Vink and Hoorst (1927) measured water supply on the dry season secondary crops in a
heavy soil in East J ava and found that approximately 2,000 m
3
/ha/season was required to
irrigate corn. Further study on supply to secondary crops was done by Middleburg (1931)
in Pemali Comal schemes. He defined "Pasten"
3
as a value to indicate supply to one
"bau"
4
of crops measured at turnout. If it is not specified, Pasten is measured for 24
hour-supply per day. In Pemali Comal it ranges from 0.16 to 0.24 during the growing
season for 14 hours daily supply.
Van der Giessen (1946) used normal supply and normal pasten interchangeably to
indicate the amount of water supply required to meet agronomic optimal demand of the
crops over time in responding to the changes in growth stages, rainfall, and moisture
content of the soil. He suggested, for operational purposes, the normal Pasten should be
predetermined in every two weeks period during the crop growing season.
L/sec/ha
3.00
2.00
1.60
1.25
1.00
0.80
0 35 70 140 210 280 350 420 490 560 630 700
Figure l. The Pemali Curve:
Relationship between area irrigated and water supply (from Van Mannen,
1931)
As a further consequence of the cultural plan, in April 1928, the colonial ruler established
a new institution, namely the "Golongan System"
5
(Gruyter, 1933). The two functions of
the Golongan system were :
1. as a cropping system plan.
2. as a water distribution plan.
As a cropping system plan it aimed at continuous provision of land for sugarcane
plantation, therefore continuously guarantying the level of sugarcane production. As a
water distribution plan it aimed at efficient and fair distribution of water among the crops
planted in an irrigation system.

3
Pasten in J avanese means fixed by God, so that no one i s allowed to alter the amount of water allocated.
4
One Bau is equal to 0.71 Ha.
5
Golongan system refers to the staggering of planting dates successively among sections of irrigation
systems, early in the planting season.
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Van Maanen (1931) provided an illustration of how the Golongan system was visualized
as a water distribution plan. He described it as one of the forms of rotational system that
occurred in the early period of the planting season. Water was allocated successively
among sections of irrigation system based on relative demand of area irrigated of each
section (Figure 2).
The number of sections required for the Golongan system depend on the increase of flow
into irrigation system and to some extent on the availability of labor for land-preparation.
If for example five sections are planned for a certain system in a planting season but the
increase in flow enables the last section to receive irrigation earlier, the land preparation
for that section can be started earlier provided there are no constraints in labor
availability. In this case then, we have four sections of Golongan system for that
particular season.
The appropriate section of Golongan is a tertiary unit with the-maximum size of 100 Ha.
(Van der Giessen, 1946). By this arrangement it is possible to split the total area irrigated
in a village into several sections of Golongan so that labor supply for land preparation
can be appropriately scheduled.
Ideally, the Golongan system should be rotated every year (the last section planted one
year is the first to be planted the following year) to ensure equal benefits over time
among farmers in different sections of Golongan; some exception however might occur
as noticed by Van der Giessen (1946) in Gung irrigation systems. The northern portion of
this system, which is located close to the coast, is always planted in a first section from
year to year. This is necessary to avoid pest outbreaks that occur if the area is planted to
paddy later in the season.
L/sec/ha
1,15 A L/sec/ha
1.25
1.00
0.75
0.50
0.25
0
1
5

O
c
t
3
1

O
c
t
1
5

N
o
v
3
0

N
o
v
1
5

D
e
c
3
1

D
e
c
1
5

J
a
n
3
1

J
a
n
1
5

F
e
b
2
8

F
e
b
1
5

M
r
t
3
1

M
r
t
1
5

A
p
r
3
0

A
p
r
TI ME
Figure 2. Water allocation over time in Golongan system.
Notes - The shades in this figure indicates water allocation to the differential golongan. In the
beginning of the season water is given only to the first golongan, than to the first and second
golongan and later after the water is sufficient it is given to all Four golongans.
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One of the relevant issues
related to the implement-
tation of the Golongan
system was allocation of
water among the farmers
crops (paddy and
secondary crops) and
sugarcane. Fair water
distribution during the
colonial period was
implemented in a form of
"day and night rotation
schedule" during critical
water supply. The
farmers crops received
water at night and
sugarcane during the day.
This regulation was
considered unfair by the farmers, because sugarcane demanded less water than paddy and
also because under "Glebagan regulation"
6
the sugarcane only occupied one third of the
area irrigated in each village.
Construction of field reservoirs during 1918 to 1926 in the area planted to sugarcane was
intended to overcome this water distribution problem. Swaan (1933) noted that in the
tertiary supplemented by field reservoir pasten value can be maintained relatively high
compared to the tertiary unit without field reservoir. He further stated that equal
distribution of water can be undertaken since either surplus or deficit in available water
can be shared equally between paddy and secondary crops on one side and sugarcane on
another side. The change of pasten value before and after construction of field reservoirs,
however, was not mentioned.
The development of field reservoirs was criticized by Metzelaar (1927) as not much
affecting the cropping system particularly in the area planted to paddy. It was only useful
to irrigate secondary crops and therefore their effectiveness to improve water distribution
was yet uncertain. He noted further that better water distribution was not dependent on
the availability of field reservoirs but on appropriate decisions and control of water
allocation to the crops and paddy parcels within a tertiary unit.
A further effort to improve performance of water distribution in a tertiary unit was the
introduction of "an hourly rotation schedule" in the period of critical supply, particularly
in the area planted to paddy. However, the criteria required to undertake this rotation was
not specified.
For the area planted to secondary crops, daily scheduling was recommended by Swaan
(1933). He indicated that irrigation rotation for secondary crops can be scheduled in two-
week intervals, and generally secondary crops only require four to six events of flooding
during a planting season.

6
Under Glebagan regulation, about one third of the area irrigated of the proposed village is always in cane
and the farmers are forced to rent this land to the factory.
Field reservoir for temporary water storage on daily basis
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The criteria of water allocation among crops probably had been refined before 1936
when general water law was enforced (Van der Ploeg, 1937). It involved the relative
irrigation requirement (RIR) for the farmers crops and sugarcane and particularly for
paddy, this requirement was further differentiated between the land preparation and
growing periods.
The value of RIR varies from one irrigation system to another. In East J ava, in eastern
portion of Pekalen Sampean irrigation systems, the ratio of RIR is 3:1:1 for paddy,
sugarcane and secondary crops respectively. In Madiun, the western part of East J ava, the
ratio of RIR is 3:1.5:1 for similar crops. Paerels and Eysvogel (1926) noticed that in the
Gung irrigation system of Pemali Comal, the ratio of RIR is 5:3:2 for paddy, sugarcane
and secondary crops respectively. Variation of this ratio is influenced by factors such as
topography, ground water surface, rainfall and growing stages of crops. In the area where
such RIR was not yet established, the normative RIR was recommended (Van der Ploeg,
1937). The ratio of normative RIR is 4:3:1.5:1 for paddy, fishponds, sugarcane and
secondary crops respectively.
Related to water allocation is the question of appropriate unit of water distribution
organization. Clason (1926) stated that Ulu-Ulu Pembagian organized around the tertiary
unit is more advantageous than village Ulu-Ulu system, which is organized around the
village territorial unit. One of the reasons is that irrigation bureaucracy does not
necessarily deal with more than one Ulu-Ulu to distribute water to each tertiary unit as in
the case of the village Ulu-Ulu system. This U1u-Ulu Pembagian system however, only
existed in some of the area of Pemali Comal irrigation systems and probably their
expansion was constrained by the fact that the village Ulu-Ulu system had been
established a long time before.
Institutional development of a water management system at farm level in J ava and in Bali
was reviewed by Happe (1935), Witzenburg (1936) and Polderman and Graadt van
Roggen (1936). One of the controversial issues was centered around whether irrigation
organization should be based on Balinese irrigation bounded system or J avanese village
bounded system. This issue however, has never been resolved even during the
postcolonial period.
Basic to the development of water management is the development of physical
infrastructure or hard-ware component of irrigation system. Blommenstein (in Hendriks,
1979) based on the development of hydraulic engineering application in irrigation found
that there are three stages of hard-ware technological development in J ava. The following
description is to fit the soft-ware component in each stage of Blommenstein
classification.
The first stage is the development of irrigation system in the hilly area where the
relatively simple hydraulic principle was used to deliver water into its service area. The
communal systems and the early development of irrigation system by colonial ruler is
included in this stage. The rule for water delivery is usually "continuous" and the need
for water control is relatively minimum.
The second stage is the development of large-scale irrigation system in low land area,
with the primary emphasize on the main delivery system. The problem of water
allocation persisted during this stage, and the principle for water allocation were tested.
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The results from experiments were used as feed-back for design criteria of canal. (Pemali
curve by Van Maanen, and Normal supply by Paerels and Eysvogel).
The third stage was indicated by further refinement of the water allocation system by
further development of the physical infrastructures (field reservoirs, tertiary and
quaternary distribution system). The concept of Pasten and Golongan system was
developed during this stage where the information on crops planted and scheduling were
taken into consideration.
During the postcolonial period the changes in cultivation practices in irrigation systems
occurred quite rapidly and were to some extent induced by the change in technology and
the increasing demand for foods.
The principles of water distribution are still practiced with some adjustments in their
elements. Sugarcane is no longer the first priority crop even-though the Glebagan system
is still practiced.
Pasten is still used as a decision making criteria in water allocation and the Golongan
system is continually planned for the early planting season not for the purpose of
continuous supply of land for sugarcane, but primarily for efficient allocation of water
and labor supply during the land preparation period.
No further studies focus on the refinement of water allocation criteria or on the
adjustments of the components of cultural plan in response to the change in cultivation
practices. RISS (1975) found some cases of distortion of the existing water allocation
system in some of irrigation system in Central J ava.
Study in Pekalen Sampean reveals that the Golongan system has been developed in a
more complex arrangement than that during the colonial past; normal pasten however, is
still fixed, not changing over time as suggested by Van der Giessen, a concept that
requires elaboration of demand for water over time. (AES, 1975).

BIBLIOGRAPHY
AES, 1975. Benefit Monitoring Study of Rentang Irrigation Project West J ava (Second
Study, sample survey I, 1977/78) Agro Economic survey report No. 4/80/2.
Clason, E.W.H., 1936. Econonasche beschouwingen over de izrigative op J ava on
Madoera, (Eeconomic evaluation for irrigation in J ava and Madura) De
inginieur Netherlandsch, lndie.
Graadt van Roggen, J .F. 1935. Plant en water regelingen in de Provinciale waterstaats
afdeling "Pemali Comal" Plant and water control in Pemali Comal irrigation
scheme. De ingenieur in Ncdcrlandsh-Indie 1935.
Gruyter, De P., 1933. Plant en water regelingen (plant and water control) De
waRcrstaats. Ingenieur No. 1. 1933.
Happe, P.L.E.,1936; Water bchecr and water schappen: De Ingenieur in Nederlandsh
Indie, No. 8-1936.
Hasselman, C, J . 1914. Algemeen overzcht van de uitkomsten van het welvaart
onderzoek, gehoudcn op J ava en Madoera in 1904-1905. S'gravenhage:Martinus
Nijhoff, 1944.
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300
Hendriks, Willem J ., 1979. Dacrah aliran sungai Cimanuk sebagai suatu ekosistem.
Pengendalian dan penguasaan air dan tanah. (Cimanuk river basin as an
ecosystem. Control on water Land). Lokakarya sejarah sosial ekonomi
pedesaan, Cipayung 22-24 J anuari 1979. Survai Agro ekonomi, Erasmus
Universiteit Rottcrdam, Institut Pertanian Bogor.
Maanen, Th. D. Van, 1931. Irrigatie in Nederlandsch indie. (Irrigation in Indonesia),
Uitgave, Visser and co., Batavia.
Metzelaar, J .Th., 1932: Het wadoekstelsel en zijn waarde voor den Landbouw
(Buiteuzorg, J ava) V II, 1931/32.
Middleburg, D.J .A.,1937. Waarnemingen Betreffende water verbruik op Mais,
Aardnoten en Uien in de Rcsidentie Pekalongan in 1930, 1931, en 1932.
(Observation on water requirement of corn, peanuts, and onion in Pelcalongan in
1930, 1931 and 1931). Landbouw, Buitzenzorg, J ava, XII, No. 9, 1937.
Paerels, B.H. en Eysvogcl, W.F.,1926. Eenige opmerkingen omtrent waterverdeeling.
De waterstaats ingenieur 14 (1926): 338-378.
RISS, 1975. A Research on Water management at the Farm Level. An Indonesia case
study. Research institute in social Sciences. Satyawacana-University Salatiga--
Indonesia, 1975.
Swaan, W., 1933. water verdccling in Het tertiare vak. (water distribution in Tertiary
Unit), de waterstaat ingenieur, No 7, 1931.
Van der Giessen, C., 1946. Bevloeing van Rijst op J ava en Madoera, (irrigation of rice
in J ava and madura) Landbouw, Batavia, J ava, XIX, P 99-121.
Van der Ploeg, J . 1937. Eenige Landbouwkundige aanteekeningen bij het algemeen
waterreglement 1936. (Some agricultural notes regarding general water law),
Landbouw (Buitenzprg, J ava) XIII No. 7/8 P 1-24.
Witzenburg, J . H. van, 1936, Wartcrbeheer en waterschappen (irrigation management
and irrigation scheme), de ingenieur in Nederlansch indie, vo16.

MSRI and INACID An Outline Review of Lawland Development in Indonesia
History in Brief

MSRI and INACID

SUPPLEMENT PAPER

AN OUTLINE REVIEW OF IRRIGATION BASED
TRANSMIGRATION PROGRAM IN INDONESIA

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AN OUTLINE REVIEW OF IRRIGATION BASED
TRANSMIGRATION PROGRAM IN INDONESIA
1

By:A.Hafied A. Gany

ABSTRACT
The Irrigation Based Transmigration Program in Indonesia if one of several human
resettlements endeavors, conducted in the objective of improving the distribution of
human resources in the country. The program is meant to modify population density
by resettling people from the heavily populated areas on the Inner Islands (J ava,
Madura, Bali, and Lombok Islands), into areas with least population of the Outer
Islands of the archipelago, thereby contributing to large-scale development that are
currently lagging behind in development.
Based on previous experience, however, indicates that the Transmigration process has
met with varying levels of success and the development of new irrigated lands for
human settlement often falls short of expectations. Some of the reasons for this are
purely budget related. However, there are also other reasons both technical and non-
technical, that can explain the often disappointing-rate of development. In fact, the
successful implementation of a transmigration scheme demands not only good
engineering but also a wide range of appropriate and timely socio-economic, and to
some extents, cultural supports.
This paper presents a brief analysis of the main problems encountered and the
formulation of specific strategies and recommendations for technical and socio-
economical interventions that may improve the success of irrigation based
transmigration program in the future.
INTRODUCTION
The Republic of Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world; its
population reached about 168 million in 1986 and is estimated to be 220 million in 2004.
According to a census undertaken by the Dutch Colonial Government in 1930, the total
population of the country at that time was 60,727,233 (Wijoyonitisastro, 1970:106). The
rapid increase in population in the last half century has caused serious problems. What
makes the problem especially acute is the fact that 120 million people, or more than 60%
of the total population alone, live on J ava, which constitutes only about 7% of the
country's land area.
The resettlement program was initiated by the. Dutch Colonial Government in 1905, as
an instrument that served a number of colonial goals and interests by moving people
from J ava, Madura, Bali, and Lombok Islands (the "inner" island) to the less densely

1
This supplement paper has been based on Chapter III of Ph.D. Thesis, The University of Manitoba,
Canada entitled: The Irrigation Based Transmigration Program in Indonesia; An Interdisciplinary Study
of Population Settlement and Related Strategies by A. Hafied A. Gany, 1993.
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populated areas in the "outer" islands.
2
The program was interrupted by Second World
War but resumed five years after Indonesia obtained its independence. At that time it
aimed primarily at two goals, namely, increasing the labor supply in the areas of
resettlement for an intended early industrialization and to create a more even
population distribution between the Inner and the Outer Islands.
During the long history of the program more than two million people have been resettled
constitutes at one of the largest population resettlement in this century. In terms of
demographic impact on the population of J ava this figure is rather insignificant.
However, a report by the World Bank (1988:iii) stated that according to some studies, the
transmigration had a significant beneficial effect on local employment and regional
development.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The problem of over population in rural J ava had already become noticeable when the
population of the island approached about 30 million people early in the 19
th
century. At
that time, two direct causes of poverty in J ava were identified, the fragmentation of
agricultural lands, and the escalating growth of the population beyond the agricultural
resource base. But during the 19th century the Dutch Colonial Government can do
nothing to anticipate resolving this problem.
In the meantime, however, events took place that gradually brought a change in the
colonial policy, which until then had caused serious and persistent impoverishment of the
population, especially in J ava. The changes were in part of an attempt to improve the
social and economic conditions of the people. For this reason the new colonial policy
was called the "Etische Politiek", or the ethical policy. The new welfare program had as
its slogan "Irrigation, Emigration and Education".
There were also political reasons for the change: From 1840 onward -- after recovering
from the costly J ava War (Diponegoro Government began to pay more attention to the
Outer Islands, if for no other reason than to prevent other European colonial power from
intervening (Tirtosudarmo, 1990:2-3). By the end of the 19
th
century, the Dutch
Colonial policy was firmly committed to expanding Dutch control over the entire
archipelago.
In 1902 the Dutch Colonial Government commissioned a study to examine the
possibility of resolving the problem of overpopulation and land fragmentation on
J ava where the large local population surplus was regarded by the Dutch as a
potential source of political tension and unrest. This study recommended moving
people from J ava to the sparsely populated areas in other parts of Indonesia. In
response to this recommendation, the first resettlement experiment was carried out
three years later by moving 155 families from J ava to Lampung, Southern Sumatra.
This was the start of an unprecedented human resettlement program in Indonesia. The
objective of the resettlement program was not only to reduce the population pressure

2
At that time, the program was referred to by the Dutch Colonial Government as "Colonisatie",
known in Indonesia as "kolonisasi", then later transformed into "Transmigrasi" or trans-
migration after Indonesia obtained its independence from the Dutch Colonial Government.
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in J ava but also to
contribute to the
development of the
sparsely populated "Outer
Islands"
3
by providing
more manpower for
agricultural development.
A number of stages can be
distinguished in the history
of the resettlement program.
The first stage started in
1905 when, under the
certificate of approval #46,
dated October 19th, 1905,
migration was initiated by
H. G. Heytings who, with
the help of two assistants and two irrigation water masters,
4
moved 155 families from
J ava to Gedong Tataan in the South Lampung District of Southern Sumatra.
5

Colonial Dutch Gulden and credit to a maximum of 300 Gulden.
6
The credit carried an
annual interest rate of nine percent with a two-year grace period.
The third phase occurred between 1929 and 1941, coinciding with the Great World
Depression and the beginning of the Second World War. In this phase the rate of
settlement increased. According to Heeren, (1967:8), a total of 189,983 people were
resettled to the Outer Islands in the period from 1905 to 1941.
The second stage of resettlement, from 1911 to 1929, was called "The Lampung Bank of
Credit" period. By the end of 1911, there were only 4,818 J avanese migrants in Lampung
(Heeren, 1979:10). At that time the Bank of Credit was established by the Dutch
Colonial Government to provide the transmigrant families with a cash bonus of 22.5

3
The term "outer island" was first introduced by Geertz (Geertz, 1963) to refer to the islands in
Indonesia other than J ava, Madura, Bali and Lombok, which are referred to as the "inner
islands" The outer islands are predominantly the transmigrant destination areas, while the
inner islands are the transmigrant source areas.
4
This information was supplied to the author in 1970 by Sabikoen (The retired chief of
Central Lampung Public Works Service), and also in his unpublished report, "Historical
Background of I rrigation in Lampung". Sabikoen was involved in the preparation of
irrigation infrastructures for this pioneer settlement.
5
The exact location was in the Gedong Tataan area in the Lampung District of Southern
Sumatra. Since 1964, the Lampung District has become an independent province separated
from the South Sumatra Province.
6
Based upon information obtained from interviews by the author with some retired land
surveyors. The value of Gulden (the Dutch Colonial Government currency) was estimated
by means of comparing the price of white rice, at that time about 10 to 15 kg per one
Gulden, to a current exchange rate in I ndonesia of about US$0.415 per one Gulden (April
2004).
Way Semah-1 Weir, in Gedong Tataan is amongst the
oldest irrigation infrastructures for the pioneer
transmigrant settlers in Lampung Region
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Some years after the country had obtained its independence, resettlement was resumed.
Between 1950 and 1974, some 500,518 people, averaging 24,021 people per annum were
resettled in the Outer Islands. It was predicted by J ones that the overall achievement of
the transmigration program since its early implement-tation until 1974 would be slightly
less than one million people (991,000), (Jones, as quoted by Heeren, 1967: ix).
In the third five-year development plan (Repelita III, 1979-1984) the transmigration
program was increased substantially. While by 1980, a total of about one million people
had been resettled in the entire program, during Repelita III 366,000 families, and nearly
1.5 million people were sponsored for resettlement in the outer islands. During this
period, transmigration was the largest voluntary government sponsored settlement
program in the world (World Bank, 1983:3). Nevertheless, it has been argued that
population redistribution role of transmigration has been exaggerated due to the fact that
there are also some movement from J ava to the Outer Islands outside of the
transmigration program.
AN OVERVIEW OF TRANSMIGRATION PROGRAM
Definition of Transmigration
Transmigration is officially defined in the Basic Transmigration Acts [1972]as:
"...the resettlement and/or relocation of population from one
region to another within the territory of Indonesia in the
framework of national development or for other reasons
considered necessary by the government......".
The program is aimed at creating a more even population distribution over the country's
territory, while at the same time promoting regional development in the resettlement
areas and the areas of origin, as well as fostering national integration and unity and
strengthening national security.
Categories: Indonesian transmigrants are classified into four broad categories: (1)
General transmigrants, consisting of landless agricultural laborers or subsistence farmers
who are supported by the government through agricultural land, transportation, housing,
social services, and initial agricultural equipment and other inputs; (2) Local
transmigrants, consisting of local people originating from the resettlement areas, who are
given the same facilities and supports as general transmigrants; (3) Registered
spontaneous transmigrants, which are those who move at their own expense, or are partly
assisted by the government and settle where they prefer. Registered spontaneous
transmigrant is referred to as "swakarsa berbantuan" or partly assisted spontaneous
transmigrant (Otten, 1980:41); and (4) Unregistered spontaneous transmigrants, which
are the unassisted and unregistered transmigrants, to join their relatives in the
resettlement locations.
Resettlement under the transmigration program has been based on at least four types of
projects: (1) The so called irrigation-based projects, which were developed earlier in the
history of transmigration. This development gradually slowed down in 1970 when
government investment in irrigation was sharply reduced due to financial constraints; (2)
Swamp-reclamation based projects, mostly in Kalimantan and the eastern part of
Sumatra; (3) rainfed based projects, which are intended to support rainfed agriculture in
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the Outer Islands, where irrigation is not possible or not economically feasible; and (4)
Cash-crop based schemes, conducted under the Nucleus Estate and Small-holder
Program (NES),
7
and which cultivate palm oil, rubber, coconut, sugar cane and cotton for
the production of cash crops (World Bank,1988: xix).
Objectives of the Transmigration Program
The objectives of the transmigration program are demographic, political and economical
in nature. Three demographic parameters must be considered in the justification of the
need for, and the goals of, the transmigration program. These are: the size, the growth,
and the distribution of the population. This population pattern of size, growth and
distribution are seen by the government of Indonesia as crucial obstacles to the country's
development. The transmigration is therefore regarded as an important tool in the attempt
to reduce land and population pressure and to obtain a better demographic balance.
The transmigration program is also considered to be a means of "national integration" of
the 370 ethnic groups that live in Indonesia and that speak 67 major languages.
8
This
integration is pursued by including and integrating the local people into the new
communities and by structuring the settlement pattern so as to promote sedentary
agricultural practices thereby reducing shifting cultivation and hunting and gathering that
is still practiced in the sparsely populated areas, By thus striving for what is called
"national resilience", the transmigration program is regarded as vital to Indonesia's
national security.
Finally, economic development is' also a major objective of the transmigration program.
This objective is pursued by reducing the negative impacts of the population in J ava as
well as by providing the Outer Islands with more adequate manpower in the agricultural
sector.
DEVELOPMENTAL CONCEPTS OF THE TRANSMIGRATION PROGRAM
The success of a transmigration project depends on its ability to create new settlements
and villages which form rural communities that are both economically and spiritually
sound and that maintain a stable and
.
balanced utilization of natural and human resources.
Five stages can be distinguished in the development of stable settlements. These are: (1)
the period of survival, (2) the stabilization period, (3) the period of becoming self
supporting, (4) the period of development, and (5) the completion period in which the
project development sustains itself (Directorate General of Transmigration, 1970). The
most critical stage is the survival period, followed by the stabilization period. If the
transmigrants survive the first five or six years, then their settlement can most likely be
termed a success.
The five development stages are shown diagrammatically in Figure 1. This figure
indicates that a high resource input is needed during the early stage of settlement, when
the resource output is still low. This implies that during this critical stage the
transmigrants should receive significant support to meet their basic needs while they are
pursuing their initial resettlement activities. No revenue can be expected from the

7
This program began in 1978 and was mostly based on tree crops plantation (World Bank, 1988).
8
Iwan Gayo, 1990. "Buku Pintar Indonesia": p. 9.
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transmigrants until they become used to the new way of life and the new environmental
situation. The most important requirement during the "survival stage" is to achieve initial
adaptation
9
and a dependable food supply as well as supply of other necessary
agricultural inputs.
Balance Point of Input and Output
Implementation Time
YEAR
INPUT
OUTPUT
D
e
v
e
l
o
p
m
e
n
t

P
r
o
g
r
e
s
s

0
A
B
C
D
E
1 2 3 4 5
LEGEND
A =Survival Stage
B =Stabilization Stage
C =Self Supporting Stage
D =Development Stage
E =Self Generating Stage

Figure 1. Development Stages of the Transmigration Resettlement
The second and third years, which constitute the "stabilization period", should also be
carefully observed, because in many instances the first and the second crops suffer from
problems such as agricultural pests and nutrient deficiencies. If the first two stages are
successful, then the farmer will most likely get substantially more revenue, which he
needs to carry him through the third or "self supporting stage".
At the fourth stage, the period of "development", the transmigrant should be encouraged
to implement a saving plan, to begin family budgeting and to establish, with other
farmers, a cooperative marketing system to deal with crop production. Toward the last
phase, which is the "period of sustainable development", the transmigrants should have
the ability to sustain themselves and to be no longer dependent on the implementing
agencies.

9
The importance of initial adaptation to resettlement is also pin pointed by Fernea based upon experience
in the Egyptian Nubian Resettlement. (Fernea, R. A. and J . Kennedy, 1966).
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ADMINISTRATION OF THE TRANSMIGRATION PROGRAM
Resettlement through the transmigration program requires a good deal of inter-agency
coordination. The Ministry of Transmigration has a major responsibility for the physical
implementation. This ministry has regional offices that are scattered over all provincial
government administrations. However, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is responsible for
coordinating and organizing the people that are involved while the Ministry of Public
Works is responsible for land clearing, irrigation substructure and for road construction.
The Ministry of Agriculture together with several other ministries are in charge of natural
resources, The Agency for Economic Planning, the Ministries of Health, of Education
and of Community Development, as well as the ubiquitous Treasury Board, are other
departments involved. These authorities should establish a working relationship through
a consultative mechanism. This usually takes the form of an "advisory body", which
ensures that a clear working responsibility, which can operate in accordance with
specified schedules and terms of reference, exists in the bureaucratic structure.
10

Provision of Irrigated Lands: Each family receives from the government a small
standard house on 0.25 ha of land in the newly established village, together with 1.00 ha
of cleared land that can potentially be used for an irrigated paddy field and another 0.75
ha of upland for orchards and other upland crop cultivation. The location of the
agricultural land is presumed to lie within a reasonable walking distance from the village.
The transmigrants are also provided with supplies of food and other necessities for one
year, until the first crop is harvested. In addition to the above supplies and facilities, the
transmigrants are also provided with planting materials for orchards and minor crops,
with small livestock, and with the agricultural equipment and facilities they need.
Achievement Of The Demographic Objective: In terms of the resettled number of
people the transmigration program has achieved a degree of success. It managed to
resettle 52,000 families during the second Five Year Development Plan (1974-1979), a
figure, which rose to 366,000 families or nearly 1.5 million people during the period of
1979-1984.
While by 1980 about one million people had been resettled through sponsored
transmigration, the population of the Outer Islands has increased by about two million
people as the combined result of migration and the natural increase associated with it.
The total resettlement figures are presented in Table -1, and the resettlement distribution
is presented in Table -2, figure-2 shows the flow of transmigrants graphically.
In terms of its effect on the over-population, the results of the program are not
spectacular. The data indicate that over 34 years about one million five hundred thousand
people were resettled. From the view point of demographic impact, this represents only
1.50 of the total inner islands' population or only 150 of the population growth
during that period (World Bank, 1988).

10
According to Presidential Decree No.59/1984, regarding inter-agency coordination for
transmigration implementation. "...transmigration implementation is solely the jurisdiction
of the Ministry of Transmigration, but the execution should be coordinated with the other
relevant ministries, the Ministry of Public Works, the Ministry of Agricultures, the
Ministry of Forestry, the Ministry of Transportations, the Ministry of Cooperative Affairs,
the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Environment, and the Agency for Economic
Planning and other government institutions..." (Article 1.).
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Table 1 List of Achievement of Semi-voluntary assisted migration in Indonesia,
1950-1984
o]

Year of
Arrival
Five-
year
plan
Total
families
moved
Local
families
}
Families
Resettled
)
Total
families
settled
Total
people
settled
1950-54 - 21,037 0 1,280 22,317 87, 000
1955-59 - 32,114 0 128 32,242 134, 000
1960-64 - 26,456 0 0 26,456 111, 000
1965-69 - 21,633 0 0 21,633 92, 000
1969-74 (I) 39,436 0 75 39,511 176,000
1974-79 (II) 44,484 7,600 0 52,084 228,000
Subtotal 185,160 7,600 1,483 194,243 828,000
1979-84 (III) 301,279 22,284 42,414 365,977
D

) 1
,
492
,
000
Grand Total 486,439 29,974 43,987 560
,
220 2
,
320
,
000
Notes:
o ] Settlement figures varied widely in government publications.
} Indigenous families who have been settled in transmigration sites.
) Resettlement of sponsored or spontaneous migrants from within the province.
) Government also found about 170,000 families moved spontaneously.
Source: Official Summary of Pelita III, Ministry of Transmigration as quoted by the World
Bank (1988)
4
2
7
.
1
0
0
4
0
.
2
0
0
9
8
.7
0
0
32.200
Person /km
2
10 - 100
100 - 300
300 - 600
600 - 1.000
Over 11.000
Transmigration Families
MALAYSIA
SINGAPORE
BRUNAI
THE PHILIPPINES
AUSTRALIA
MALAYSIA
Figure 2. The Flow of Transmigration Movement in Indonesia (1950-1986)
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Table 2. Resettlement Distribution of Transmigration (1950-1986)
Resettlement Distribution (Families) Year
Sumatera Kalimantan Sulawesi Irian Jaya Total
1950/54 20,400 1,400 500 - 22,300
1955/59 28,900 2,600 700 - 32,200
1960/64 21,000 4,500 1,000 - 26,500
1965/69 16,500 2,100 2,700 300 21,600
1970/74 22,000 6,000 11,400 100 39,500
1975/79 33,000 11,000 9,000 2,000 55,000
1980/84 227,000 70,600 51,700 16,600 366,000
1985/86 58,200 42,000 21,700 13,200 135,100
Total 427,100 140,200 98,700 32,300 698,200
Percent 61% 20% 14% 5% 100%

Notes:
o) Includes the Maluku (Moluccas) and other small eastern islands Source: Ministry of Transmigration
Nevertheless, the cumulative effect of the resettlement even at these rates is still
significant. According to the projections of the World Bank, the population of Java
will be 9% less by the year 2020 than it would have been without the program and
the increase in the labor force will be 19% less. The sponsored migration alone, without
the accompanying unassisted spontaneous migration would reduce the expected 2020
population in Java by 3-4% and absorb 7-8% of the increase in labor force (World Bank,
1988, pp. iii-iv).

EMPLOYMENT CREATION AND TRANSMIGRANT WELFARE
In terms of employment creation, significant achievements can be attributed to the
transmigration program. It is estimated that the transmigrants created about 18 million
man-days of work. This amounts to 63,000 man-years of full-time work, which is
roughly 100 working days in a year for 240,000 workers (World Bank, 1988:xxiv).
Within the third Five Year Development Plan about 500,000 to 600,000 permanent jobs
were created by the program, at a cost of US$3,000 to US$4,000 per job in rainfed food
crop schemes, and US$3, 500 to US$4, 500 per job in orchard-based settlements. These
figures do not include the indirect job creation occurring as a result of the transmigration
program. The cost figures of the employment rates created by the transmigration program
are relatively high in comparison to the employment income level in the services sector
in Indonesia but low in comparison to the level of income the in industrial sector which is
averaging about US$ 10,000 - US$20,000 per job.
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The third problem was that the newly established government had no experience in social
and economic planning, nor in the implementation of social change. As a result
considerable emphasis was placed on the physical and economical aspects of the
planning while the social aspects were largely ignored.
Recently the social dimensions of development have become a major concern of the
government and more emphasis is being placed on social policy and planning in the
transmigration program. Until now, however, the social aspects have been studied in the
relatively narrow context of direct past experience. A more systematic approach to the
social implications of the development is needed.
Social planning of transmigration
As with other other programs, proper social planning is crucial to the failure or success of
a transmigration program. The planner should consider three aspects:
(1) the physical environment for the transmigrant, that is their new habitat, the
resettlement area, the roads, the buildings, the schools, the markets and so on;
(2) their social development, in terms of the development of the new institutions that are
needed, encouragement of new attitudes, the provision of teachers, medical aid,
agricultural extension officers and the like; and
(3) the actual transfer of the people, including transportation, moving of livestock and
belongings, reception and settlement in the relocation areas, and measures to maintain
socio-ecological balance at the time they arrive and are adjusting themselves to the new
area.
A crucial aspect of the actual planning of a transmigration project is the time required for
the planning activity. On the one hand, considerable time is needed for the collection of
the necessary data and their incorporation in planning. On the other hand, there is usually
a great urgency to start the resettlement as soon as possible. A compromise between
these conflicting demands is evidently necessary.
The social surveys that were conducted in the past depended mostly on old human and
animal census data. Consequently, many problems were hidden and conclusions were
often substantially biased. When foreign aid was involved, the planning policy was often
dictated by expatriate consultants and the planning rarely included the local citizens. As a
result the approach of the planners was usually far too academic. They frequently
neglected the most important information such as (1) present settlement pattern; (2)
housing types; (3) the social networks between dwellings; (4) the existing land use
system; (5) the attitude of people toward farming and toward past attempts of the
government to introduce agricultural innovation; (6) the leadership structure and the
relevant aspects of the social organization and social values; and (7) the attitude of the
local people with respect to the influx of people from outside the area.
In addition to the necessary physical and social surveys, the planning should also include
economic and ecological surveys. The following aspects should be considered: (1) the
nature of available resources including natural vegetation, animal habitat, river fish
populations etc.; (2) the length of the agricultural season; (3) the present economic
situation of the people to be resettled; (4) division of labor forces by gender and age; (5)
the amount of time spent by each type of laborer for different crops and activities
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throughout agricultural cycles; (6) new techniques and agricultural implements; (7) the
abilities and interests of the local population in implementing new techniques; (8) the
nature of community development services; and (9) credit and marketing facilities.
One of the difficulties of fostering development in Indonesia through the transmigration
resettlement program is the ethnic diversity of the people. There are 370 ethnic groups
with 67 major languages a feature, which demonstrates the extent to which the country is
multi-dimensional in culture and traditional heritage. This makes social planning
difficult. Values, which apply to a particular ethnic group but may be inappropriate in
other groups. Before deciding on the resettlement location, the socio-cultural dimensions
and values of the ethnic groups that will be affected by the resettlement program should
be clearly understood. Otherwise, the resettlement may create more serious ethnic
problems instead of achieving the development objectives. This problem is aggravated by
the fact that the transmigration is based on small land holding practice. The multitude of
farm units means that more people are involved, a feature which increases the social
problems.
Transmigration is, therefore, always accompanied with its social complications. Such
accompaniment adds to the cost of the undertaking, depending on the nature of the policy
and the objective of the resettlement, especially if it includes the cost of prolonged food
relief, the loss of human productivity, low motivation and so on.
PROBLEMS AND CONSTRAINTS
STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS
Problems of Land Allocation
One of the most significant problems of transmigration implementation is land allocation
and compensation for property lost by the local inhabitant.
11
Often, the land is
undervalued while the compensation claimed by the local people is unjustified. This is
the more serious when the implementation is poorly or hurriedly undertaken because of
inadequate funds or inexperienced personnel.
Unclear land ownership is another problem that besets the settlers. This problem is
especially complicated when dealing with "absentee land ownership" (i.e. when land
owners do not reside in the area where the lands are administered). The problem is acute
since, at the present time in Indonesia, there is no affordable land registration program
that is responsive to the needs of small-holders (World Bank, 1988).
12

An important contributing factor to the problems of land allocation is inadequate site
preparation and poor logistic planning prior to the arrival of the transmigrants. Very often
the construction of new settlements, including land clearing, provision of facilities and
housing and land administration, is still incomplete when the transmigrants arrive. Site
selection and clearing is often done on a "plan-as-you-proceed basis" so as to give the

11
The problem of land allocation and land compensation also hampered a number of large
dam displacements in I ndia (Singh, in Fernandes, 1989:91-103).
12
Based upon experience in the difficulty of solving land problems in the past, the. Government of
Indonesia has paid special attention to the importance of proper land administration. This is evident
from the establishment of State Ministry of Agrarian Affairs in the Sixth (1993-98) Development
Cabinet of Indonesia (J akarta Post, March 18, 1993)
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migrants a quick start in the settlement process. As a result, the implementation is often
hampered by serious problems concerning the demarcation of adequate and suitable land
for agriculture.
Irrigation-Based Resettlement
A careful distribution of land for agricultural and household use is especially critical for
irrigation-based migration because of the work the farmer has to do to develop the land
for this purpose. Appropriate distribution and utilization of the land requires, however,
completion of the engineering aspects of the underlying irrigation project, which can be
very time consuming. It is not uncommon, however, that the pressure to "get on" with the
transmigration causes people to be moved to the designated area when the irrigation
canal alignment, the village; location, and the allocation of irrigation land-plots are i yet
undecided let alone complete. In these cases there are three possible and not mutually
exclusive scenarios.
(1) The transmigrant is resettled prior to the establishment of irrigation infrastructures
and has to wait for the construction of irrigation facilities.
(2) Much of the land allocation is inconsistent with the subsequently developed structural
irrigation design.
13

(3) Later, at the construction stage of the irrigation works, the canals and other facilities
must then, for engineering reasons, often trespass over allocated transrnigrant land.
With any of these scenarios the land problem is by no means easy to resolve.
Size of Allocated Land Holding
The transmigrant source area is J ava where the average land holding in irrigated areas is
only between 0.25-0.30 ha. This compares with a national average at about 1.00ha per
holding. The holdings on J ava, however, are highly productive because of the high
fertility as resulted from occasional precipitation of volcanic ash and the intensive
cultivation. Most of this type of agricultural land is suitable far double cropping or even
multiple cropping. In the Outer Islands, however, most of the land has poorer fertility and
requires more fertilizer and water. It is thus not correct to use an allocation pattern that is
based simply on average land holdings.
The question of how large a holding should be allocated per family must be answered in
the light of two conditions: (1) the holding should be large enough to produce an
adequate living standard for the family, and (2) the size must not be more than the
settlers' family is able to cultivate.
In the past, the agencies involved in resettlement had a tendency to allocate less land than
was required for the settlers to make an adequate living. An impression held by author on
the basis of his experience with this type of project that some of the schemes were
unsuccessful for this reason and that economic necessity caused settlers to drift into other
employment. This impression, however, is subject to further research and analysis.

13
For example, there are many cases where transmigrant villages overlap land, which are
supposed to be irrigation areas. Alternatively, the proposed irrigation areas are often
allocated for public facilities or for other non-agricultural purposes
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Land Preparation for the Newly Established Irrigation Area
Land preparation for newly established irrigation schemes is one of the most important
structural problems as far as transmigration implementation is concerned. Long-term
records show that land preparation tends to lag behind schedule. This is often a direct
consequence of the fact that the initial water requirement for the preparation of lowland
paddy fields is extremely high, much higher than the amount needed when land
development is complete and irrigation practice has become stabilized. This fact
complicates both engineering and social planning.
The specific reasons for this complication are as follows: (1) although technically
possible, it is not economically feasible to construct an irrigation facility that satisfies the
highly varying water demands and as a result the development must be implemented in
stages; (2) the high water consumption required for preparing the land lasts for for about
four to five years; this is just the period of time over which the transmigrants are
expected to become self-sustainable and this expectation is frustrated by water shortages;
(3) the newly resettled transmigrants face water shortages at the very time that he needs
to be reassured that the agricultural practice is worthwhile and can permanently support
them; (4) during the critical settlement period, the transmigrant farmers may still be
suffering from mental stress as a result of resettlement, and can hardly be expected to
participate fully in development activities; (5) being in a highly stressful condition, the
transmigrants need reassurance, particularly regarding their legal land ownership status,
which may not be forthcoming. At the same time, they also need financial support for
their subsistence, which may not be adequate; and (6) too long a period of extension of
external assistance can lead the transmigrant to develop attitudes of dependency.
NON-STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS
General Planning Problems
The most common problem in the transmigration program is the time it takes, and the
difficulty settlers have, in adapting to their new surroundings and way of life. This
problem is usually rooted in the weaknesses of planning.
Often, the planning of settlements reflects little knowledge or experience about
migration. For example, many problems arose as a result of the failure of social planners
to translate social sciences into institutionalized policy and congruent operational
procedures. This fault often resulted in the exclusion of social issues from the planning
process.
Similarly, the non-technical aspects of resettlement infrastructures are often simply
overlooked or neglected by planners. For the sake of simplicity the infrastructure, such as
housing or other facilities, was often standardized. This was done, however, without
considering what the settlers were used to and what matched their life style and habits.
As a result, the settlers had to struggle to make use of the facilities that appeared
unfamiliar and therefore unsuitable to them. This in turn increased the time required for a
successful adaptation.
The issue of planning and policy formulation in the transmigration program is
particularly crucial because it has to be undertaken through inter-agency coordination.
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The World Bank pays special attention to this matter as is evident from the following
suggestions.
"To enhance the quality of new settlement mechanisms must be developed
within the Ministry of Transmigration to review management issues on a
regular basis and to improve policy formulation and inter-agency
coordination. Action plans should also be developed to overcome the most
serious problems encountered in implementation. These should be focused
on settlement design (including selection of farm model, farm layout and
incorporation of spontaneous migrants), physical development (land
clearing, road construction and maintenance, and contractor supervision),
the provision of agricultural supporting services, and program planning and
coordination (planning, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation). Steps are
also required to establish a system for assuring the orderly transfer of
settlement to provincial governments" (World Bank, 1988:xii).

Unfortunately, the resettlement and relocation approach to transmigration has often been
and, in many cases, still is handled as "salvage and welfare" operations rather than as
development operations. As suggested previously, much of this is the direct result of not
allowing enough time for proper planning before the actual movement of people takes
place.
Another major shortcoming of the planning process is the very low priority the
implementation agencies place on consistent monitoring and evaluation of the post
resettlement performance of the scheme, if indeed, it is considered at all. It is therefore
difficult to assess the actual performance of the project in terms of the settlers' success in
adaptation, the standard of living they have achieved, their wage, farm income and so on.
The absence of this important information has an apparent adverse effect on the planning
of future programs. In other words, problems, which were experienced in the past, will be
repeatedly encountered in future programs.
Socio-cultural Consequences of Transmigration
One of the most sensitive issues in the transmigration program is the cultural impact of
resettlement. Transmigrants are usually moved to regions where the population is racially
and culturally distinct. This complicates the adaptation process since the cultural identity
of the local people should be respected.
The engineering bias in past planning of the new infrastructure was reflected in a lack of
attention given to the integration with the host population. Several transmigration
settlements in the past were hampered by the problems created by the lack of
consideration. The problems were especially serious if the local people were excluded
from participating in the resettlement scheme and remained as a small-scattered minority
group. However, in the most recent transmigration programs this problem was solved by
an integration approach. In this approach, the small local minority groups are included in
the transmigration program and given the same treatment and support as the general
transmigrants.
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Other often encountered problems stemmed from an inappropriate selection of
transmigrants in terms of the previous socio-cultural background. Adaptation problems
resulted from failure to consider the previous experience and level of knowledge of the
transmigrant. For instance, many transmigrants came from non-farming communities
such as those who previously resided in urban areas. These migrants often have the
greatest propensity to return to their area of origin rather than trying to integrate
themselves into the social and cultural practices of the host rural population. Integration
is essential or the project will suffer from potential conflict with the host population.
Other social problems associated with resettlement are: (1) the disruption of the
traditional local settlement and the difficulty to meet the requirements of both the
transmigrant settlers and the local people. This condition often creates by social or
cultural conflicts; (2) disruptive stress resulted from the separation of kin due to the
dispersion in scattered sites; this aspect causes considerable time and effort being spent
in maintaining emotional relationships rather than in the pursuit of adaptation to the new
social system; (3) disorientation of social relationships due to changing alliances in the
new destination; (4) individual reluctance to establish new social networks due to the
human tendency of attempting to maintain old and defunct associations; (5) family crises
associated with the move and prolonged anxiety due to the difficulties in establishing a
new productive system; (6) distress as the result of material losses suffered in the move
from area of origin to the settlement area; and (7) disorientation of routine ritual
ceremonies due to ad-hoc changes in alliances with people belonging to the same
religion, culture or belief.
These factors produce social stress and a feeling of powerlessness and alienation. Such
conditions will persist till the settlers are able adapt to the new environment. These
socio-cultural consequences of the transmigration program must be considered by the
planners, as well as the implementing agencies, in dealing with the adaptation problem
in future resettlement programs.
When the primary reason for resettlement is political then the danger is great that
insufficient attention will be given to the technical, the economic and the socio-cultural
aspects. In such cases, the simplest and cheapest form of resettlement had usually been
adopted. As a result, the resettlement schemes are hardly expected to achieve
significance enhancement of the quality of life.
In the case of transmigration program, population resettlement is primarily aimed at
relieving demographic pressures and at enhancing social and economic conditions.
However, there are a number of examples which indicate that transmigration resettlement
programs have also been used for other reasons (Tirtosudarmo, 1990:10), For example,
some involuntary resettlement is conducted under the transmigration programs due to the
inundation of lands by large dams, natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions, land
slides and earthquakes. Some resettlement also involves retired army personnel, civil
servants, marines, and police officers (Otten, 1988). In addition transmigration serves the
national aims of nation building through integration reducing ethnic disparity, regional
development, national unity and security, particularly in securing borders in Irian J aya
and Kalimantan.

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LESSON LEARNED
Concerning the longterm development prospects, it is probable that the transmigration
program will be continued in the future. It is, therefore, essential to consider and clarify
the policy objectives of the resettlement programs. These objectives must take into
account the constraints imposed by the prevailing social values and norms of the settlers
as well as the socio-economic conditions of the region in which the transmigration
program is undertaken.
It is essential for the success of future programs that the implementation is accompanied
by consistent monitoring and evaluating of actual conditions in the resettlement schemes
from phase to phase. To date this has not been done in a systematic way, and without
significant improvement in this respect, future development of the transmigration
program will continuously be hampered by unforeseen problems and constraints.
It is not easy to set a clear policy that governs what should be done to make future
settlement schemes more successful. Much depends on the agricultural potential of a
project. This factor largely determines the choice between farming systems, i.e., whether
the project is to be based on a "food crop system", a "swamp reclamation system", a "tree
crop development" or whether some form of non-agricultural resettlement must be
chosen.
Rainfed agriculture seems to have poor prospects, due to low productivity, soil
limitations and limited market prospects for the food crops produced. Irrigation-based
resettlement, on the other hand, requires a high capital cost and a long development
because of the inherent problem of high water requirements for the newly established
paddy type projects. This issue still needs further research.
Swamp reclamation schemes on the other hand, have good prospects but also require
careful studies of the agricultural prospects and the human settlement environment. Tree
crop development and cash crop systems also have good prospects, but the tree crops
require a long time to become productive and also great skill in the post harvest
operations, including secondary processing, storage, and marketing. Increasing
production and reducing marketing constraints -- including crop diversification and
encouragement of poultry, livestock and fish ponds operations -- are basic requirements
for sustainable agriculture. This, however, is not just time consuming, but also requires
active participation by the farmer.
With continuous financial constraints, the danger persists that the transmigration
programs of the future will be dictated by a higher priority on the number of settlers than
on the quality of the resettlement. Such a resettlement implementation could not be
expected to achieve a self-sustainable level of development. Moreover, a resettlement
implementation that aims at achieving rapid results will lack the required capability to
properly plan, implement, monitor and evaluate the resettlement projects which is
essential for their success.
Proper planning of the transmigration is crucial. It should ensure that agro-ecological
conditions in the transmigration sites are well suited to food crop production especially
since land availability will be a serious constraint in future resettlement programs. For
instance, resettlement areas in some provinces of Sumatra are already fully occupied and
only limited prospects remain for large-scale settlement. There is still an opportunity for
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large-scale settlements in West, Central and East Kalimantan albeit with some limitations
imposed by forestry constraints. In Irian J aya, the prospects for resettlement are still
consider-able provided that due consideration is given to social and environmental
constraints.
The social dimensions of transmigration have in the past been studied in a relatively
narrow context. Because of the interaction between the social and technical problems it is
essential to use an integrated approach, incorporating the social aspects in conjunction
with
-
the technical and economic dimensions of the development projects.
Land allocation for transmigrants is another aspect from which a number of problems
arose in the past. Because of the urgent requirement to resettle people as soon as
possible, the master-plan for the future land use in the resettlement area was frequently
modified or abandoned. In these cases, human settlement tends to cause an imbalance
between the productive functions and the ecological aspect of the land. Additional land
allocation problems stemmed from the fact that the government did not immediately
provide security of land tenure upon settlement. Furthermore, without adequate pre-
resettlement preparation by the implementing agency, transmigrants encounter undue
stress upon arrival at the site, which retards their development activities.
Current experience in irrigation development indicates that there must be a command
area large enough to economically serve the irrigation requirements and still small
enough to be managed efficiently. The question than is: To what extent is the single
irrigation command area determined in order that it can be managed effectively? The
answer to this question is still open for future research as it is beyond the scope of the
present study.
Today, despite the transmigration program has met with success in terms of total
numbers relocated and total increase in agricultural production it remains a rural
development initiative that is questionable in-terms of its cost-effectiveness. It requires
heavy capital investment, in the form of new irrigation projects that are needed to make
new settlements operational. There is also considerable evidence that the settlers do not
always accept or adapt to their new environment and agricultural practice as readily as
planners anticipate, or as politicians promise.
Among the different types of resettlement projects under the transmigration program, the
irrigation based transmigration program still has good prospects for the future, provided
An example of the
established irrigated paddy
field owned by the earlier
transmigrant settlement in
South Gedong Tataan,
Lampung. The area was
previously a heavy jungle
and hardly accessible by
appropriate inland
transportation.
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that the lessons of past experience are applied.
Today, it is evidence in Lampung province, the birthplace of the irrigation based
transmigration program, that the overall development has been progressing quite so
amazing that the area is now amongst the top developing provinces in Indonesia. The
central Lampung for instance, the transmigrants had long been waiting for the
construction of an upstream reservoir since 1930s as previously designed for
immediately constructed as soon as the human settlement had been undertaken. However
the reservoir (The Batu Tegi Dam, shown in the photograph) was only completed and
fully operated on March 2004, or after 74 years since the transmigrants had been
resettled.

REFERENCE:
Gany, A. Hafied A., 1993. The irrigation Based Transmigration Program in Indonesia:
An Interdisciplinary Study of Population Settlementand Related Strategies. Ph.D.
---------, and Halli, S.S., 1993. Land Development and Transmigrant Farmers in Southern
Sumatra, Indonesia. In International Migration. Quarterly Review Vol. XXXI No.
4, 1993. International Organization for Migration (IOM), PO Box 71, 1211
Geneva, Switzerland.
---------, 1980. Pola Pemukiman Petani Berpemilikan Kecil dalamUsaha Pengembangan
Irigasi, PRISMA, No. 7, J uly 1980. J akarta Indonesia.
Hardjono, J oan, 1988. The Indonesian Transmigration Program in Historical
Perspective. International Migration, Vol. 26:4, pp. 427-439.
---------, 1986. Transmigration: Looking to the Future. Bulletin of Indonesian Economic
Studies, 22:2, pp. 28-53.
Heeren, H.J .,1967. Transmigratie in Indonesie, Translated into Indonesian by Hans
Daeng & Willie Koen, Transmigrasi di Indonesia, Yayasan Obor Indonesia,
J akarta, 1967.
The Batu Tegi Dam, in
South Lampung, had just
completed on March
2004, despite that the
irrigation based human
settlement in the Central
Lampung had been
undertaken since 1930s.
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---------, 1980. Population Movement in Indonesia during the Colonial Period. In J .J . Fox
(ed), Indonesia, the Making a Culture. Chamber: Research School of Pacific
Studies, A.N.U.
---------, 1982. Migration, Urbanization, and Development in Indonesia. Bangkok:
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

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SUPPLEMENT PAPER

AN OUTLINE REVIEW OF LOWLAND
DEVELOPMENT IN INDONESIA

Edited and Translated
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AN OVERVIEW OF LOWLAND DEVELOPMENT IN INDONESIA
1

(Edited and translated by A. Hafied A. Gany)

I PREFACE
Lowland in Indonesia, including inland and tidal swamps are considered as the highly
potential natural resources scattered over the archipelago. The overall lowlands areas are
currently estimated at about 33.4 million ha, consisted of tidal lowlands at about 20
million ha and the rest are inland swamps. Most of the potential areas are located on
Sumatra, Kalimantan and West Irian (Papua) Islands. With the escalating demands for
food as well as land demands for human settlement and industries, the appropriate
lowlands development would contribute significantly to the needs.
During the initial stage of lowland development, the traditional experience of the
Buginese and Banjar Ethnic Groups had been implemented since 1920s. This traditional
practice was then followed-up by the government efforts through transmigration program
as well as program on self-sufficiency on food by virtue of technical lowland
development at the early stage of the first Five-Year-Development Program in 1969. In
line with the government involvement as well as private sector in this sector of
development, the lowland development has been improving through the consistent
experience and research activities. Meanwhile, as an archipelago with a total coastal
length of about 81,000 km and with a number of estuaries, Indonesia also has a huge
potential of as well challenges on the development of coastal and estuaries, including the
problems of coastal erosion and sedimentation on estuaries.
The problems of coastal degradations, particularly on coastal abrasions require intensive

1
Adapted with some updated figures from the Indonesian booklet on Lowland, published by the Water
Resources Research Institute, Ministry of Settlement and Regional Infrastructures, Bandung March
2002, Edited by Bambang Supartanto, et.al., Research Station for Lowlands and Coastal areas.
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efforts of the government as well as the immediate concerned communities. For instance,
the road damages, degradation of coastal area for tourism and recreation, as well as
human settlement would bring about hazardous impacts to the socio-economic living and
environment of the communities. The continuous occurrence of sedimentation at the river
estuaries, on the other hand would hamper significantly to the life activities as well as
navigation, apart from the flooding consequences due to the obstruction of water flows
from inland areas (human settlement, as well as agricultural areas) to the sea.

II. LOWLAND DEVELOPMENT
General Overview
Lowland Areas
The total land areas in Indonesia is currently recorded at 33.4 million ha, consisted of
tidal swamps at about 20.1 million ha and inland swamps at about 13.3 million ha,
scattered over the islands of: (1) Sumatra at about 10.87 million ha; (2) Kalimantan at
about 10.56 million ha; (3) Sulawesi at about 1.45 million ha; and (4) Papua at about
10.52 million ha.
Lowland development for agricultural practices in Indonesia have been initiated by the
Bugisnese and Banjarnese farmers since 1920s through either by the community or by
the support of the government.

Figure 1. Schematic diagram of lowland potential and development in Indonesia
Classification of Swamp Lands

Have not
Developed
15,256,438 ha

Being Planned
1,000,000 ha
Already
Developed
3,840,362 ha
Have not
Developed
11,770,151 ha
Already
Developed
1,546,619 ha
LOWLANDS
IN INDONESI A
33,413,570 ha

Tidal
Lowlands Areas
20,096,800 ha
I nland
Swamps Area
13,316,770 ha
Developed by
the Government
943,125 ha
Developed by the
community
2,897,237 ha
Developed by the
Government
447,535 ha
Developed by
the Community
1,099,084 ha
Source: DGWRD, MPW, 2002
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Tidal Lowland Swamps
Tidal lowlands are the swamp area near the coastal vicinity that is affected by tidal
movement of the river level as the result of tidal fluctuation of the sea. According to
hydro-topography the tidal lowlands are divided into four categories:
Category of Hydro-topography of tidal swamps
Maximum tide level on rainy season
Maximum tide level on dry season
Low tide
rainy season
Low tide
dry season
Sumber Ditjen Pengairan 1998

Category A: The lowlands areas that are frequently inundated by high tide due to
fluctuations of water level at the river. This type of land is highly suitable for cultivating
lowland paddies.
Category B: The lowland area that are occasionally inundated by high tide due to
fluctuations of water at the river. This type of land is suitable for mono-crop lowland
paddy cultivation during the rainy season and second crops during the dry season.
Category C: The lowland areas that have never been inundated by the highest tide due to
fluctuations of surface water of the river, however, the tides are still have effects on the
fluctuations of ground water up to 50 cm below top soil surface. This type of land is
suitable for annual paddy crop during the rainy season and second (upland) crops during
the dry season.
Category D: The lowland areas that have never been inundated by the highest tide due to
fluctuations of surface water of the river and having ground water surface deeper than 50
cm from top soil surface. This type of land is suitable for upland crops and plantations.

Inland Swamps
Inland swamp is the type of lowland that is not affected by tide fluctuations. This type of
low land is divided into three hydro-topographical zones namely: (1) The lebak
pematang zone, which is the shallow dyke with short term inundating period; (2) The
lebak pertengahan zone, which is relatively deep and with longer time inundation;
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(3) The lebak dalam zone, which is deeper than the other categories, yet with longer
inundation period or permanently inundated.
In general, the inland swamp developments are prioritised on the lebak pematang and
lebak tengahan zones, while the lebak dalam zone is kept preserved under its
natural condition. Please see the inland swamp category as illustrated in the following
figure.
Hydro-topographical category of inland swamp
High flood Water Level
Intermidiate Level
Dry season water level
Low water level
Lebak Pematang
Zone I
Lebak Tengahan
Zone II
Lebak Dalam
Zone III

Stages of Lowland Development
One of the determinant factors for successful lowland development is the appropriateness
of land preparation technique together with effective water management in such a way to
be able to maintain the optimum plant growth. Given the vulnerability nature of the
lowlands, the development must be conducted judiciously and gradually by carefully
considering both technical and non-technical aspects such as socio-economic as well as
environment. The lowland development phase consists of three stages.
Stage I: Initial land reclamation process is conducted by constructing a series of simple
hydraulic infrastructures, such as open channel drainages with regulatory structures. At
this stage, the water management is merely dependent upon the natural condition.
Stage II: Follow-up development as the continuation of Stage I is conducted by means of
improvement and upgrading of the existing irrigation infrastructures. The existing water
channels usually equipped with regulatory structures and levees for flood control and
flood prevention. In this stage, it is important to guarantee the reasonable level of fresh
water circulation by separating the conveyance water supply and drainage conveyance.
Stage III: Efficient utilization of the available lowland and water resources by means of
fully operating and maintaining the developed infrastructures. Under this development
stage, the water and land management are already stabilized with independent and
sustainable operation.
Previous Lowland Development Implementation
1. Lowland reclamation in Indonesia had actually been initiated during the Dutch
Colonial Period. The Government of Indonesia then continue the previous attempt to
implement lowland development earlier in 1960s by expanding the Alabio Polder of
6,000 ha in South Kalimantan Province and Mentaren lowland scheme of 2,300 ha in
Central Kalimantan. During the same period several other canalisation projects were
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conducted in South Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan Provinces Province such as
Anjir Tamban, Serapat, Besarang, Kelampan and Marabahan. Basically these
canalisation works were previously intended for water transportation for accessing the
isolated areas in Central Kalimantan. The projects were indeed stimulating the local
inhabitants to cultivate the available lowlands for agricultural purposes along the both
sides of the channels.

2. Following the previous experience, the government of Indonesia resumed promoting
the large-scale low land development since 1969 with special purpose to support the
transmigration program and pursuing the program for self-sufficiency on food,
particularly rice as the staple food of the people. See the following table for distribution.

Tertiary hydraulic structure at Rawa
Seragi, Lampung Province
Regulatory structure at Teluk
Kiawang, Riau Province
Regulatory structure of Alabio Polder
South Kalimantan Province
Paddy field at tidal lowland at Puntik
Terantang, South Kalimantan
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Table: Distributions of Lowlands Development and potential

Sumatra
( ha )
Kalimantan
( ha )
Sulawesi
( ha )
Papua
( ha )
1. Swamp Lands 9,843,335 8,442,028 - 10,522,720
2. Conservation and
Preservation
2,329,260 2,275,268 - -
3. Lowlands
development
potential.
7,501,965 6,136,260 - -
4. Swamp
reclamation
3,199,020 848,402 - -
5. Swamp
Reclamation by the
Government:
- Paddy field
- Garden
- Fishpond

390,278
156,072
4,000

314,655
84,559
1,000

11,950
3,082
19,385

5,165
3,850
-
Source: Dirgen. of WRD, 1998
Problems
In general the lowland development implementation is conducted in such a way that it
create new environment that is conducive to agricultural development and human
settlement. Despite this objective, the agricultural development in lowland areas are
relatively less productive as compared to the upland areas, beside the underlying
constraints on it accessibility as well as environmental sustainability.
The problems of lowland development are usually associated with multi-dimensional
aspects such as: water allocation and management, agronomy, socio-economic, and
environment.

Water Allocation and Management
The implementation of gradual approach on lowland development is mostly associated
with land reclamation technology, which is relatively new for Indonesian engineers.
Therefore, planning methodology and standards are yet available, and hence much
experience and empirical works are needed on the basis of trial and errors.
Implementation of large-scale land reclamation is highly susceptible to environment.
Therefore extra efforts and investments are required for planning as well as
construction implementation if the unwanted impacts are to be avoided.
The inappropriate water allocation and management would bring about significant
reduction of agricultural productivity due to land salinity as well as excessive seawater
intrusion.
The effort to separate conveyance and drainage channels usually encountered by a
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number of constraints such as the following: (1) The farmers are not patient enough to
wait before water is distributed to meet their demands for agricultural purposes; (2)
Water requirements are not normally similar one each individual farmer; (3) The
water channels are commonly utilized for water transportation, and hence the
regulatory structures such as, flap gates and check structures are regarded by the
farmers as the obvious obstacle on water transportation rather than solution; (4)
Lacking of operation and maintenance endeavours would result in a number of
problems, including sedimentation and poor performance of the overall scheme.

Socio-economic and Agro-economic Aspects
Based upon experience in the past low land development implementation, much attention
had been given on the technical as well as civil engineering aspects and less attention
were addressed on the non technical aspects, including the lack of continuous monitoring
and concern land development, gradual process of the maturity of land consolidation.
And hence, agricultural productivity had not been performed at the optimum level. The
most important parameters that need to be scrutinized in the lowland development are:
(1) Soil fertility in the context of improvement of the magnitude of soil acidity and
optimum application of fertilizer;
(2) The physical characteristic of lowland swamp in relation with the depth of pit soil
and acid soils as the most dominant factors of the degree of accumulation of soil
acidity; and
(3) Continuance of fresh water circulation for maintaining consistence soil leaching.
Particularly for the irrigation based transmigration area, due to the lack of previous
experience in irrigation based lowland development, the development of lowland paddy
cultivation as previously intended for, tends to be gradually transformed into non paddy
plantation which requires less intensive undertakings. Being the case, lowland
development would then be adjusted to the heavier attention on the land suitability with
agricultural production rather than the traditional paddy mono-cropping pattern. And
hence, the preliminary planning should consider soundly the physical characteristic of
land hydro-topography, as well as soil typology for obtaining the most appropriate
cropping pattern.
Other determinant non-technical aspect of lowland development is the accessibility of the
area, both for transportation of agricultural inputs as well as marketing of agricultural
products. In addition, the land development problem become more significant for being
continuously suffered from the lack of human resources and institutional capacity for
performing the appropriate lowland irrigation based agricultural development.

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Environmental Aspects
One of the most vulnerable aspects of lowland development to take into consideration is
the impact of physical intervention on the sustainable balance of aquatic ecosystem. This
is partly due to the nature of the swamp area as the marginal land for agricultural
development. Therefore, any abrupt change due to development intervention such as land
reclamation, would encounter the natural balance of aquatic habitat, including the natural
equilibrium of pests, aquatic weed, and other such bio-environment.
Other crucial environment aspects of lowland development is about the impacts of
escalating degradation of upper watershed of the river basin due to uncontrollable human
activities such as traditional shifting cultivation, logging and other such activities. This
aspect, therefore, needs to be scrutinized through appropriate integrated watershed
management. Further to this, the lowland development must be addressed by virtue of
environmental-friendly approach, should the agricultural practices in such an area to be
environmentally sustainable.
Lowland Development
In an effort to control land and water for optimum agricultural lowland development and
management, as prescribed by the Government Regulation No. 27/1991 regarding
lowland swamps, deliberation is vitally important on lowland conservation, preservation,
as well as improvement as the inseparable site of the coin, which is physical
development.
For maintaining consistency on integrated lowland management, the operation and
maintenance approach should be regarded as an integrated component of lowland on regional
complement with each other by means of systemic approach. The integrated system must at
least accommodate the following aspects: (1) Accessibility of the area for distribution of
agricultural inputs as well as transportation of agricultural products; (2) Production and
Marketing system for obtaining an optimum production as the sub system of national
economic development entity; (2) Provision of raw water and clean water for urban and
domestic utilization; and (3) Provision of appropriate treatment of domestic as well as
Regulatory structures for lowland at
Saembawalati Schemes, Central Sulawesi
Drainage channel for lowland
development in Papua Province
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industrial wastes.

Given adequate consideration on the technical, socio-economic and environment, the
lowland management principles need to be implemented on systematical staging which
are; the fist stage as an initial implementation; second stage as the growing stage; and the
third as the full development stage.
At the first stage, the process of land reclamation is geared toward physical development
of basic water resources infrastructures such as canalisation with open channel, with the
main function as water channel for drainage and soil leaching by means of gravity flow.
The water control at this stage is merely dependent upon the natural condition, with
additional role as to provide water control for plant growth at the subsystem level.
Similarly, other basic appurtenances and supporting structures are provided at the
minimum extent.
At the second stage of development, the construction executions are concentrated on the
improvement of the previous infrastructures and resolving the problems and constraints
that have yet discovered at the previous works, as well as improvement of functions of
the already developed infrastructures by virtue of integrated and multi-sectoral approach.
The canalisation networks are adjusted with local water management condition and the
related circumstances. The canalisation networks may be operated to meet the function as
technical drainage facilities, storage facility, water inlet, or as flood control facilities.
With the same rationale, the agricultural cropping pattern is taken care for appropriate
support on agricultural potential of the land. To avoid the over diversified land
preparation and cropping patterns, planting schedules and other similar matters, the water
management are set up on zoning basis (water management zoning).
At the third stage or development stage, the activities are determined based on the
premise of the full utilization of the available water and land resources, with the effective
support of human resources as well as institutional arrangement. The main premise of the
third stage lowland development is on the achievement of full development and effective
operation of polder system compounded with efficient services of irrigation operation,
agricultural mechanization as well as other lowland agricultural practices in a broader
spectrum.
Diversion Water Gate for lowland at
Dadahup, Central Kalimantan
Developed agricultural land for lowland
paddy at Telang Saleh, South Sumatra
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Taking into consideration of lowland development on stages basis in general, the
development of tidal lowlands are also implemented through consecutive implementation
stages with the special scrutiny on some major principles as follows: (1) Lowland
development should allow adequate time for agricultural land maturity, oxidation of
pyrite soil, leaching of hazardous material, land preparation, improvement of soil-plant
bearing capacity, determination of cropping patterns, agricultural extensions, training,
institutional set up and other such agricultural related implementation; (2) Any
development measures must give special deliberation on the way to produce optimum
achievement under the limited capital investment; (3) The actual implementation in
specific locality should always open for accommodating the new adjustment due to the
yet limited knowledge and empirical experiences, as well as technology on lowland
development; (4) Implementation of large scale low land development in a short time
implementation would bring about a series of negative consequences on environment,
that might even beyond our capacity to cope with; (5) Special consideration on the
constraints of productive-age agricultural labour sources from within the farming
community in the particular lowland settlement, must be made from the early stage of
planning toward a long time perspective. The alternative of employment of family labour
in combination with outsourcing from future labour market potential must be
incorporated in the planning horizon.
From the past experience in lowland development, the overall implementation period
may take up to 30 years from planning stage to full development, having three stage as
follows:
Stage I: Ten years implementation, from the first year to the 10
th
for conducting
preparatory works, reconnaissance study, survey, investigation, planning, construction,
post construction rehabilitation, as well as initial operation and maintenance transition.
Stage II: Ten years implementation, from the 11
th
to the 20
th
year for conducting the
monitoring and evaluation activities including the follow up improvement as well as the
periodical review and adjustment of operation and maintenance implementation.
Stage III: Ten years implementation from the 21
st
to the 30
th
years for conducting the
full development and management stages by means of systemic approach.
The activities beyond the 30
th
year are essentially aimed for maintaining the consistency
of Operation and maintenance for assuring sustainable lowland development and
management in line with the sustainable balance of environment for future generation.
Learning from experience of the failures and successes of lowland development, it is
imperative that the future program should be set up in accordance with appropriate policy
and strategies without disregarding the non-structural dimensions of the technical based
lowland development and management implementation. The general conceptions of
sustainable lowland development and management policy and strategy in Indonesia are
presented at the following table.
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Table: General conception of lowland development and management policy and
strategy in Indonesia.
INITIAL PHASE FOLLOW-UP PHASE

GOVERNMENT
POLICY

Rice self sufficiency
Transmigration
Regional development
Income distribution
Regional Security,
coastal zones

Integrated approach
Crop Diversification
Participatory approach
Private sector
Export commodity
Income growth
Environmental sustainability
Decentralization

STRATEGY

New area development
Low cost appropriate
technology
Small farming enterprise
based on rainfed and
upland crops
Enhancement of
farmers prosperity
Rehabilitation and upgrading of
irrigation infrastructures
Stable operation and maintenance
Institutional Strengthening
Agricultural intensification
Improvement of agricultural
extension and other social services
Environmental sustainability

WATER
RESOURCES
INFRASTRUC-
TURES
Open drainage system/
natural and flood
control
Tidal irrigation as far
as possible
Provision of water
tanks for rain water
Controlled drainage system
Improvement of water and land
management system
Enhancement of flood control
Water conservation approach
Improvement of facilities for
provision of drinking water

OTHER
INFRASTRUC-
TURES
Basic health facilities
and other public
facilities
Accessibility/ commu-
nication by means of
water transportation
Basic agricultural
support facilities
Enhancement of health services
and other public services
Provision of access roads and rural
farm roads
Provision of agricultural processing
centre and marketing facilities
Source: Directorate General of WRD, 1998

The roles of Research and Development Lowlands Area
Given the fact that lowland development in Indonesia is still at the least developed stage,
therefore, it requires a continuous and consistent research and development (R&D)
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activities for uncovering the underlying phenomenon associated with area development.
The role of R&D is highly instrumental for scrutinizing the problems and constraints
associated with lowlands, and hence the lowland resources potential would be utilized at
the optimum possible extent without causing hazardous consequences on environmental
sustainability. To meet this objective, there are three immediate R&D objects that should
be prioritised: (1) Swamp and/or reclamation development; (2) Swamp protection and
preservation; and (3) Technical guidance and surveillance for swam area development.

In accordance with the above R&D roles and targets, the following principles have to be
considered in conducting R&D activities:
1) R&D activities that are supportive to lowland development should be followed up
with the immediate objectives as to produce series of outputs including among others: (i)
R&D products such as technical standards, manuals, appropriate technology and the
likes; (ii) Scientific backbone support products such as technical support, technical
certification, technical arbitration and so on; (iii) Dissemination and socialization of the
R&D products through scientific colloquiums, technical discussions, training, extensions,
technical and scientific publications, and information system, as well as professional
networking.
2) R&D activities are instrumental to supporting swamp protections have to be followed
up series of technical measures such as: (i) Soil acidity control, flood protection, drought
control, saline water intrusion, and overall water control and management system; (ii)
Mitigation of swamp land water pollution in the context of maintaining appropriate
balance of living ecosystem; (iii) Appropriate maintenance of soil fertility; (iv)
Mitigation of sustainable lowland ecosystem; and (v) Mitigation and control of social and
economic as well as environment impacts of lowland development and management.

Tertiary canal excavation in Tarantang
South Kalimantan Province
Resin-fibre automatic flap-gate in Puntik
Terantang, South Kalimantan Province
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Future Perspective
The future prospects of lowland for agricultural development, particularly for food crops,
horticulture, plantation and fishponds are highly potential. There are varieties of
agricultural commodities that suitable to be developed in the lowlands areas, namely
coconut, palm oil, cocoa-sheed, rambutan, oranges and pineapple. Private sector
participation in the lowland development for agricultural plantation could be undertaken
through some kind of Community Owned Core Plantation in combination with
Transmigration Program (Perkebunan Inti Rakyat PIR Trans), or through Private
owned large-estate (Perkebunan Besar Swasta Nasional PBSN).
The PIR-Trans pattern for hybrid coconut has been implemented in Guntung, Riau
Province for 70,000 ha while palm oil plantation has also been developed in Gasingda
Serda, South Sumatra Province with a total area of about 20,000 ha.

Meanwhile, the tidal lowlands that are affected by brackish water are suitable for
aquaculture such as prawn fishpond, milkfish and other brackish water fisheries. The
brackish water fishponds are now developed in the northern coast of J ava Island, Aceh
Province, North Sumatra, South Sulawesi and Souteast Sulawesi Provinces. The TIR
Inland swamp area
Water diversion structure at Rawa
Muning, South Sumatra Province
Hybrid coconut plantation with PIR
Transmigration scheme in Guntung, Riau
Province
Palm oil plantation with PIR Trans-
migration scheme in Gasing Puntihan,
South Sumatra Province
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development pattern has good prospects for private sector as the core business enterprise
in conjunction with brackish water fisheries by involving transmigrants settlers as their
associates.
For obtaining the maximum advantages, the future lowland developments are
encountered by a number challenges and constraints including among others: (1)
Lowland development involves cross-sectoral activities, therefore it requires intensive
inter-agency coordination among the relevant institutions, to be properly maintained and
enhanced from time to time; (2) Lowland development takes relatively a long time
process, which demands for long-term commitment on financial investment; (3) Given
the facts that lowland development possesses good prospect for agricultural development
in a large spectrum, therefore, development planning of lowlands would be increasingly
become more complex in line with the demands for sustainable and environmentally
sound development; (4) The follow up stages of lowland development (Stage II and
Stage III) requires adequate economic and social infrastructure supports in line with the
underlying demands for sosio-economic development; (5) The complexities associated
with the prospective lowland development would require more than just capable human
resources but also demanding for highly qualified personnel who are knowledgeable,
dedicated and well experienced having supported by appropriate management effective
training program as well as reliable R&D support; (6) In order to gain a maximum
advantage of the developed lowland infrastructures, effective operation and maintenance
of the water resources facilities must be undertaken and improved by the water users
association from time to time.

DEGRADATION OF COASTS AND RIVER ESTUARIES
Problems of coast and river estuary degradation in Indonesia are having different
magnitudes from province to province scattered over the coastal-based provinces, and
yet, the underlying measures to deal with the problems have not met the favourable
results. Due to the eminent constraints on provision of budgetary supports, the erosion
control program due to abrasion that have been commenced so far, were mostly based
upon scale of priorities in line with the factual conditions of the respective locality.

The white sandy-beach has a good prospect for encouraging tourism industry
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To give actual configuration of the magnitude of river estuary and coastal degradation,
the Research Institute of Water Resources, Ministry of Settlement and Regional
Infrastructures has conducted research and thereby making inventory in the entire
coastal-based provinces in Indonesia. In addition to the inventory, the scales of priority
for development have also been determined. Determination of the scale of priority has
been based on the principle of giving weight against 60 river estuaries and coastal areas
that are currently being suffered from physical problems. Subsequently, the field research
discovered that there are actually 80 coastal and river estuary sites in 31 locations that
have currently been suffered from the same problems.

Coastal Problems
In line with the developing economy of the country, the potential coastal areas in
Indonesia have been developed remarkably that it has been contribution not only to the
stabilization of food security and off shore fisheries, but also to the multifunctionalities
transformation into both public utilities (human settlement and tourism industries) and
economic function such as (provision of economic infrastructures, trade and industries).
On the other hand, this remarkable achievement has generated new problems on the side
effect of the development, among others are: coastal abrasion that cause significant
decrease in coastal areas; sedimentation and aggradations of river estuaries;
environmental degradation; escalation of slumps settlement at the coastal areas; sea water
intrusion; over exploitation of coastal resources due to the absence of regulatory
instruments for coastal and estuary development, management protection and
conservation at the national level.

Coastal erosion as the cause of breaching off the road embankment
at the mouth of Sungai Duri River in West Sumatra Province

Characteristic of Coastal Problems
In general, problems of coastal and river estuaries are characterized into several
categories. These are erosion, abrasion, sedimentation, seawater intrusion, seawater
contamination, degradation of coastal vegetation and degradation of coral reef.
Erosion: Coastal erosion is the process of declining of coastline from the original
location among others due to defend itself from appropriate balance between the
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sediment deposit and transport influenced by the hydro-dynamic force of sea wave.
Abrasion: Abrasion is the process of erosion followed by the sliding or deteriorating of
massive soil or rock materials of the coastal bank. Abrasion occurs due to the absence of
internal strength of mat material to defend itself against weathered decay, at the same
time, the strength superseding the hydrodynamic force of sea wave.
Sedimentation: Sedimentation is the process of occurrence of sediment deposit at the
mouth of the river, which brings about consequences such as interruption of water flow,
plugging of river mouth, and formation of sediment deposits, obstructing the functions of
hydraulic infrastructures.

Estuary sedimentation entails problem of riverbed aggradations and narrowing the river
transportation channels
Salt intrusion: Salt intrusion is the process of seawater flow toward inland direction
through river or water channel. The salt intrusion usually occurs during the dry season
when the river or channel discharge becomes low enough to resist the seawater
penetration toward inland direction. In case of underground salt intrusion, the seawater
usually penetrates toward inland direction at the time the groundwater becomes low
enough due to over extraction beyond the natural water depletion capacity.
Contamination of seawater: Contamination of seawater occurs when the coastal
seawater is no longer to make self-purification due to excessive amount of contaminant
discharge, which may originate from domestic wastes, industrial wastes, fishpond wastes,
and agricultural wastes such as pesticides, fertilizer and so on. The contaminant from the
sea may originate from offshore oil mining and refinery, residual oil and wastes from sea
transportation.
Degradation of Coastal Vegetation: Coastal vegetation normally consists of mangrove
and api-api, which grow along the muddy estuaries. The coastal vegetation has a very
important role as the breeding ground of aquatic biota, and hatching ground for brackish
water fishes, as well as other marine lifes ecosystem. Increasing pollution, urban
development, mining activities, deforestation and destructive fishing are endangering the
marine life. Beside, the coastal vegetation also functions as vegetative protection from
coastal abrasion due to wave energy and/or tsunami.
Degradation of Coral Reef: The natural condition of coral reef contains a series of life
complexities, which provide different ways for fishes to feed, live and reproduce. As
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many as the species numbers are the different ways of hunting, feeding, hiding,
reproducing and living. Of all the creatures dwelling on coral reefs, none are more active
or obvious than the fishes. Degradation of coral reef due to human intervention, sand and
coral mining for construction material would bring about obvious consequences that the
coral reef ecology would no longer perform its optimum function as to accommodate
marine fishes for providing the best opportunity to maintain the sustainability of marine
ecology.
The main Causes of Coastal Erosion: Coastal erosion usually resulted from the
increasing unbalance of drift of sediment transport either due to human intervention or by
natural induced phenomenon. The natural cause of erosion usually due to a number of
circumstances such as: (i) natural characteristic of young coastal formation with least
source of sediment materials relative to the transported sediment; (ii) land subsidence;
(iii) offshore sediment transport; (iv) natural changes of wave characteristic; and (v)
global rise of sea level.
Beside the natural occurrence, the coastal erosion frequently induces by human
intervention such as sand or coral mining, inappropriate placement of cribs or other
hydraulic structures including among others: (i) misplacement of hydraulic structures so
to interrupt the natural wave movement; (ii) sand mining at the coast or river estuary; (iii)
repositioning of the river mouth; (iv) contamination of seawater (degradation of coral
reef ecosystem, and hence to diminish the vegetative protection of coastal vegetations);
(v) the side impacts of long storage or upstream reservoirs (reducing the sediment
transport); and (vi) the impacts of natural disasters such as wavy storm and/or tsunami.
Future Perspective
Given the fact that the costal and estuary development and management in Indonesia are
still suffered from inadequate well-trained personnels on the one hand and the lack of
reliable equipment and facilities, the complexities would remain the issues in the near
future. This is particularly true for the staff of the local autonomous governments in the
many coastal and estuary-based provinces in Indonesia. Being the case, the coastal and
estuary development and management have yet carried out consistently. On the other
hand, the predominant budgetary constraints are still become one of the most significant
factors in the determination of development priorities. And hence, only very limited
coastal and estuary areas are receiving development priorities.
With all the underlying problems and constraints, there are five major targets to
recommend for coastal and estuary development and management implementations in the
near future. These are: (1) Enhancement of R&D activities for allowing strategic
recommendations in coastal and estuary technology, while conducting empowerment of
human resources in the field of coastal and estuary technologies through consistent
training; (2) Implementation of inter-sectoral and inter-regency coordination amongst the
relevant agencies and institutions; (3) Encouragement of private sector participation
while pursuing integrated coastal and estuary management without jeopardizing
sustainable environmental ecosystem; (4) Provision of adequate research and laboratory
equipments for conducting consistent scrutiny on Coastal and estuary problems; (5)
Encouragement of consistent, integrated, and reliable data collecting and database
management on coastal and estuaries.

MSRI and INACID
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1. Ule Lheu
2. Krueng Aceh
3. Sigli
4. Meulaboh
5. Tapak Tuan
6. Barus
7. Sibolga
8. Pariaman
9. Ketaping
10. Padang
11. Lais Ket ahun
12. Panjang
13. Baai Island
14. Labuhan Marin
53. Tuban
54. Loh Gung
87. Senggigi
88. Dili
89. Sinam
90. Tanjung Paga
91. Sei Duri
92. Kampung Bugis
93. Batu Licin
94. Duan Panua
95. Manado
96. Kalase
97. Ambon
98. Ternate
99. Tidore
EAST CHINA SEA
SULAWESI SEA
BANDA SEA
JAVA SEA
DI. ACEH
RIAU
JAMBI
LAMPUNG
DKI JAKARTA
B
E
N
G
K
U
L
U
NORTH
SUMATRA
SOUTH
SUMATRA
WEST
JAVA
WEST NUSA
TENGGARA
EAST NUSA
TENGGARA
IRIAN JAYA
MALUKU
SOUTH EAST SULAWESI
SOUTH SULAWESI
NORTHSULAWESI
EAST
KALIMANTAN
SOUTH
KALIMANTAN
CENTRAL
KALIMANTAN
WEST
KALIMANTAN
CENTRAL
SULAWESI
HALMAHERA
0 130 260
SCALE
390 KM
CENTRALJAVA
DI YOGYAKA
RTA EAST JAVA
BALI
WEST
SUMATRA
ARAFURU SEA
I
N
D
O
N
E
S
I
A
N

O
C
E
A
N
REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA
1
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
89
90
91
92
93
53
54
55 86
87 88
47
29
40
41
45
52
94
95
95
0
100
0
105
0
110
0
115
0
120
0
125
0
130
0
135
0
140
0
10 LU
0
5 LU
0
0 LU
0
5 LS
0
10 LS
0
96
98
99
97
15
16
28
2
Legend :
River Mouth
no 15 - 40 on West Java Map
no 55 - 86 on Bali Map
no 41 - 52 on Central Java Map Coastal
River Mouth

Figure 2. location map of coastal and estuaries with certain problems
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CONCLUDING REMARKS
Under the present implementation of regional autonomy, the dilemmatic issues of
sustainable lowland and coastal development and management are not only become the
national concern of development sectors but also become the central issue of local
autonomous government. It is therefore imperative that the development and
management should be based on integrated approach with systematic development
stages, and most important is to maintain appropriate balance of lowland environmental
ecosystem. In an attempt to pursue integrated lowland and coastal management, the
development sectors, together with local autonomous government should consider the
integrated principles as follows: (1) Application of inter-sectoral and inter-regencial
coordination; (2) Giving the highest important to the national development objective; (3)
Giving special attention on the empowerment human resources; (4) Consistent
implementation of reliable and effective research and development related activities; (5)
Setting up an optimum implementation planning through systemic approach.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
CERC, 1984, Shore Protection Manual, Department of the Army, US Army Corps of
Engineers, Washington D.C.
Directorate General of Water Resources Development, 1998, Framework for Future
Swamp Development in Indonesia, Jakarta.
Directorate of Rural Water Resources Development, 2000, Framework for Future
Lowland Management, Jakarta.
Directorate of Research on Water Resources Development, 1983. Study on the
Preliminary Planning for Coastal Protection and Coastal-Based Recreation
infrastructures of Nusa Dua Beach, Bali., No.PS 836-HAP, Bandung.
Directorate General of Water Resources Development, Ministry of Public Works, 1998.
Coastal Area Development in Indonesia, Jakarta.
Komar P.D, 1984, CRC Handbook of Coastal Processes and Erosion, Coastal Research
Centre, Florida.
Research and Development Institute of Water Resources, 1995. Research Studies on
Development Phases of Tidal Lowland, Bandung.
-------, 1992, Inventory of Coastal and Estuary degradation in Indonesia, No. 02.00.104-
HAB, Bandung.
-------, 1999, Problems and Perspective of Coastal and River Estuaries in Indonesia,
Bandung

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MSRI and INACID Jatiluhur Multi Purpose Reservoir
History in Brief

MSRI and INACID

SUPPLEMENT PAPER

JATILUHUR MULTI PURPOSE RESERVOIR

By: Syaiful Mahdi

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JATILUHUR MULTI PURPOSE RESERVOIR

By: Syaiful Mahdi

The potential of Citarum River has been identified since early 20
th
Century. Three most
possible locations for construction of three large dams were identified by Ir. W.J. van
Blommenstein in 1948. These were Jatiluhur Reservoir, Cirata Reservoir, and Saguling
Reservoir. Subsequently, Ir. Blommenstein had a very interesting obsession to put
forward a great idea to divert water from Citarum River to Central and East Java
Provinces.
Jatiluhur Reservoir was the first multi purpose reservoir constructed in Citarum River.
The construction started in 1958 and completed in 1967. The other two reservoirs which,
were constructed after the Jatiluhur were single purpose reservoirs, i.e. mainly for hydro
power generator. For that reason, the two reservoirs were not discussed in this section.
The two reservoirs are: i) Cirata, located just upstream of Jatiluhur Reservoir, having a
total capacity of 800 MCM and hydropower generating of about 1,000 MW; and ii)
Saguling, with a total capacity 980 MCM and hydropower generating capacity at about
700 MW. Figure 1. Depicting locations of the three reservoirs.
LEGEND :
Author itys Service Area
Main Canal
Weir and River
Highway
Mountain
BEKASI
BOGOR
KARAWANG
PURWAKARTA
SUBANG
TO CIREBON
SUMEDANG
CIMAHI
BANDUNG
JAVA SEA
N
CIANJUR
SUKABUMI
IR. H. JUANDA
RESERVOIR
CURUG
WEIR
CIRATA
RESERVOIR
CIPANCUH
RESERVOIR
SAGULING
RESERVOIR
E
A
S
T TAR
U
M CANAL
WEST TA
R
U
M

C
A
N
A
L
NORT TARUM C
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A
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C
ita
r
u
m
C
i
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a
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a
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a
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g
B
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k
a
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i

R
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C
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a
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a
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g
C
ipa
nin
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C
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a
Cikeas
Cibeet
C
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C
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itarik
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g
WALAHAR
WEIR
JAKARTA
MUNICIPALITY

Figure 1. Location of the three reservoirs in the Citarum River
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Construction of Jatiluhur Reservoir gave special experience for Indonesia in terms of
large project implementation. This partly because the project was planned, designed, and
constructed during the most difficult economic condition of the country. In 1950s which
was termed as the nations consolidation period being under the worse and unstable
economic as well as political condition. This condition was further aggravated by the fact
all of the Dutch officials have to leave Indonesia in 1957, at the time Indonesian experts
were still far for adequate to conduct large project such as Jatiluhur Multi Purpose
Reservoir.
Under such a devastating condition, the government decided to implement some large
projects among others Jatiluhur Multi Purpose Reservoir. See also Section 6.3.1. for
more information about implementation of large projects within the period between
1950 and 1967.
The main principle attached to the development of Jatiluhur Project was that the water
from Jatiluhur River for various purposes has to be released through three main canals
i.e.:
i) West Tarum Main Canal which provides irrigation water for the western part of the
project command area at a total of 80,000 hectares, as well as supply of raw water and
flushing for Jakarta municipality;
ii) East Tarum Main Canal which provides irrigation water for the eastern part of the
project command area at a total of 80,000 hectares; and
iii) North Tarum Main Canal for irrigating the northern part of the project area known as
Walahar Irrigation area with a total of 80,000 ha command area.
The above Figure -1., shows the general map and alignment of the three main canals.

Water from Jatiluhur Reser-
voir diverted to West Tarum
Main Canal and East Tarum
Main Canal through Curug
Weir, while water allocation
for North Tarum Main Canal
diverted by Walahar
Barrage. See figure at the
end of this section depicting
the birds eye view of the
Walahar Barrage.

To reach the elevation of West Tarum and East Tarum Main Canal commanded areas,
pumping stations are required. There are two pumping stations i.e. electric pumps, to
pump water to the East Tarum Canal, and hydraulic pumps to pump water to the West
Tarum Canal.

a) Curug Hydraulic Pumps
The Curug hydraulic pump system is popularly known as Sediyatmo Pump. The pump
was designed by Prof. Dr. Ir. Sediyatmo in 1956. The Curug Hydraulic Pump System
Scenic view of Jatiluhur
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consists of 17 pumps (derived from the date of Indonesian independence) with a capacity
of five m
3
/second each. Total discharge to be pumped to West Tarum Canal is 85
m
3
/second including the water demand for raw water and flushing of the western part of
Jakarta Metropolitan.
Manufacturing of those
pumps was initially offered
to a Japanese company,
however, due to some
reasons, the offer was
finally taken by a German
Manufacturing Company.
Before Prof. Sediyatmo
made the design of Curug
Hydraulic Pumps in 1956,
Ir. W.J. van Blommenstein,
in the year 1935, had
previously proposed
hydraulic pump to be
proposed for Gambarsari
irrigation area in Central
Java (see item iii) under
Section 7.5.2.). Prior to his
proposal, Ir. Blommenstein
conducted a trial model in
Semarang Hydraulic in
1935, where he worked. In the subsequent process, in 1936 Ir. Blommenstein assigned to
a German company to find out the possibility of manufacturing of the pumps. But the use
of such a pump was refused by the government.
Furthering this initiative, Prof. Sediyatmo made a design for such hydraulic pump and
managed to make it happened in the curug weir stated above.

For further information, see the cross section of Sediyatmo pump as shown in the
following Figure 2.

Figure 2. Cross section of Sediyatmo Pump
The birds air view of Curug Hydraulic Pumps
History in Brief

MSRI and INACID

344
344
b) Integrated River Basin and Water Resources Management
Eighty-five cubic meters per second of water required to supply to West Tarum Canal for
the irrigation of the commanded areas of the canal, and raw water supplies as well as
flushing of Jakarta. Part of the 85 m
3
/second is pumped from Curug Hydraulic Pumps,
and other part is diverted from four rivers flowing in the command area of the canal:
Cibeet River; Cikarang River; Bekasi River; and Ciliwung River. In the eastern part of
the area, the integration of basin and water resources management conducted by
incorporating Cilamaya River, Ciasem River, and Cipunegara River. This was apparently
one of the earlier integrated basin water resources management in Indonesia. See the
Figure 3 below. In addition, under this system all of irrigation the single command area
of the three main canals, both the existing and the new developed schemes are also
integrated in one management system.

Legend:

Jatiluhur
Reservoir
West Tarum Canal
B
e
k
a
s
i

C
i
b
e
e
t

R
.

C
i
l
i
w
u
n
g

C
i
k
a
r
a
n
g

Curug
Hydraulic Pump
Walahar Barrage
North Tarum Canal
C
i
t
a
r
u
m

R
.

East Tarum Canal
Weir
Commanded area
Siphon
Figure 3. Schematic Diagram of Integrated Basin and Water Resources
Management
History in Brief

MSRI and INACID

345
345

Walahar Barrage
History in Brief

MSRI and INACID

346
346

MSRI and INACID Bengawan Solo River Basin Development
History in Brief

MSRI and INACID

SUPPLEMENT PAPER

BENGAWAN SOLO RIVER BASIN
DEVELOPMENT

By: Syaiful Mahdi
History in Brief

MSRI and INACID

347
347
BENGAWAN SOLO RIVER BASIN DEVELOPMENT

By: Syaiful Mahdi

Bengawan Solo River is the largest river on J ava Island. The catchments area of the
river is about 16,100 km
2
and extended at 600 km of river channel length. The basin of
the river lays in two provinces i.e. Central J ava and East J ava.
Geographically, The basin consists of three sub basins: i) upstream sub-basin with a total
catchment area of 6,072 km
2
; ii) downstream sub-basin with the catchment area of 6,273
km
2
; and iii) Kali Madiun sub-basin with a total catchment area of 3,775 km
2
. The
schematic figure of Bengawan Solo River Basin is presented in Figure 1 below.

Flood Way
Babat
Bojonegoro
Surabaya
Cepu
Ngawi
Mt. Pandan
Mt. Wilis
Mt. Lawu
Sukoharjo
Colo Weir
Wonogiri
Dam
Surakarta
(Solo)
Mt. Merbabu
B
e
n
g
a
w
a
n
(
R
iv
e
r) S
o
lo
Mt. Merapi
Madiun
R
i
v
e
r

M
a
d
i
u
n
Blora
Gersik
B
e
n
ga
w
a
n
(R
ive
r) S
olo
Mountain
Boundary of East Java
and Central Java
Legend :
Coastal Line
Catchments Boundary
River

Figure 1. Schematic Diagram of Bengawan Solo River Basin

The development of Bengawan Solo River Basin has been initiated by the Dutch
Colonial Government since 1893. This development was amongst the large category of
water resources development in Indonesia due to its very large scope of works. This
development project was named after Solo Vallei Werken (Solo Valley Project). However
this project was terminated due to its too costly development cost. In 1905, Dutch
Colonial Government established Department of Agriculture and assigned to evaluate
this project. This department reported that the soil of Solo valley did not support for
History in Brief

MSRI and INACID

348
348
sugarcane plantation. In turned, this project was cancelled, despite the large amount of
budget had been spent.
The Scope of works of Bengawan Solo Vallei Werken include: i) irrigation development
in the whole area of Bojonegoro with a command area of 150,000 hectares; ii) flood
control by short cutting of main river channel; and iii) Development of navigation canal.
As compensation for cancellation of the above project, the government developed some
small projects as listed in the following Table 1.

Table 1. List of projects implemented in lieu of the Solo Vallei Werken
No. Name of Project
Area
(ha)
Water Source
Off take
Structure
Year of
Construction
1. Kali Kening
Irrigation
2,700 Kening River Weir 1898
1)
2. Rengel Spring
Irrigation
5,250 Spring Canal 1903 - 1912
3. Pirang-Dander
Spring Irrigation
3,000 Spring and
Dander River
Weir 1924 - 1928
4. Prijetan Reservoir
2)
5,000 Prijaten River Dam and
Weir
1910 -1918
5. Pacal Reservoir
3)
15,000 Pacal River Dam and
Weir
1927 - 1933
6. J ero River
Downstream
Improvement
4)

Source: Ir. Soebandi Wirosoemarto; Progress of Water Resources Development Project in Indonesia,
1998
Notes:
1) =Firstly constructed in 1882, up-graded to semi-technical irrigation system
2) =Effective Volume 9.5 MCM
3) =Effective Volume 57 MCM
4) =Including construction of small field reservoirs for fishery and irrigation

In 1974 the Master Plan of Bengawan Solo River Basin Development proposed to
develop 198,700 hectares of potential irrigated land, and development of some multi-
purpose reservoirs, among others Bendo and Badegan Reservoirs. Presently (2004) the
detailed design of Bendo Reservoir is being prepared while Badegan is still at the stage
of feasibility study.
Wonogiri Reservoir, which was firstly identified by Ir. Sarsito Mangunkusumo in 1941,
was implemented in 1977 and completed in 1980. The effective storage capacity of this
reservoir is about 730 MCM, providing for irrigation water for the total command area of
about 23,200 ha through Colo Weir, and power generating of at a capacity of 15.5 MW.
A problem faced after construction was associated with sedimentation that has been more
than previously estimated. Under such a high sedimentation condition, the life time of the
reservoir could only accommodate effective reservoir operation at about 27 years. For
this reasons, six additional field reservoirs were constructed at the upstream site of the
dam for the purpose of sediment control. In addition, a large number of check dams were
History in Brief

MSRI and INACID

349
349
also constructed by Ministry of
Public Works (presently
known as Ministry of
Settlement and Regional
Infrastructures), and by the
Ministry of Forestry. The
Ministry of Forestry
constructed more than 50
check dams and also
conducted soil conservation in
the whole catchment area of
the Reservoir. The six
sediment control dams are
listed in the following Table 2.

Table 2. Sediment Control Reservoirs Upstream of Wonogiri Dam
No. Name of Reservoir
Capacity
(x 10
-3
m
3
)
1. Parangjoho 105.0
2. Song Putri 65.0
3. Pidekso 67.5
4. Nawangan 28.6
5. Nekuk 10.0
6. Puter 6,200.0

Within the period of PELITA-II (19741979) a project named Madiun Irrigation Project
was established (Madiun River is a tributary of Bengawan Solo River ). The progress op
the project till 2004 as follows:

+ Rehabilitation of 140,000 hectares of paddy field;
+ Drainage improvement of 9,100 hectares;
+ Development of irrigation infrastructures such as inspection roads, management
building, and telecommunication facilities;
+ Pilot Project on Participatory Irrigation Management in the having a total area of
about 3,500 hectares;
+ Construction of Pondoh Reservoir, 28 MCM, and Sangiran Reservoir, with the
capacity of 9.00 MCM. Both Pondoh and Sangiran Reservoirs provide a total
irrigation command area of 5,000 hectares of paddy field.

At present (2004) there are 44 reservoirs of various capacity (from 500,000 m
3
to 730
MCM), in the basin of Bengawan Solo; some 17 reservoirs in the upstream sub-basin, 18
Reservoirs in the downstream sub-basin, eight reservoirs in the Madiun sub-basin, and
one reservoir in Grindulu River. The 44 reservoirs are listed in Table 3. by sub-basin.
A Master Plan of Bengawan Solo River Basin Development so called Comprehensive
Development and Management Plans (CDMP) had been prepared since 2001 for the time
horizon of 2025. The recommended programs of CDMP are:
Colo Weir
Wonogiri
History in Brief

MSRI and INACID

350
350
1) Development of 36 reservoirs and two barrages; First stage development (2001
2010) are 11 reservoirs and the two barrages, second stage (2011-2020) are 15
reservoirs, and third stage (2020-2025) 20 reservoirs to be developed;
2) Rehabilitation of 113,000 hectares the total 419,400 hectares of existing paddy fields.
Those 113,000 hectares are located in upstream sub-basin (43,000 ha.), in
downstream sub-basin (40,000 ha.), and Madiun sub-basin (30,000 ha). Schedule of
development; upstream sub-basin 2011-2019, downstream sub-basin 2002-2010, and
Madiun sub-basin 2016-2024.
3) Flood Control:
- Downstream improvement between 2002 and 2009
- Upstream improvement between 2017 and 2025
- Madiun sub-basin between 2006 and 2020
- Girindulu River Improvement between 2003 and 2009
- Lawang River Improvement between 2007 and 2011
- Bengawan J ero Swamp Development between 2001 and 2004
- Rehabilitation of Flood Control Structures between 2001 and 2004
4) Other recommendations are: ground water development; domestic and industrial
water supplies; water quality control; conservation; establishment and strengthening
of institution; and others related activities.

History in Brief

MSRI and INACID

351
351
Table 3. Existing reservois in Bengawan Solo River Basin 2004
Basin/Reservoir
Catchment
(km
2
)
Volume
(10
6
m
3
)
Height of
Dam (m)
Length of
Dam (m)
Year of
Construction
I. Solo Upstream
1. Plumbon 7.2 0.5 28.8 413 1928
2. Nawangan 2.7 0.7 25.0 250 1976
3. Song Putri 2.7 0.7 32.0 266 1984
4. Parangjoho 21.8 1.7 25.0 316 1980
5. Ngancar 12.4 2.1 25.4 181 1946
6. Nekuk 18.0 0.6 14.5 85 1987
7. Wonogiori
1
) 1,350.0 730.0 40.0 830 1983
8. Delingan 12.0 2.1 27.0 886 1923
9. Jombor 19.0 3.4 5.0 2,236 1943
10. Krisak 3.5 2.7 20.0 350 1943
11. Lalung 27.0 4.2 12.0 3,300 1998
12. Mulur 7.9 2.7 7.3 2,035 1940
13. Cengklik 10.7 9.8 14.5 1,693 1931
14. Ketro 5.0 2.7 15.0 1,200 1984
15. Gebyar 15.0 0.7 15.0 N.A. 1942
16. Kembangan 7.3 0.6 10.0 1,590 1998
17. Botok 0.2 0.5 11.0 744 1998
II. Kali Madiun
1. Telaga Ngebel 21.0 19.2 42.0 N.A 1930
2. Telaga Sarangan 6.9 3.5 10.0 800 N.A.
3. Saradan 4.9 2.3 8.5 843 7998
4. Dawuhan 28.1 2.9 14.0 860 1962
5. Notopuro 6.5 1.6 8.0 2,114 1998
6. Pondok 32.9 28.0 32.0 298 1995
7. Sangiran 20.6 8.9 26.0 125 2000
8. Dung Bendo 4.7 1.7 17.5 325 1948
III. Solo Downstream
1. Pacal 84.0 57.0 41.0 90 1933
2. Prijetan 23.0 9.5 23.0 360 1916
3. Gondang 68.1 23.0 27.0 903 1986
4. German 4.6 1.3 3.0 1,250
2
)
5. Bowo N.A. 1.7 9.0 600
2
)
6. Caling N.A. 1.2 7.0 125
2
)
7. Joto 6.0 0.6 4.5 3,450
2
)
8 Sentir 1.2 1.2 6.5 3,650
2
)
9. Kolen N.A. 0.6 4.5 800
2
)
10. Makam Santri 3.0 6.5 5.5 500
2
)
11. Paprit 3.0 2.8 5.0 500
2
)
12. Gempol 6.0 2.6 3.0 300
2
)
13. Blg Ganggan 0.5 0.6 3.5 3,890
2
)
14. Plalangan N.A. 0.6 5.0 N.A.
2
)
15. Legoh N.A. 0.6 5.0 N.A.
2
)
16. Jojong N.A. 1.0 5.5 400
2
)
17. Mentras N.A. 1.9 6.0 500
2
)
18. Joho N.A. 1.8 5.0 700 1998
IV. Kali Grindulu
1. Aritan N.A. 0.6 N.A. N.A.
2
)
Source: CDMP Study
1
) After Primary Irrigation Data of Central J ava, 2000, Central J ava Provincial Water Resources Service,
2001
2
) Data not available, but constructed after independence 1945.
History in Brief

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352
352
Table 4. Reservoir and barrage proposed in the study of CDMP
Irrigated Land (ha)
No.
Basin and
Name of
Reservoir
Catchment
(km
2
)
Effective
Volume
(x10
-6
m
3
)
Existing Extension Total
I. Solo Upstream 11 Dams 214,25 7,205 9,289 16,494
1. Pidekso 117.0 83.10 2,233 0 2,233
2. Bakon 7.1 2.00 357 179 536
3. Mulur 7.9 9.00 0 0 0
4. Gondang 12.0 4.55 4,608 0 4,608
5. Ngrejeng 13.3 7.90 7 702 706
6. Mangir 11.4 8.00 0 695 695
7. Pungkruk 22.4 13.60 0 1,164 1,164
8. Dukuh 26.1 32.70 0 1,736 1,736
9. Alastuwo 25.6 19.70 0 2,106 2,106
10. Genen 12.5 23.40 0 1,512 1.,512
11. Sonde 17.0 10.30 0 1,195 1,195
II. Kali Madiun 6 Dams 213.60 24,531 2,331 26,862
1. Badegan 230.0 109.70 10,279 0 10,279
2. Bendo 121.0 42.70 11,402 0 11,402
3. Slahung 22.0 3.55 1,212 0 1,212
4. Telaga Ngebel 21.0 10.00 0 898 898
5. Tugu 3.7 3.55 970 0 970
6. Pakulan 22.5 44.10 668 1,433 2,101
III. Solo Downstream 17 Dams 455.02 18,693 20,452 39,145
1. Kendang 91.0 6.20 931 1,226 2,157
2. J ipang (Alt) 10,035.0 50.00 4,750 0 4,750
3. J aga 42.0 34.50 532 1,771 2,303
4. J egong 24.0 18.15 798 998 1,796
5. Pengkok 45.3 48.50 0 2,248 2,248
6. Ngawenang 9.1 4.60 169 958 1,127
7. Blungun 19.2 7.05 485 1,440 1,925
8. Tawun 36.0 27.00 0 1,299 1,299
9. Ngampon 17.0 14.10 1,469 158 1,627
10. Gonsen 59.0 41.70 0 2,077 2,077
11. Belah 40.0 30.15 0 1,983 1,983
12. Nglambangan 50.0 39.30 0 2,628 2,628
13. Belung 19.2 17.77 0 870 870
14. Mundu 15.1 14.55 0 1,399 1,399
15. Kerjo 45.0 22.25 2,914 495 3,409
16. Kedung Tete 19.2 44.5 3,731 0 3,731
17. Cawat 62.0 34.70 2,914 902 3,813
North Coast 1 Dam 12.50 0 0 0
1. Brenyang 7.6 12.50 0 0 0
IV. Kali Grindulu 1 Dam 41.25 0 3,502 3,502
1. Kedung Bendo 331.0 41.25 0 3,502 3,502
Source: Study of CDMP, 2001
Indonesian National Committee of
International Commission on
Irrigation and Drainage - INACID
Jalan Pattimura No.20 - Perc. No.7; Third Floor, Main Building
Kebayoran Baru - JAKARTA SELATAN; INDONESIA, 12110
62-21-7230317; 7230318; Fax: 62-21-7261956; 7200930
e-mail: [email protected]
ABOUT THE BOOK
The Irrigation History of Indonesia: This book illustrates the
chronological feature of irrigation history of Indonesia
emphasizing technological components. The volume covers
technological aspects, agricultural practices, institutional
aspects, legal and regulatory, socio-cultural within the general
outline among others: Introductory Background Natural
characteristic, topography, rivers, climate and rainfalls; Pre-
historical evidence of irrigation practices; Development of
irrigated agriculture upland areas, rain-fed, lowland paddies,
simple irrigation, semi technical irrigation, technical, upland
paddies, lowland (swamp lands) paddies; Irrigated agricultural
practices during the Hindu Era Hindu Kingdoms; Dutch
Colonial Period; Dutch Ethical Policy; Irrigation Based
Transmigration Program; Establishment of Ministry of Public
Works; Post Independence Era; Five-Year Development Plans;
Lowlands (swamplands) development; Post Five-Year
Development plans; Chronological development of institutional
and regulatory aspects; Present status and condition of
irrigation in Indonesia cropping patterns, institutional and
future prospects and so on.
ABOUT THE BOOK
The Irrigation History of Indonesia: This book illustrates the
chronological feature of irrigation history of Indonesia
emphasizing technological components. The volume covers
technological aspects, agricultural practices, institutional
aspects, legal and regulatory, socio-cultural within the general
outline among others: Introductory Background Natural
characteristic, topography, rivers, climate and rainfalls; Pre-
historical evidence of irrigation practices; Development of
irrigated agriculture upland areas, rain-fed, lowland paddies,
simple irrigation, semi technical irrigation, technical, upland
paddies, lowland (swamp lands) paddies; Irrigated agricultural
practices during the Hindu Era Hindu Kingdoms; Dutch
Colonial Period; Dutch Ethical Policy; Irrigation Based
Transmigration Program; Establishment of Ministry of Public
Works; Post Independence Era; Five-Year Development Plans;
Lowlands (swamplands) development; Post Five-Year
Development plans; Chronological development of institutional
and regulatory aspects; Present status and condition of
irrigation in Indonesia cropping patterns, institutional and
future prospects and so on.
ISBN 979-96442-3-2

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Jakarta, August 2004

Ministry of Settlement and Regional

8' North Latitude to 11

52E 0010 Kb. Bibit Kersana Kab.

01E 0006 Sta. Meteo Cilacap BMG

09E 0003 J l. Pancasila 2 Tegal BMG

42E 0004 Balai Benih Gamer Diperta Kab.

19E 0114 Proy. Serbaguna Kedu

22E 0003 Bandara Ahmad Yani BMG

25E 0001 Sta. Meteo Maritim

23E 0003 J l. Siliwangi 291

01E 1399 Keb. Bibit Purnomosari

14E 0380 DPU Pengairan Seneng DPU Prop. J awa

01E 0270 Proy. Rest. Candi

23E 0320 SPMA Ungaran Pemda TK.I J awa

26E 0300 Getas Salatiga PNP Getas

55E 0104 Lanud Adi Sumarmo

05E 0700 Diperta Kab. Kudus Diperta Kab.

01E 0017 KPP/TC Rendole Pati Diperta Kab. Pati

48E 0020 Kec. Bangsri, J epara Kebun Beji

33E 0035 Kec. Kemangkon

24E 0068 Kec. Kebun Baru

55E 0224 Kec. Wadaslintang,

37E 0024 BB Ngambak

above the meridian. At such

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