Conceptual framework for the development of West Java']Java water sustainability index

Water resources management in Indonesia, particularly on the Island of Java, faces severe water problems. In its annual report released in 2008, the National Planning and Development Council of Indonesia predicted that cities in Java Island would suffer critical water deficits in 2025, if the current excessive use of water resources continues. This excessive use was mainly caused by the sporadic groundwater extraction for various purposes, including agriculture, industry and household. In the West Java Province, the situation is even worse by the high level of pollution of rivers, in addition to excessive water use. In the past, to address these problems, the local government of West Java Province implemented some programs to manage the use of water resources, such as the enactment of new groundwater regulations and the campaign for clean river. However, these programs were not successful due to lack of awareness and support from various water resource stakeholders (Rahmat & Wangsaatmadja, 2007). The lack of people awareness occurred because there was no effective communication on current water sustainability conditions. The lack of stakeholder support was due to different sectors implementing their own programs without appropriate consideration on the sustainability of water resources (Wangsaatmaja, 2004). A sustainable and integrated water management to engage all stakeholders is therefore needed; such water management has demonstrated to be capable of integrating all issues of water resources management (Loucks & Gladwell, 1999; Jakeman et al., 2005). One approach to achieve sustainable and integrated water management is through the application of the indicator-based approach (Jakeman et al., 2005). In the past, this approach has been used to develop water sustainability indices, namely Water Poverty Index (WPI) by Sullivan (2002), Canadian Water Sustainability Index (CWSI) by the Policy Research Initiative (Policy Research Initiative, 2007) and Watershed Sustainability Index (WSI) by Chaves and Alipaz (2007). All these three indices have common objectives to provide information on current conditions of water resources, provide inputs to decision makers and prioritise water-related issues (Lawrence et al., 2003; Chaves & Alipaz, 2007; Policy Research Initiative, 2007). This paper will discuss a framework for developing the West Java Water Sustainability Index (WJWSI). It will outline major water issues in West Java, available concepts and guidelines related to sustainability and water resources, existing water sustainability indices, identification of components and indicators for WJWSI and justification for the selection of WJWSI components and indicators. It will emphasise on the conceptual framework of the WJWSI, which integrates the socio-economic aspects and natural resource aspects, for use in integrated water resource management in West Java, Indonesia. The components and indicators for WJWSI have been identified through an extensive literature review, considering concepts on sustainability, as well as an in-depth review on the existing water sustainability indices. Two main criteria were used for the selection of components and indicators: (1) the suitability of particular components/indicators to environmental, social and economic backgrounds of West Java and (2) the likely availability of required data for the case studies.