Assessing urban water security and climate change adaptation in Makassar, Indonesia

Abstract

Understanding the potential implications of global and regional climate change is important for decision-makers and planners to make better decisions regarding infrastructure needs and future planning. This is particularly important in cities in developing regions, which often have a history of under-investment in infrastructure and services and experience constraints in finance, resource access, limited data and capacity, whilst experiencing rapid population and economic growth. Makassar city, the capital of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, is a typical example. With a population of 1.3 million people, increasing access to clean water supply to a millennium development goal level is a key government objective. However, access to water depends on multiple factors: the city's surface water supplies which are subject to strong seasonal effects, the availability and condition of the infrastructure for water treatment and distribution, water use patterns and the resources and capacity of the city to invest and maintain their system. To aid in the assessment of water security and to build the capacity in the region, CSIRO and Hasanuddin University in conjunction with local government agencies developed a framework for water security assessment (Figure 1). The framework included climate change projections, evaluated its potential impacts on surface water hydrology and urban water security for Makassar city and then focused on the development of adaptation options. Integral to the development of the framework was the participation of stakeholders (government agencies, researchers, NGOs and academics) at all stages of the process. By integrating top- down and bottom up knowledge (scientific modelling outputs and local knowledge) the project was able to identify vulnerabilities and assess the effectiveness of planned infrastructure to climate change and urban development and to identify a range of adaptation options which can assist in increasing the future security of water supply.