Chapter 21 - Land use change, climate change, and river basin management: A preliminary study in small river basin of Batang Paninggahan, West Sumatra, Indonesia

Abstract

Efforts to build watershed management models from upstream to downstream are often constrained with the limited availability of hydrological data records. In Asia, including Indonesia, there are still many watershed areas that do not have data recording tools that are able to assist decision makers in river basin management. The area around Lake Singkarak, West Sumatra, is a catchment area that has been critically categorized as a result of changes in land use in the upper reaches of which the forests have previously become cultivated for dryland farming. This development obviously affects water availability for downstream uses, especially for wetland farming and fisheries. This study is a preliminary study that has the ultimate goal of building an integrated watershed management model in a participatory manner with relevant stakeholders. The initial phase of this study was conducted by exploring all aspects of social, economic, and natural environment in one watershed in Lake Singkarak, Batang Paninggahan river basin. Data were collected from the availability of secondary data, in-depth interviews with key informants, river tracking, and focused group discussions. The results of this preliminary study mainly cover the outlining socioeconomic conditions of the community, the study of land use change, climate change, and its impact on agriculture and the economy of society. The causal relationship of land-use change and climate change to its impact on agricultural economic activities in the watershed area will be the basis for building a sustainable watershed management model at the study site.