Methodology for assessing vulnerability and climate risk of villages in Citarum River Basin, West Java, Indonesia

Abstract

River basins provide homes and livelihoods to millions of people and play important roles in providing water for agriculture, drinking, industry and sewage as well as for hydropower energy production. The threat of climate change on water resources is serious and has to be taken into account in developing short, medium, and long-term development and management plans of river basins. The competition for water resources is projected to increase significantly, not only because of growing global population but also due to increasing demands from industry and agriculture. The impacts of climate change will put further stresses on water resources with projected changes in precipitation patterns. Potentially, more extreme rainfall events will occur, which will cause increased runoff and leave less water available to recharge the groundwater. The study assessed the overall vulnerability profile of the villages over the 2005 to 2011 period. The vulnerability assessment showed that villages classified as ‘very vulnerable’ are characterised by seven key areas: limited access to clean water particularly during the dry season, many households and buildings being located near the river banks, main economic activities being dependent on agriculture, limited access to electricity, lack of education, and health facilities. There were 17 very vulnerable villages in 2011 in the CRB. The current level of climate risk in these villages is still medium, but in the future the risk will increase significantly. Immediate adaptation actions (within 1 to 5 years) are recommended for 25 villages. Short term adaptation actions (within 5 to 10 years) are recommended for over 100 villages.