Water for life in Flores
After the tidal wave
Case Study
Click on the following links for further information about this case study:
Background
In December, 1992, the island of Flores (Click here for a regional map. Click here for a Flores map.) in Indonesia was devastated by a severe earthquake which was followed by a massive tidal wave. Two thousand people were killed and another 2000 were injured in the disaster. 25000 houses, 600 schools and 135 medical centres were destroyed. 650 people were rescued from outlying islands and relocated. The earthquake and tidal wave also destroyed the pipes which carried the water from streams and springs to urban and rural communities. Sources of water were polluted. Some disappeared.
It was not sufficient to repair or replace pipes. For a sustainable water supply, resistant to future earthquakes, the people of Flores needed a well planned project to reconstruct and develop water supply and sanitation facilities in selected rural and urban areas.
This was difficult because Flores is in a chain of volcanic islands and has V-shaped valleys and knife-edged, highly dissected ridges running in all directions. Some proposed project sites require access by climbing. Sites range from coastal to mountainous as well as outlying islands.
Maumere bore the brunt of the devastation and the three most affected Kabupatens (a Kabupaten is a district) were Flores Timur, Sikka and Ende.
A single narrow road connects the main centres, in these three Kabupatens and the other two, Ngada and Manggarai. The main centres are Larantuka, Maumere, Ende, Bajawa and Ruteng. During the wet season, the road can be blocked by mud and boulders from landslides.
The people of Flores are among the poorest in Indonesia. Many of the communities have always had difficulty getting sufficient clean water and disposing of waste such as sewerage.
Project description
The $24million Flores Water Supply and Sanitation Project commenced in June 1994 and is expected to be completed in June 1999. This five year project aims to increase the provision, access, effective use and sustainability of water supply and sanitation facilities in urban and rural communities. The urban areas will include eight resettlement areas, five Kabupaten cities and eleven towns. The rural areas include 138 villages. The Indonesian Government will be responsible for the construction costs. People in rural communities will contribute labour and some materials. AusAID will advise on the project design, manage the project and provide equipment and technical assistance.
Village project committees will be established to oversee the construction, operation and maintenance of water supply and sanitation works. This will involve training the local people so they can continue to maintain the water supply and sanitation after the project is completed.
The project recognises the need to include both men and women in the decision making process regarding managing and operating the water supply. Women traditionally have been the water gatherers, sometimes walking five or six kilometres for water. The improved supplies will allow women more time for growing vegetables for their families or for sale. This will provide villagers with an additional source of income, raising their standard of living.
There will be a health education program for communities. Some community members will be trained to educate members of their community. Sanitation facilities will be constructed in some homes and primary schools. These facilities will be used for education about health practices to prevent communicable diseases.
At present the following diseases are common in Flores:
- diarrhoea
- hepatitis A and B
- typhoid
- malaria
- giardia and other stomach ailments.
It is essential to involve the local people in all aspects of the project by seeking their opinions, identifying and finding solutions to their problems. This will enhance their sense of "ownership" of the project facilities and thereby ensure that the project continues to operate efficiently after it is established.
Listed below are links to two online video files that GlobalEd has produced for you. These are exerpts from the video resource "Water for Life" which describes in detail the project undertaken in Flores. Both video exerpts have the same content and are approximately 65 seconds long.
The first file is 2.8Mb in size and will take about 20 mins to download on a 28.8K modem. Once the entire file has been downloaded, it will then begin to play.
The second video is 4.2Mb and is in "streaming" format, which means that your browser can start playing the file before it has all been downloaded to your machine. That is, you will see the beginning of the video playing while the end of it is still downloading in the background.
This file will require the Quicktime plugin, which can be downloaded from http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/index.html if you don't already have it installed. Instructions for installation of the plugin can be found at the Quicktime site.
Please choose one of the links below to view the video excerpt:
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