Development Aspects Impressum Editors

Keywords:

Small watershed management Community commitment and ownership Alternative energy

1. Introduction

The Sereng River Basin Watershed Management is co-funded by Jasa Tirta 1 (JT1) and United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) through its Eco-efficient Water Infrastructure Project. ESCAP’s Eco-efficient Water Infrastructure Project is in turn funded by Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). JT1 is the river basin management agency for the Brantas River Basin and Bengawan Solo River Basin in East Java. JT1 is a state-owned company of the Indonesian Government. The location of the project area is shown in figure 1.

Figure 1: Location of Sereng/Konto River

The Sereng River is a tributary of the Konto River, which in turn is a tributary of the Brantas River. The Konto River Basin is divided into the upper and lower reaches by the Selorejo Reservoir, which formed in 1972 after completion of the dam. The up- per watershed of the Konto River covers an area of 236 km² between four volcanic complexes which determine its natural setting. The altitute ranges from 2,800 m at the summit of Mt Butak to 600 m above sea level (a.s.l.) at the Selorejo Dam.

The Jasa Tirta 1 choice of the Sereng River Basin, with a focus on Bendosari Village, was appropriate for the following reasons:

• 
  This is a highly productive highland agricultural area, producing fruits and veg- etables for the markets of the surrounding urban areas and further afield. Dairy farming has been added to supplement household income. Each farm family was provided with 2–3 cows.
  
• 
  The hillside has been severely deforested, for agriculture as well as firewood,
  

resulting in hillside erosion and river sedimentation.

• 
  The dairy waste product is very polluting, affecting residents downstream of the
  

study location.

• 
  The villages have also been devastated by recent unprecedented flooding.
  

• 
  The local communities, especially in Bendosari Village, are committed to move
  

forward to make their village better and to improve their agricultural outputs.

In January–February 2010, there were several flooding episodes in the Konto River: on 14 January, 5–6 February and the last on 24 February 2010. The flood discharge on 24 February 2010 resulted in casualties and damage: two people died

(swept away by the floodwater), a bridge was damaged in Bendosari Village, there was cliff erosion, eight check dams collapsed in Konto River, three houses were damaged and paddy and agricultural fields were inundated. This flood also caused a traffic jam on the Malang–Kediri route for approximately two hours.

The Sereng River is a small tributary in the upper reaches of Konto River. The river has an approximate length of 7.3 km. Flood occurrences in the Konto River indicate the degradation of the watershed in the upper reaches of Konto River. An effort has been made to improve the management of the watershed area by encouraging public participation and initiatives.
The catchment management proposed for the Sereng River Basin included im- plementing structural and non-structural measures, comprising: (1) implementa- tion of non-structural measures, to prevent further catchment degradation (soil conservation) based on local community participation (e.g., bio-pores, land terrac- ing, gully plugs, regreening and/or reforestation); (2) construction or installation of at least one eco-efficient modular/in situ structure to reduce pollution flow into the stream and to improve water quality; and (3) construction of at least one eco- efficient river protection structure to prevent riverbed or riverbank erosion.

2.