Citarum At Glance

Citarum is the longest and largest river in West Java Province. At 297 kilometers in length, the river originates from its headwater in Situ Cisanti located at the foot of Mount Wayang, which lies to the south of the city of Bandung, and empties into the southern coast of the Island of Java or precisely at Muara Gembong in Bekasi District.

The Citarum boasts various potentials which play a critical role in a social, cultural and economic life of people. Not only is the river beneficial to 44.55 millions of West Java population (2012 BPS data), it also provides water sources for urban population in the capital Jakarta, agricultural irrigation, fisheries, water supply for industrial productions as well as hydroelectric power plants whose electricity output is distributed across the Islands of Java and Bali. In accordance with the Presidential Decree number 12 in the year 2012 on River Basin Territories, Citarum River Basin is divided into 19 (nineteen) watershed areas and is classified as a national strategic river basin. It is coded as WS 02.06.A3.

Over the last two decades, the degradation of the Citarum has been occurring from its upstream to downstream reaches. The rapid expansion in both demographic and socioeconomic sectors, which has not gone parallel with conservation efforts, brings additional problems to the Citarum.

The deterioration in environmental quality of the Citarum has affected people living along its riverbanks, both in rural and urban areas. Almost in every wet season, incidents of flooding threaten various areas within West Java. The river water pollution due to industrial and agricultural productions has reached a dangerous level and poses a threat to public health and livelihoods.