Public Engagement in River Management, Lessons Learned From The Willamette River in USA to Indonesia’s River

(Below is the result summary of my study while I was in World Forest Institute's fellowship program. This was also a paper material that was already accepted for IS-River conference in France-2015 which unfortunately I was not able to attend. I just want to share it again here on my personal blog.) 

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Public Engagement in River Management, Lessons Learned From The Willamette River in USA to Indonesia’s River

Sudiyah Istichomah

Indonesia,  nonette262@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

There is an obvious need for the public to be involved in the management of natural resources, including forests, rivers, and resources. There are major challenges in Indonesia around river management such as floods, pollution, land conversion, and low community participation. The Minister of Environment stated that in 2014 75% of the large rivers in Indonesia were contaminated. This study aimed to explore how rivers are managed in the US, using the Willamette River in Portland as a case study. The focus was especially on public involvement  and how that can be applied to Indonesia. Many things can be learned from the Willamette River are 1) Government agencies are actively involved in community programs, the public are also actively involved, and there are nonprofit organizations that oversee government management, 2) Things like dam removal, installation of LWD for fish habitat, and re-meandering rivers are all management tools that would benefit Indonesia, 3) The use of an iconic species such as salmon as the impetus to restore the river is an excellent idea. Indonesia can look for an iconic  species  of their own , 4) Using the river as part of urban ecotourism. The Willamette River is a great Portland attraction for things like jogging, sailing, swimming, etc.

KEYWORDS

Public engagement, involvement, river, USA, Indonesia

1           Introduction

      Indonesian River and Challenges

There is an obvious need for the public to be involved in the management of natural resources, including forests, rivers, and resources. Today, water and river management  is an important issue around the world. There are major challenges in Indonesia around river management such as floods, pollution, land conversion, and low community participation. The Minister of Environment stated that in 2014 75% of the large rivers in Indonesia were contaminated.

This study aimed to explore how rivers are managed in the US, using the Willamette River in Portland as a case study. The focus was especially on public involvement  and how that can be applied to Indonesia.

Why this study is important:

1. Water is necessary for all life on earth. Rivers reflect the level care that is put into managing water resource and they need to be cared for.
2. Learning how developed countries use public involvement in river management  in important so that developing countries can learn from these models.
3. The Willamette River is an important river in Oregon. It flows through the city of Portland and has a complex management, influenced by the urban environment with many different governmental and interested parties engaged in its management.

For 6 six months fellowship program in World Forest Institute, June – November 2014, writer did a study to learn about river management within the USA, with case study of the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon State. The study’s objectives are to know about the general condition of the river management and to find lessons learned that can be applied in Indonesia.

Four main questions for this study are,

1. What is the current state of management of the Willamette River in Portland?
2. Who are the actors that play a role in the management of the river and what are the roles?
3. Is there a forum that brings together those parties?
4. How does it compare with the situation in Indonesia?

The research was conducted in two ways: interviews and literature studies. Interviews were conducted with government agencies, experts, non-profit organizations and the general public in random. Literature was reviewed from websites, journals, news and other sources. A number of  fieldtrips with the World Forest Institute also allowed me to gain knowledge about the management of natural resources, especially rivers of PNW in general.

2. RESULT

2.1 Willamette River – Portland, A river with a long history

The Willamette River Basin is the largest watershed in the state, covering more than 11,500 square miles. Portland occupies only a small fraction of the river’s drainage basin, about one-half of one percent, but is the most urbanized area. Native salmon, steelhead and other fish and wildlife species live within Portland’s urban boundary, and also  migrate through Portland to other parts of the Willamette River Basin, Columbia River Basin and beyond.

The Willamette River faces a lot of problems, including pollution and water quality. In 2000, the federal government established that the river has become one of the Super Fund site cleanup projects because of it’s heavy pollution. This program involves many stakeholders: governments, private companies, numbers of environmental organizations, and also the general public who actively care for the implementation of the programs.

Restoration carried out in upstream rivers and creeks also provide a major influence on the Willamette River in Portland. Restoration of the Willamette River, and generally in the PNW, is closely related to salmon, which has been included in the category of endangered species. Salmon migrations connect the downstream and upstream of river systems and salmon habitat restoration has proven beneficial for the restoration of the river as a whole. Various restoration programs are conducted with the involvement of the general public, such as  volunteer-based tree planting, cleaning streams of garbage, and invasive species removal.

2.2 Actors in Willamette River Management

Who are the actors in river management?

In general, there are four groups that play an active role in management: Government, Private companies/ land owners, nonprofit organizations, and the general public.

Government plays the largest role in river management. They set the policy and develop the manage plans. They engage the public throughout the entire process using various means. Some of these are: transparency – letting the media and public know of their plans, public comment periods for each program so they know what the public wants, providing public field tours, and creating advisory groups.

Nonprofit organizations such as Willamette Riverkeepers or watershed councils can play a complimentary role to government organizations. Through their programs and campaigns, they raise awareness about the river and encourage public to be more. They also can monitor the work of government.

Private companies and land owners typically use a lot of water resources for their business and do have a voice in management of the water. They can support the government and nonprofit organizations that works for river by give fund or have partnership. Landowners usually do the stream restoration and conservation in their property.

The general public is the most important part of this system. The public can actively participate in river management in many ways: read the news and updates about government programs, give active responses during public comment periods, and volunteer in events related to the river.

There are of course many divergent opinions about and interests in the Willamette River. Public engagement is one way to help the various groups work together and understand each other interests in the water. However, developing  discussion forums and consensus on ideas and is difficult and requires a lot of work to have all the parties come together.

Are there forums that bring together interested parties?

Advisory councils and watershed councils provide a forum for people to meet and discuss their concerns about the river.

Watershed councils are locally organized, voluntary, non-regulatory groups established to improve the conditions of watersheds in their local area. They bring together local stakeholders from private, local, state, and federal interests in a partnership, to help plan restoration. In Oregon, there are at least 74 watershed councils that build a big network of people dedicated to supporting the work of river protection and restoration throughout the state.

2.3 Lessons Learned: From Portland to Indonesia

River management in Indonesia is led by the government. There are at least 14 ministries related to water management with the Ministry of Public Work being the main ministry in charge of infrastructure and management of the river. There are also several NGOs that are actively involved in water issues. But there is  a lack of participation by the general public.

In Indonesia, there is also a Water Resources Council, a forum of river management parties at the national or provincial level. They don’t function well however  because coordination is lacking and not everyone’s interests can be accommodated. The most interesting thing is the trend of community volunteer organizations like River Defenders which recently formed all around Indonesia as an expression of concern from a small number of the public for the poor condition of the river.

Many things can be learned from the Willamette River:

•  Government agencies are actively involved in community programs, the public are also actively involved, and there are nonprofit organizations that oversee government management.
• Things like dam removal, installation of LWD for fish habitat, and re-meandering rivers are all management tools that would benefit Indonesia.
• The use of an iconic species such as salmon as the impetus to restore the river is an excellent idea. Indonesia can look for an iconic  species  of their own.
• Using the river as part of urban ecotourism. The Willamette River is a great Portland attraction for things like jogging, sailing, swimming, etc.. Urban rivers in Indonesia have not been widely used for leisure purposes.

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img source: here