MANAGEMENT ALTERNATIVES FOR SUSTAINABLE USE OF “RAWA LEBAK” RELATED TO UNPREDICTABLE DROUGHT AND FLOOD

Supli Efendi Rahim1) and Dina Muthmainnah2)
1) Profesor at the University of Education of Sultan Idris Tanjung Malim Perak Malaysia
e-mail: supli_effendi@fptv.upsi.edu.my
2) Research Institute for Inland Fisheries
Jln. Beringin no. 308 Mariana Palembang, South Sumatra Indonesia
e-mail: dina_mth@yahoo.co.id

ABSTRACT

Drought and flood have become continuous phenomena in the inland swamp (“rawa lebak”) which happen one after another and cause for concern. Inland swamp in Indonesia consists of 14 millions hectares which can be found in big islands such Sumatra, Kalimantan and Irian. In South Sumatra there exist three main swamp types namely upper swamp, middle swamp and deep swamp. Normally upper and middle swamp types are utilized for paddy rice and fish, while deep swamp is for natural fish catchment sites and water reserve. In recent years, drought and flood has been changing the conditions of the swampy areas in South Sumatra, therefore requiring management alternatives as to manage the swampy areas sustainably. An integrated management approach is proposed which constitute of four components forming a holistic design. Those components are closely linked and support each other, e.g. through financing and creating transparency and acceptance. Water management and water conservation are of important to consider in the swampy areas management. Storing rainwater, flooding water in a bigger dam and building village well with big pump are among the water management and conservation program which need to be included in long run. It is also worth-while to spend quite a lot of our resources into the human dimension if we need to succeed in managing the inland swamp.

Keywords: drought and flood, swamp, management alternatives

Presented on International Conference on Indonesian Inland Waters II, Palembang, November 2010