Vice Chairperson of the House Committee for Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation, Putu Supadma Rudana and Sukamta, after the launch of the House Water Caucus at the Nusantara III Building, Senayan, Jakarta on Thursday (5/16/2024). Photo: Jaka/vel

PARLEMENTARIA, Jakarta - As an initial step in the endeavor towards overcoming water problems in Indonesia and beyond, the Indonesian House has established the House Water Caucus. Deputy Chairperson of the House Committee for Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation (BKSAP), Putu Supadma Rudana as the initiator of the caucus, symbolically launched the House Water Caucus at the Nusantara III Building, Senayan, Jakarta on Thursday (5/16/2024).

"Today I and my colleague, Mr. Sukamta, wish to lend our support to initiate the establishment of a water caucus in the Indonesian House of Representatives. We are initiating the caucus as a reminder that we have taken the initial step through the water caucus," said Putu at the event.

Putu expresses his expectation for the caucus -- initiated by the House of the current parliamentary period -- to continue fighting for water-related interests in Indonesia. He emphasized that the commitment and concern for clean water sustainability is not only an issue raised at the momentum of the upcoming 10th World Water Forum. Moving forward, the eagerness to fulfil public access to clean water is expected to be carried through by legislators of the forthcoming period.

"Hopefully the caucus will bring benefit to the society. We at the Parliament are really concerned about water issues and our commitment is to continue bring the topic up in any House forum or session to ensure its sustainability. The World Water Forum only lasts a week, right? But hopefully this caucus will continue in the long run, therefore our initiative will always be available as a tool to fight for the interests of the people, especially access to clean water," added the Democrat Party politician.

At the moment, Indonesia is gearing up for the 10th WWF which will be held in Bali on 18-25 May. Different from the previous events, the upcoming WWF will be organized in collaboration with the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and is planned to be attended by more than 50 parliaments of IPU member countries.

"We are looking to mobilize all parliaments. And the caucus actually shares the same goal to mobilize all parliamentarians. There are 84 electoral districts in Indonesia, and there will be 580 members in the next period who will hopefully oversee the water issue," said Putu.

At least 138 countries will participate in the 2024 WWF, 51 of each represent world parliaments and international organizations. In each of its event, the WWF is always organized under different themes. For the 2024 WWF, the theme is 'Water for Shared Prosperity'.

The segment dedicated to parliaments at the 2024 WWF will be held on 19-22 May 2024 at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center, during which 2 (two) plenaries are scheduled. The theme of the first plenary will be 'Access to Sanitation and Water' while the second one will be themed 'Innovative Practices for Inclusive and Equitable Water Access'. The series of parliamentary meetings are expected to result in a declaration or multi-stakeholder resolution on water to be agreed upon by all the participating parliaments. (uc/aha/agl)