World Water Day: A momentum for stakeholders collaboration in Sukabumi district
Sukabumi (30/03) - The 30th World Water Day is commemorated by the FAO-IFish project with the Sukabumi District and West Java Province government representatives, private sectors, environmentalists, and community members. All parties are members of the “Sukabumi District Integrated Inland Water Management Working Group”, a working group for joint management of inland aquatic biodiversity in the district.
The commemoration of World Water Day on March 29-30, 2022 is marked by the planting of 2,500 mangrove trees (Rhizopora apiculate) and the release of 4,000 eels (Anguilla bicolor) around the Ciletuh River, Ciemas District and the Cigaru River, Ciracap District. Both rivers are part of Ciletuh Palabuhanratu UNESCO Global Geopark (CPUGG). Serving more than just a ceremonial activity, the event provided stakeholders with chances to present their program, to exchange information and ideas to develop steps in the sustainable management of inland water ecosystems in Sukabumi District.
One of the ongoing programs pursued by the members of the working group (TWG) is the construction of an integrated fishway in irrigation dam in the Cibareno watershed. The fishway enables local fish to transverse over the dam, especially for the catadromous fish like Anguilla bicolor. Fishway is very important to be built to ensure the sustainability of local fish populations throughout the watershed, as a source of protein for rural communities in Sukabumi District.
In the future, FAO-IFISH project together with TWG members will focus on integrating the management of eel fisheries as one of the priority faunas to be preserved in the Ciletuh Palabuhanratu UNESCO Global Geopark, Sukabumi District. The 126,000-hectare Ciletuh Palabuhanratu geopark area has been part of the UNESCO Global Geopark since 2018, a network to preserve the world's geological heritage and encourage research and sustainable management in the area. FAO IFish project encourages the integrated management of eel fisheries to be part of the Regional Regulation on Inland Fishery Management in CPUGG. The regulation will administer an integrated work with CPUGG management in the geopark conservation area, by creating an eel ecotourism area around the Ciletuh river estuary, in Ciemas District to improve community livelihood.
Long-term management and sustainability are overarching issues on TWG discussions in Sukabumi District. In addition to promoting sustainable management amidst fishing community and local people around the watershed, the TWG are currently developing a sustainable financing mechanism with local governments and a corporate social responsibility (CSR) forum. This mechanism will enable private sectors—as part of Sukabumi CSR forum—to be actively involved in long-term inland water conservation and management activities in Sukabumi District. Through TWG, IFish project will encourage private sectors to adopt the fishway concept and other ecosystem-approach concepts in their business and development plan.
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