Management Comparison of Water-Related Challenges in Asian Cities: The Study Case of Water Governance Capacity in Bandung

Abstract

In 2050, the urban population will comprise 86% and 67% inhabitants of the developed and developing countries, respectively (UNDESA, 2012). Population growth and urbanisation pose multifaceted challenges in cities, including water and sanitation. Inadequate water governance exacerbates these urban water challenges. Cities in developing countries often exhibit worse conditions due to larger governance gaps in their Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) practices. The City Blueprint® Approach can be used to identify the challenges, assess the performance, and provide options for improving urban water management. The approach comprises of three different frameworks: (a) the Trends and Pressures Framework (TPF), (b) the City Blueprint Framework (CBF), and (c) the Governance Capacity Framework (GCF). The application of TPF and CBF in Bandung and Jakarta provided an overview of challenges and priorities of urban water management for each city. The two cities have similar social pressures coming from high urbanisation rates and low education rates, next to high pressures from flood risk and water scarcity. These pressures resulted in their Urban Water Cycle Service (UWCS) performance which focuses on the improvement of basic water services, particularly for wastewater and solid waste treatment. In order to recognize the gaps and opportunities in the water governance, Bandung was selected to be assessed using the GCF. The city was analysed for the five water-related challenges: flooding, water scarcity, solid waste treatment, wastewater treatment, and urban heat island. The results showed several points of improvement: 1) Alleviate the monitoring and evaluation systems; 2) Improve the statutory compliance; 3) Benefit the interaction between the stakeholders; and 4) Utilize the supports from the regional and national governments. Bandung scores the highest in solid waste treatment, which is also relevant to the flooding challenge (i.e. due to drainage clogging). The study of Bandung is relevant for the four developing Asian cities (i.e. Ahmedabad, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, and Manila) since they can learn from each other as they face similar problems. The analysis of Bandung’s governance capacity demonstrated that the presence of the agents of change in the government bodies could trigger changes in the science-policy interaction. The communication between the relevant stakeholders is expected to alleviate the utilization of practical science for policies. It appears that cities with low Blue City Index (i.e. BCI of 0-2 or cities lacking basic water services and wasteful cities) have a large percentage of slum population compared to cities with higher BCIs. The role of civil societies who speak on behalf of the marginalized groups was highlighted. While the governance gaps still exist, the results from The City Blueprint® Approach can be used to bridge these gaps by communicating the available information to all relevant stakeholders.