Indonesia’s Water Diplomacy and Leadership in Achieving SDG 6: A Strategic Approach to Sustainable Development
Abstract
Indonesia has contributed significantly in the effort to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) through domestic water management and by advocating for global water diplomacy. At the domestic level, Indonesia created programs such as PAMSIMAS and the 100-0-100, which have expanded access to clean water and sanitation. However, some challenges persist, such as regional gaps, water pollution, and climate change weaknesses. At the global level, Indonesia influences platforms like the UN Water Conference and ASEAN to support fair water management and sustainable solutions. The appointment of Indonesia’s former foreign minister, Retno Marsudi, as the UN Special Envoy for Water Issues will provide Indonesia with more opportunities to impact the issue of global water regime, as this will connect international agendas with Indonesia’s national priorities. This study will explore Indonesia's dual approach opportunities to support domestic reforms with global commitments. This will be conducted through emphasizing accomplishments and challenges, as well as strengthening its role as a leader in sustainable development.
References
10th World Water Forum. (2022). Indonesia ready to launch Global Water Fund as a sustainable water finance. Retrieved from: https://worldwaterforum.org/blog/news-3/indonesia-ready-to-launch-global-water-fund-as-a-sustainable-water-finance-106#:~:text=The%20Ministry%20of%20State%2DOwned,and%20investments%20in%20clean%20water.
Antara. (2024). Retno Marsudi becomes first special envoy of UNSG from Indonesia. Retrieved from: https://en.antaranews.com/news/325971/retno-marsudi-becomes-first-special-envoy-of-unsg-from-indonesia
ASEAN Secretariat. (2023). ASEAN cooperation on water resources management. Retrieved from: https://environment.asean.org/water-resource-management/about
Asian Development Bank. (2021). Climate risk country profile: Indonesia. Retrieved from: https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/700411/climate-risk-country-profile-indonesia.pdf
Bappenas. (2023). Roadmap of Sustainable Development Goals 2023-2030. Ministry of National Development Planning, Jakarta. Retrieved from: https://sdgs.bappenas.go.id/website/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Roadmap-of-SDGs-2023-2030-Eng.pdf?
Basuki, T. M., Indrawati, D. R., Nugroho, H. Y. S. H., Pramono, I. B., Setiawan, O., Nugroho, N. P., Nada, F. M. H., Nandini, R., Savitri, E., Adi, R. N., Purwanto, P., & Sartohadi, J. (2024). Water pollution of some major rivers in Indonesia: The status, institution, regulation, and recommendation for its mitigation. Polish Journal of Environmental Studies, 33(4), 3515–3530. https://doi.org/10.15244/pjoes/178532
Biswas, A. K., & Tortajada, C. (2019). Water Crisis and Water Wars: Myth or Reality?. International Journal of Water Resources Development, 35(5), 727–73. https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2019.1636502
BPK. (2019). Law No. 17/2019 on Water Resources, Republic of Indonesia, 2019. Retrieved from: https://peraturan.bpk.go.id/Details/122742/uu-no-17-tahun-2019
Cosgrove, W. J., & Loucks, D. P. (2015). Water management: Current and future challenges and research directions. Water Resources Research, 51, 4823–4839. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014WR016869
Dodman, D., Hayward, B., Pelling, M., Castan Broto, V., Chow, W., Chu, E., Dawson, R., Khirfan, L., McPhearson, T., Prakash, A., Zheng, Y., ... Ziervogel, G. (2022). Cities, settlements and key infrastructure. In H.-O. Pörtner, D. C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E. S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, & B. Rama (Eds.), Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (pp. 907–1040). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009325844.008
Gleick, P. H. (2020). The World's Water Volume 9: The Biennial Report on Freshwater Resources. Island Press.
Global Water Partnership. (2023). Indonesia’s Role in Global Water Governance. Retrieved from: https://www.gwp.org/annualreport2023/regional_stories/southeast-asia/
Indonesia Baik. (2019). Program 100-0-100 Tingkatkan Akses Air Minum. Retrieved from: https://indonesiabaik.id/motion_grafis/program-100-0-100-tingkatkan-akses-air-minum
Indonesia Ministry of Environment and Forestry. (2023). National Adaptation Plan for Climate Change Adaptation (RAN-API). Retrieved from: https://www.preventionweb.net/publication/republic-indonesia-national-action-plan-climate-change-adaptation-ran-api
IPCC. (2022). Sixth Assessment Report: Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Retrieved from: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/
Krzymowski, A. (2021). Water diplomacy and its strategic significance for Sustainable Development Goals and global security architecture. Sustainability, 13, 13898. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132413898
Michel, D. (2022). Water security. In R. Glasser, C. Johnstone, & A. Kapetas (Eds.), The Geopolitics of Climate and Security in the Indo-Pacific. Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI).
Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas). (2023). Strategic Alignment of SDG 6 Goals with Global Partnerships.
Murray, P., Damayanti, L., Kearton, R., Soegito, A., & Pascoe, F. (n.d.). Penyediaan Air Minum dan Sanitasi Berbasis Masyarakat (PAMSIMAS). Retrieved from: https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/pamsimas-independent-evaluation.pdf
Naldo, R. (2024). Indonesia and the future of water diplomacy. Modern Diplomacy: All Views/All Voices.
Ruhulessin, F., Masya, D., & Alexander, H. B. (2024). RI targetkan akses 100 persen air minum dan sanitasi layak tahun 2030. Retrieved from: https://www.kompas.com/properti/read/2024/11/27/170000721/ri-targetkan-akses-100-persen-air-minum-dan-sanitasi-layak-tahun-2030-
SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation. (2023). Factsheet. UN System Database.
Ssekyanzi, G., Ahmad, M. J., & Choi, K.-S. (2024). Sustainable solutions for mitigating water scarcity in developing countries: A comprehensive review of innovative rainwater storage systems. Water, 16, 2394. https://doi.org/10.3390/w1617239
Stockholm International Water Institute. (2022). The Water Report: Advancing Hydro-Diplomacy. Retrieved from: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/29546SIWI_2022.pdf
United Nations. (2023). Outcome Document of the UN 2023 Water Conference. Retrieved from: https://unosd.un.org/sites/unosd.un.org/files/9._special_session_mr._tomoyuki_okada.pdf
United Nations. (2024). Press Release: Secretary-General Appoints Retno L. P. Marsudi of Indonesia Special Envoy on Water. Retrieved from: https://press.un.org/en/2024/sga2315.doc.htm
Wong, L. (2022). Using Seawater: Desalination in SEA. Southeast Asia Infrastructure.
Copyright (c) 2025 International Journal of Science and Society
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
.png)
.jpg)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
1.png)
.jpg)
-modified.png)
-modified.png)
-modified.png)
