By: Adrian Permana (Volunteer Bumi Panda)

As we know, water is an essential component of life. In fact, of all the water on Earth, only 3% can be consumed by living beings. UN data shows that currently around 884 million people (12.5% of the global population) live without safe drinking water and 2.5 billion people (40%) lack proper sanitation facilities. The UN also notes that 1.8 billion of the world's population will live in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity and two-thirds of the Earth's population will live in water-stressed conditions by 2025. Therefore, the preservation of water as well as other supporting components must be a top priority in everyday life.

These facts motivated Bumi Panda to hold another conservation discussion entitled "What's wrong with Water?" last Sunday (27/11). The discussion that took place at WWF-Indonesia's environmental information house was attended by various groups, ranging from students, students, and the general public. Two resource persons, Agus Haryanto as WWF-Indonesia's Water Services Specialist and Rahmi Caroline as River Ambassador of Subayang, Riau, were present to share information about water and rivers.

The discussion began with a video presentation about water in Rimbang Baling that illustrated the river as part of people's lives. Then the participants were introduced to Bumi Panda as WWF-Indonesia's environmental education facility. The conservation discussion began with a presentation on the importance of water for life and facts about water. Agus Haryanto explained how the water cycle in urban areas, the problems faced around water, such as floods, droughts, and the scarcity of water itself. "It is estimated that by 2030, 50% of the population on Earth will live under water scarcity and nearly 1 billion people will have difficulty accessing clean water. This is in line with data from the Minister of Environment in 1997, Java Island experienced a clean water deficit of 134,103 cubic meters," said Agus.

Agus added that unsustainable urban development patterns will have an impact on the existence of clean water itself. The solution to maintain the existence of clean water is by prohibiting development in water catchment areas and making adequate waterways so that it will minimize the problems that will be faced by the city. One example is the city of Bandung and its surroundings, which recently experienced a flood disaster. Generally, floods occur due to waterways that do not meet their capacity. However, the recent floods were caused by siltation of sub-rivers, garbage, and unusual weather anomalies. "Start small, start from ourselves, and start right now for a better future," Agus told the discussion participants to protect the environment.

The discussion continued with an explanation by Rahmi Caroline as River Ambassador, Subayang, Riau. Rahmi expressed her opinion as a river conservation ambassador and shared her experience. "River Ambassador has only been established for one year in Riau. It currently has educational, social, and training-based activities related to the Riau community. Where people are trained to utilize waste that is usually thrown into the river by recycling and selling it. In addition to the community being able to increase their economic value, this is in line with efforts to maintain the existence of water in Rimbang Baling and its surroundings, "said Rahmi.

Rahmi also hopes that there will be River Ambassadors or similar environmental ambassadors in other areas, such as in West Java and others so that the community can jointly protect the existence of water and will bring new impacts to the community and increase the productivity and concern of young people for the environment.

Aditya, one of the participants of the Bumi Panda conservation discussion this time got a new understanding of the importance of water conservation for life. "The material presented is good and very educational for me personally and also adds new insights so that it makes me aware of the environment," he said.