Human Anthology in Citarum River

Citarum is the story of how the same stream of water has a different effect on everyone. The impact can be good or bad, but all are agreed, the flow of this river must be maintained.

KOMPAS/ALBERTUS KRISNA

Several workers collected waste from the Citarum River near the Saguling Reservoir in Cihampelas, Bandung Regency, Tuesday (7/2/2023). This worker is part of the Bening Saguling Foundation, a foundation engaged in the development of environmental and economic education.

The great civilizations of the world started from rivers. There is Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. There is Egypt from the valley of the Nile. In Indonesia, the Citarum River is also closely related to the Tarumanegara Kingdom, one of the oldest kingdoms on the island of Java.

Now, Citarum is one of the most important rivers in Indonesia. Its water is used as the raw material for clean water for tens of millions of residents of Bandung, Cianjur, Purwakarta, Bekasi, Karawang and Jakarta. The flow of water is also used to turn power turbines in three dams to meet the electricity needs for most parts of Java and Bali.