APP and MAB partner on Indonesian pilot water project

The Asia Pulp & Paper Group (APP) has collaborated with the Man and Biosphere Programme (MAB) Indonesia-Limnology Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) on a community-based water treatment project in Sumatra, Indonesia.

The pilot project will create local water treatment systems to address problems faced by the communities with a lack of access to clean water.

The collaboration between a team of scientists from MAB Indonesia and the LIPI research centre, supported by APP and members of the community in and around the GSK-BB Biosphere Reserve will deploy water purification systems in the current pilot stage of the project.

The water purification systems will transform peat water into water that is fit for human use.

The water treatment project is being piloted in Tanjung Leban, an area in the Giam Siak Kecil – Bukit Batu (GSK-BB) reserve, and the units have been produced based on a design from Research Center for Limnology-LIPI and MAB Indonesia.

Each water purification unit will have a capacity to produce 60l of potable water per minute, enough to provide an ongoing supply for around 100 families.

The project is the first stage of the country’s long-term plan to develop the bio-village concept in the GSK-BB Biosphere Reserve in Riau province, Sumatra.

APP sustainability and stakeholder engagement managing director, Aida Greenbury said: "This project will help to address the ongoing clean water shortages experienced by millions of Indonesians.

MAB Indonesia-LIPI programme director, Prof. Dr Ir. Y. Purwanto said: "The target outcome for the project is to provide alternative technologies for the provision of clean, usable water among communities around the GSK-BB Biosphere Reserve."

The MAB programme was officially launched by UNESCO in 1970.