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Technical Note

A Comprehensive Database of Indonesian Dams and Its Spatial Distribution

by
Kai Wan Yuen
1,
Edward Park
1,2,3,
Melda Hazrina
4,
Muh Taufik
4,
Putu Santikayasa
4,
Edgardo Latrubesse
3,5 and
Janice Ser Huay Lee
1,3,*
1
Earth Observatory of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637616, Singapore
2
National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637616, Singapore
3
Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637616, Singapore
4
Department of Geophysics and Meteorology, IPB-University, Bogor 16680, Indonesia
5
Graduate Program Environmental Sciences, Federal University of Goiás, Goiânia 74605-220, Brazil
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Remote Sens. 2023, 15(4), 925; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15040925
Submission received: 9 November 2022 / Revised: 1 February 2023 / Accepted: 1 February 2023 / Published: 8 February 2023
(This article belongs to the Section Earth Observation Data)
Browse Figures
Review Reports Versions Notes

Abstract

:
Dams are infrastructural projects with multiple uses that include hydropower, irrigation, water storage, flood management, and recreation. Most research on dams in Southeast Asia focuses on the Mekong River Basin and there is limited research on dams in Indonesia. Here, we developed a comprehensive database of dams in Indonesia derived from global and local datasets. We also used Google Earth Pro to locate additional dams and to validate the presence of all the dams. Our database had a total of 1506 dams (from large to mini dams and run-of river dams) in operation or under construction, and this was three times the number of dams reported in Indonesia’s national database for dams. There were another 250 planned dams, of which, only 30 had known locations. Our database also includes information such as the geographical coordinates of each dam, their physical characteristics, and what each dam is used for. Ultimately, we hope that our work will help researchers, non-government organizations, and government agencies with hydrological and socio-ecological research in Indonesia.

1. Introduction

Rivers play an important role in shaping the physical environment and are essential for food production and socio-ecological systems. The development of dams and irrigation systems by ancient civilizations has allowed for greater control and management of rivers for agriculture, water storage, transportation, and flood control. Dam engineering prior to the Industrial Revolution focused on earthen and stone dams for the purpose of irrigation and water storage [1]. With advances in technology, larger dams were built with concrete and with more diverse purposes in mind, such as for improved navigation, hydroelectric power, and recreation [2]. However, the proliferation of large dams has led to widespread negative environmental and social impacts that occur upstream, downstream, and in reservoirs behind the dams [3,4].
Dam construction in Southeast Asia is often tainted with controversy due to lax environmental impact assessments and negative socio-ecological consequences [5]. The proliferation of dams in Southeast Asia in the 1990s stemmed from the need for large-scale foreign-exchange-generating projects which aimed to boost national economies, generate power, and improve water security for agricultural intensification [6,7,8]. Large-scale investments from development agencies, and more recently, from China’s large infrastructural investment plans such as the Belt and Road Initiative, have fueled the growth of hydropower dams in Southeast Asia [9]. However, the actual construction costs of large dams tend to be too high to yield a positive financial return on investments [10,11,12,13]. Most nations in Southeast Asia, where these hydropower dam developments take place, such as Laos in the Mekong basin, have weak governance and lack strict regulations and laws to ensure the safe development of dams. As a result, the construction of Southeast Asian dams creates a range of problems that includes displacement of local communities, the disruption of fish migration and fisheries, damage to riverine ecosystems, flash floods, and infrastructure failure [11,14,15,16].
When considering the environmental costs and risks of dam development, the situation in Southeast Asia is complicated by the region’s exposure to multiple natural hazards [17]. Indonesia is one such country that is exposed to multiple hydrometeorological hazards due to its location in the intertropical convergence zone and along the Pacific Ring of Fire, which is a region with high tectonic and volcanic activity. However, studies on existing and planned dams in Indonesia are limited, and the few available articles in the scientific literature concentrate on the displacement of local communities and resettlement programs from dam development [18,19,20].
To assess the social and environmental impacts of a dam, it is helpful to have a database with background information on the location of the dam and other supporting details. In addition, such a database can also be used for dam monitoring and management [21,22] and for informing investigation efforts regarding dam failure [23]. Catchment level studies that seek to understand the impacts of a dam or a series of dams in a watershed will also benefit from such a database. However, databases are lacking because compiling data across various sources is challenging and time consuming, as such a process requires pulling data from across various sources such as books, state agency reports, and engineering reports [24]. Examples of global dam databases that are publicly available include the Global Georeferenced Database of Dams (GOODD), Global Reservoir and Dam Database (GRanD v 1.3) and FAO AQUASTAT. Global dam databases that include information from multiple countries tend to have a limited sample size, as data from multiple countries have to be compiled and verified. For example, the FAO AQUASTAT database contained 242 Indonesian dams, whereas the number of dams in a local Indonesian database was three times higher. In addition, global databases have limited information on smaller, non-hydropower dams. Similarly, the FAO AQUASTAT focused on large dams >15 m and smaller dams were included if they happened to be available. To improve the comprehensiveness of global datasets, national level databases can be used to complement and validate existing global databases. As such, the aims of this study are: (1) To develop a dam database for Indonesia by consolidating information from multiple sources. (2) To provide a breakdown of the different types of dams across Indonesia. (3) To assess the location of dams relative to the stream order of the rivers in Indonesia.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Data Sources

To compile our database, we used six global dam databases, five Indonesian dam databases, and the search function on Google Earth Pro to derive the locations of all types of dams in Indonesia. The global databases that we reviewed include FAO AQUASTAT, Future Hydropower Reservoirs and Dams (FHRED), Global Dam Tracker (GDAT), Global Georeferenced Database of Dams (GOODD), Global Reservoir and Dam Database (GRanD v 1.3) and Open Street Map Dams (OSMDAM). The Indonesian databases for dams were all in Bahasa Indonesia and included online databases from the Indonesian Ministry of Public Works and Housing, the Indonesian Directorate General for Water Resources, the Indonesian Bureau of Statistics, and the Committee for Acceleration of Priority Infrastructure Delivery (Table 1).
We also conducted a keyword search in Google Earth Pro using the following keywords “dam,” “bendungan,” “bendung,” and the names of the main islands in Indonesia (Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan (Indonesian side of Borneo), Sulawesi, Papua, Bali, West and East Nusa Tenggara, and Maluku) (Table 2) to locate additional dams that may not have been picked up by existing databases. “Bendungan” and “Bendung” refer to dams and weirs in Bahasa, Indonesia. Hydropower dams tend to be abbreviated as PLTA (Pembangkit Listrik Tenaga Air or hydroelectric power plant), PLTM (Pembangkit Listrik Tenaga Minihidro or mini hydroelectric power plant), and PLTMH (Pembangkit Listrik Tenaga Mikro Hidro or micro hydroelectric power plants), and we also used these keywords to pick up any additional hydropower dams.

2.2. Data Compilation, Classification, and Verification

To compile our dam database, we first extracted all the Indonesian dams listed in each database (Table 1) and included additional dams from our Google Earth search. We focused on collecting data from all the provinces in each of Indonesia’s major islands (Table 2). In the Indonesian Directorate General for Water Resources database (SISDA), 3260 reservoirs (known as “embung” in Bahasa) were listed. While water may be stored behind dams in reservoirs, reservoirs were included in our database if they were previously listed in another dam database.
The following information was included in our database if available: latitude and longitude; name of dam; name of reservoir and river; names of the province; district and sub-district where the dam was located; year in which the dam started construction and was completed; dam characteristics, such as height, length, width, and volume; area of reservoir; the primary and secondary purpose of the dam; the status of the dam; the stream order of the river for the dam; and the source of information for each dam. For hydropower dams, the dam capacity (MW) and dam output per year (MWH) were also included. (Table 3, Supplementary Materials Dataset S2). If conflicting information on the specifics of the dam were identified (e.g., different height of dam, reservoir area/volume, etc.), we used the source with the most recent date of publication. If no supporting information was available, the relevant data field was left blank, as it was impossible to independently determine information such as the construction materials used or the normal, minimum, or maximum volumes, and areas of a reservoir.
The coordinates provided for each dam drawn from our three approaches above (global database, local databases and Google Earth Pro keyword search) were then checked in Google Earth Pro to verify its location and check their status. The most updated imagery was used if possible and we corrected the coordinates if the original coordinates did not match the location of the physical dam structure. If no physical structure was visible, the coordinates were randomly placed within the enclosed reservoir. We note if the dam was existing and operational, under construction, or if it was a future planned dam. The most recent imagery on Google Earth Pro was used to ensure that the dam status was updated. If the dam was obscured by cloud cover, the next most recent imagery was used for verification. A snapshot of each dam on Google Earth Pro was taken to verify the dam’s location (see Supplementary Materials Dataset S1 for more details). Dams that were damaged (i.e., signs of broken infrastructure or absence of dam-like structures) or had missing location data were listed separately and excluded from our analysis. Any additional hydropower plants we found were included if they were the run-of-river dams or located in the middle of a river. Those that withdrew and diverted water from the river were excluded from our database.
Although the name of each dam was used to distinguish it from other dams, we found that a single dam may have more than one name, which led to the same dam being listed more than once in our process of data compilation. It was also possible for two differently named dams to have the same coordinates. To prevent repeated entries, we created a 100 m buffer around each dam on ArcGIS. The buffers were dissolved to merge any overlapping buffers. Thereafter, the area of each polygon was derived and sorted in descending order. Polygons that did not have the same area created by a radius of 100 m were checked and repeated entries were removed. After verification and accounting for duplicates, we obtained a total of 1506 dams that were existing and operational or currently under construction. Our database also had another 250 planned dams.
We then classified the purpose of each dam as “irrigation,” “hydroelectricity” (used interchangeably with “hydropower”), “water supply/storage,” “flood control,” “navigation,” “fishing,” “livestock water supply,” “recreation,” and “pollution control.” A category labelled “other purpose” was used if the dam had a use outside of these categories. Following Williams and Porter [35], we classified the hydropower generating capacity as micro (<0.1 MW), mini (0.1 ≤ MW < 1), small (1 ≤ MW < 10) medium (10 ≤ MW < 100) and large (≥100 MW).
The stated purpose of each dam was known for only 372 dams, or 25% of dams in our database. To infer the use of the rest of the dams that were unspecified, we used Google Earth Pro to visually inspect the land-cover and land-use around each dam and used a criterion to derive the primary and secondary purpose of the dam. For these unspecified dams, their derived purpose was limited to three categories, namely, “irrigation,” “flood control,” and “water supply/storage,” as, apart from hydropower, these were the most common and most important uses of dams [36]. Specifically, if the land-cover and land-use within a 5 km radius of the dam was predominantly agriculture, the primary purpose of the dam was assigned as “irrigation.” If the land-cover was urban, the dam was assigned as “flood control.” Where the dam was a reservoir or a body of water, the purpose of the dam was assigned to “water supply/storage.” As dams may be multi-purpose [37], a secondary use was assigned in some cases. For example, if there were built-up areas in a predominantly agricultural landscape, a dam would be assigned a primary purpose for “irrigation” and a secondary purpose for “flood control.” In a predominantly urban landscape, “flood control dams” would have “irrigation” assigned as its secondary purpose if there were patches of agricultural land present. The most recent satellite imagery was used to derive the purpose of each dam. If the land-cover and land-use in the most recent image was unclear, imagery from 2015–2020 on Google Earth Pro were reviewed. Hydropower was excluded from our independent classification, as it was impossible to accurately determine if a dam was built for such a purpose from Google Earth imagery.
Lastly, we used a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) from the United States Geological Services [38] to derive stream orders and catchment boundaries for all the major islands in Indonesia, including Bali, West and East Nusa Tenggara, and Maluku, under ArcGIS (ArcMap v 10.8.1). The names of catchments were derived from an water catchment database from the University of Gadjah Mada [39]. Each dam was matched to a catchment and to a stream order of the river upon which the dam was located. After matching each dam to a catchment and deriving the stream order of the river upon which the dam was located, we determined if the dam was located on the main river or on a tributary. Within a catchment, the river with the highest stream order was the mainstream of the river. To ensure that the classification of the dam was accurate, we reviewed the stream order of each dam on Google Earth Pro, and if it was on the mainstream of the river but was classified as a lower order stream by ArcGIS, we then manually corrected it. A summary of our workflow is presented in Figure 1.

3. Results

3.1. General

We collated a total of 1506 dams, which includes 1464 dams in operation and another 42 under construction (Table 4). In terms of construction type, we found 17 different types of dams. Homogeneous earth dams were the most common (n = 35 or 43%), followed by earth core rockfill dams (n = 22 or 27%), and concrete gravity dams (n = 7 or 9%. The most detailed information on dam construction type was found in Java, followed by Bali Nusra and Sumatra (Table 5).
Java had the highest number of operational dams (n = 697), followed by Bali Nusra (326), Sumatra (241), Sulawesi (153), Kalimantan (58), Maluku (16), and Papua (15). Of the 1506 operational dams, 265 dams (22%) were located on the main river, and the remaining 1241 dams (78%) were located on river tributaries. The number of mainstream dams was highest in Bali Nusra (97), followed by Java (67), Sulawesi (46), Sumatra (40), Kalimantan (6), Maluku (5), and Papua (4). The number of tributary dams was highest in Java (n = 629), followed by Bali Nusra (229), Sumatra (201), Sulawesi (107), Kalimantan (52), and Maluku and Papua (11 each) (Table 5). Java and Kalimantan had the highest ratio of tributary dams to the total number of dams, at 0.90. That means 10% of the dams on these islands were on the mainstream of a river. On the contrary, Sulawesi, Bali Nusra, Maluku, and Papua had close to 30% of their dams located on the mainstreams of rivers (Table 5).
Across Indonesia, 495 catchments had at least one dam within their catchment boundaries. The number of dammed catchments across Indonesia was highest in Bali Nusra (n = 145), followed by Java (115), Sumatra (89), Sulawesi (87), Kalimantan (34), Papua (13), and Maluku (12). Among the 495 catchments, Opak-Oyo catchment in Yogyakarta had the highest number of dams (138 dams), followed by Bengawan Solo catchment in Central Java with 103 dams, and Brantas catchment in East Java with 50 dams. Only nine of these dams from these three catchments were mainstream dams. Other catchments in Indonesia had a disproportionately higher number of mainstream dams, such as the Hidirasa and Jangka catchments in West Nusa Tenggara, which have seven mainstream dams in their catchments each, the highest number among all catchments. All seven dams in the Jangka catchment were mainstream dams, while seven out of eight dams in the Hidirasa catchment were mainstream dams. There were 127 catchments where all dams in the catchment were mainstream dams, with the number of dams in these catchments ranging from one to three dams (134 dams in total). All of the dams (612 in total) in 295 catchments were located on a river tributary.
When we assessed the primary purpose of dams, most dams in our database were for irrigation (n = 1032), followed by water supply and storage (299), hydropower (99), and flood control (76) (Figure 2a). When normalized by area of the island, we showed that Java and Bali Nusra have high density of dams for irrigation and water supply and storage (Figure 2b).
In addition to the existing dams, we compiled information for 250 planned dams; 30 with known locations and another 220 with unknown locations (Supplementary Materials Dataset S2). Unknown locations refer to planned dams that were named in reports but had no coordinate information provided by the source. Java and Bali Nusra had the highest number of planned dams (83 and 73, respectively), followed by Sumatra and Sulawesi (39 each). Only a few dams were planned for Kalimantan (11), Papua (4), and Maluku (1). Of the 30 planned dams with known locations, five dams were slated to be located on the mainstream. These five dams include two in Sumatra (North Sumatra and Lampung) and one each in West Java, East Kalimantan, and Papua.

3.2. Hydropower Dams

There were 99 hydropower dams in Indonesia (Figure 3). Out of the 99 dams, 70 were in operation and 29 were under construction. The number of hydropower dams on the mainstreams was 22 and those located on river tributaries was 77. The number of hydropower dams across Indonesia was highest in Java (n = 38), followed by Sumatra (22), Sulawesi (19), Bali Nusra (15), Kalimantan (4), and Papua (1) (Figure 3a and Figure 4). Java had the highest density of hydropower dams among all the islands in Indonesia (Figure 2b and Figure 4).
The 99 hydropower dams were distributed in 69 different catchments across Indonesia. The island of Java had the greatest number of catchments with at least one hydropower dam (18 catchments), followed by Sumatra (16 catchments), Sulawesi and Bali Nusra (15 catchments each), Kalimantan (4 catchments), and Papua (1 catchment). 33% of the hydropower dams on Bali Nusra were on the main river, while the corresponding number for Sumatra was 32%, 26% for Sulawesi, and 25% for Java. While Java had a high density of hydropower dams, only 11% of them were on the main river. Amongst all catchments with hydropower dams, sixteen catchments had hydropower dams located on the main river (18 dams in total) and three catchments had half of their dams on the main river. For the remaining 50 catchments, all dams were located on a river tributary.
In terms of hydropower capacity, small dams (1 ≤ MW < 10) were the most common (n = 33), followed by medium dams (10 ≤ MW < 100, n = 30). There were fewer mini (0.1 ≤ MW < 1) and large (≥100 MW) hydropower dams (18 and 17, respectively). Lastly, there was one micro (<0.1 MW) hydropower dam in our database, the Tiu Kulit dam in West Nusa Tenggara (0.075 MW) [40]. Most of the hydropower dams in Sumatra were medium dams, while small dams were more common in Java, Kalimantan, and Sulawesi (Figure 3a and Figure 4). Most hydropower dams in Bali Nusra were mini hydropower dams. Overall, large hydropower plants were more common in Sumatra, Java and, Sulawesi (Figure 3a and Figure 4).
The hydropower dams in Java and Sumatra produced 2026 MW and 1989 MW of electricity, respectively, the highest among all the islands in Indonesia (Figure 2b). The high output is partially attributed to the larger number of hydropower dams on these islands (38 in Java and 22 in Sumatra). 19 hydropower dams in Sulawesi contributed 890 MW of power, just under half of Java’s output. In addition, the hydropower output in Bali Nusra was half that of Sulawesi because 13 out of 15 hydropower dams were classified as mini and small. At the bottom of the list, Kalimantan and Papua had a combined hydropower production of only 65 MW from five dams (four in Kalimantan and one in Papua) (Figure 3b).
Of the 250 planned dams, 18 were primarily hydropower dams. Sumatra, Java, and Bali Nusra will have four more hydropower dams each. Meanwhile, Sulawesi and Papua have two hydroelectricity projects planned, while Kalimantan and Maluku will have one additional hydropower dam each. Nevertheless, the number of planned hydropower dams is likely to be an underestimate as details for the remaining planned dams were not available. In terms of hydropower capacity, there will be six more medium hydropower dams (two in Sumatra, one each in Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Papua) and five more small hydropower dams (one each in Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, Bali Nusra, and Maluku) (Figure 4). There will be three mini (one in Java and two in Bali Nusra) and three large hydropower dams (one each in Sumatra, Java, and Papua) (Figure 4). Our planned dams also include one additional micro hydropower dam, Bendungan Kolhua, in East Nusa Tenggara, which is slated to have a capacity of 0.04 MW (KPPIP, [25]; Figure 4). The total hydropower output from these 18 planned hydropower dams will be 1311 MW, equivalent to 24% of the existing capacity of 5377 MW.
For the planned hydropower dams, three proposed dams will be on the mainstream of a river (Batang Toru in North Sumatra, Lambakan in East Kalimantan, and Yahwei-Urumuka 6 in Papua). The remaining 15 projects will likely be built on a river tributary. Ten new catchments (Batang Toru, Deli, Eilanden, Kokok Meninting, Mukumuga, Oesapa, Siak, Telake, Tukad Ayung, and an unnamed catchment in Maluku) will have a new hydropower dam. Another eight catchments with pre-existing hydropower dams will have new hydropower projects within their catchment boundaries. The eight catchments are Brantas, Cimanuk, Citanduy, Jenebrang, Konaweha, Musi, Rea, and Serayu.

3.3. Irrigation Dams

There were 1032 irrigation dams in Indonesia, which make up 69% of the entries in our database. 1022 dams are currently in operation with another 10 under construction. Undoubtedly, irrigation dams were the most common type of dams in Indonesia, concurring with a worldwide study that irrigation is the most common use for dams [26]. Half of the irrigation dams in Indonesia were in Java (n = 525), with another 192 dams (20%) in Bali Nusra. Sumatra had 149 irrigation dams (14%), followed by Sulawesi with 117 dams (11%). Kalimantan, Maluku, and Papua have a total of 49 irrigation dams, or only 5% of the total number of irrigation dams in Indonesia (Figure 2a and Figure 5). Java and Bali Nusra had the greatest number of irrigation dams and the highest density of irrigation dams across Indonesia (Figure 2b and Figure 5).
Out of the 1032 irrigation dams, 209 were on the mainstream of a catchment and 823 were on a river tributary. The irrigation dams were distributed over 369 catchments across Indonesia. In 109 catchments, all dams were on the main river (121 dams). Conversely, 204 catchments had dams on tributaries (398 dams). Bali Nusra had the greatest number of catchments with irrigation dams (103 catchments), followed by Java (97), Sulawesi (72), Sumatra (62), Kalimantan (18), Maluku (10), and Papua (7). Bali Nusra also had the highest percentage of irrigation dams on the mainstream at 41%, while 32–38% of the dams in Maluku, Papua, and Sulawesi were on a main river. The corresponding numbers for Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Java were 19%, 11%, and 10%, respectively.
When we assessed the number of dams within a catchment, Opak-Oyo River in Central Java was heavily tapped for irrigation, with 122 irrigation dams within the catchment. The Bengawan Solo catchment in Central Java had the second highest number of irrigation dams, with 67 dams, half the number of dams in the Opak-Oyo catchment. The Progo Catchment in Central Java was third, with 31 irrigation dams within its catchment boundaries. The Hidirasa and Jangka catchments in West Nusa Tenggara had the highest number of mainstream dams, followed by the Progo catchment (Central Java), with six irrigation dams on the main river.
In the future, at least eight new irrigation dams will be built. Six out of the eight dams will be in Sumatra (Lampung), Java (West Java), and Papua, or two on each island. In addition, there will be another two irrigation dams in South Kalimantan and East Nusa Tenggara (one each). Out of the eight new irrigation dams, Bendungan Sukaraja III in Lampung and Bendungan Ciawei in West Java will be located on a main river. One catchment in Papua (Memeramo) with no existing irrigation dams will have a new irrigation dam named Lereh II in the future. In addition, another six catchments with at least one existing irrigation dam will be further tapped for irrigating crops. The six catchments are Aesesa (East Nusa Tenggara), Ciliwung (West Java), Cipunagara (West Java), Maluka (South Kalimantan), Nabire (Papua), and Sekampung (Lampung).

3.4. Water Supply and Storage Dams

After irrigation dams, water supply and storage dams were the next most abundant type of non-hydropower dam in Indonesia (Figure 2 and Figure 5). There were 299 dams with water supply and storage listed as their primary purpose, equivalent to 20% of our database. 297 dams were presently in use, with another two more under construction. The distribution of water supply and storage dams in Indonesia follows the order: Bali Nusra (n = 107), Java (80), Sumatra (66), Kalimantan (25), Sulawesi (14), Papua (5), and Maluku (2) (Figure 2a and Figure 5). The density of water supply and storage dams were the highest in Bali Nusra; there were eighty-seven water supply and storage dams in West Nusa Tenggara, sixteen in East Nusa Tenggara, and four in Bali (Figure 2b).
The water supply and storage dams were distributed in 146 catchments across Indonesia, with Bali Nusra having the highest number of catchments (47 catchments) followed by Sumatra (35), Java (28), Kalimantan (19), Sulawesi (10), Papua (5), and Maluku (2). The percentage of mainstream dams in each catchment ranged from 3 to 20%. While only 3% of water supply and storage dams on Java were on the main river, 20% of water supply and storage dams on Papua were on the main river. In general, 282 water supply/storage dams were on river tributaries, with the remaining 17 dams on the mainstream of a river. The Kali Mangkung catchment in West Nusa Tenggara (n = 23) and Bengawan Solo in East Java (22) had the highest number of water supply and storage dams. For the forty-five dams in these two catchments, only one dam was on the main river, Solo River in the Bengawan Solo catchment. There were also another three catchments (Kali Palung, Kali Perempung, and Brantas) with 10 to 12 water supply/storage dams, all situated on a river tributary. Overall, 12 catchments had all of their dams on the main river (total = 12 dams), and there were 129 catchments with only tributary dams (total = 255 dams).

3.5. Flood Control Dams

Lastly, our database had 76 dams mainly used for flood control (5% of our database). The number of flood control dams follows the order: Java (n = 54) > Bali Nusra (12) > Sumatra (4) > Sulawesi (3) > Kalimantan = Maluku = Papua (1) (Figure 2a and Figure 5). The density of flood control dams was the highest in Java and Bali Nusra (Figure 2b).
17 flood control dams were on the main river, with the remaining 59 located on river tributaries. The flood control dams were in 39 different catchments across Indonesia. 22 out of 39 catchments were in Java, with the remaining dams distributed across 17 catchments across Indonesia. Half of the flood control dams in Bali Nusra and Sumatra were on the main river. 33% of the flood control dams in Sulawesi were on the main river, while 15% of the flood control dams in Java were on the main river. Ten catchments had all their dams on the main river (10 dams in total) vs. twenty-four catchments with only tributary dams (43 dams in total). The Bengawan Solo catchment in Central Java and the Opak-Oyo catchment in Yogyakarta had the highest number of flood control dams within their catchment boundaries (n = 10 each). In these two catchments, there was only one mainstream dam. Next, the Tukad Badung catchment in Bali and the Serang catchment in Central Java had five dams within their catchment, with two of the dams in the Tukad Badung catchment on the main river.

3.6. Dams Are Multipurpose

Hydropower dams are usually multipurpose, and can be used for irrigation, water supply, flood control, and improving navigation [27]. Our databases of existing dams contain 27 dams that were used for hydropower, irrigation, water supply/storage, and flood control. There were 17 dams that were used for generating hydropower, providing irrigation, and water supply/storage. Another six dams were used for hydropower, irrigation, and for controlling floods. Another two dams were used for hydropower, water supply/storage, and flood control. Hydropower dams may be paired with another secondary purpose, such as hydropower and water supply/storage (2), hydropower and flood control (4), as well as hydropower and irrigation (11) (Figure 6).
Similarly, non-hydropower dams serve several purposes [26]. There were 41 irrigation dams that included water supply and storage and flood control amongst their uses. Another 284 dams were used to provide irrigation and water supply and storage. In addition, there were 430 irrigation dams with flood control integrated in their structures. Lastly, 10 dams were used for both flood control and for water supply and storage (Figure 6). When both primary and secondary purposes of dams were considered, the number of dams that served the purposes of irrigation, water supply and storage, and flood control increased (n = 41, Figure 6).

4. Evaluation of Dam Locations

The quantity of dams on each of the major islands of Indonesia may be partly influenced by Indonesia’s population distribution. Java had the highest population (1.5 billion or 22% of Indonesia’s population) amongst all the major Indonesian islands [27], and this may explain why Java had the highest number of dams overall (n = 697 dams). Meanwhile, the second most populous region in Indonesia, Sumatra, with 22% of Indonesia’s population, had the third largest number of dams (n = 241) [27]. A high population would mean a high demand for electricity, which may explain why Java and Sumatra had the highest number of hydropower dams and the highest hydropower output. Apart from population, the geographical distribution of dams in Indonesia is also related to supporting government policies on providing food, water supply, and energy. In addition, the physical geography of Indonesia, such as the land-use and land-cover, local tectonic setting, and vulnerability to landslides, would also influence the site of a dam [28,29].
Even though most of the dams in Indonesia were located on river tributaries instead of main rivers (1241 tributary dams vs. 241 mainstream dams), all dams have the potential to disrupt river flows [30,31], reduce sediment loads [32,33] affect biochemical cycling [34,41], and reduce local biodiversity [42,43]. However, mainstream dams arguably have wider environmental consequences, as such dams impound sediments and stream discharge from a larger area upstream, and preclude free movement of nutrients and aquatic organisms [44]. Hence, islands such as Bali Nusra, Sulawesi, and Maluku, which have with a higher proportion of mainstream dams, may experience greater hydrological disruptions with corresponding impacts on fisheries and biodiversity. Nevertheless, it is also possible that the presence of multiple tributary dams across Indonesia means that the cumulative impacts of these tributary dams could potentially rival that of a few mainstream dams. Ziv et al. [45] compared the effects caused by construction of twenty-seven planned tributary dams along the Mekong River Basin within Laos with the combined impact of six upper main stem dams on the lower Mekong River and found that the tributary dams have serious impacts on fish biodiversity basin-wide. In addition, the planned tributary dams will cause downstream fish productivity in the floodplains of Cambodia and Vietnam to be severely affected. In any case, uncertainties and knowledge gaps remain, as there has been limited research performed on dams in Indonesia. Basin wide monitoring of terrestrial and aquatic environments should be implemented to obtain first-hand information on the impacts of mainstream and tributary dams in Indonesian catchments.
Indonesia plans to build another 250 new dams to complement the existing dam infrastructure. Due to limited locational information, we assessed the hydrological impacts of future dam development based on the 30 dams with locational attributes. There will be five new dams on the main river—two in Sumatra (North Sumatra and Lampung) and one each in West Java, East Kalimantan, and Papua. In addition, five catchments that are currently undammed will have at least one new dam in the future. Amongst all the future developments, the hydropower dam development in the currently undammed Batang Toru catchment in North Sumatra is a cause for concern. This is because the 510 MW Batang Toru dam is going to be sited on the mainstream, and the construction activities would fragment the forest and disrupt the largest subpopulation of Tanpanuli orangutan, a critically endangered species of orangutan endemic to the region [46,47]. The dam may also be vulnerable to future earthquakes, given its proximity to the Sumatran fault [48].
Knowing whether a dam is on the mainstream of a river or a river tributary within a catchment is useful, as it allows researchers and policy makers to evaluate the potential ecological and environmental impacts of current and future dams in a river basin. Arguably, large dams on river tributaries can potentially result in large-scale degradation within the river catchment, as well as floodplains and coastal environments, if they were constructed without a good understanding of their cumulative consequences. To further our understanding on the cumulative impacts of dams in a river basin, it is possible to apply the Dam Environmental Vulnerability Index (DEVI) developed by Latrubesse et al. [3]. DEVI is a combination of three sub-indices, namely, Basin Integrity Index (BII), Fluvial Dynamics Index (FDI), and Dam Impact Index (DII). To use DEVI to assess the environmental vulnerabilities created by dams, it is first important to know the location of a dam. Knowing the locations of existing dams can also enable researchers and policy makers to assess if there are rare and endangered fish species that deserve a high priority for environmental flow releases and regulation [49].

5. Conclusions

We have compiled an open-access database for dams in Indonesia. This database brings together global and local datasets, and the dams compiled were validated using Google Earth Pro. The database can be used by researchers, non-government organizations, and government agencies for conducting multiple types of water resources, environmental, and social-economic studies. As far as possible, our dataset provides a comprehensive list of information that includes the description of the dam’s characteristics, its location, its relationship to rivers, and its tributaries, as well as the purpose of the dam. The total number of dams in our database is 1506, about three times the number of dams reported by Indonesia’s online database for dams (Sistem Informasi Sumber Daya Air or SISDA) from the Indonesian Ministry of Public Works and Housing. We believe our work contributes towards a better comprehension of the state of water use in Indonesia, and we hope that it can help to improve public administration and governance.

Supplementary Materials

The following supporting information can be downloaded at: https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/rs15040925/s1.

Author Contributions

K.W.Y.: Conceptualization, methodology, data validation, formal analysis, original draft preparation, review and editing, visualization. E.P.: Conceptualization, methodology, review and editing, supervision. M.H.: Data validation. M.T.: Conceptualization, review and editing. P.S.: Conceptualization, review and editing. E.L.: Conceptualization, review and editing. J.S.H.L.: Conceptualization, methodology, original draft preparation, review and editing, supervision, project administration, funding acquisition. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research was supported by the Earth Observatory of Singapore via its funding from the National Research Foundation Singapore and the Singapore Ministry of Education under the Research Centres of Excellence initiative. This work comprises EOS contribution number 512.

Data Availability Statement

Data is available at the following NTU-Data Repository website: https://doi.org/10.21979/N9/GFIGLD (accessed on 1 January 2023).

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Figure 1. Steps taken to compile and validate our database. We also identified the purpose of each dam and assigned a catchment and stream order to each dam in our database.
Figure 1. Steps taken to compile and validate our database. We also identified the purpose of each dam and assigned a catchment and stream order to each dam in our database.
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Figure 2. (a) The number of each type of dams on each island. Only the primary purpose of each dam was analyzed. Maluku and Papua were not shown because of the small number of dams on those islands—there are zero hydropower dams, 13 irrigation dams, two water supply/storage dams, and one flood control dam in Maluku. Papua has one, eight, five, and one hydropower, irrigation, water supply/storage, and flood control dams, respectively. (b) Different types of dams on each island, normalized by area. Similarly, only the primary purpose of each dam was analyzed.
Figure 2. (a) The number of each type of dams on each island. Only the primary purpose of each dam was analyzed. Maluku and Papua were not shown because of the small number of dams on those islands—there are zero hydropower dams, 13 irrigation dams, two water supply/storage dams, and one flood control dam in Maluku. Papua has one, eight, five, and one hydropower, irrigation, water supply/storage, and flood control dams, respectively. (b) Different types of dams on each island, normalized by area. Similarly, only the primary purpose of each dam was analyzed.
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Figure 3. (a) Distribution of hydropower capacity across the major islands in Indonesia. (b) Total hydropower output per island. There are no hydropower dams on Maluku.
Figure 3. (a) Distribution of hydropower capacity across the major islands in Indonesia. (b) Total hydropower output per island. There are no hydropower dams on Maluku.
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Figure 4. Distribution of existing and planned hydropower dams across Indonesia. There are a total of 99 hydropower dams in existence or under construction, with another 18 hydropower dams planned.
Figure 4. Distribution of existing and planned hydropower dams across Indonesia. There are a total of 99 hydropower dams in existence or under construction, with another 18 hydropower dams planned.
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Figure 5. Distribution of existing irrigation (n = 1032), water supply/storage (299), and flood control (76) dams in Indonesia. Only the primary purpose of each dam was shown in this figure.
Figure 5. Distribution of existing irrigation (n = 1032), water supply/storage (299), and flood control (76) dams in Indonesia. Only the primary purpose of each dam was shown in this figure.
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Figure 6. Venn diagram showing the number of dams that serve multiple purposes based on data gathered from databases, as well as our own criteria on neighboring land-use and land-cover. The sum of dams for each purpose is higher than what was reported in Figure 2, since each dam can serve more than one purpose, and we included both primary and secondary purposes listed for each dam.
Figure 6. Venn diagram showing the number of dams that serve multiple purposes based on data gathered from databases, as well as our own criteria on neighboring land-use and land-cover. The sum of dams for each purpose is higher than what was reported in Figure 2, since each dam can serve more than one purpose, and we included both primary and secondary purposes listed for each dam.
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Table
Table 1. Data sources used to compile our dam database.
Table 1. Data sources used to compile our dam database.
Name of DatabaseDescription of DatasetSource(s) of DataInclusion CriteriaNo. of
Indonesian Dams		Reference
Global Database (n = 6)
FAO AQUASTATDetailed information on the location, height, reservoir capacity, surface area, and main purpose of dams in each country. Database has >14,000 dams.International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD); National reports; AQUASTAT national surveys; the Internet.Mainly large dams with a height of ≥15 m. Dams 5–15 m tall with a reservoir volume of ≥3 million m3 were also included. Smaller dams were included as well, if available.242Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [25]
Future Hydropower Reservoirs and Dams (FHRED)Global inventory of at least 3700 future hydropower dams. Project name, geographical coordinates, river basin, hydroelectric capacity, and construction timeline included.Scientific references, governmental and non-governmental sources, public databases, reports, and newspaper articles.Hydropower dams >1 MW that are currently under construction or planned.1Zarfl et al. [26]
Global Dam Tracker (GDAT)A global geospatial database of dams with detailed temporal information on when the dams were proposed, built or completed. 36,222 dams identified.Primary data compiled from administrative sources and secondary data obtained from existing databases such as AQUATAT, GranD, and World Resources Institute (WRI).Institutional backgrounds were examined to validate records on the design features of dams, locations were geo-referenced.248Zhang et al. [27]
Global Georeferenced Database of Dams (GOODD)Largest open-source global geo-referenced database of dams to date containing >38,000 georeferenced dams with derived data on their associated catchments. Database contains reservoir dams with only a few run-of-river dams.Dams identified by examining global water bodies datasets systematically, 1-degree tile by tile across the world and identifying reservoirs in Google Earth imagery.Dams with concrete walls, observable in global satellite imagery from LANDSAT (15 m), IKONOS (<1 m), and SPOT (2.5 m).15Mulligan et al. [28]
Global Reservoir and Dam Database
(GRanD v 1.3)		Georeferenced locations of 7320 dams with a total reservoir storage capacity of 6864 km2.National repositories, the UNFCCC’s Clean Development Mechanism project registry, privately maintained databases like Roller Compacted Concrete Dams and for validation purposes information from the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD).All reservoirs with a storage capacity >0.1 km2. Smaller reservoirs were included, if available.20Lehner et al. [29]
Open Street Map Dams
(OSMDAM)		Global dam data based on OSM tagsOpen Data Commons Open Database License; Open Street Map contributors.NA99Data downloaded from: https://www.globaldamwatch.org/ (accessed on 1 November 2022)
Local Indonesian Database (n = 5)
Water Resources Information System
(Sistem Informasi Sumber Daya Air or SISDA)		Online database of existing and planned dams and weirs in Indonesia.Directorate General of Water Resources, Indonesian Ministry of Public Works, and Housing.NA556 (482 existing, 74 planned)Direktorat Jenderal Sumer Daya Air Kementerian Pekerjaan Umum dan Perumahan Rakyat [30]
Committee for Acceleration of Priority Infrastructure Delivery (Komite Percepatan Penyediaan Infrastruktur Prioritas or KPPIP)Online database of dam and irrigation network projects.Coordinating Indonesian Minister of Economic Affairs, the Minister of the National Development Planning, the Minister of Finance, and the Minister of Agrarian and Spatial Planning.NA61KPPIP [31]
Dam Construction Database (Database Pembangunan Bendungan)Online database and of dams currently under construction or under planning in Indonesia.Indonesian Ministry of Public Works and Housing.Dams under construction or planned dams in Indonesia.87 (65 existing, 22 planned)Kementerian Pekerjaan Umum dan Perumahan Rakyat [32]
Report on big dams in Indonesia (Bendungan Besar di Indonesia)Inventory of dams published by the Indonesian Ministry of Public Works and Housing in 1995.Data collected as part of the Technical Assistance Project for the Development and Security of Reservoirs by the Directorate General of Water Resources in collaboration with the Irrigation Research and Development Center, Balitbang PU.Dam height ≥15 m, height range from 10–15 m. Meets one of the following criteria: (1) Crest length of at least 500 m, (2) capacity of reservoir <1 million m3, overflow capacity <2000 m3/s82Kasiro et al. [33]
Bali Bureau of Statistics (Badan Pusat Statistik Provinsi Bali)Dikes/dams in Bali with details such as the irrigation area, name of river, year of completion, and dam capacity (m3/s).Bali Bureau of Statistics.NA128Indonesian Bureau of Statistics [34]
Table
Table 2. The names of the main islands and provinces that were used in our Google Earth search. Locations of dams in these locations in Indonesia were also verified.
Table 2. The names of the main islands and provinces that were used in our Google Earth search. Locations of dams in these locations in Indonesia were also verified.
Main IslandProvince or Groups of Islands
SumatraAceh, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Riau, Riau Islands, Bengkulu, Jambi, South Sumatra, Bangka-Belitung, and Lampung
JavaBanten, Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, and East Java.
KalimantanNorth Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan.
SulawesiNorth Sulawesi, Gorontalo, Central Sulawesi, West Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, and Southeast Sulawesi.
MalukuNorth Maluku and Maluku
Dams in North Maluku and Maluku were grouped under the name “Maluku” due to the small number of dams
PapuaWest Papua and Papua
Dams in West Papua and Papua were grouped together under the name “Papua” for analysis.
Bali NusraBali, West Nusa Tenggara, and East Nusa Tenggara
Dams in these islands were grouped under Bali Nusra
Table
Table 3. Data present in the dam database.
Table 3. Data present in the dam database.
VariableUnitDescription
Latitude Latitude
Longitude Longitude
Dam_Name Name of dam
Alt_Name Alternative name
Construction type Construction material used for the dam
Reservoir Name of reservoir if present
River Name of river if present
Watershed Name of watershed catchment
Admin1 Name of province
Admin2 Name of district
Admin3 Name of subdistrict
Admin4 Name of village
Year_Fin Year construction finished (YYYY)
Year_Const Year construction started (YYYY)
Height_from_riverbedmHeight of dam from riverbed (m)
Height_from_digging_levelmHeight of dam from digging level (m)
Dam_lengthmLength of dam (m)
WidthmWidth of dam (m)
Dam_volumem3Volume of dam (m3)
Reservoir_Volume_Normalmillion m3Normal reservoir volume (million m3)
Reservoir_Volume_Maxmillion m3Max reservoir volume (million m3)
Reservoir_Volume_Minmillion m3Min reservoir volume (million m3)
Area_RephaNormal reservoir area (ha)
Area_MaxhaMax reservoir area (ha)
Area_MinhaMin reservoir area (ha)
FLOOD_ELEVATIONmReservoir inundation elevation during flood (m)
NORMAL_ELEVATIONmNormal reservoir inundation elevation (m)
MINIMUM_ELEVATIONmMin reservoir inundation elevation (m)
HYDROPOWERMWHDam output per year (MWH)
IRRIGATIONhaArea irrigated (ha)
Discharge (Q)m3/sRiver discharge (m3/s)
Area_watershedkm2Area of watershed (km2)
Annual_RainfallmmAnnual rainfall in catchment (mm)
P_Irrig Purpose of dam: Irrigation
P_Hydro Purpose of dam: Hydroelectricity
P_Wsupp/Wstor Purpose of dam: Water supply/storage
P_FCont Purpose of dam: Flood control
P_Navig Purpose of dam: Navigation
P_Fishr Purpose of dam: Fishing
P_Livst Purpose of dam: Livestock water supply
P_Recrn Purpose of dam: Recreation
P_PCont Purpose of dam: Pollution control
P_Other Purpose of dam: Other purpose
Note “unsp” used if the dam purpose was derived by our criteria
Main_P Main purpose
Sec_P Secondary purpose
HYDROPOWER (MW)MWDam capacity (MW)
Status Existing—E; Under construction—U; Planned—P
Catchment Name of catchment from DEM
Stream order Stream order of the river where the dam is
Type Mainstream or tributary dam
REFERENCE_n Reference of dam information, n refers to the number of different references
Table
Table 4. Construction type of the dams in our database (n = 82). The distribution of each type of dam in each of Indonesia’s major islands was also reflected. No information was available for dams in Maluku and Papua.
Table 4. Construction type of the dams in our database (n = 82). The distribution of each type of dam in each of Indonesia’s major islands was also reflected. No information was available for dams in Maluku and Papua.
Construction TypeFrequency
TotalSumatraJavaKalimantanSulawesiBali Nusra
Arch dam11
Composite masonry and earth dam1 1
Composite of gravity masonry and earth dam1 1
Concrete composite and earth core rockfill dam1 1
Concrete composite and earth dam2 1 1
Concrete composite and rockfill dam1 1
Concrete gravity dam733 1
Concrete membrane faced rockfill dam2 1 1
Earth core rockfill dam22312 25
Earth fill dam/earth dam/embankment dam1 1
Homogeneous earth dam355213 6
Mixed concrete membrane faced rockfill dam1 1
Non-homogeneous earth dam3 3
Pair gravity dam1 1
Rockfill dam1 1
Sloping earth core rockfill dam or rockfill dam with sloping earth core1 1
Steel membrane faced rockfill dam1 1
Table
Table 5. Number of mainstream and tributary dams in Indonesia.
Table 5. Number of mainstream and tributary dams in Indonesia.
Island
(No. Dams)		Mainstream DamsTributary DamsRatio of Mainstream Dams to Total DamsRatio of Tributary Dams to Total Dams
Sumatra (241)402010.170.83
Java (697)676300.100.90
Kalimantan (58)6520.100.90
Sulawesi (153)461070.300.70
Bali Nusra (326)972290.300.70
Maluku (16)5110.310.69
Papua (15)4110.270.73
Total (1506)2651241
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Yuen, K.W.; Park, E.; Hazrina, M.; Taufik, M.; Santikayasa, P.; Latrubesse, E.; Lee, J.S.H. A Comprehensive Database of Indonesian Dams and Its Spatial Distribution. Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 925. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15040925

AMA Style

Yuen KW, Park E, Hazrina M, Taufik M, Santikayasa P, Latrubesse E, Lee JSH. A Comprehensive Database of Indonesian Dams and Its Spatial Distribution. Remote Sensing. 2023; 15(4):925. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15040925

Chicago/Turabian Style

Yuen, Kai Wan, Edward Park, Melda Hazrina, Muh Taufik, Putu Santikayasa, Edgardo Latrubesse, and Janice Ser Huay Lee. 2023. "A Comprehensive Database of Indonesian Dams and Its Spatial Distribution" Remote Sensing 15, no. 4: 925. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15040925

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