Translation of international frameworks and national policies on climate change, land degradation, and biodiversity to develop integrated risk assessment for watershed management in Indonesia

Abstract

The international conventions on environments, i.e., biodiversity (United Nations Convention on Biodiversity - UNCBD), land degradation (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification - UNCCD), and climate change (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - UNFCCC) stipulates country-level policies, programs, and actions in sustaining environmental well-being. This study attempts to connect the three conventions ratified into national regulations in Indonesia. The connection is framed to develop indicators and their attributes for measuring health or risk levels of watershed functions and services to the present challenges. The risk assessment is formulated based on a set of risk components and indicators developed with referring to Ministry of Forestry Regulation No. 60/2014 about the classification of watershed health conditions, Ministry of Forestry Regulation No. 29/2009 about biodiversity, and Ministry of Environment and Forestry Regulation No. 7/2018 about climate change risk assessment. The formulation grouped the risk indicators into biophysical, socio-economic, and governance. The risk assessment is applied to the Way Khilau watershed of Lampung, Indonesia, to measure the risk levels and identify the contributing indicators that should be considered for designing adaptation options. Under the current conditions, the Way Khilau watershed has a score of about 123.25 or 0.77, which will be exacerbated by future climate change. The risk level can reach a score of 138 or 0.89, nearly approaching the upper threshold. This risk level urges the policymakers and stakeholders to take adaptation actions to maintain the functions and services of the Why Khilau watershed.