Enviro News Asia, Jakarta — Indonesia’s deputy environment minister has called on universities to develop innovative water conservation solutions as the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) and data centres adds to pressure on already limited water resources.
Diaz Hendropriyono, deputy minister for environment and deputy head of the Environmental Control Agency (KLH/BPLH), made the call during the Water Innovation Festival seminar at the University of Indonesia on Nov. 7.
He said water management challenges were becoming increasingly complex as digital technologies expanded, highlighting the need for research that could translate into practical solutions to protect clean water supplies.
“People need water, but water sources are limited. We are also damaging lakes and rivers and overexploiting groundwater. Now we are using AI, which also consumes water. We need solutions such as those being developed at universities, particularly for water conservation,” Diaz said.
He explained that data centres and AI model training require substantial amounts of electricity and water, particularly to cool computer hardware and prevent overheating.
While a single AI query may require relatively little water, the cumulative demand could become significant when models process billions of requests each day, he said. Training AI models also requires considerable energy and water resources.
Diaz said universities had a strategic role in developing technologies and approaches that could reduce the environmental footprint of digital infrastructure while maintaining access to water for communities.
The government is also pursuing ecological measures to restore national water reserves, particularly through peatland ecosystem management.
Diaz called for an end to peatland drainage through canal construction, which lowers water levels and weakens the ecosystem’s ability to retain water. He instead advocated canal blocking to restore peatland hydrological functions and maintain groundwater reserves.
He pointed to the contradiction between peatlands’ natural capacity to store water and practices that drain them to prepare land for plantations, including oil palm cultivation.
“Peatlands can store water, but we have been building canals to drain them so that oil palm can be planted. We must stop this practice and install canal blocks to restore water to peat ecosystems,” he said.
The seminar also featured senior environmental figure Emil Salim, who served as Indonesia’s environment minister from 1978 to 1993.
The forum highlighted the need for sustained cooperation among government institutions, universities and communities to strengthen environmental awareness, improve water conservation and ensure that ecological policies are consistently implemented. (*)
