Revitalising the Citarum River and riverine communities

Monash, Universitas Indonesia and the West Java Provincial government, have been working to explore ways to stop solid waste and wastewater entering the Citarum River, one of the world’s most polluted rivers. The solution: Community-led co-design of nature-based systems to collect, clean and utilise wastewater and solid waste, through urban design, behaviour, circular economy and river stewardship. The team spent 2020 scoping challenges in the Citarum basin, building partnerships with government, academia and communities, and developing funding proposals to put the project into action.