President Prabowo Subianto has specifically instructed the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) to accelerate the development of water resilience technology to face the threat of drought triggered by the El Niño extreme weather phenomenon. This tactical move aims to secure the availability of clean water for communities in various vulnerable areas of Indonesia.
The Head of BRIN, Arif Satria, revealed that the instruction was delivered directly by the President during a limited meeting on extreme weather mitigation at the State Palace, Jakarta, Tuesday (28/7/2026). On this occasion, BRIN presented 13 water management technology innovations divided into four main categories.
The first category includes advanced weather modification which now utilizes unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) to seed clouds with micro-sized NaCl-based materials to increase rainfall efficiency. Meanwhile, the second category focuses on marginal water treatment, including biofiltration processes for peat and brackish water, as well as desalination techniques to convert seawater into consumable fresh water.
Furthermore, the third category of technology prioritizes the exploration of underground river flows using advanced geophysical methods such as ground penetrating radar (GPR) and isotope technology. The fourth category focuses on the utilization of fresh submarine groundwater discharge, which is the utilization of coastal fresh groundwater sources that flow directly into the sea.
Arif added that the Head of State specifically asked BRIN to prioritize desalination technology, tracking underground rivers, and optimizing coastal fresh groundwater. Following up on these directives, BRIN has now synergized with the Ministry of Public Works (PU) to accelerate the implementation of this technology in several strategic points in Indonesia.
