Water governance puzzle in Riau Province: uncovering key actors and interactions

Sustainable water governance is crucial for addressing the global water crisis and ensuring access to clean water resources. In the Indonesian context, Riau Province faces significant challenges in providing sufficient clean water to its population. Collaborative approaches involving diverse actors have emerged as a potential solution to complex water governance problems. However, limited empirical evidence exists regarding the engagement and interactions of these actors in decision-making processes. This study focuses on Bengkalis Regency, Dumai City, and Rokan Hilir Regency, in Riau Province, using Textual Network Analysis (TNA) to identify key actors in local water governance. The findings of this study highlight the following: (1) The influential actors (nodes) identified by TNA consist of drinking water systems, financial arrangements, oversight mechanisms, environmental concerns, water accessibility, and eco-friendly water governance. These actors nuance the formation of local policies related to Durolis water governance. (2) The Riau provincial government is empowered to fund pipanization projects from the river to the cities. Meanwhile, local governments are given financial responsibility for pipanization in their respective regions. (3) Durolis water governance follows a centralized approach, with the provincial government acting as a facilitator when problems arise, where problem-solving is based on consensus between the regions as a decision-making tool.