Sustainability Assessment of Humid Tropical Watershed: A Case of Batang Merao Watershed, Indonesia

Tropical watershed faces many problems that hamper its sustainability, such as land degradation, water pollution, water scarcity and several socio-economic pressures. Batang Merao watershed was selected as it is a buffer zone of a UNESCO tropical rainforest heritage site in Kerinci Seblat National Park, Indonesia. This study aimed to assess the sustainability of Batang Merao Watershed for the period of 2006-2011 using HELP (Hydrology, Environment, Life and Policy) indicators. The results showed, the watershed was at an intermediate level of watershed sustainability (overall WSI score = 0.59) and was still in high pressure due to its pressure parameter score (0.78), which was higher than both state and the response parameters (0.50). Therefore, it is urgent to improve the integrated watershed management programs for achieving the sustainability of this watershed.