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Assemblage insights into groundwater governance and narratives of groundwater 'crisis' in Bandung Basin, Indonesia

Safira Salsabila
Center for Environmental Studies, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia; sfiraabila@gmail.com

Elizabeth MacAfee
Faculty of Spatial Sciences, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, The Netherlands; e.a.mac.afee@rug.nl

Arief D. Sutadian
Innovation and Technology, Regional Research and Development Agency (BP2D) of West Java Province, Indonesia; ariefdhany@jabarprov.go.id

Anindrya Nastiti
Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia; anindrya@itb.ac.id

ABSTRACT: Dwindling groundwater levels and compromised water quality have led to concerns about the potential for near- and longer-term groundwater crises in the Bandung Metropolitan Area (BMA), located in the Bandung Groundwater Basin of Indonesia. The BMA is a rapidly urbanising region where much of the population relies on groundwater to meet its household needs and and where challenges are being encountered in accessing a reliable groundwater supply. There are multiple perspectives on what aspects of the crisis are most critical and many ideas as to what can and should be done, and with what urgency. Assemblage thinking can help to understand this complex field by highlighting the sociomaterial construction of environmental problems in ways that are always contingent, heterogeneous and influenced by the agency of multiple actors. In this case study, we use media analysis, semi-structured qualitative interviews, document analysis, and participant observation to examine how problematisations of groundwater emerge and coexist. Findings reveal that media narratives, the behaviour of local institutions, and the everyday practices of groundwater users influence water-crisis–related interactions with government and even shape the crisis itself. These dynamics contribute to fragmented groundwater governance where community-led practices coexist with formal institutional arrangements. The study highlights the potential of hybrid governance models to support adaptive and context-sensitive management, particularly in the BMA and in similar urbanising regions.

KEYWORDS: Groundwater, assemblage thinking, urban water management, hybrid governance, Bandung Metropolitan Area, Indonesia