The Impact of Forest Damage Due to Human Economic Activities on Water Availability in Tahura

Abstract

Grand Forest Park (Tahura) is a nature conservation area for research, education, recreation, and human welfare. However, many Tahura such as Tahura R Soerjo in East Java is experiencing worrying conditions due to the exploitation of forests as a source of support for the community's economy. In Tahura, it was found that 3,814 Ha of Pine Forest had been converted into industrial and agricultural areas. This condition causes vegetation damage to reach 20% which also causes hydrological damage. Lack of understanding about the intangible benefits of forests, especially hydrology, will be detrimental to life in the future. If the hydrology is damaged, Tahura will lose the function of climate control and water management. The springs of the Brantas River that support ±40.64 million people in East Java will be threatened. For this reason, in this study, water discharge measurements were carried out based on forest types and land slope level tests using Freidman analysis because the data were not normally distributed. The measurement results show that there are significant differences in discharge, both based on forest type and based on the level of slope. It is hoped that from the results of this study, the government can make preventive policies to prevent and deal with this problem so that clean water from Tahura can be used sustainably.