M. Faisi Ikhwali, Maulana Ibrahim Rau, Suardi Nur, T. Ferijal, Wisnu Prayogo, Septian Fauzi Dwi Saputra
Watersheds are increasingly experiencing environmental damage in various parts of the world recently, including in Indonesia. Indonesia, which has approximately 17 thousand watersheds, faces major challenges in watershed management, especially with the increasing pressure on watershed resources. The accuracy of watershed management is very necessary for the era of rapid development and growth. The abilities of Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) will assist in making the right decisions in watershed management. Although the model has several advantages such as free access and user-friendly, the model still has limitations when applied to watersheds that do not have sufficient observation data. The purpose of this study is to review the uses of this model in Indonesia. The SWAT has been applied in various watersheds reported in 178 publications that have passed peer-review. Most of the applications were found in Java Island, with 112 publications. The availability of climatological and hydrological data was main obstacle for model application. However, remotely sensed data this limitation and challenge can be handled with remote sensing techniques which will make this model very compatible to be applied in Indonesia. The SWAT will expectantly direct its application to regions still less or never been established, such as the Kalimantan and Papua regions. © 2022 Desalination Publications. All rights reserved.
Department of Environmental Engineering, Universitas Islam Negeri Ar-Raniry, Banda Aceh, 23111, Indonesia; Laboratory of Hydraulics and Water Management, Niigata University, Niigata, 951-8510, Japan; Department of Agricultural Engineering, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, 23111, Indonesia; Department of Civil Engineering, Universitas Negeri Medan, Medan, 20221, Indonesia; Department of Agricultural and Environmental Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo, 183-8538, Japan
