Bojonegoro (Indonesia)

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	Location: Bojonegoro, Indonesia
	Partner: University of Indonesia
	Partner involved:

Information:

The Republic of Indonesia, a country located in Southeast Asia, is the world's largest archipelagic state with 17,508 islands. With a population of 222 million people in 2006, it is the world's fourth most populous country and the most populous Muslim-majority nation. Indonesia is a republic, with an elected parliament and president. The nation's capital city is Jakarta. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Malaysia. The Indonesian archipelago has been an important trade region since at least the seventh century, when the Srivijaya Kingdom traded with China and India. Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Muslim traders brought Islam, and European powers fought one another to monopolize trade in the Spice Islands of Maluku during the Age of Discovery. Following three and a half centuries of Dutch colonialism, Indonesia secured its independence after World War II.

Across its many islands, Indonesia consists of distinct ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups. The Javanese are the largest and most politically dominant ethnic group. Despite its large population and densely populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support the world's second highest level of biodiversity.

Bojonegoro, Indonesia:

The particular survey site chosen for the MICRODIS study in Indonesia is Bojonegoro, a regency in East Java. Bojonegoro is located in the inland part of northern Java plain on the banks of the Bengawan Solo River (the largest river in Java).

Demography:

The population of Bojonegoro Regency, according to the result of the population registration in the middle of 2006, is approximately 1,218,873 people.

Age Classification	1990		1995		2000
1	2	%	3	%	4	%
0-4	93,901	8.30	94,849	8.30	94,383	8.10
5-9	122,745	10.94	124,906	10.94	98,304	8.43
10-14	127,061	11.36	129,796	11.36	101,856	8.74
15-19	112,773	7.72	88,141	7.72	109,364	9.38
20-24	95,486	6.84	78,086	6.84	97,876	8.40
25-29	103,566	8.86	101,223	8.86	101,822	8.74
30-34	85,975	9.36	106,855	9.36	100,865	8.65
35-39	73,220	7.73	88,333	7.73	99,130	8.51
40-44	54,192	6.59	75,272	6.59	84,906	7.29
45-49	53,347	4.77	54,453	4.77	65,733	5.64
50-54	50,282	4.02	45,907	4.02	49,102	4.21
55-59	38,799	3.64	41,609	3.64	41,149	3.53
60-64	35,768	3.40	38,820	3.40	41,321	3.55
65-69	23,872	2.75	31,387	2.75	32,661	2.80
70-74	17,898	1.84	20,990	1.84	25,773	2.21
75+	15,059	1.88	21,461	1.88	21,076	1.81
NonStated	0	-	0	-	80	0.01

Source : Population Census

Bojonegoro Population, 2006
49.54

Description Total (%)

1. Sex

1.1 Male 49.54

1.2 Female 50.46

2. Population Growth against Previous Year 0.45

3. Population Growth

3.1 1971 s.d 1980 1.64

3.2 1980 s.d 1990 1

3.3 1990 s.d 1995 0.83

3.4 1990 s.d 2000 0.56

Geography:

Across the eastern border of Bojonegoro is the Lamongan Regency, to the north is Tuban while to the south is Ngawi, Madiun, Nganjuk and Jombang. Blora is located to the west, in Central Java.

Much of the area consists of low plains along the river Bengawan Solo, with hilly areas in the southern part of the Regency. As with most of Java, the Bojonegoro landscape is dominated with rice paddy fields. In the Bojonegoro area, the Bengawan Solo River changes its course from northward to eastward.

The climate in Bojonegoro is tropical, with six months equally of rainy and dry seasons. Seasonal conditions are often very contrasting. In the rainy season, rain will fall almost daily; while in dry season, rain will not come for months, causing widespread drought and water shortages. These problems have been compounded with the loss of forest and other green areas. Teak forest once covered much of Bojonegoro, but has since considerably reduced due to over-exploitation.

The major population centre is Bojonegoro town, located on the southern bank of Bengawan Solo River.

Economy:

Most of the population of Bojonegoro work as farmers or foresters. Many residents still live in poverty, especially in southern part of the regency where the soil is less fertile.

The Bengawan Solo River played a major role in the development of this settlement. It acted as source of water and fertile soil, and a means of transportation. A set of copper plates of the Ferry Charter (1358 C.E.) lists over twenty ferry crossing on the lower stretch of the Bengawan Solo River, downstream from Bojonegoro. Inland settlements like this would trade agricultural products via trading centre in coastal cities, like neighbouring Tuban, for spices from Spice Islands, ceramics from China and other commodities.

During Dutch rule, tobacco and maize were introduced from the Americas, which would later become major commodities in Bojonegoro.

In 1894, the trans-Java railroad, which linked Batavia and Surabaya and passed through Bojonegoro, was finished. This increased transportation and improved the teak industry. Urbanisation also progressed at this time, under Dutch rule. Previously known as a major producer of teak and tobacco, Bojonegoro is currently becoming the focus of attention in Indonesia for a new reason, as an oil field has been found in this area. This oil find in Bojonegoro is the biggest oil discovery in Indonesia in three decades and one of the biggest reserves in Indonesia.

Number of Establishment and Employee by Sector, 2004-2006

Sector	Number of Establishment	Employee
Sector	Number of Establishment	Male	Female	Total
1. Fishery, Agriculture, Farmistry, Corps, and Forestry	6	2,005	1,823	3,828
2. Mining	10	403	380	783
3. Process Industry	371	7,091	10,723	17,814
4. Electricity, Gas, and Uap	19	326	287	613
5. Construction	7	63	16	79
6. Hotel and Retail	19	391	583	974
7. Transportation	24	973	427	1,400
8. Finance, Insurance, Mortgage	23	503	490	993
9. Services, Social and Enterprenurship	159	485	458	943
2006	638	12,240	14,887	27,427
2005	638	12,240	14,887	27,427
2004	638	12,240	14,887	27,427

Source : Manpower and Transmigration Services of Bojonegoro

Agriculture has been the regency's main product. The Bengawan Solo River provides fertile farming areas for rice. The main crops are rice and tobacco, as well as maize. Bojonegoro is one of the biggest producers of tobacco in Indonesia, with total value of Rp 1.2 trillion (around US$100 million) and employing 57 percent of workforce. The majority of tobacco planted is of the Virginia varieties.

Bojonegoro is also famous for its hardwood tree (teak) production. There is an annual Bojonegoro Teak Fair in late January to early February where local craftsmen display their products. Teak is high quality wood which is strong and durable. Teak is mainly used in shipbuilding and furniture making. Teak forestry forms an inseparable part of life for many Bojonegoro residents.

The recent discovery of oil and gas fields in the area is providing new economic opportunities. The oil/gas fields are located in several areas, including: Banyu Urip, Alas Dara, Jambaran, Sukowati and Cendana. The Banyu Urip oil and gas field has detected oil reserves of over 250 million barrels, with peak production of about 165,000 - 170,000 barrels per day and accounting for 20 percent of the present national crude oil production.

Communities in Bojonegoro have benefited from community development projects by foreign companies like ExxonMobil, which have built houses of worship, schools and infrastructure. However, oil production is becoming a source of controversy.

Health:

In 2005, Bojonegoro had six hospitals, 29 community health centers and 72 sub community health centers.

Number of Visitors at Hospital, 2003-2005

Description	2003	2004	2005
1. Children	2,172	1,841	1,746
2. General	9,388	20,925	20,075
3. Eye	4,858	5,277	5,580
4. Tooth and Mouth	1,660	1,929	1,833
5. Gynaecology	1,677	1,796	1,863
6. Family Planning	448	512	343
7. Operation/Surgery	4,125	3,944	4,743
8. ICU	6,957	7,320	8,397
9. Internist	10,318	11,092	12,151
Total	41,603	54,636	56,731

Source : Public Hospital of Bojonegoro

Number of Visitors at Hospital, 2003-2005

Description	2003	2004	2005
1. Children	2,172	1,841	1,746
2. General	9,388	20,925	20,075
3. Eye	4,858	5,277	5,580
4. Tooth and Mouth	1,660	1,929	1,833
5. Gynaecology	1,677	1,796	1,863
6. Family Planning	448	512	343
7. Operation/Surgery	4,125	3,944	4,743
8. ICU	6,957	7,320	8,397
9. Internist	10,318	11,092	12,151
Total	41,603	54,636	56,731

Source : Public Hospital of Bojonegoro

Education:

There are 530 schools offering basic and secondary education to students in Bojonegoro.

Education Facilities, 2003-2005

Description	School	Class	Teacher	Pupil
1. Kindergaten	530	1,129	1,629	20,457
2. Primary School	834	5,010	5,012	103,312
3. Junior High School	91	93	2,076	36,414
4. Senior High School	60	544	1,733	20,479
2005	1,515	7,586	10,450	180,662
2004	1,496	7,021	10,318	178,057
2003	1,490	7,065	9,193	145,930

Source : National Education Services of Bojonegoro

Civil Worker by Education, 2004 � 2006

Description	2003	2004	2005
1. No Schooling and not yet finished Primary School	-	-	-
2. Primary School	387	316	294
3. Junior High School	298	348	334
4. Senior High Sachool	3,347	2,754	2,711
5. Academy	2,159	2,356	2,551
6. University	4,726	5,211	5,408
Total	10,917	10,985	11,298

Source : Government official Administration Board of Bojonegoro

Village Head by Education Level, 2004 � 2006

Education	2004	2005	2006
1. SD/Primary School	13	13	11
2. SLTP/Junior High School	107	107	73
3. SMU/Senior High School	224	224	214
4. Sarjana Muda/Academy	6	6	6
5. Sarjana/University	65	65	56
Total	415	415	360

Source : Governments Division of Bojonegoro Regency

Religion:

Most Javanese are Muslim, with small number belonging to various sects of Christianity. Ethnic Chinese follow various religions, often with an aspect of syncretism with traditional Chinese culture.

Table 9. Population by Religion, 2003-2005

Year	Islam	Protestant	Catholic	Hindu/ Budhist	Others
2003	1,189,417	2,383	4,814	68	-
2004	1,226,414	2,461	3,658	663	-
2005	1,215,668	3,906	2,724	797	-

Source : Departement of Religious Affair Representative of Bojonegoro

Language:

Most people in Bojonegoro speak Bahasa Indonesia and Javanese.

Etnicity:

Most people in Bojonegoro are ethnic Javanese, with sizable minority of ethnic Chinese, Balinese and other Indonesian ethnic groups.

One of the distinctive communities in Bojonegoro is the Samin people. They are ethnically indistinguishable from other Javanese people; however, they follow a unique communalism movement. Samin people are follower of Surosentiko Samin, a local farmer who preached pacifist resistance to Dutch colonial rule in the 1890s. Samin was incited by acquisition of local teak forest by Dutch colonial authority. Dutch officials refused access to the forest for local people, as it was claimed as Dutch property. Rather than rising in a violent uprising, Samin taught peaceful resistance, such as refusing to pay taxes to the colonial authority and continuing to take teak from the forest as they had for generations.

Samin people are nominally Muslim, but do not practice many Islamic rituals such as fasting or regular prayer. Rather, they emphasize the spiritual aspect, as well as honesty, modesty and simplicity in their lives. In this, they are similar to Kejawen followers.

Currently Samin people reside in the southwestern part of Bojonegoro, in the hearts of its teak forest. Samin people are also found in Blora Regency, Central Java, across the river Solo.

Disaster experience:

Natural disasters like floods, landslides, hurricanes and fires represent routine occurrence each year. In 2005, both major hurricane and fire disasters occurred, with over 1,654 billion rupiah in losses.

Description	2003	2004	2005
1. Flood	-	-	2
2. Earth Slide	3	1	1
3. Fire	12	14	15
4. Hurricane	9	18	20

Source : Social Welfare Services of Bojonegoro

Floods in 2007 were much bigger than in previous years. Bengawan Solo River's water levels rose due to heavy rains, especially in the upper valley of Central Java, forcing Gajahmungkur dam to be opened. The resulting flood submerged 15 districts, with water as high as 1.5 m, and displaced 2,715 families. At least 2.544 ha of rice fields were damaged as well. Fortunately no casualties were reported.

Reference:

- Bojonegoro in Figures, www.bojonegoro.go.id
- Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bojonegoro
- Maps extracted from Google Earth and GoogleMap

Photo Album:

Flood affected area in Bojonegoro

Source: UoI MICRODIS Team

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Bojonegoro (Indonesia)