The politics of river restoration: Reimagining restoration of the Citarum river at the interface of discourses and practices

Governments worldwide are implementing interventions to restore rivers and improve river quality, often through rigid bureaucratic approaches and changing individual behaviours, as is the case in Indonesia’s Citarum river restoration programs. However, these approaches neglect nonquantifiable metrics in understanding water quality, ignore how behaviours attach to contexts and cannot be predicted, and fail to recognize the political dimension of river restoration. This dissertation explores the politics of river restoration by investigating discourses of water quality, responsibility, and involvement. Also, it examines how everyday practices intertwine with government interventions. The dissertation advocates for transcending mere recognition of discourses and practices, embracing a wide range of discourses and practices as they unfold in the field to inform formal planning and policymaking. The future of river restoration lies in ongoing processes of reflection, innovation, and collaboration, emphasising the importance of acknowledging and valuing diverse discourses and practices thereby improving both the environment and people’s livelihoods.