The country is on the verge of experiencing a water crisis due to the continued destruction of the environment and rapid population growth, water experts and governmental officials say. "Java and Bali will experience shortages of 134 billion and 27.6 billion cubic meters, respectively, of fresh water by 2015," Sutopo Purwo Nugroho of the Agency for Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) said during a seminar in Jakarta on Wednesday. "Sulawesi and East Nusa Tenggara's deficits will stand at 42.5 billion and 4.5 billion cubic meters, respectively." The alarming rate of deforestation and the country's rapid population growth will continue to adversely affect water resources, he said. "Irreversible deforestation has played a huge role in climate change, which will inevitably have an impact on water catchment areas or resources, such as rivers and lakes." Sutopo s...