Building Resilience Requires Multistakeholder Cooperation 

Preparedness is not a once-in-a-lifetime lesson, but something that must continuously be learned and practiced because disasters can come at any time. For this reason, all parties need to work together to improve community preparedness in order to build resilience against disasters. 

This was conveyed by the Head of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), Lieutenant General TNI Suhariyanto S.Sos, MM, when he gave a welcoming remark at the summit of the 2023 National Disaster Preparedness Day (HKB), which was held on Tuesday (16/5) at the Meeting Hall (pendopo) in Karangbinangun Subdistrict, Lamongan District, East Java. The event was attended by a number of officials, including the Coordinating Minister for Human Resources Development, Muhadjir Effendy, a member of Commission VIII of the House of Representatives (DPR) of the Republic of Indonesia, Ina Ammania, the Regional Secretary of East Java, Adi Karyono, the Chief Representative of the Australian Consulate General in Surabaya, Fiona Hoggart, representatives of local and international non-governmental organisations, and Lamongan District Head, Yuhronur Efendi, as the host. 

According to Suhariyanto, community preparedness is the core of the HKB commemoration every year. The purpose of the HKB commemoration is to cultivate an integrated, planned, and sustainable disaster response exercise to increase public awareness, vigilance, and preparedness. That is why disaster simulations have always been part of HKB commemoration. “Education, socialisation, training, and preparedness simulations are crucial. So, we must be able to ensure that this activity is carried out every year so that we continue to train until we are ready to face disasters,” he said. 

Although the summit of this year’s HKB event was held on May 16, HKB is actually commemorated every April 26. Suhariyanto explained that the HKB commemoration event began on April 26, 2007, coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the ratification of Law No. 24 of 2007 on Disaster Management. The subtheme of the HKB 2023 commemoration is “Increase Village Resilience, Reduce Disaster Risk”, which accompanies HKB’s permanent slogan, “Ready to Survive”. This year’s HKB focuses on watersheds (DAS). Therefore, in this HKB, disaster simulations were carried out in flood-prone areas in the Bengawan Solo watershed, namely in seven districts that Bengawan Solo passes through, which are Sragen and Blora in Central Java and Bojonegoro, Ngawi, Tuban, Gresik, and Lamongan in East Java. The simulation, which involved around 2,950 residents, was carried out simultaneously as a part of the summit of the HKB event. 

Through such efforts, continued Suhariyanto, the preparedness of the community, especially those living around the Bengawan Solo watershed, is expected to increase, thus reducing the risk of future disasters. This has been proven during the eruption of Mount Semeru at the end of 2022. Thanks to the community’s increased preparedness, casualties can be avoided. This is clearly different from the impact of the Semeru eruption in 2021, which caused 57 deaths. 

Multistakeholder cooperation 

The Coordinating Minister for Human Resources Development, Muhadjir Effendy, said that disasters could no longer be construed as a single event with a local impact. The impact of global warming felt in all parts of the world is one of the proofs. Therefore, multistakeholder cooperation between the Government of Indonesia, governments of other countries, local and international Non-Government Organisations (NGOs), academics, the private sector, and the community is absolutely necessary to build resilience in facing disasters. 

According to him, almost 70 percent of disasters are caused by human factors. Often, the disaster is triggered by a development project that causes damage that creates a long-term impact. Therefore, he reminded officials and regional leaders to be prudent in making decisions related to development. “In addition to being based on a solid study, we must also use conscience,” he said. 

Instead of bearing greater disaster risks, he continued, policymakers must work harder to build preparedness. This hard work can be realised, among others, by seriously taking natural risks into account in every development planning, as well as including topics related to disaster preparedness in the school curriculum. In the curriculum, there must be materials that are really practical according to the type of disaster in the area. For schools located around watersheds, for example, the school curriculum must contain more socialisation and education related to floods. 

The member of Commission VIII of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia, Ina Amania, appreciated the HKB commemoration by BNPB. According to her, the HKB commemoration is a form of BNPB’s preparedness to face various threats and potential disasters in Indonesia. Seeing that Indonesia is vulnerable to various types of disasters with increasing potential threats, both natural and non-natural, she encouraged BNPB to increase synergy with various parties, both in central and regional government institutions and various relevant parties, to mitigate and overcome the impact of disasters. “Commission VIII supports budget implementation to overcome disasters,” she said. 

Support from the Australian Government for disaster preparedness 

The Chief Representative of the Australian Consulate General in Surabaya, Fiona Haggart, said that through the SIAP SIAGA Program, the Australian Government is committed to supporting community-based disaster risk reduction while helping Indonesia build resilience to disasters. “Partnership in disaster risk management is very important because, as part of Asia Pacific, Indonesia and Australia face the same challenges. Both are also vulnerable to disasters,” she said. 

 
According to Fiona, based on her observation and experience while living in Indonesia, many Indonesians live in disaster-prone areas. Among them, some people and communities have succeeded in building community resilience in facing disaster risks. Therefore, it is very important to promote the exchange of knowledge and experience on disaster preparedness among communities, especially river communities. With that in mind, SIAP SIAGA Program supports the development of a book containing stories of river communities in Indonesia. 

“In addition to the talkshow, SIAP SIAGA Program will also launch a book that records information and inspiration on community resilience in watersheds across Indonesia,” she said. 

In line with the book development on river community resilience, this year’s HKB commemoration series was also filled with Watershed Community Resilience Talkshow. The talkshow entitled “Watershed (DAS) Community Resilience” was held right before the HKB ceremonial event at the same location. The talkshow brought in volunteers and activists in several watersheds in Indonesia as speakers, including Kaharuddin Muji from the Jeneberang Watershed in South Sulawesi; Usman Firdaus from the Ciliwung Watershed in Jakarta; I Gusti Rai Ari Temaja from the Tukad Bindu Watershed in Bali; Robah from the Bengawan Solo Watershed in Gresik, East Java; Jana Marlina from the Ogan Watershed in South Sumatra; Vivi Norvika Hariyantini from the Kapuas Watershed in West Kalimantan; and Arif Rahmadi Haryono from Dompet Dhuafa. 

In this talkshow supported by SIAP SIAGA Program, speakers shared stories related to their respective communities’ efforts in protecting rivers and improving community preparedness through various activities and training. The talkshow brought in responders, namely the Professor of Universitas Pertahanan, Syamsul Maarif, a water resource expert from Gadjah Mada University, Agus Maryono, the Deputy for Logistics and Equipment of BNPB, Lilik Kurniawan, and SIAP SIAGA Gender Specialist, Lutri Handayani.