Building Resilience in Small Island

A series of disasters in Gili Trawangan in North Lombok Regency, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), prompted disaster activists in the region to consider a breakthrough to encourage community resilience. The resilience study became the starting point in realising this idea.

In addition to experiencing a major earthquake in 2018 and then being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the three islands of Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno, and Gili Air or Gili Tramena are also vulnerable to a number of other disaster risks, ranging from strong winds to fires. A fairly major fire disaster occurred in 2022. One of the resorts in Gili Trawangan caught fire, burning down dozens of rooms. News about the fire incident appeared on various online news sites.

The incident was not the first to occur. In every fire incident, extinguishing efforts are not easy because of limited equipment amidst the dense buildings on the island. Gili Trawangan, along with Gili Meno and Gili Air, are small islands that are crowded with tourist facilities such as hotels and restaurants. The tourist buildings in the Gili Indah Village area, Pemenang District, often use flammable materials, increasing the risk.

The Head of the West Nusa Tenggara Disaster Risk Reduction Forum (FPRB), Rahmat Sabani, said that the reflection of the repeated fire cases in Gili Tramena, coupled with the unpreparedness of the evacuation of residents during the 2018 earthquake, made the NTB FPRB assess the need for a different mitigation strategy in Gili Tramena. The discussion gave rise to the idea of the need to develop a mitigation model that could provide services to small islands when experiencing a dangerous situation. So far, the disaster management system on small islands has not existed, so it follows the system that applies to large islands. In fact, the situation on small islands is very different. “For example, fires, what do you want to use to extinguish fires on small islands? What kind of early response system is there?” he said when we met in early August.

Rahmat continued, ” To realise the idea, FPRB NTB, with support from the SIAP SIAGA Program, conducted a study. The goal is to understand the problems that exist on small islands in order to formulate solutions to increase their resilience. We first capture what the problem is. There is a small team that conducts this small study,” he explained.

Seeing the experience in Gili Tramena every time a disaster occurs, the study was also conducted in the area. Rahmat explained that the selection of Gili Tramena as the study location was inseparable from the complexity of the problems on the three islands. However, the status of Gili Tramena is indeed quite special. Referring to Presidential Regulation No. 84 of 2021 concerning the National Tourism Destination Master Plan for Lombok – Gili Tramena 2020 – 2044, Gili Tramena is included in the National Tourism Strategic Area and Regional Tourism Strategic Area, which means it is under the supervision of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy and the NTB Provincial Government. Gili Tramena is also a conservation and fisheries area, which means it is under the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. In addition to these three institutions, there are two other levels of government that are interested and also involved in managing it, namely the North Lombok Regency Government and the Gili Indah Village Government.

In addition to the authority of the central and subnational governments, various government and non-government institutions have also entered Gili Tramena to realise development programs. However, each institution generally has its tools for measuring and monitoring each other’s achievements. Without measuring instruments that have the same standards, the impact of these programs, especially in encouraging the resilience of coastal communities with tourism characters such as in Gili Tramena, is difficult to measure. Without good coordination, these programs can also overlap, making disaster mitigation efforts even more difficult.

Rahmat added that when the Gili Tramena problem can be mapped according to the facts on the ground, the solutions developed will be more evidence-based. This can be an example for other small islands, considering that apart from Gili Tramena, there are still hundreds of small islands in NTB, with around 60 of them inhabited. These small islands have similar tourism potential to Gili Tramena. The tendency of disaster risk is also similar. “If Gili Tramena is finished, there is a model, it will be easy to apply it to other small islands,” he said.

Integrated measurement

The disaster resilience study tool on small islands was developed by FPRB NTB and representatives of BPBD NTB as coordinators, together with the Consortium for Participatory Studies and Development (KONSEPSI) supported by the SIAP SIAGA Program. This study tool adapts three models at once, namely the Disaster Resilient Village (Destana) indicator, island and coastal area resilience, and sustainable livelihood. Adaptation to the three models is expected to be able to integrate measurements that have been carried out separately. That way, the need to obtain a complete picture of the resilience conditions on small islands can be achieved. In the context of small island resilience, this study tool that combines three models at once is the first in Indonesia.

After the device was ready, the team conducted a study in Gili Tramena. Data collection and the study triangulation process were carried out in October – December 2022. The data collection method used desk review, focus group discussion ( FGD ), observation, semi-structured interviews, and documentation. There are six components that are looked at, namely Quality and Access to Basic Services, Basic Disaster Management System, Disaster Risk Management, Emergency Preparedness, Recovery Preparedness, and Sustainable Livelihoods. Data collection and the study triangulation process were carried out using desk review, focus group discussions, observation, semi-structured interviews, and documentation. The results were then analysed, and the public was consulted about them.

The study showed a tendency to lack the quantity and quality of basic services in Gili Tramena. In fact, this area has a very large economic opportunity. In terms of disaster management, although Gili Indah Village had become Destana until the study was conducted, the village did not have village regulations related to disaster management. One important conclusion from the study is that the problems on small islands cannot be separated from the surrounding areas, especially the large islands that are buffer zones.

According to Rahmat, this small study is an initial study. Ideally, a more in-depth follow-up study will follow in the future. However, the small study has shown a number of problems in Gili Tramena related to disaster resilience. The results of the study can be the basis for formulating solutions to overcome various challenges in promoting resilience.

Regional Resilience

The results of preparing the study tools were then followed up with technical guidance on village resilience assessments targeting Gili Indah Village, which oversees the Gili Tramena area. In addition, a series of discussions that brought together the Gili Indah Village government with the buffer zone, especially a number of villages in Pemenang District, were also held to encourage cooperation to increase the area’s resilience. Gili Indah Village and a number of buffer zones on Lombok Island are encouraged to become one resilient area.
The buffer villages of Gili Indah, namely West Pemenang Village, East Pemenang Village, Malaka Village, and Menggala Village, supported the idea.

The role of the government at the sub-district level is very important in an effort to encourage cooperation between the five villages —not only as a supervisor but also as a moderator. The Secretary of Pemenang Sub-district, Baiq Rahmawati, said that from the discussion sessions that had been held with the five villages, an agreement emerged to create a Joint Regulation of the Village Heads (Permakades) from the five villages in disaster management. That way, the five villages that agreed could share resources in dealing with regional disasters.

Wardana, the Head of Gili Indah Village, said that cooperation between villages to encourage regional resilience would be very beneficial, especially for Gili Indah Village, whose territory consists of small islands with very limited disaster management capacity. Through regional cooperation, the impact and risk of disasters in Gili Indah, both in terms of loss of life and economic losses, can be reduced. Disaster management efforts can also be more effective and efficient because they can share resources.

According to Rahmat, in addition to Gili Indah Village and the buffer villages, the results of the study were also communicated to the government at the district and provincial levels. That way, the interested and authorised parties in NTB will better understand the existing problems and the solutions needed. The hope is that in the future, the NTB FPRB can encourage special policies for the resilience of small islands so that they can guarantee the safety of residents and visitors when a disaster occurs. “The hard part is bringing together all parties, from the regions to the centre. There needs to be a meeting point, especially in terms of authority, so that in the future, the division of authority can be clearer, more measurable and strategic,” he said.