Human-Centered Technology Can Drive Resilience

The development of human-centred disaster technology is increasingly needed to optimise efforts to predict and respond to disasters and drive community resilience. So, there needs to be synergy among various parties that have developed disaster technologies in Indonesia.

One of the efforts to promote this synergy was through a seminar entitled “Transformation, Innovation and Digital Convergence for Resilience”, held at the Alana Hotel Bogor, West Java, on June 11-12, 2024. In this discussion, the Deputy for Systems and Strategy of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), Raditya Jati, gave his opening remarks alongside key resource persons, namely the Director of Research and Innovation Policy Evaluation of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Dudi Iskandar, and the Head of the Center for Instrumentation, Calibration, and Engineering, Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Hanif Andi Nugraha.

The panelists for the first day of the discussion themed “System Integration for Holistic Resilience” included BNPB Associate Disaster Analyst Expert, Linda Lestari; Researcher of the BRIN Population Research Center, Rusli Cahyadi; Head of the Sub-Directorate of Climate Change Adaptation of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Nuraeni; Data Innovation and Policy Lead UN Global Pulse, Faisal Thamrin; and Director of Electricity, Telecommunications, and Informatics, National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), Taufiq Hidayat Putra.

On the second day, the first panel discussion session entitled “Artificial Intelligence-Based Resilience” was presented by Agus Budi Santoso as a representative of the Center for Geological Disaster Technology Development; Lecturer of Geodesy Engineering, Faculty of Engineering UGM, Ruli Andaru; and Hendy Risdianto as a representative of the Indonesia Artificial Intelligence Society (IAIS). Meanwhile, the second session of the panel discussion themed “Decision Support System for Resilient and Sustainable Policies” presented panellists from the Head of the Data & Information Center, Development and Information Agency for Villages, Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration, Theresia Junidar; Head of the West Nusa Tenggara Provincial Communication and Informatics Office, Najamuddin Amy; and Director of Disaster Risk Mapping and Evaluation of BNPB, Udrekh.

According to SIAP SIAGA Team Leader Lucy Dickinson, adopting digital technology for disaster risk reduction (DRR), climate change, and achieving other development goals is paramount. “Information and transformation are expected to form sustainable resilience that continues to be carried out for the better,” she said.

Catherine Meehan, the representative of the Australian Embassy to Indonesia, added that technology can save human lives, protect livelihoods, and build stronger and more resilient communities. “Innovative solutions such as artificial intelligence, big data, and the Internet of Things can significantly improve our ability to predict, prepare for, and respond to disasters,” she said.

Raditya Jati conveyed that science and technology is one of the five key elements that function as the main pillars of sustainable resilience. The other four elements are governance, investment, infrastructure, and society. “The central point is in the community. It is not technology if it is not being used by the community,” he said.

According to Raditya, this discussion is a step towards The Global Forum For Sustainable Resilience 2024 event, which will focus on sustainable resilience related to learning about 20 years of tsunami in the Indian Ocean. Some of the principles of sustainable resilience are one whole unity, a shared or common platform, and synergy between parties. “So, do we need to create a new shared platform? Or are the existing ones enough and let us emphasise the principle of used and useful? That is something we also need to continue to discuss together,” he added.

Need for Communication

Regarding synergy, Dudi Iskandar admitted that although BRIN has done many disaster-related innovations, the opportunity to communicate them to BNPB and other disaster stakeholders has only now presented itself. When in fact, a lot has been done at BRIN, such as research on disaster sources and dangers, the development of early warning technology, the development of volcano technology, rapid mapping of disaster impacts, and the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for environmental and disaster simulations

It is true that, continued Dudi, there is a Scientific Research Communication Forum held regularly every month. However, this forum has only involved ministries/institutions. “This communication and coordination factor will be the focus in the disaster domain going forward, so that existing innovations can be utilised, and vice versa, the need for research and innovation can be conveyed to us. There are still many opportunities for collaboration, such as AI and Big Data development to manage disasters and predict them more effectively,” he said.

 Hanif Andi Nugraha also mentioned the need for collaboration. According to him, BMKG’s current authority is more towards an early warning system. BMKG has developed a variety of innovations and technological engineering to implement this authority. With these authority limitations, BMKG needs to collaborate with other parties so that the early warning system can lead to early action.

Hanif gave reference examples in determining disaster status. So far, BMKG uses terms applied in the IOC (Indian Ocean Climate), which becomes an internal reference in climate monitoring in the Indian Ocean. “So if it is going to be released to the public, we need to have the same perceptions so the public can easily receive them. This is what will be discussed with BNPB to help with early action in the community,” he said.

System Integration

Another important issue besides synergy is integration. Currently, various disaster-related systems are similar in terms of content and data flow.

According to Linda, BNPB manages InaRISK, a portal for disaster risk assessment results, and also has a Preparedness Catalogue. This catalog contains a collection of community-based risk management and reduction practices and the development of rural community resilience in Indonesia. “In it, there are documents on preparedness and community-based disaster risk reduction, including the Village Resilience Assessment,” explained Linda.

In response to Linda’s statement, Nuraeni explained that the Vulnerability Index Data Information System (SIDIK) managed by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry also assesses villages. However, there is a difference between it and the Preparedness Catalogue. “SIDIK does not only contain past data but also projections,” said Nuraeni.

According to Rusli Cahyadi, integrating similar systems requires two discussions at two levels. First, at the inter-agency level, to ensure that system integration can fulfil each institution’s duties and functions. Second, at the community level, to ensure the community’s function of this system integration. “What was discussed in this seminar was more at the first level. The greatest challenge is actually at the community level,” he said.

Taufiq Hidayat acknowledged that, ideally, data integration should not burden the community. Therefore, planning is key so that what data is collected and how it is collected can be formulated from the beginning.

Regarding system and data integration, Najamudin said that these efforts had been carried out in NTB Province. One of them is through the One Data Program, which is the flagship program of the NTB Provincial Government. Through the One Data Program, no Regional Apparatus Organization (OPD) within the NTB Provincial Government is allowed to make their own application. All applications must come from the Communication and Informatics, Statistics, and Cryptography Office.

Artificial Intelligence

This two-day seminar series also discussed various disaster-related technological innovations using Artificial Intelligence (AI). One of the main points of the discussion was that the latest technological advancements in disaster management must remain centred on humans. This also applies to the development of AI-based disaster technology. According to Ruli Andaru, AI development must be done wisely to maximise its benefits to humans.

Agus Budi Santoso said that if all the ideal prerequisites are fulfilled, AI will be able to maximise disaster mitigation efforts in Indonesia. In the context of volcanoes, for example, the community’s preparedness can be even more effective with the help of AI. “However, since AI is a learning machine, it needs sufficient data input. Meanwhile, currently, human knowledge of the complexity of volcanology activities is still minimal and small. So, no matter how advanced AI is, if there is data input by humans, it will not be (useful),” he said.

Hendy Risdianto Wijaya conveyed that the ecosystem for AI development in Indonesia is still conventional. Therefore, he suggests that the government immediately promote Generative AI, which enables more development potential. “In the case of Generative AI, collaboration becomes the main requirement, followed by a change of mindset related to data governance,” he said.

Decision Support System

Another interesting topic discussed in this seminar is the importance of processing various disaster data and information into a system that can support the decision-making process. The data and information used should not be limited to conventional data from surveys and input, as well as data collected by government institutions. We can also consider non-conventional data, such as big data or information generated from AI analysis.

Theresia  Junidar explained how a multi-platform village information system, which is a combination of several applications within the Ministry of Villages, can be accessed by stakeholders in the village and even villagers in general. This system does not only help the village government in making decisions, for example, to develop the Village Government Work Plan, but is also accessible by other government institutions to prioritise programs and program targets.

One prominent example of a Decision-Support System is the system developed by the NTB Regional Government. Najamuddin Amy said that the one-data NTB portal functions as a dashboard and has been accessed by almost two million users because the developed data is ready to use and according to standards, despite NTB’s limitations on communication technology infrastructure, which has not been developed optimally.

Related to the use of technology and such infrastructure limitations, the Ministry of Home Affairs emphasises the importance of continuing to develop cooperation with the private sector, especially communication service providers, to ensure appropriate infrastructure development in line with the community’s needs.