River Community Initiative Strengthens Government Commitment to Local Resilience 

A number of river communities in Indonesia have been actively involved in efforts to conserve watersheds in their areas and reduce the risk of disasters resulting from the destruction of these watersheds. For this reason, local and central governments need to respond to the initiatives by providing real support so that people in the watershed areas become more resilient. 

Inspiration and learning from the efforts of a number of river communities served as the core of the Watershed Community Talkshow, which was held as a series of summit events for the National Disaster Preparedness Day or HKB at the Meeting Hall (Pendapa), Karangbinangun Subdistrict, Lamongan District, East Java, Tuesday (16/5). The talkshow entitled “Watershed Community Resilience” brought in many speakers, namely Kaharuddin Muji from the Jeneberang Watershed in South Sulawesi; Usman Firdaus from the Ciliwung Watershed in DKI 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. 

Moderated by Benedicta R Kirana from SIAP SIAGA Program, this talkshow also brought in responders, namely Professor of Universitas Pertahanan, Syamsul Maarif, water resources expert at Gadjah Mada University, Agus Maryono, Deputy for Logistics and Equipment of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), Lilik Kurniawan, and SIAP SIAGA Gender Specialist, Lutri Handayani. This talkshow was held by BNPB with the support of the SIAP SIAGA Program, a collaborative program between the Governments of Indonesia and Australia. 

The BNPB Preparedness Director, Pangarso Suryotomo, said that the River Community Talkshow was organised as an effort to share knowledge and experience from river communities when opening the talkshow. It is hoped that this talkshow can inspire various relevant parties to help build river communities’ resilience by promoting both the restoration of river functions and the replication of learning shared by river communities in this talkshow. “This talkshow is expected to contribute to these efforts so that we have good learning documents from communities in the watersheds,” he said. 

The meaning of resilience

Usman Firdaus from the Ciliwung Caring Community (Mat PECI), Jakarta, said that taking care of the river cannot be done half-heartedly. The resilience of communities around watersheds must be built from upstream to downstream. In the Ciliwung River, for example, efforts to build community resilience are carried out through educational activities on how to deal with river hazards and maintain river sustainability. “In principle, if we take care of nature, nature will take care of us,” he said. 

In the Ciliwung Watershed, efforts to face disasters are carried out by building a warning system from upstream to downstream. In addition, the Mas PECI community carries out eco-education tourism activities that use environmental, educational, and economic approaches in collaboration with various parties. “Efforts to protect the river and reduce the risk of disasters will be easier to do and show results when there is a penta helix cooperation, namely the involvement of the community, government, academics, the business world, and the mass media,” he said. 

Kaharuddin Muji from the Jeneberang Watershed in Gowa District, South Sulawesi, as an activist of the South Sulawesi Water Resources Care Communication Forum, said that based on his experience, resilience is how a community can understand, learn, and then be ready and swift in dealing with disasters, making it a culture. In order to face disasters, people need to understand the risk of disasters that will occur, monitor disasters, and disseminate disaster information. 

In the Jeneberang Watershed, public awareness of the importance of resilience in facing disasters was triggered by the Mount Bawangkaraeng fault incident in 2004, which released about 300 million cubic meters of material into the river, causing flash floods that claimed lives. The experience has encouraged people to understand the risk of disasters related to rivers so that they will be ready to face disasters. “We agreed on a community-based early warning concept carried out from us, by us, for us, so that when a disaster occurs, we already know what to do, thus preventing more casualties during disasters,” he said. 

A different experience was told by Jana Marlina. According to her, the Musi River Women’s Community (KPPSM) was established only in 2020 after its founders were involved in the performance of the Musi Rahim Dance in the Musi River in the same year. The performance opened their eyes to the fact that people living around the river need to care more about the said river. Moreover, currently, the people living on the banks of the Musi River still rely on the river water for daily water needs, such as bathing and washing clothes. So, women groups become those who are directly affected when the quality of river water decreases. For this reason, in the KPPSM forum, Jana and her colleagues have tried to clean the river and the environment around the river at least once a week. “We also process waste by sorting it, then making compost. We also invite other residents to get involved,” he said. 

As for Vivi Norvika Hariyantini from the Kapuas Watershed, resilience means community movement to protect the river by not throwing garbage in the river. This resilience is built through flood disaster preparedness training, as well as cooperation with relevant parties to overcome flood problems, starting from upstream to downstream areas. 

Related to that, Vivi continued, Sanggar Cinta Tanah Air Khatulistiwa (Sangsakha) seeks to build resilience through various activities, such as disaster training, environmental protection campaigns in schools by targeting and involving school and university students, as well as cleaning rivers and planting trees. In addition, Sangsakha also seeks to involve Indigenous people in the process so that they can learn about how indigenous peoples have lived in harmony with nature for generations, making them resilient in dealing with disasters. 

Education and empowerment 

In the Tukad Bindu area, Denpasar City, Bali, the values of local wisdom are also present in the community’s efforts to protect the river. The principle of Tri Hita Karana, which is to live in harmony with fellow humans, nature, and the creator, is a guide for people to jointly overcome the waste problem so that it does not end up in the river. 

According to I Gusti Rai Ari Temaja or Gung Nik from the Denpasar River Care Community (KPS), efforts to jointly protect the river began in 2010. At that time, the condition of Tukad Bindu was concerning because residents used it as a garbage disposal site. So, the first step taken was to make a waste management agreement in each banjar (community association level) using a customary law approach, build a waste bank, and establish a waste school to increase awareness of waste. “We build these efforts by considering the economic aspect. So, Tukad Bindu became an ecotourism site, where resilience and economic independence would become one,” he explained. 

Meanwhile, for Robah, the Chairperson of the Pangkahkulon Supervisory Community Group (Pokmaswas) of Gresik, East Java, resilience means having an umbrella ready before it rains. For a fisher like himself, disaster is when marine life in the form of fish and shrimp in the sea runs out. Such disasters have begun to be felt, namely when the catch of fish and shrimp in the Bengawan Solo estuary area decreased drastically. If originally the results of going to sea for 4-6 months could be stored to meet the needs of the family for 2 years, now the results are only enough for daily needs. 

Faced with this situation, fishers refused to stay quiet. Robah and his friends began to move to conduct reforestation of the mangrove forest in the Ujungpangkah area, which was damaged by up to 60 per cent. The restoration of mangrove forests will recover the marine biota, salvaging the fish catch results. Mangrove forests will also protect the coast from abrasion. This effort has been carried out gradually since 2010. “Until now, we have planted 500,000 trees in wetlands covering an area of about 200 hectares. In the future, we want to build conservation-based mangrove tourism,” he added. 

Arif Rahmadi Hariono from the Disaster Management Center (DMC) of Dompet Dhuafa said that talking about resilience means talking about risk management in the context of development and climate change. Risks can change, but the most important thing is how to be prepared when these risks arise. Therefore, it is important to talk about environmental education, which goes hand in hand with community empowerment. “In Jakarta, we are trying to build awareness related to waste management and early warning systems while building a community culture to care about the river again,” he said. 

Integrated planning  

These brief presentations from the talkshow speakers received a positive response from the responders. The Professor of Universitas Pertahanan, Syamsul Maarif, for example, appreciated the efforts made by river communities from a number of regions in Indonesia. Looking at the river community initiatives, he thinks that the central government needs to respond and provide real support to these river communities. 

“It is about how these communities can be connected with the government. The people have conveyed this. It is also about how to recognise communities with more than just praise. BNPB needs to make a plan and include all of these,” he said. 

The water resources expert at Gadjah Mada University, Agus Maryono, thought that what the speakers did with their respective communities was extraordinary. On their initiative, they have actually implemented an integrated water management system. This kind of integrated management is very important in managing watershed areas. “In fact, the campus and the government have not had a comprehensive approach yet. So, universities and the government need to be encouraged to think integrated in watershed management. All disaster mitigation initiatives must also be directed towards welfare, not just resilience. Thus, managing disasters while also prospering the community,” he said. 

According to the BNPB Deputy for Logistics and Equipment, Lilik Kurniawan, this type of talkshow is important because it serves as an eye-opener that every inch of land is related to the watershed. When the river flow system is damaged, its impact is very wide. Not only does it impact marine life and water quality in the form of floods, but it also impacts marine life and water quality. This river-related talkshow also shows that the community is mobilising to respond to the situation. “If the community is mobilising, the local government and the central government must facilitate. We need to discuss this to create a relevant program so we can reduce risks,” he stated. 

SIAP SIAGA Gender Specialist Lutri Handayani appreciated the involvement of women’s groups in this talkshow, showing that women play an important role in watershed management. Lutri emphasised that every effort to strengthen the watershed community needs to involve all groups in the community, especially those with high vulnerability. For this reason, we cannot forget to include women, children, and disability groups. “When talking about watersheds, talking about regional spatial planning, it is important to always remember how we can build collaboration without leaving women, children, and disability groups behind,” Lutri said.