Synergy between Disaster Preparedness Area program with local institutions for community disaster preparedness

Abstract

The Government of Indonesia through Ministry of Social Affairs launched the Disaster Preparedness Area Program (Kawasan Siaga Bencana or KwSB) in 2019 to build community preparedness for natural disasters. This program is a forum for early community-based disaster management synergy with an integrated approach that involves various stakeholders in areas with high risk of natural disasters. Meanwhile social reality exposes that historically, people living in areas prone to natural disasters have had their own local institutions and knowledge on dealing with natural disasters. Several research results indicated there is a gap between the government programs and the social realities in society. Accordingly, this research will identify the consequences of the KwSB Program on existing local institutions in the community before this program was launched. That very problem is answered through qualitative approach with data collected from literature studies, observations, in-depth interviews, and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). Furthermore, the collected texts and narratives are analyzed by categorization and then comparing the existence and actions of local institutions before and after the KwSB Program. The results show that there are consequences due to the presence of the program on the social reality of local institutions, especially in the reconfiguration of social networks in the community.

Strengthening society preparedness as a strategy for disaster risk reduction in Indonesia

“…Research locations were selected purposively considering that the selected locations were areas with a high frequency of disasters (disaster-prone areas) in the last five years: (1) East Lampung, (2) Pandeglang, (3) Pangandaran, (4) Kulon Progo, (5) Malang, and (6) Bone Bolango [5]. The selection of these six locations was also strengthened by a literature study on disasters in each location [17,18].…”

“…Understanding disaster risk necessitates taking into account not just dangers, exposure, and susceptibility but also the ability of communities to defend themselves from catastrophes; resilience is the power to survive, recover, and grow welfare at the same time [4]. One of the efforts to build community resilience is preparedness [5].…”