ESSAY

Flood Mitigation in Indonesia

By:

Indonesia is an archipelagic country that is vulnerable to disasters, such as natural

disasters, human-caused disasters, and other causes. Some of these disasters are
tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, landslides, and others. Based on
the 2010 Asia Pacific Disaster Report, Indonesia ranked fourth as one of the most
vulnerable country to natural disasters in the Asia Pacific. This is caused by
Indonesia's geographical condition which is an archipelagic country and is one of the
“Ring of Fire” crossing routes, which means a country that has many volcanoes. In
addition, the territory of Indonesia also has an area with active faults and close to the
sub-duction zone, so if there is a shift and collision between the plates, an earthquake
will occure. Moreover, the zone is in the middle of the sea, so if there is a shock, it
will increase the sea wave height, and resulting tsunami.

Indonesia is a tropical country with its own type of weather. Indonesia has a fairly
high rainfall, so if it’s not handled properly and the capacity of rivers can’t
accommodate the amount of water, it can cause flooding. However, it can’t be denied
that the disaster can occur either due to regional or national development factors that
exceeds the capacity and capabilities of the region. Flooding is a problem which still
needs special handling from various parties, either from the government or the
community. There are several reasons that can make flooding occur. Ligal (2008)
mentioned that the rising water levels due to rainfall above normal, changes in
temperature, dam collapse, rapid melting snow, obstructed water flow in other places
are some reasons caused flooding. There are at least five important factors that cause
flooding in Indonesia, such as rainfall factor, the destruction factor of retention of
watersheds (DAS), the factor of river flow planning error, the river silting factor and
the factor of spatial planning error and the construction of facilities and infrastructure.
Jakarta is one of the areas in Indonesia that is most frequently flooded every year.
Excessive exploitation of groundwater in Jakarta causes the capital city of this
country to be flooded, with an average rate of land subsidence of around 3-18 cm per
year. Land surface height in this region is 1.5 meters lower than sea level as a result
of climate change. As a result, water flow from upstream (Bogor and Depok) cannot
be discharged into the sea. In addition, the existing water channels are clogged with
garbage due to poor waste management. DKI Jakarta produces approximately 7,500
tons of waste per day or 2.7 million tons per year. The amount does not include 300-
400 tons of garbage dumped by residents into rivers, especially during the rainy
season. Flood caused material losses in Jakarta to the trillion rupiah and caused
increase in the cost of goods by 10-20%. In dealing with flood, the Jakarta
government has prepared many ways to mitigate and minimize the frequency and
impact caused by the flood, either by relocating housing on the riverbank, dredging
and clarifying the river, and others. The canal in Jakarta is one of the flood disaster
management systems in Jakarta since the days of the Dutch government. However,
besides the government, the community also plays important role in disaster
management, so there must be coordination between the government and the
community.

As one of the countries with the most high disaster threats, especially flooding,
Indonesia needs adequate disaster management system to reduce the risk of disasters,
reduce vulnerability, prepare for disasters, and recover after disaster. For this reason,
a term of disaster mitigation is needed. According to the Head of the National
Disaster Management Agency Regulation No. 4 of 2008 concerning the Guidelines
for the Preparation of Disaster Management Plans, mitigation is an efforts to reduce
disaster risks, both through physical development and awareness raising and capacity
building to face disasters. Ella and Syihab (2008) explained three ways of disaster
mitigation that can be done by the government and the community: Physical
(structural) activities, Non-structural activities, Combination both activities. Until0
now, the effort to overcome the problem of flooding still rely on physical activity
(structure). The construction of facilities and infrastructure (such as reservoirs or
dams, dikes, canals, etc) is done to modify the natural conditions of the river and to
form a flood control system. Non-structural activities aim to avoid and reduce the
magnitude of problems caused by flooding. Non-structural activities include
regulating land cultivation in flood plains and watersheds. In this case, the policy that
needs to be accelerated is the realization of integrated and modern waste
management. DKI Jakarta Governor Regulation No. 3/2013 on Waste Management
still uses an old concept. For example starting from sorting and disposal is still
conventional. For disposal, it still relies on the final landfill (TPA) for waste in Bantar
Gerbang, eventhough the TPA's capacity is already unreliable. Indonesia should start
to adopt its own modern waste management such as ITF (Intermediate Treatment
Facilities).

The main actors either in structural or non-structural activities are the government
and community. In addition to the structural policies above, to reduce the risk of
flooding, human behavior also need to be changed. Commitment, discipline, and
courage and breakthrough policy makers are needed - including the courage to
consistently enforce the law. The most important thing is to change the way people
think by building community-based waste management that produces compost, re-
use, and other products. Likewise with the system of sorting and collecting waste
from households to the processing facility.

Sources:
https://theconversation.com/banjir-besar-di-jakarta-awal-2020-penyebab-dan-saatnya-
mitigasi-bencana-secara-radikal-129324
https://www.kompas.com/skola/read/2020/01/04/070000869/mitigasi-bencana-
banjir?page=all
Ella Yulaelawati Usman Syihab. 2008. Mencerdasi Bencana. Penerbit Grasindo:
Jakarta.
Ligal, S. 2008. Pendekatan Pencegahan dan Penanggulangan Banjir. Jurnal.
Dinamika Teknik Sipil Volume 8, No. 2 Juli 2008.