Towards Disaster Management in Indonesia Case Studies: Jakarta and Yogyakarta Provinces

Abstract

Based on the Asia Pacific Disaster Report prepared by the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) and the UN Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) on 26 October 2010, during 1980-2009 period in Asia Pacific countries, Indonesia was the fourth rank of the highest natural disasters for about 312 cases, second rank of the highest number of death approximately 191.164 people, and also had economic losses for at least US$ 22.5 billion. The geographical location, archipelagic region, tectonic formation, largest population, and tropical climate condition have put Indonesia into the highest disaster risks of tropical geo-hazards as well as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, floods, and forest fires. How Indonesia deals with the natural disasters is very important issue nowadays not only for the government but also for academia to produce knowledge related to disaster management. The availability of disaster management planning was extremely important to have proper disaster management. This paper provides the experiences of Indonesian cities in conducting disaster management planning processes through two case studies Jakarta and Yogyakarta. This study found that the disaster management plan in both cities considered the level of risks, not only the level of disaster impacts through risk mapping process. The different size of city also brought the different way of mapping and planning processes. These findings suggest that contrary to rational comprehensive planning, which solely conducted by the experts, the disaster management planning should be conducted inclusively through collaborating among government, experts, and vulnerable groups.