Govt urged to improve public participation in tackling floods<\/p>\n
Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The central government and city administration were urged on
\nMonday to improve residents' participation in dealing with the
\npossible upcoming floods and not to concentrate solely on
\nexpensive prevention measures.<\/p>\n
Constructing infrastructure for flood prevention requires a
\nlot of money and needs a long period of time, while the
\ngovernment does not have enough money to build such
\ninfrastructure.<\/p>\n
Participants at a public discussion held by the Institute for
\nEconomic and Social Research, Education and Information (LP3ES)
\nat its office on Jl. S. Parman, West Jakarta said that residents
\nhad not been given sufficient information on how to prepare for
\nthe floods.<\/p>\n
\"City officials have repeatedly said that there have been
\nnumerous simulations on flood evacuation procedures but we have
\nnot participated in any of them,\" said Nani Amalia of a non-
\ngovernmental organization assisting residents in the Cipinang
\narea, East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"I think such simulations are very important so all residents
\nknow exactly what to do when there is a flood,\" she added.<\/p>\n
Nina, however, admitted that certain government agencies had
\nhelped Cipinang residents to improve environmental conditions.<\/p>\n
\"We borrowed an excavator to dredge the main canal from the
\nCiliwung-Cisadane River Project and garbage trucks from the
\nJakarta Sanitation Agency to transport the sludge,\" she said.<\/p>\n
\"Actually we had planned to clean the river but not earlier
\nthan March due to the budget flow.\"<\/p>\n
Jakarta is bracing for another flood by February after
\nsuffering a great flood early last year which affected most
\nplaces in the city.<\/p>\n
The city administration was criticized for its failure to
\nrespond to the flood or to warn residents.<\/p>\n
An LP3ES researcher, Irfan Maryono, said residents had to be
\nprepared for the floods whether the government was ready or not.<\/p>\n
\"That's why the presence of an early warning system is very
\nimportant to warn the people in the path of the floodwaters to be
\nready.\"<\/p>\n
Currently, an informal early warning system established by the
\nManggarai floodgate keepers with local community leaders is in
\noperation.<\/p>\n
An official from the Jakarta Public Works Agency, Wisnu
\nSubagio also said that the city administration had established
\nsuch a system in a more integrated way.<\/p>\n
\"There is already a crisis center to handle floods in the
\ncity.<\/p>\n
\"This center can quickly send equipment and human resources to
\nflooded areas.\"<\/p>\n
Irfan, however, criticized the top-down approach used by the
\ncity administration in handling the crisis center.<\/p>\n
\"It should be a bottom-up approach in which the residents are
\nallowed to name their needs in case of flood.<\/p>\n
\"But I guess bureaucracy just cannot work that way.\"<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, head of the hydrology subdirectorate at the
\nsettlement and regional infrastructure ministry, Sutadi, told the
\nparticipants that Jakarta would never be free from floods.<\/p>\n
\"In fact, there is not a single country in the world that is
\nflood-free according to the International Commission on
\nIrrigation and Drainage (ICID).<\/p>\n
\"Jakarta is flat in term of its geography and topography. Some
\n40 percent of its area is located below the average level of high
\ntide,\" he said in a prepared paper.<\/p>\n
Sutadi also pointed to the fact that many parts of Jakarta
\nwere rawa or swampy areas as shown by place names such as
\nRawamangun and Rawa Belong.<\/p>\n
\"The increase in the number residents means that these swampy
\nareas had to be reclaimed.<\/p>\n
\"The number of small lakes has reduced from 216 in 1940 to 154
\nin 1994 due to reclamation activities.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-urged-to-improve-public-participation-in-tackling-floods-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}