'Central Java needs to take preventative action'

'Central Java needs to take preventative action'

Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post, Purwokerto, Central Java

The flash flooding and landslides in the southern part of Central
Java are an annual phenomenon that bring suffering and material
losses to local people. However local authorities have not taken
preventive measures to handle the disasters and to minimize their
negative impact.

The flooding that has hit the region over the last nine days
has inundated hundreds of villages, damaged thousands of houses
and school buildings, dozens of bridges and the railway track
connecting the province and West Java. Thousands of hectares of
rice fields in the regencies of Kebumen, Cilacap and Banyumas
have also been ruined.

Thousands of local people taking refugee in temporary shelters
in drier areas in the region are facing possible starvation and
are suffering from ailments such as diarrhea and skin diseases,
while thousands of students are missing classes because school
buildings are still flooded or flood-damaged.

For the public and social workers, the flooding has raised a
huge question mark. Is the flooding to be accepted as a natural
disaster or are concerted efforts required from various sectors
to cope with key problems behind the annual phenomenon?

Bishop Mgr. Julianus Sunarko, of Purwokerto Diocese, expressed
his deep concern over the natural disaster that affected the
region annually, saying hard work and long-term efforts were
needed to seek a comprehensive solution to the problem.

"The handling of the annual disaster in the region is still
more 'curative' than preventive and focuses on the evacuation of
victims. So, far, no actions have been taken to identify the
factors that trigger the disaster and to seek a comprehensive
approach to prevent the disaster," he said in an interview with
The Jakarta Post at his residence in Purwokerto recently.

According to the bishop, the disasters are a natural phenomena
that should not be considered as misfortune but must be prevented
and fought against.

Sunarko said an in-depth study and concrete measures involving
local authorities and the private sector were needed to design a
long-term program to minimize the scale of the disaster and its
negative impact on the local community.

He said the social and economic committee of his diocese had
taken the initiative to work together with Suara Hati Foundation,
with financial assistance from the United States, to conduct
research on natural disasters in the region.

The research that will take between three years and five years
is jointly conducted by representatives from Nadhlatul Ulama, the
Catholic Church, Kebatinan (practitioners of Javanese mysticism)
and Confucianists.

Sunarko said that besides having established a wide network to
handle disasters in the region, the diocese's social and economic
committee had also conducted studies with the local authorities
to seek a comprehensive solution to main factors triggering the
annual disaster.

According to him, local authorities should make a sound
environmental policy to avoid the annual flooding and landslides.

"Local authorities should regularly dredge and deepen major
rivers and build strong dikes along the rivers to prevent water
overflowing during the rainy season.

"Local people should be encouraged to build houses that are
elevated off the ground to prevent them from being inundated when
a flash flood hits their villages," he said.

"The annual phenomenon of floods and landslides must be also
seen from an ecological perspective. Rampant slashing of forests
in mountainous areas in the region are a major cause of floods
and landslides. Therefore, local authorities must take tight
measures against the felling of trees in forested areas," he
said.

He said that according to the foundation's survey, illegal
logging and burning of forest areas during the dry season had
been rampant in the region over the last two years.

Data at the Banyumas local forestry ministry office shows the
deforestation in Sidaredja and Kawunganten Subdistricts, which
have been worst hit by the flood, reached 3,000 hectares over the
last two years, causing Rp 8 billion in material losses to the
local administration.

Djoko Suhartono, a member of staff at the local forestry
office, said all trees aged over 15 years in the subdistricts had
been plundered over the last two years.

"Local authorities must take strict actions against rampant
illegal logging because the flash floods have a lot to do with
the absence of catchment areas in the mountainous areas," he
said.