'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.