JUST IN: WEST PAPUA HOLDS DISASTER RISK REDUCTION MONTH

Plan to prepare West Papuans for disasters and sustainable development   

23 October 2017
West Papua, Indonesia
ABCMelanesia

An officer of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency distributing masks to women in West Papua, October 2017. Source: Antara News Agency.

Pacific Media Centre reports that Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) is holding the 2017 Disaster Risk Reduction Month series of events in four areas of West Papua.

Disaster risk reduction efforts need to be understood as investments to sustain development plans rather than mere budget expenditures, says Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) head Willem Rampangilei.

Rampangilei added that the Nawacita (Nine Priorities) programme and the 2015-2019 National Medium Term Development Plan (RPJMN) document emphasise disaster management, particularly disaster risk reduction into national to local development planning, reports Netral News.

“The objective of the plan is to protect the economic growth centers from the threat of disaster so as to ensure the sustainability of development,” Rampangilei said.

In the RPJMN document, the government set the priority of 136 regencies/municipalities as the center of high-risk economic growth.

Disaster risk reduction would increase resilience so that it did not significantly affect the development process, Rampangilei said.

The Head of BNPB and Governor of West Papua officially opened the Manokrawi sea port. Source: BNPB

One of the disaster risk reduction efforts was by lowering the risk index of disaster at the centres of economic growth.

In 2016, BNPB together with the government and other stakeholders, lowered the disaster risk index by 15.98 percent. In 2019, the disaster risk index is targeted to fall by 30 percent, according to the RPJMN.

Rampangilei said it was vital to strengthen government and community understanding of disaster risk reduction activities as an investment for resilience.

Expected investments include building of joint awareness, dialogue and networking among stakeholders involved in disaster risk reduction activities.

Indonesia delivered US$2 million worth of humanitarian assistance to Vanuatu, April 2015. Source: BNPB

In April 2015 the Indonesian government delivered US$ 2 million worth of humanitarian assistance to the government of Vanuatu to assist Vanuatu in its relief and rebuilding efforts post the destruction caused by typhoon Pam.

Indonesian Army personnel with women of Lawaki join in a tuiboto dance during the officers' farewell at Queen Victoria School in Tailevu on Saturday, August 27, 2016. Picture: JONACANI LALAKOBAU, The Fiji Times

Indonesia also sent a US$5 million package of assistance to Fiji after the country was struck by typhoon Winston in 2016. The assistance package includes a team of Indonesian engineers from the Indonesian Defence Force. The engineers helped to rebuild the Queen Victoria School (QVS).  The Fiji Times reported Mr Sitiveni Rabuka, the forme prime minister of Fiji said to the 100 men from the Indonesian Defence Force:

"Thank you for coming here to help us rebuild the school which we hope and pray to continue to produce leaders that will be able to march forward with the pace of development going on around the world," 

  

Pacific Media Centre
ABCMelanesia