Drainage politics: Reducing climate change vulnerability in Surabaya, Indonesia
This article explores how the risk of flooding is affected by Indonesian politics and policies, how the successful mitigation of extreme weather events depends on the local political ecosystem, and how digital media can be leveraged to influence political commitment to mitigate the consequences of climate-related hazards.
Key lessons from the publication include:
- Flood damages are not merely caused by rain and high water. They are also due to policy. The success or failure of flood protections - reductions in exposure and in vulnerability - depend on the government's firmness in overcoming inequality in drainage system management and use. The local government must be fully committed to upholding social justice in flood risk-related interventions; they must provide firm support to those implementing these programs at the street-level so that officials and administrators can enforce rules, even against privileged and influential groups in society.
- A healthy local political ecosystem significantly affects successful reduction of harm by extreme weather events due to climate change. Public flood-risk reduction is most effective when government leaders have strong political commitment and are under solid public pressure - by being both visible and accountable.
- Digital media can be leveraged to influence city governments to commit seriously to risk reduction of climate-related hazards.
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