Disaster resilient village-based approach to disaster risk reduction policy in Indonesia: A regulatory analysis

This article will address the disaster resilience village (DRV) approach as a disaster preparedness method in Indonesia. This scheme became operational in 2012, exactly 5 years after disaster management legislation was passed in 2007. This DRV strategy is a component of the central government’s decentralisation of disaster management to local governments. Indonesia is covered by three tectonic plates: Indo-Australia, Eurasia and the Pacific. As a result, the country is regularly subjected to severe seismic activity, including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other natural hazards. According to Statista, the tsunami is the most severe threat to Indonesia, with a risk index score of 9.7 out of 10. Meanwhile, natural hazards continue to increase in frequency and severity in Indonesia, both in terms of accidents and fatalities.

Using a method of doctrinal legal review, this study argues that the DRV approach to disaster preparedness at the village level is inefficient. That is because the village apparatus is the central player in this DRV, but residents of disaster-prone areas are regarded as an afterthought when it comes to disaster management. Consequently, efforts to strengthen emergency preparedness for residents in disaster-prone areas will be harmed. As a result, it is unsurprising that whenever a disaster occurs in Indonesia, the death toll and damage to property remain high. This is because people who live in disaster-prone areas lack a framework for transforming knowledge and scientific experience with disasters. In addition, this DRV strategy opposes previous disaster experts’ community-based and transformative approaches. However, direct field research on communities living in disaster-prone areas is needed to obtain empirical evidence of the DRV approach’s shortcomings.