Disasters due to the impact of climate change phenomena occurred in several regions in Indonesia. Sea level rise, puddles in low-lying areas, coastal erosion, flooding, and extreme waves are the impacts of urban and regional planning that do not take into account the threat of climate change.
Chairman of Master of Disaster Management study programme, Prof. Dr. Sudibyakto, said nearly 85% of disasters in Indonesia were related to the phenomenon of climate change. Although Indonesia has a very high risk of disasters, but the availability of human resources in the field of disaster management is still very limited. “Not adequate to the risk of disaster,” said Sudibyakto in the launch of the study Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change in the seminar room of the Graduate School of UGM, Wednesday (12/16).
There is an imbalance between hazards and the availability of human resources of field disaster management. Sudibyakto estimates Indonesia will require human resources as many as 1,500 scholars from undergraduate level, 250 master’s and 50 doctoral degrees for disaster risk management within the next 15 years .
Sudibyakto also highlighted the lack of commitment of local governments to allocate funds for disaster relief program which is still very limited and not even included on the priority scale. “This condition causes the program and disaster risk reduction activities in the area not planned and implemented properly,” he said.
Dr. Ir. Purnomo Achmad, Expert Staff for Public Policy at the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF), said we need to prepare against sea level rise due to the impact of climate change. According to experts, Purnomo said, in 2050 there would be a sea level rise of 90 cm that could submerge 2000 small islands in Indonesia. “If that happens, there will be about 2,000 islands sinking and 42 million homes on the beach disappearing,” he said.
Other impacts, he added, the uncertainty of the season in the fishing activities. “Currently, there are changes in fish migration and the number of fish that washed up more and more,” he said.
Disasters as the impact of climate change, he said, need to be tackled and anticipated by the government and the community to support the sustainability of the program. “Minister of Maritime and Affairs and Fisheries has already written letters appealing to the entire heads of the regions to manage resources in a sustainable manner,” he concluded.