Attachments
1. Context
Indonesia’s Mount Merapi is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. Consequently, the densely populated communities that circle its base to benefit from its fertile agricultural land and tourism also face a high level of disaster displacement risk. In late 2010, a major eruption affected over 300 villages, completely destroying some, in three districts in the province of Central Java (Boyolali, Klaten and Magelang) and one district in DI Yogyakarta (Sleman). The following January, cold lava flows, called lahars, led to a second disaster affecting eight districts.1
The Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) ultimately registered almost 400,000 people in IDP camps, with other estimates suggesting up to 1 million people evacuated from the danger zone.2 Local contingency plans had been unprepared for a disaster of this scale, resulting in a chaotic evacuation and people uncertain where to go.3 Notably, most deaths occurred in areas more than 10 kilometres from Merapi’s summit, where communities were less prepared4 and lacked information on the designated evacuation sites, which were few. People were also reluctant to leave behind their cattle,5 which impeded safe evacuation. Some evacuees were subsequently killed when they returned to care for their livestock before the danger had passed.6 Many people first evacuated to nearby villages and then scattered across different districts, resulting in separated families. In the absence of systems to identify IDPs and track their movements, it took some village leaders two to three weeks to locate community members. In addition to these challenges, government aid distribution was further delayed by village data records that were out of date, inaccessible or damaged.
Learning from this experience, in 2011 the Regional Agency for Disaster Management for Magelang District and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) initiated the Sister Village Programme,7 with the support of the Federal Government and NGOs, as a model to prepare for and manage internal disaster displacement and strengthen community-based resilience in Central Java.8 The programme targeted 19 villages in areas exposed to deadly hot gas and volcanic matter within a 20-kilometre radius of Merapi’s summit, and was implemented in accordance with the Government of Indonesia’s Action Plan for Rehabilitation and Reconstruction.9