Anti-flood programs still ineffective experts say

The Jakarta Post | Thu, 05/06/2010 11:06 AM

Relocating people from the flood-prone Ciliwung river basin needs cooperation between government, private parties and local residents, experts say.

For the last three years, a lack of cooperation and accountability have stymied the Public Works Ministry’s plan to move people from the Ciliwung River basin in East Jakarta to nearby low-cost apartments, concluded a recent discussion among experts.

The government hoped relocating people would reduce damage from the annual floods that plague Jakarta, they said.

But Yayat Suprianta, a spatial planning expert and lecturer in engineering at the University of Trisakti in Grogol, West Jakarta, said the program had failed because neither the local nor central government were accountable.

A further lack of coordination had led to additional financing and management problems. Efforts from private institutions had also failed or had limited or short-term results, he said.

Residents of the Bidara Cina settlement in the flood basin, for example, did not trust state or private sector institutions after the failure of 14 different anti-flood programs.

The programs were implemented in the area from 1999 to 2009, Yayat said.

“Last time I visited Bidara Cina, the head of one neighborhood unit refused to come to our meeting.”

“He didn’t see the point,” Yayat said.

Reports show that the government’s decision to build new apartments before consulting residents had led to strong reactions from those being relocated, as well as land acquisition problems.

Bruno Dercon, the housing policy adviser for the United Nations Human Settlements Program’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (UN-HABITAT ROAP) said the government needed to listen to grass-roots voices.

The government must also design programs that are feasible and meet the people’s needs, he added.

Private sector institutions must also be included in the relocation process, he added.

Dercon said the successful resettlement program developed in the wake of the 2005 tsunami in Aceh was a potential model for the Ciliwung area.

The Jakarta administration must coordinate the work of all stakeholders to resolve flood problems in the capital, he said.

The Ciliwung River runs through the center of Jakarta, dividing the city into east and west.

Independent reports show that poor population planning policies created a haven for illegal settlements along the banks of the river.

Previously, the Ciliwung has often been labelled “Jakarta’s trash can” because of poor sanitation.

Illegal settlements and poor sanitation exacerbated damage from Jakarta’s annual floods, experts said.

In 2007, 79 people died in Jakarta’s largest flood to date, which the government estimated to have caused financial damages exceeding Rp 8.8 trillion (US$976.8 million).