UNDP Crisis Prevention and Recovery Programme

Technical Support in Strengthening National Capacity for Disaster Management
 

When disaster strikes...

Local communities always need to be prepared

Indonesia is very prone to both natural and human-made disasters. Often, natural phenomena and human activities interact to create disasters. Heavy rainfall in severely logged areas, for example, will exacerbate the effects of floods. A particularly dry season will devastate crops. The responsibility for cross-sectoral coordination of disaster management in Indonesia rests with BAKORNAS PBP (the National Coordinating Body for Disaster and Internally Displaced Persons Management). As disasters of all kinds have continued to occur, and more and more people have been affected, demand has significantly increased upon this body and other government agencies to deliver more effective responses to disasters when they happen.

Decentralization has created additional challenges to this task. Existing disaster management procedures need to be repositioned in light of structural changes within the government, in particular under the regional autonomy laws. Additional mechanisms and regulations are required to provide an overall direction to Indonesia’s disaster management efforts, and to bring these efforts into the mainstream of development programming.

Bringing experience to bear

UNDP globally has a long history of supporting capacity building efforts in the face of natural and human-made disasters. By sharing knowledge and building skills, UNDP has helped communities all around the world to better help themselves when disasters take place. This preparatory assistance project draws on UNDP’s experiences both internationally and in Indonesia working with government, civil society and communities, and to help them be better prepared for the unexpected.

The present initiative has three main objectives. The first is to establish baseline data on the capacity and potential of relevant actors such as local government bodies, in order to provide recommendations on how to strengthen their activities in the future. The second objective is to formulate a series of plans and recommendations streamlining disaster management systems in the era of decentralization. The third objective is to develop a programme plan that will help to shape and communicate the recommendations to the government.

Recommendations for better practice

The preparatory assistance project has achieved a number of goals. Through workshops and consultations with a wide range of government bodies and civil society groups, the project has developed a sound knowledge base and set of recommendations for strengthening national, regional and local capacities for disaster management. These recommendations have been jointly developed with government in the form of a programme plan. UNDP’s ongoing work in the area of disaster management, building on the results of this preparatory assistance project, will continue to assist the Government and civil society actors to support communities to be better prepared for disasters, and to be more effective in responding to disasters when they do occur.

Related documents to this programme:

• Programme Brief [PDF 21KB]