Research Center SOCIAL WELFARE DIVISION Expertise Agency of DPR RI Gd. Nusantara I Lt. 2 Jl. Jend. Gatot Subroto Pusat - 10270 c 5715409 d 5715245 m [email protected] A BRIEF STUDY OF ACTUAL AND STRATEGIC ISSUES Vol.XII, No. 1/I/Puslit/January/2020

FLOOD AND THE DAMAGE OF URBAN ECOLOGY Rohani Budi Prihatin

13 Abstract The beginning of 2020 was marked by flooding in several regions, especially in the provinces of DKI Jakarta, West and . This paper discusses the factors that cause flooding in several urban areas in as well as analyze alternative solutions with the aim of preventing and anticipating future floods. The results of the study prove that ecological damage has occurred in the upstream, midstream, and downstream areas. In the upstream area, land conversion takes place, the midstream forms sedimentation and the narrowing river buffer zone, while in the downstream the loss of water area is caused by changes in built up land. The House of Representatives of The Republic of Indonesia (DPR RI), especially Commission V, has an important role in supervising flood control efforts that urban ecology planning can be well implemented and it will benefit alll the community.

Introduction 2020). The victims generally Multiple rounds of heavy died due to being swept away rain occurred in the December 31, by these tidal currents, buried 2019 eventually leads to flooding in by landslides, electrocuted, and Jakarta and the vicinity on January hypothermia. 1, 2020. Based on data that the In addition to DKI Jakarta, National Disaster Management flooding followed by landslides Agency (BNPB) has collected, the also occurred in , which number of victims killed by floods resulted in the isolation of PUSLIT BKD and landslides in Jabodetabek, 11 villages in Banten, and reached 60 (Cnnindonesia.com, January 3, people, while two remained missing 2020). One isolated area is the (Cnnindonesia.com, January 3, Curug Bitung Village. Apart from Jakarta and West Java, the dredging so that there is an area to region that suffered from this flash collect water while making water flooding was Lebak, Banten. When flow smoothly to the sea. observing the location, President In addition to the causing Joko Widodo stated that the cause factor of the damaged upstream and of flash flooding in Lebak was the downstream areas, the intensity of destruction of forests in the Mount rainfall also significantly contributes Halimun Salak National Park Area to the flooding. Based on data from (Kompas.com, January 7, 2020). The the Meteorology, Climatology statement implies ecological damage and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), as one of the causes of flooding. This the rain that continuously flushed paper aims to examine the ecological Jakarta on January 1, 2020 turned damage that caused flooding, out to break the record in the last especially in urban areas. quarter century, the highest one since 1996 with the highest intensity 14 Urban Ecological Conditions of 377 mm/day in the Halim The government has Perdana Kusuma Airport area actually identified 20 cities prone (Detik.com, January 2, 2020). to flooding, which are Jakarta, In addition, the destruction Bandung, Surabaya, Solo, Medan, of the river basin, which results in Padang, Pekanbaru, Jambi, Bandar sedimentation as well as the river Lampung, Pontianak, Samarinda, narrowing due to being occupied Makassar, Ambon, Manado, into residential areas contributes Gorontalo, Kendari, Palembang, to flooding. According to the Jayapura, Sorong, and Palu (Viva. Minister of Public Works and Public co.id, November 1, 2018). As an Housing, Basuki Hadimuljono, the embodiment of attention and area of 17 km from 33 km anticipation of flooding in these river has not been normalized. cities, the government has made The suspension of the river efforts to normalize rivers, flood normalization program has caused embankments, or canals since 2015. a number of areas in DKI Jakarta Any effort to normalize rivers prone to flooding. According to indeed is required considering the Basuki, rivers ensured to be free biggest problem that the rivers have from flooding are currently only dealt with in Indonesia is heavy 16 km in length (Kompas.com, sedimentation due to erosion of January 2, 2020). Admittedly, the the upstream soil. The markers of normalization will come across a sedimentation are simple and visible, number of obstacles, let alone the which is by observing the brown width of the Ciliwung River is now water. It is this layer of soil that is decreasing as it is used for human carried away during the rain, which settlement area. causes the deposition of materials Another factor is the urban in the midstream and downstream drainage that does not function areas of the river (coastal) in the properly that it is unable to collect land tenure arise (aanslibbing) or rain water. Road vehicles in urban the narrowing river channel. These areas are usually made with sediments must be removed by waterproof pavement materials (asphalt and concrete) that when the found that the cause of flooding rains fall, the water instantly floods in South Bandung was change in the road. Physical development, land use in the upstream Citarum especially in urban areas, results River Basin, especially in the Mount in land changes from open land Wayang area. Areas that were to built-up land. As a result, originally dominated by forests, the area of urban open area is both managed by Perhutani and decreasing while the built-up area is others (including the community), increasingly growing. are now turning into horticulture farm with seasonal crops such as Upstream Ecological potatoes, carrots, and others that Conditions require a short amount of time to In response to flooding in a be harvested. Horticulture farm number of areas, President Joko is indeed able to increase farmers' 15 Widodo stated that the flood incomes, but the environmental was caused by destruction to impact that it caused is quite ecosystems, ecological damage, to serious, not only for the area but the mistakes of the people who keep also for the areas below it. As throwing the litter (Liputan6.com, a result, the level of erosion in January 2, 2020). The statement the area remains high, causing strengthens the public's allegation sedimentation and flooding in the that the phenomenon of flooding area below it. Based on the quality in a number of areas, especially in or condition, many watersheds are urban areas, is a result of ecological in critical condition. damage as a part of the upstream Related to flooding in river which is a water catchment Jakarta, the ecological damage area turns out to have changed to the Ciliwung watershed is in functions. And even worse, like critical land in the upstream the rate of ecological damage or area with high erosion and environmental degradation in sedimentation, and high discharge Indonesia year by year is even more fluctuation between the dry and alarming. rainy seasons. It indicates that the Awareness on the importance Ciliwung watershed is increasingly of management of the upstream unhealthy, as viewed from the area in controlling downstream difference in water discharge in the flooding has actually been dry and rainy season more than 300 expressed for a long time. The 2009 times. They are all caused by non- Kompas Expedition Team, which environmentally friendly human went along the Ciliwung River and behavior. In the Ciliwung River, its watershed from upstream to household garbage and waste are downstream, has discovered facts of often thrown into the river. The ecological damage in the upstream, criticality of the watershed can midstream and downstream also be seen from the reduction (Karim, 2009). The damage to the in the area of permanent covering upstream ecology will have an vegetation and the increasing area impact on the downstream one. of critical land, thereby reducing the Research by Rosyidie (2012) watershed's ability to collect water, which has an impact on increasing the frequency of floods, erosion and rehabilitation of the upstream landslides during the rainy season area, and law enforcement must and drought during the dry season. be improved in order to maintain As is well known, Indonesia the protected area for hydrology. has more than 17,000 watersheds In the long run, there must be a spread throughout the country. commitment to control pollution The Minister of Environment and environmental damage, and Forestry stated among the spatial planning control, increased 17,000 watersheds, at least 2,145 community participation, and law watersheds need to be restored enforcement. (cnbcindonesia.com, January 13, Damage to watersheds, 2020). Any efforts to restore the lakes, reservoirs, in-situ, and watershed are eagerly looked others that have occurred so far forward by the public that the must be immediately restored phenomenon of flooding can be by the government, starting to minimized. implement spatial planning that 16 According to data from the accommodates conservation and Ciliwung- Basin economic needs simultaneously, Agency (BBWS), the Ciliwung River as well as generating spatial Basin has been severely damaged, planning allocation and sustainable as evidenced by an increase in the development of watershed areas. level of degradation of erosion/ These efforts must be supported fluvial layers. In 2006, fluvial and by the participation of local sedimentary soils in Ciliwung were institutions, environmental groups, around 5 percent, while in 2018 it community organizations and increased to 12 percent (Republika. private sectors. com, November 24, 2018). This data In the downstream area, it is is at least a strong evidence for the necessary to change the concept of government to improve the ecology drainage towards environmentally in the upstream area. friendly drainage or eco-drainage. The method is to manage excess Solution for Handling water (rainwater) with a variety Ecological Damage as the of methods, which is by collecting Cause of Flooding in water reservoirs, man-made In order to deal with river reservoirs or natural bodies of damage from high level of erosion water, or by absorbing and drain and sedimentation, which causes the rest into the nearest rivers. flooding during the rainy season, Another effort that needs to integrated handling needs to be carried out is public education be done, as the watershed has a that it can play a role in handling complex system and a vast area. environmental problems, as the In the short term, the government current environmental damage is assisted by the community must done by human behavior that lacks focus on tackling the effects of understanding of the consequences floods such as cleaning up silt of their actions. Various literatures and rubbish deposit. Meanwhile prove that the factors associated medium-term solution through with the increasing capacity of adaptation in dealing with disasters are policy choices that Bibliography must be adopted and implemented "11 Desa di Kabupaten Bogor (Prihatin, 2018). Terisolasi Akibat Longsor", https://www.cnnindonesia. Closing com/nasional/20200103145344- Admittedly, the upstream, 20-462195/11-desa-di- midstream, and downstream kabupaten-bogor-terisolasi- ecology of some watersheds in akibat-longsor, diakses 7 Indonesia are damaged due to Januari 2020. changes in land use, population "Akses Jalan Putus, Ribuan growth and lack of public Warga Sukajaya Terisolir", awareness of environmental https://kompas.id/baca/ preservation. Considering utama/2020/01/06/akses- 17 floods have occurred regularly, jalan-putus-ribuan-warga- increasingly widespread, and sukajaya-terisolir/, diakses 7 leading to greater losses, it is Januari 2020. necessary to take immediate actions "Beda Pandangan antara Jokowi, to prevent and mitigate their Basuki dan Anies", https:// impacts in an integrated manner www.kompas.com/tren/ with the aim of minimizing the read/2020/01/02/203326665/ effects of flooding. beda-pandangan-antara- In order to deal with jokowi-basuki-dan-anies-soal- the damage to river water banjir-jakarta?page=all, diakses resources, it requires integrated 7 Januari 2020. management, which is technical "Daftar 20 Kota Rawan Banjir di and vegetative management both Indonesia", https://www.viva. in the upstream and downstream co.id/berita/nasional/1090275- as well as public education to be daftar-20-kota-rawan-banjir- aware of the importance of the di-indortesia, diakses 7 Januari environment. By imposing self- 2020. awareness, human factors as a "DAS Ciliwung Rusak Parah, cause of environmental damage https://www.republika.co.id/ can be minimized. In this context berita/nasional/jabodetabek- the House of Representatives of nasional/18/11/24/pioxkt384- The Republic of Indonesia needs das-ciliwung-rusak-parah, to supervise the implementation diakses 13 Januari 2020. of reforestation policies in the "Jabodetabek Banjir, Curah Hujan 1 upstream area (Commission IV), Januari 2020 Tertinggi Selama reservoir construction and river 24 Tahun", https://news. normalization (Commission V), and detik.com/berita/ d-4843412/ disaster management (Commission jabodetabek-banjir-curah- VIII). hujan-l-januari-2020-tertinggi- selama-24-tahun, diakses 7 Januari 2020. "Jokowi: Ekosistem dan Ekologi Rusak Sebabkan Banjir", https://www.liputan6.com/ news/read/4146747/jokowi- Prihatin, Rohani Budi. (2018). ekosistem-dan-ekologi-rusak- “Masyarakat Sadar Bencana: sebabkan-banjir, diakses 7 Pembelajaran dari Karo, Januari 2020. Banjarnegara, dan Jepang.” "Jokowi: Penyebab Banjir Jurnal Aspirasi, Vol. 9, No.2, Bandang di Lebak Akibat hal. 221-239. Penambangan Emas Liar", "Ribuan DAS Rusak, Negara Rugi ttps://regional.kompas.com/ Ratusan Triliun Tiap Tahun", read/2020/01/07/15313821/ https://www.cnbcindonesia. jokowi-penyebab-banjir- com/ ne ws/ 20180325172807-4- bandang-di-lebak-akibat- 8485/ribuan-das-rusak-negara- penambangan-emas-liar, rugi-ratusan-triliun-tiap- tahun, diakses 7 Januari 2020. diakses 13 Januari 2020. Karim, Mulyawan. (2009). Ekspedisi Rosyidie, Arief. (2013). "Banjir: Ciliwung: Laporan Jurnalistik Fakta dan Dampaknya, Serta 18 Kompas: Mata Air, Air Mata. Pengaruh dari Perubahan Guna Jakarta: Penerbit Buku Kompas. Lahan." Jurnal Perencanaan

Rohani Budi Prihatin [email protected]

Dr. Rohani Budi Prihatin, S.Ag., M.Si. is a Middle Researcher in Community Studies and Urban Sociology, Research Center, Expertise Agency, House of Representatives of The Republic of Indonesia. He completed his Sharia Bachelor's degree at IAIN Sunan Kalijaga (1996), his Masters’ degree in Sociology at FISIP University of Indonesia (2002) and doctoral degree in Da'wah and Communication at UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta (2009). His scientific papers have been published including “Jakarta Flood: Natural Heritage and Mitigation Efforts” (2013), and “Change of Urban Land Functions: Case Studies of Bandung and Yogyakarta City” (2015).

Info Singkat © 2009, Research Center, Expertise Agency of DPR RI Copyright is protected by law. It is forbidden to quote http://puslit.dpr.go.id or reproduce part or all of the contents of this study ISSN 2088-2351 without the publisher's permission.