Capacity of NGOs to work with government and to link communities with government

2.3 Capacity of NGOs to work with government and to link communities with government

Many NGOs (local and international) confirm that local government (BPBD) plays a significant role in achieving and sustaining long term community resilience. Yet, NGOs observe that the support from local government to CBDRM is minimal. The usual interaction between NGOs and local govern ment occurs when the NGO initiates CBDRM projects and informs the authorities about this initiative. BPBDs are hardly involved during CBDRM implementation, while on the other hand, some NGOs expect that the CBDRM programmes will eventually be supported by BPBD’s annual budget. Such expectations are not realistic, knowing that many BPBDs are newly established agencies with limitation in staff capacity, financial resources and facilities. Some BPBDs expect NGOs to continue and expand their programs in the district, which is also an unrealistic expectation. Also the presence of INGOs in disaster prone areas raises expectations, since the local government (BPBD) notices that INGOs brings knowledge and programmes to the communities. It would help when NGOs and local govern ment would meet more often and in a more substantial way to exchange their expectations, even when it is just to discover that what each party assumes is impossible. Dialogue spaces, both informal and formal, are very much needed to advance CBDRM practice and policy. Some DRR forum at provincial or district level exist, but many do not function well. Many lack the proper representation from community-based organizations, or have limited financial support, unclear purposes and lack of leadership (Djalante, 2012).

There are some good examples where local governments have been linked with communities through CBDRM programs. Communities near Mt. Kelud have been recognized by the local govern- ment as active CBOs organized into a network called Jangkar Kelud, which supports disaster prepared ness. The interaction between local government and Jangkar Kelud is quite active, and the latter is also active at the provincial level DRR forum. The supporting NGO (Kappala) regarded the communities as active DRM actors, and was able to change the mind-sets of local people towards aware and critical citizens. An uphill community on Mt. Muria was linked by a local NGO to conduct reforestration in cooperation with technical staff of the forestry department while at the same time the CBOs lobby for sustainable land use regulation to reduce landslides and flash floods. They even There are some good examples where local governments have been linked with communities through CBDRM programs. Communities near Mt. Kelud have been recognized by the local govern- ment as active CBOs organized into a network called Jangkar Kelud, which supports disaster prepared ness. The interaction between local government and Jangkar Kelud is quite active, and the latter is also active at the provincial level DRR forum. The supporting NGO (Kappala) regarded the communities as active DRM actors, and was able to change the mind-sets of local people towards aware and critical citizens. An uphill community on Mt. Muria was linked by a local NGO to conduct reforestration in cooperation with technical staff of the forestry department while at the same time the CBOs lobby for sustainable land use regulation to reduce landslides and flash floods. They even

A special sector involved in CBDRM in Indonesia are the faith-based organizations such as Nahdlatul Ulama, Muhammadiyah and Catholic Church Networks. They are active in the regions where the majority of the population belongs to their constituency where they raise awareness about disasters and enhance preparedness. For this purpose they use existing structures that are embedded in community life: Nahdlatul Ulama f.i. approaches ustadz (cleric) and kyai (chaplain) to convince communities to take part in disaster preparedness activities in East Java. In NTT, Caristas Maumere, the Catholic Church NGO organization approach rural communities to develop their disaster action plan. The advantage of these networks is that contact and trust building – like applied by NGOs – is not necessary because the facilitators live in the community, which allows informal and long term facilitation. Additionally, faith-based organizations can influence members of parliament and govern- ment who are their followers to be supportive to DRM. Faith-based organizations easily provide

a platform where the needs of the communities can be communicated to local governments and parliaments.