Environmental Experts Prompt Government to Change Paradigm of Natural Disaster

Environmental expert of Airlangga University (Unair) Surabaya, Dr Suparto Wijoyo, SH, M. Hum request the Provincial Government (Pemprov) of East Java to change the paradigm of natural disaster.

"Do not just stand by with the disaster as a tradition. This framework of thinking is wrong, a disaster is not tradition, but the tragedy," he said in Surabaya, Sunday.

According to him, if the disaster is considered part of the tradition, the government will not be working to overcome the disaster.

"As it is a tradition, the disaster fund in the budget that had been budgeted for handling only, not for the response," he said.

He argues, as long as the government still considers the flooding some of the DAS of Bengawan Solo, Jatim as tradition, then at any time up to the disaster that will continue to occur.

"If we observed, the government is happy because with the disaster, the emergency budget that is in the budget can be disbursed immediately," said team member Mediator of the Ministry of the Environment.

But do not be so, if the government changes the paradigm about the disaster. "The government should know, Bengawan Solo flooding is not purely natural factors, but there are also technical factors that are ignored during this," he said.

It was revealed during the last two years, Pemprov Jatim is no longer doing revitalization at Bengawan Solo. "But in our records, in 2007 in the Bengawan Solo sedimentation has reached 6 meters, and in 2008 increased to 10 meters," he said.

Therefore, the first step must be done to address the government's flood disaster in the DAS of Bengawan Solo is the revitalization program.

"We think that, if executed seriously, the revitalization program is more effective and more efficient in the use of funds compared with the handling of the disaster. This should be the main agenda of Governor and Deputy Governor of East Java's new," said Suparto Wijoyo. (*)