BNPB: 108 Critical River Basin Areas Need Rehabilitation to Prevent Recurring Disasters

JAKARTA - The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) revealed that there were 108 river basins (DAS) in critical condition that had the potential to trigger repeated disasters if they were not immediately rehabilitated and the ecosystem was fully restored.

"As long as the carrying capacity and capacity of the environment in the river basin have not been restored, disaster management will continue to be emergency and repetitive," said Head of the BNPB Disaster Data, Information, and Communication Center, Abdul Muhari, as reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, February 11.

He assessed that a permanent solution can only be achieved through environmental rehabilitation and ecosystem capacity recovery, not just a temporary emergency response. Without thorough repairs, disaster events will continue to recur and become an annual routine.

BNPB noted that a number of major watersheds on Java Island were of primary concern, including the Citarum, Cisadane, Ciliwung, Brantas, Bengawan Solo, and Progo watersheds. In addition, there are also small watersheds spread across various urban areas and densely populated areas.

"In the Central Java region, several flood control infrastructure such as river embankments in Demak and its surroundings are considered old and have decreased in function," he said.

Some of the embankments, he said, are even still land embankments that were built since the colonial era, so they are prone to breaking when water discharge increases.

According to him, the condition of outdated water infrastructure increases the risk of flooding and exacerbates the impact of damage when extreme weather occurs. Therefore, a thorough audit of water control infrastructure is an important part of the long-term mitigation strategy.

BNPB emphasized that DAS rehabilitation requires a long time and cross-sector collaboration. The process of restoring the landscape cannot be done instantly, even it is estimated that it will take 15 to 20 years to restore optimal ecological functions.

"Through comprehensive rehabilitation measures and improvement of water infrastructure, we hope that future disaster management will no longer be dominated by emergency response patterns, but rather based on permanent solutions that sustainably reduce risks," he said.