JAKARTA - Member of Commission XII of the House of Representatives Dipo Nusantara assessed that weather modification carried out by the government to reduce the risk of flooding and landslides in several areas of Java Island is only a short-term solution.
According to him, these efforts are indeed important in emergency conditions, but cannot be used as the only mainstay in disaster management.
"Weather modification is reactive and temporary. It only delays or reduces rainfall for a moment. If the underlying problem is not addressed, floods and landslides will continue to recur," Dipo Nusantara told reporters, Thursday, January 29.
Dipo said that weather modification such as cloud seeding can indeed help reduce the intensity of rain in a certain period. However, Dipo said, this step does not touch the root of the problem that causes repeated floods and landslides, such as environmental damage, poor river basin management, and weak disaster mitigation systems.
"The majority of the triggers for floods and landslides lately are due to environmental damage and poor DAS management. These factors should be intensively managed over time," he said.
Dipo emphasized that the government should have a long-term and sustainable plan in dealing with potential disasters, especially Indonesia is a country that is geographically very vulnerable to hydrometeorological disasters such as floods, landslides, and droughts.
The PKB legislator emphasized that weather modification must be accompanied by structural improvements, such as river normalization, drainage system improvements, rehabilitation of water catchment areas, and strict and sustainable spatial planning.
"Without river normalization, without drainage improvements, without forest and infiltration protection, weather modification will not be optimal. In fact, it will only be a temporary solution," said Dipo.
In addition, Dipo encouraged the government to strengthen disaster mitigation as the main prevention step. He emphasized that mitigation includes efforts to reduce the risk of disasters even before disasters occur, not just handling during emergency conditions.
"Indonesia cannot continue to rely on instant solutions. What is needed is a planned, integrated, and long-term mitigation policy so that the risk of disasters can be significantly suppressed," said Dipo.
Dipo also hopes that the central and regional governments can synergize in formulating a comprehensive disaster management strategy.
"So that the flood and landslide incidents do not continue to recur every rainy season," he concluded.
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