The new head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), Lt. Gen. Doni Monardo, faces a tough task in improving disaster mitigation efforts in Indonesia following a string of deadly natural catastrophes that devastated parts of the disaster-prone country last year.

An active three-star Army general, Doni was sworn in by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo at the State Palace on Wednesday, replacing the 63-year-old retired Navy admiral Willem Rampangilei, who had led the agency for more than three years since late 2015.

Doni’s appointment comes after Indonesia experienced one of the deadliest years in a decade as a series of powerful earthquakes and tsunamis struck various areas of the country, killing thousands and prompting experts to demand better mitigation and risk management plans from the government.

Speaking after his inauguration, Doni said he would improve public awareness and preparedness in the face of disasters, especially in disaster-prone regions, such as by promoting more comprehensive disaster education from the kindergarten level through to high school.

“The BNPB plans to draft a program to strengthen and improve disaster mitigation efforts, which hopefully will extend to the village level, and every component must be involved,” he said.

Doni cited research papers warned of megathrust earthquakes, as Indonesia lies on top of two major tectonic plates — the Eurasian and Indo-Australian plates — and several minor plates in a geologically active region known as the Ring of Fire.

A paper presented during a seminar held by the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) last year warned about the threat of a megathrust zone south of West Java and another one south of the Sunda Strait, which, in the worst-case scenario, could trigger a 8.7-magnitude earthquake.

“We have to tell the public [about the disaster risk] through proper channels, so that those living in such disaster-prone areas will be prepared,” Doni said.

His plan is in line with an instruction to improve disaster education and mitigation that Jokowi gave to his administration on Monday when he opened the first Cabinet meeting of 2019 — during which the President also revealed he had allocated more budget funds to those purposes this year.

Jokowi on Wednesday expressed his expectation for Doni to improve the leadership of the BNPB in the event of disasters and spearhead coordination between the central government and regional administrations. “I want to see strong management and a fast response in the field.”

The 55-year-old previously served as the secretary-general of the National Resilience Council. He was the commander of the Presidential Security Detail (Paspampres) during Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s administration, before he was reassigned to lead the Army’s Special Forces (Kopassus) in 2014.

He is the third person with a military background to head the disaster agency, after Willem and the first head, Syamsul Maarif. However, unlike his predecessor, Doni maintains his status as an active Army officer as he leads the BNPB.

Prior to the inauguration, Jokowi signed a revision to the 2008 Presidential Regulation on the BNPB that allows the agency to be led by active military personnel.

“I suppose that every work related to disaster management involve active military and police personnel. [...] It will be easier to spearhead coordination if the [BNPB head] is an active [military man],” Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko said.

He rejected speculation that the President was dissatisfied with Willem’s performance, saying “this is to refresh the organization”.

Geologist Eko Teguh Paripurno urged Doni to look into forecasts that 2,500 natural disasters, dominated by hydrometeorological disasters such as extreme climate, floods and landslides, of varying scales may occur throughout 2019.

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