Indonesia faces a constant threat of disaster because of its location on the Ring of Fire — characterized by active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes — and from being between two oceans and continents.

The presence of a national-level agency on disaster preparedness is therefore very important, as shown by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and subsequent tsunami, as well as other major disasters.

Currently the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) supervises all disaster response and mitigation efforts. The agency was established in 2008 through Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 7/2008 on the BNPB, based upon Law No. 24/2007 on disaster mitigation.

In fact, unified efforts of the nation to respond to and mitigate disasters are as old as the republic itself. According to the BNPB’s website, bnpb.go.id, on Aug. 20, 1945, a few days after proclamation of independence, the country established the Assistance Agency for War Victims’ Families with a focus on assisting the victims of the Independence War and their families.

The proclamation of Indonesia’s independence did not stop the Dutch colonialists from regaining their coveted former territory through several military actions. Hostilities only ended when the Netherlands bitterly recognized Indonesian independence in 1949.

The war assistance agency stayed until 1966 when the National Advisory Board for Natural Disaster Mitigation was established through Presidential Decree (Keppres) No. 256/1966. The national board, which reported to the social affairs minister, was responsible for disaster mitigation and providing assistance to victims of disasters. The Keppres also shifted the disaster mitigation paradigm from only human-made ones to also include natural disasters.

As occurrences of natural disasters kept increasing, a serious and coordinated handling of disasters was very much needed. Hence a decision was made in 1967 to create the National Coordinating Team for Natural Disaster Mitigation (TKP2BA).

In 1979, the TKP2BA’s level was raised to make it the National Coordinating Body for Natural Disaster Mitigation (Bakornas PBA) through Keppres No. 28/1979. The coordinating minister for public welfare acts as the Bakornas PBA’s chair. The new institution’s activities included prevention, emergency response and rehabilitation.

As an operational implementation for the 1979 Keppres, the home minister issued Ministerial Instruction No. 27/1979 for the establishment of the Coordinating Implementation Unit for Natural Disaster Mitigation (Satkorlak PBA) in each of the country’s provinces.

During the era of Bakornas PBA, Mount Galunggung, located in Tasikmalaya regency, West Java, erupted in April 1982 and only stopped in January 1983. During the eruption, 18 people were killed as indirect victims such as by traffic accidents, old age, hypothermia and lack of food.

Bakornas PBA was further improved by Keppres No. 43/1990 on the establishment of the National Coordinating Body for Disaster Mitigation (Bakornas PB) with a consideration that disasters are not only natural but also human-made, such as transportation accidents, technological failures and social disasters.

In 1992, an earthquake with an intensity of 7.9 on the Richter scale rocked Flores Island in East Nusa Tenggara province. The massive quake invoked a 36-meter-high tsunami and was believed to have killed some 2,100 people.

The roles and duties of the Bakornas PB were strengthened through Keppres No. 106/1999 as disaster mitigation requires coordinated efforts that are cross-sectoral and cross-discipline, involving multiple stakeholders.

As a result of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Indonesia faced a multidimensional crisis that led to various social disasters and a surge of internally displaced people, all of which called for special handling of the situation.

The mandate of the Bakornas PB was then extended to also handle displaced people with the establishment of the National Coordinating Body for Disaster Mitigation and Evacuees (Bakornas PBP) through Keppres No. 3/2001, which was then renewed by Keppres No. 111/2001. A number of horizontal conflicts occurred during this period, such as in Poso from 1998 to 2001 and Maluku from 1999 to 2002.

The great 2004 Aceh earthquake and tsunami led the Indonesian government and the international community to pay serious attention to disaster mitigation and management. The Indonesian government issued Perpres No. 83/2005 on the Bakornas PB, which had coordination functions and was supported by executive management of disaster mitigation.

A new paradigm was introduced, with more of a focus on reducing disaster risks. The Indonesian government also provided a legal umbrella for disaster mitigation with the passing of the 2007 Disaster Mitigation Law.

Under its current status, the BNPB has had three chiefs, all of whom had military backgrounds, albeit only one was an active flag officer. The first head of the BNPB was Maj. Gen. (ret) Syamsul Maarif who was in office from May 6, 2008 until Sept. 7, 2015, when he was replaced by Rear Adm. (ret) Willem Rampangilei, who was in office from Sept. 7, 2015 to Jan. 3, 2019.

The current BNPB chief is Lt. Gen. Doni Munardo, an active Army flag officer whose appointment saw the elevation of BNPB’s status to the ministerial level through Perpres No. 1/2019. The BNPB chief now reports directly to the president, while previous chiefs reported to the coordinating minister for public welfare.

Prior to the issuance of the 2019 Perpres, Doni would have had to resign from the military as the post of BNPB chief was not among the positions regulated under Law No. 34/2004 on the Indonesian Military (TNI), which specifically regulates which state organizations and ministries an active military officer can transfer to without having to resign from the TNI.

The 2019 Perpres also states that active police officers, senior civil servants and professionals can be considered as agency chiefs. The 2019 Perpres was also issued in order to improve the BNPB’s performance by changing its organizational structure, adding more working units and changing the names and functions of the existing working units.

The BNPB was given command in the event of a national disaster and other conditions.

Although the BNPB is already a ministerial level organization, it is still being coordinated by the Office of Human Development and Culture in carrying out its duties and functions for disaster mitigation.

The 2019 Perpres on the BNPB states that the agency consists of a chief, a guiding element and an executive element. The guiding element consists of an executive director and 20 members, which consist of 11 senior civil servants who hold Ia and Ib echelon level positions and nine professionals from the public.

Meanwhile, the executive element reports directly to the BNPB chief and consists of a principal secretary, a principal inspector and five deputies who are each responsible for the areas of system and strategy, prevention, emergency response, rehabilitation and reconstruction, and logistics and equipment. Each Deputy is assisted by several directors who are responsible for technical fields.

While the BNPB is responsible for disaster mitigation at the national level, the agency also prepares the guidance to establish regional disaster mitigation agencies at the provincial, regency and municipality levels. Those regional agencies are established by the corresponding regional regulation at each level.

— From various sources

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