Starfruit (malangkota.go.id) – Malang City Government together with United States Agency for International Development-Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience (USAID-APIK) signed a cooperation in the field of climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction.
The cooperation agreement was outlined at an event entitled 'Realizing Climate Change Adaptation & Disaster Risk Reduction (API-PRB) in the Resilient Development Planning of Malang City and the Signing of the Cooperation Agreement between the Malang City Government and USAID-APIK' which was held at the Santika Hotel, Wednesday (22/2).
The Mayor of Malang was present in person and signed the cooperation agreement together with USAID, represented by the Chief of Party of the Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Program (APIK), Paul Jeffery.
The Mayor of Malang, H. Moch Anton in his speech greatly appreciated the cooperation that was established. According to him, disasters as an impact of climate change can no longer be avoided, that is why various parties must adapt from now on.
"Climate change and disaster risk reduction can no longer be seen separately. Integration of the two is crucial and must be a shared concern to build resilience," explained Abah Anton, the nickname of the Mayor of Malang.
According to the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), the disaster trend in Indonesia has experienced a significant increase from 2002 to 2015, especially in hydrometeorological disasters such as landslides, tornadoes and extreme weather.
The same report also mentioned that during 2016 there were at least 1.700 disasters with hundreds of victims. "Therefore, the cooperation between USAID-APIK and the government is one of the key factors in the success of this program," he added.
USAID-APIK during 2016 has conducted various actions in Malang City related to climate change adaptation issues. One of them is conducting a disaster risk index study and vulnerability study in Malang City to installing equipment at the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD).
Meanwhile, in 2017, USAID-APIK together with BPBD and the Planning, Research and Development Agency (Barenlitbang) and stake holders others will move to prepare an action plan.
The USAID-APIK program itself was initiated to increase resilience to climate change and disasters. Indonesia is one of the countries that is very vulnerable to climate change and also various natural disasters related to weather, thus impacting food security and sources of life.
One of the components of the task carried out by USAID-APIK is to increase the resilience of communities and local governments related to climate change and disasters. The action plan that began in 2016 to 2020 targets several activity locations, namely national (Jakarta), East Java, Southeast Sulawesi and Maluku.
Specifically in East Java, USAID-APIK collaborates with seven regions adjacent to the Brantas River Basin, namely the Malang Raya area (Malang City, Batu City and Malang Regency), Sidoarjo, Mojokerto, Jombang and Blitar.
In its implementation, USAID-APIK collaborates with policy makers, communities and the private sector to proactively manage climate-related disaster risks. (say/yon)
