Disaster risk reduction education in Indonesia: challenges and recommendations for scaling up

This article investigates the implementation of disaster risk reduction education for children in Indonesia. In the last decade, education programmes related to this subject have been promoted as capable of reducing disaster losses and increasing resilience, based on several studies that have identified positive outcomes. Therefore, it is critical to evaluate and address any potential challenges that might impede their success. The article uses a case study in Jakarta, a rapidly growing megacity that is highly prone to disasters and natural hazards, especially floods and fires, to explore the scaling up and sustainability of disaster risk reduction in Indonesian schools. Based on previous studies, a new approach was developed for evaluating the implementation of education programmes related to these subjects. This study captured the perspectives of children, school personnel, and non-governmental organisations on the challenges of scaling up the implementation of disaster risk reduction education in schools. The study revealed seven key issues and suggests several policy recommendations to move forward. These key issues may also be apparent in many other developing and developed countries, and the suggested recommendations may well be applicable beyond Indonesia.
This research was funded by the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre (BNHCRC), Macquarie University, and Risk Frontiers. We gratefully acknowledge those who participated in this research - the children, school personnel, and NGO colleagues from SDN Kembangan Selatan 1 Pagi Jakarta, the Provincial Education Office and the Disaster Management Agency of DKI Jakarta, the Consortium for Disaster Education - who provided their wisdom and insights for this research.