it was not unexpected but it has happened several times before. But still, facing the swirling mass of brown water in the street the other day was used by cars, buses, ojek and pedestrians, we can only surprise, and simultaneously rather irritated. The upper part is west of Kemang Raya was ly flooded, nearly a meter deep, which had created the worst traffic jams in Kemang Antasari-junction.
We have all heard before. What factors contribute to flooding and flood control difficulty is not huge, complex and multidimensional response infrastructure; Banjir (flood) channels, intensive dredging major rivers, a car-traffic tunnel, if necessary, can be turned into a flood catchment tube, and many more . But let's face it, these are all traditional reactive rather than proactive activities.
In an article in the January 22, 2013, Jan TL Yap, Capacity Lead Advisor Building, Jakarta Office World Bank, wrote:
The floods are now increasingly considered the result of cumulative risk process rooted in poor land use practices, ill-conceived development projects, the lack of rules and guidelines, absence or inconsistent enforcement law, etc ... people should be informed that it is impossible to protect against the risk of flooding. Make them understand the meaning of risk, the risk of flooding is real and he is always there to strike at any time.
After the catastrophic floods of 2007, exactly who had already been tried in the second half of this year, with a project to strengthen the proactive involvement of communities in flood prevention and 'mitigation. Two of Jakarta neighborhoods, the kelurahan of Petogogan and Tomang, were selected to try this new approach and the population was informed in depth about the project objectives and asked to contribute their time and effort.
The answer to Petogogan, located in the floodplain of the Krukut river was exceptionally good. The flood area at least once a year to a few centimeters; in 2007, however, the floods had reached a height of 2 meters. Tomang, located partly on the shore of West Banjir channel and partly on higher ground, was less interested in general, probably because families on higher ground will not feel the need to participate.
The photographs below are intended to give a general idea of the two districts; Examples of participatory activities are, however, only for Petogogan.
In Petogogan people formed committees for each sub-unit (RW) area. After a few instructions, they undertook with enthusiasm surveying tasks drains in the area, flood zones, and means garbage and other waste was disposed.
The drains were classified according to who would be responsible for their maintenance; the community or the government. The community would take care of the drains that could be cleaned by hand - the minor -. And the government would maintain those where the equipment was necessary
The way the waste and household garbage, shops and small industries is willing was also evaluated. The conclusion was that people were very eager to dispose of garbage in a manner respectful of the environment. However, garbage collection, as organized by the municipality, was irregular and insufficient.
No wonder then that most of the waste ends up in sewers and rivers.
And even if individuals have a reluctance to dispose of their waste in this way, the large amount of waste already floating in the river is essentially a silent approval to copy the behavior of everyone. "If they do, why not me!"
And this seems to be the real problem. The "Power of One" is submerged in this case, literally. Somehow an elimination threshold volume of pimps proper waste must be trained, not only in a section of a river, but on its entire stroke. At the same time, of course, the facilities and basic infrastructure services should be set up, such as garbage collection points (often empty) and an O & M effective for large drains.
It can be concluded that in Petogogan Tomang and enthusiasm of communities to do something was quickly extinguished as expected tracking municipalities never materialized. The main drains remained clogged, or after being maintained once were removed from the list of activities.
It would be highly desirable if the authorities were to try again, and again and again, because several studies have shown that good drainage waterways Jakarta reduce flooding up to 60%.
The problem is enormous, but not intractable. What has become clear that, if properly approached and supported, people are willing to contribute to flood prevention.