The Community – Based Flood Disaster Risk Reduction (CBDRR) in Beringin Watershed in Semarang City

Abstract

Population growth in Semarang city is certainly increasing land demand for settlement. Limited land and weak regulation enforcement of land control trigger the land use change including the watershed area. Semarang City Spatial Plan 2011-2031 has determined Beringin as a buffer area with limited physical development allocation but the citizens utilized the watershed area for settlement. Settlement developments in the area reduce the watershed ability to catch water and river capacity due to increased sedimentation. These two reasons are the main cause of the flash flood disaster (regularly in rainy season) in seven villages of Beringin watershed. The condition is exacerbated by the tidal flood occurred in two village lies in coastal. In 2012, Semarang City government developed Flood Forecasting and Warning System as one of Climate Change Adaptation Measures known as Flood Early Warning System (FEWS). One of important output of FEWS is community-based disaster risk reduction. Community participation process in the FEWS has made it possible for the community to identify disaster risk characteristics, to propose solution for reducing flood risk which is suitable to the local wisdom, to increase the community capacity and to organize one of themselves in a disaster preparedness group which run quite independently.