Jokowi Expresses Concerns About Disaster Issues

english.jpnn.com, JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo has asked the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) to carry out an integrated and systematic disaster management in order to make the country more resilient to disasters.

"The 2020-2044 Master Plan for Disaster Management must be implemented with full commitment, full responsibility. All stages must be carried out in a disciplined and consistent manner," said the President, Wednesday (23/2).

Jokowi asked the BNPB to implement a work culture that was more alert, anticipatory, responsive, and adaptive. According to him, this is important considering that disasters come unexpectedly.

"In fact, there is a disaster we didn't imagine before, which is the Covid-19 pandemic. We have to handle all the unexpected things to minimize the risk to the community and the nation," he added.

Jokowi asked the BNPB to prioritize prevention efforts such as reforestation and planting vegetation to prevent floods and landslides.

"This has been done in some areas like West Java, Central Java, Sulawesi, and West Nusa Tenggara. We encourage vetiver planting, environmental conservation, dams, deepening of rivers and waterways, and others," he said.

The former Jakarta governor asked state officials and community members to not only jointly improve infrastructure to reduce disaster risk but also monitor the infrastructure periodically.

In addition, Jokowi asked the BNPB to actively work together with government officials, both central and regional, so that development programs could lead to more disaster-resilient results.