Climate change adaptive city infrastructure
This article has been translated by PwC Indonesia as part of our Indonesia Infrastructure News Service. PwC Indonesia has not checked the accuracy of, and accepts no responsibility for the content.
Investor Daily - Infrastruktur kota adaptif perubahan iklim
6 November 2023
By: Nirwono Joga
The world celebrates World Cities Day every 31 October. The theme for World Cities Day 2023 is Financing Sustainable Urban Future for All. On World Cities Day this year, the UN-Habitat emphasised the importance of sustainable financing for future cities.
Local governments need to be encouraged to explore how they can transform investment in urban planning and decentralise urban development financing.
The sustainable city development financing initiative is meant to support community ecosystem development to reduce carbon emission and increase quality of life. It is in line with the sustainable development goals (SDGs) for 2030, especially the eleventh goal that aims to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.
Hence, urban infrastructure planning and development in Indonesia must adapt to, anticipate, and mitigate various climate change risks and impacts. We cannot deny that climate change has changed the weather to be drier during dry season and to produce extreme rainfall during rainy season.
Handling droughts and floods are challenges that must be considered. The situation requires the adaptation of water resources infrastructure and long-term planning. It includes the possibility of redesigning water resources infrastructure, especially ones that are related to hydrology. So, what is the first step that must be taken?
First, Global Risks Report 2023 (World Economic Forum, 2023) states that, in the next decade, the world will face accelerated risks to natural ecosystems, public health, human security, digital rights, and economic stability. The analysis mentions that there is a potential crisis of natural resources, such as water, food, energy, metals, and minerals, that will cause social, economic, and environmental crises in the future.
In World Risk Report 2022 that includes World Risk Index 2021, Indonesia is ranked third as the country most at risk of disasters with a score of 41.46 under the Philippines (46.82) and India (42.31) out of 193 surveyed countries. Despite mitigations, the most likely natural disaster risks are earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, coastal floods, river floods, droughts, and rising water level.
Then, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) logged that, from 2014 to 2023, most natural disasters that occurred in Indonesia were floods (8,199), hurricanes (8,475), landslides (7,268), forest fires (3,213), droughts (396), earthquakes (354), tidal waves/abrasion (255), and volcano eruptions (136). During the period, the number of natural disasters tended to increase from 1,988 (2014), 1,703 (2015), 2,313 (2016), 2,914 (2017), 3,522 (2018), 3,906 (2019), 5,003 (2020), 3,533 (2021), 2,403 (2022), to 1,210 (as of September 2023).
In accordance with Presidential Regulation Number 87 of 2020 on Disaster Management Master Plan of 2020-2044, urban infrastructure development must focus on anticipating, adapting to, and mitigating disasters, such as floods, hurricanes, landslides, droughts, earthquakes, tidal waves/abrasion, and volcano eruptions.
Next, climate change mitigation is a series of efforts carried out to reduce the risks of natural disasters through physical construction as well as awareness improvement to face natural disasters from climate change.
Urban infrastructure development must implement construction designs that are resilient to disasters that are supported by multidisciplinary science and disaster-mitigation technologies. Besides that, disaster infrastructure construction technologies must also be resilient to various disasters (functional, architectural, structural security aspects).
In accordance with the recommendation of the United Nations (UN), the government will improve the public’s literacy on climate change, enforce environmental justice, create eco-friendly jobs, involve the young generation in climate action, as well as protect biodiversity and sustainable agriculture.
Afterwards, the Public Works and Housing (PUPR) Ministry can develop research, experiments, and publications on building codes and sustainable infrastructure, such as the implementation of the standard code for designing earthquake-resistant buildings (2019). The Building Safety Committee that was established based on PUPR Minister Decree Number 93/KPTS/M/2019 can be more active in implementing preventive measures to evaluate the feasibility of public buildings, such as schools, markets, hospitals, flats, and government offices.
The government can utilise information and communication technologies to realise climate change adaptive cities with innovative and creative breakthroughs to mitigate disasters. For example, participatory urban planning to implement an application that provides simple, short, and clear information on red zones for housing, settlement development plans in safe zones, and a short guideline on developing earthquake-resistant buildings.
Next off, massive dam infrastructure construction that is supported by irrigation network infrastructure to develop water sustainability, food security, and new renewable energy (NRE) independence. Besides that, it also fulfils the need of clean water access in cities (drinking water provision systems/SPAMs) that are supported by sanitation facilities (communal wastewater treatment plants/WWTPs) to improve public health and prevent stunting.
Besides that, dams can also function as flood control, hydropower plants, and solar power plants to accelerate green energy transformation. Large dams can be developed into botanical gardens to preserve germ plasms, conduct biopharmaceutical development, and develop edu-tourism.
In the future, developing urban infrastructure that are adaptive to climate change will no longer be a choice, but an obligation. Hopefully.
