Community Resilience of People of Kampong Kamal Muara, North Jakarta, Indonesia

Abstract

This research focuses on the resilience to flooding events of the people of Kampong Kamal Muara, in North Jakarta, Indonesia. Flooding has been a major threat in coastal cities in Indonesia. The coastal areas are considered to be the most vulnerable areas to flooding events due to sea level rise and land subsidence. In addition, rapid urbanisation and industrialisation of the coastal area of Jakarta have changed the land conditions and exacerbated the flooding events’ frequency and impact. This research explores crucial resources for the capacity of communities to live, or cope, with flooding events. Their resilience is examined through several networked resources: economic development, social capital, information and communication, and community competence. The research finds that social capital is the key strength of the community. Vulnerability of the community is explored through interactions of the coupled human and environment systems. This research showed disparities of impacts experienced by the target community. The data collected showed that some adaptations practised by the community and the government are ineffective in the longer term. Finally, it is important to understand that although the community seems to be able to cope with the flooding events, they are not necessarily resilient. This finding shows that resilience and vulnerability are related in a way that government interventions, both economically and politically, can have a significant impact to enhance resilience and reduce vulnerability.