Understanding geological hazards to support disaster risk assessment in Indonesia : a report on a collaborative workshop between Resilience Development Initiative and the British Geological Survey

Indonesia encompasses one of the most active tectonic regions on Earth. Geological hazards in the country are a potent threat to a large and vulnerable population. It is therefore important that decisions made by disaster managers are informed by the best available earth science. However, large areas remain unstudied, with limited knowledge of past behaviour impacting understanding of future hazards and risks. To understand the challenges and research opportunities related to natural hazards in Indonesia, the Resilience Development Initiative (RDI) and British Geological Survey (BGS) organised a collaborative workshop over two days in January 2022. The workshop provided an opportunity to bring together key stakeholders in disaster risk science and management in Indonesia. The workshop aimed to discuss and offer a forum to explore research needs in terms of understanding, measuring, mitigating, and modelling geological hazards in Indonesia, with a specific focus on earthquakes, landslides, volcanoes and tsunamis. The main findings from this exercise are summarised below. Fundamental hazard assessment. A common theme across the four geological hazards discussed was the need to improve fundamental hazard assessments. For earthquakes, this involves improving the understanding of crustal faults at the local level and feeding this into national hazard assessment exercises. For landslides, a significant challenge raised was the resolution of susceptibility maps. There is a need to produce local hazard assessments considering local geological and environmental conditions. For volcanoes, the challenges were around understanding how past activity can be used to inform understanding of future hazards. However, participants agreed that it is difficult to understand the potential range of activity at infrequently active volcanoes, making hazard assessment more challenging. The main challenge for tsunamis was understanding the relative importance of various tsunami mechanisms. Earthquake-triggered tsunamis are relatively well understood compared to tsunamis triggered by volcanic eruptions and sediment movement. Baseline geological data. High-quality, up-todate, and complete data are the foundation of the best quality science. It is therefore imperative to collect and manage baseline data. For hazard assessments, there is a clear need for geological data to provide knowledge of past events and understand the possible future activity. Key points were raised around data availability and accessibility, where datasets are stored and who is responsible for storing, maintaining, and sharing data. An important first step to improving knowledge of hazards is to first determine how much data exists and where there are data gaps that can be filled through collaborative research. Collaboration and interdisciplinary working. Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) challenges require a holistic approach to hazard research and management. Common across all hazards is the need to work across different groups, from researchers to stakeholders and local communities, and across disciplines of science and education, in cluding geology, engineering, sociology, and psychology, among others. Collaboration in every aspect of geological hazard monitoring in Indonesia is crucial among stakeholders. Integration between researchers, government, community and media is needed to close the gap between geological hazards research and community risk perception. Community and culture. Indonesia is a vast country with different communities and cultures. In some communities, there may be a tendency for people to trust local beliefs over official sources such as local scientists or the government. Researchers need to understand and respect the different structures that exist in different communities and find appropriate ways of communicating that are sensitive to these dynamics. Involving communities in the scientific process is a critical way of embedding a safety culture into communities. Transient populations such as displaced peoples, tourists and migrants were identified as particularly vulnerable to geological hazards. Understanding how to reduce the risk to these populations is an important research gap. Communication and engagement. Communication could be improved by involving communities in the scientific process, co-developing outreach and education programs for schools and communities, and through the use of citizen science tools. Additionally, exploring the use of storytelling through traditional art, poems, songs, stories, and films can be a way of raising awareness of hazards and remembering and learning from past events. Institutional responsibilities. The DRR lifecycle from hazard monitoring to crisis response requires precise coordination, collaboration, and division of responsibilities. Making progress on hazard science requires an understanding of institutional roles and responsibilities, and clarity on mandates and relationships between different government organisations and research institutions.