Keywords

1 Introduction

Indonesia is geologically complex, being at the junction of three major active plates: Eurasia, Indo-Australian, and Pacific. Although this setting richly endows Indonesia with natural resources, it also makes the country prone to disasters such as volcano eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, floods, liquefaction, and flows. Plate movement, active faults, volcanic activities, weathering rates, and heavy rainfall all influence hazard occurrences in Indonesia.

The Indonesian Disaster Management Authority (BNPB) data shows that the number of disaster events in Indonesia increased significantly from 2010 to 2019, as shown in Fig. 1 (BNPB 2020). In 2019, 9391 disasters occurred and leading to 911 people dead or missing, 2163 injured, and 5372 million people directly affected and displaced. Landslides were ranked fourth after wildfire, tornadoes, drought as the most frequent disasters in 2019.

Fig. 1
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Disaster events in Indonesia in 2010–2019 (BNPB 2020)

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Landslides are widespread and frequently occur around the world. The natural phenomenon is controlled by slope condition, geology, geological structures, land use of slopes, and they are triggered by heavy rainfall or earthquakes. Landslides can cause significant losses and damages when occurring in highly populated areas. Intensive development in susceptible areas increases disaster risks. On the other hand, knowledge and ability of the community to implement disaster mitigation in general are low.

The intensity of landslide occurrence in Indonesia during the past decade has increased and disaster areas are more widespread, as illustrated in Fig. 2. This is a consequence of the increase in non-eco-friendly land use, high rainfall intensity with a long duration, and an increase in frequency of earthquake occurrence. Most areas susceptible to landslides are fertile lands with abundant groundwater, on which settlement areas, farmlands, and paddy fields have been developed, with construction of essential supporting infrastructure. Substantial regions of high landslide susceptibility are found in the mountain belt of Indonesia, for example in Bukit Barisan. Susceptible terrain is extensively developed in these remote rural areas. Consequently, relocating settlements and infrastructure is not easy, and may be very costly. Susceptible conditions and other factors such as density and population, infrastructures and building conditions, economic level, and regional capacity, contribute to an area's risk level (Hufschmidt et al. 2005; Crozier and Glade 2005).

Fig. 2
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Data on landslides and casualties from 2010–2019 (BNPB 2020)

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About 108.8 million people live in moderately to highly landslide susceptible zones, out of which 15.2 million live in highly susceptible zones in 228 districts in Indonesia (BNPB 2020). In 2019, there were 1483 landslides in Indonesia that involved 145 casualties, 9473 affected people, and major economic, physical, and environmental losses. As almost every region in Indonesia has a high potential of landslides, a collective effort to strengthen mitigation capability, risk reduction, and disaster management is greatly needed.

According to landslide hazard map (Fig. 3), the areas with high risk to landslides are those in the western parts of Sumatera Island, along the Bukit Barisan mountain belt; the southern and central parts of Java Island, Bali, Nusa Tenggara, almost every part of Sulawesi Island, Maluku, the southern and central parts of Papua. The total number of people affected by landslide risk in Indonesia is 194 million, with the potential loss of USD 13 billion (BNPB 2019).

Fig. 3
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Landslide hazard map of Indonesia (BNPB 2019)

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2 Disaster Management Policy and Strategy

Due to the high propensity of the country to disasters, the Indonesian government is committed to reducing disaster risk by placing disaster risk reduction as one of the national development priorities. National policies in disaster management started to receive attention following the tsunami and earthquake in Aceh and Nias at the end of 2004. The enactment of Law No 24 of 2007 on Disaster Management and its Government Regulation, established the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) at the national level and the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) at provincial and district levels.

Paradigm shifts in disaster management have been implemented, namely: (1) from response-oriented approach to mitigation-oriented strategy, (2) from sectoral approach to multi-sectoral approach, (3) from government responsibility to collective responsibility, (4) from centralization to decentralization, and (5) from being emergency response-oriented to becoming disaster risk reduction oriented (Bappenas 2014).

As one of the strategic environmental priorities, the National Mid-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) 2015–2019 specified that disaster management integrates policies and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) strategies with global climate change adaptation. To this end, the Disaster Management Strategies are focused on: (1) the internalization of DRR in the framework of sustainable development at the national and regional level; (2) the reduction of disaster vulnerability level; and (3) capacity building of disaster management implementation (Bappenas 2014).

The consistency of the government and other stakeholders, including universities, is necessary to formulate and realize disaster management strategies. The Disaster Management National Plan (Renas-PB, 2010–2014) evaluation shows that the general activities for all hazards ran well. However, specific activities for each hazard did not perform as well as the general activities. Accordingly, in 2014, Universitas Gadjah Mada contributed to developing the landslides risk reduction masterplan in Renas-PB 2015–2019 and directly instituted the disaster management action plan in Indonesia (BNPB 2014).

Disaster management measures are a tremendous challenge and responsibility that should be carried out with a sustainable, measured, and structured strategy. Over the last decade, Indonesia has learned many important lessons in disaster management. It has implemented numerous changes, particularly by establishing a disaster management system emphasizing disaster risk reduction.

One of the most effective mitigation measures is the implementation of an early warning system with appropriate technologies. The disaster management strategy begins with risk assessment and mapping to determine high risk areas and countermeasure priority, followed by the utilization of various numerical modellings to predict disaster impacts and mechanisms. The next step is to determine the most appropriate structural or non-structural disaster management method. This strategy has been accepted as a national standard in Indonesia and an international guideline for disaster risk reduction around the world (Fathani 2019). It has been implemented in Myanmar and in 33 provinces, 124 cities/districts in Indonesia, involving the national government, the local government, the local universities and private sectors, and local communities.

3 Development of Landslide Early Warning System

Landslide countermeasures can be conducted structurally or non-structurally. Structural countermeasures include modification of slope geometry, slope reinforcement and retention, drainage management, and relocation to safer areas for people living in high-risk areas (red zones). Non-structural mitigation focuses on community knowledge and preparedness, improving institutional capacity building, all supported by policies and regulations. Every disaster event is unique as it occurs under different geomorphology-geology-geotechnical conditions. Thus, it is not appropriate to apply the same countermeasure method to every case. Risk assessment is the key to planning the appropriate countermeasure technologies and methods (Karnawati et al. 2013).

Structural and environmental conservation are crucial as the only measures that prevent or reduce potential disaster risk. However, implementing these types of measure is very costly. One such mitigation measure is to relocate people living in landslide susceptible areas to safer terrain. This is a challenge because of the large population numbers often involved, resistance from settled people (i.e., the cultural-economic-socio aspect), and budget limitations. Therefore, an effective disaster risk reduction measure implemented under this condition is a nonstructural mitigation: improving community preparedness by installing a landslide monitoring system.

Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) has developed a simple early warning system in collaboration with BNPB and Ministry of Village, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration (KPDTT) that has been operating since 2006. The development of the landslide monitoring technology began when imported landslide monitoring devices were installed in Kulon Progo District in 2000–2002. Unfortunately, these monitoring systems were easily damaged, and with repair needing to be performed abroad, functionality was difficult to maintain.

Unfortunately, people living in high-risk areas typically have poor education, are in middle to lower economic classes, and have limited knowledge and resources for maintenance of monitoring systems and accessible community infrastructure (Fathani et al. 2014). For this reason, UGM has developed more exciting, engaging, and understandable low-cost and simple disaster risk reduction tools. The monitoring systems use local materials and incorporate observations of landslides and other natural disasters, and are directly managed by impacted communities.

The first-generation monitoring systems were an extensometer and a manually recorded rain gauge. Both were designed with the goal that communities could independently produce and repair these monitoring tools. Extensometers and rain gauges were installed in Banjarnegara District and Situbondo District in 2007, then in Karanganyar District in 2008. The manufacturing of these tools involved small and medium size enterprises in Central Java Province and the Special Region of Yogyakarta. Early warning included not only the installation of monitoring tools, but also a technical and cultural-economic-socio assessment that enabled communities to understand the function of the installed systems, and how to independently operate and maintain them (Karnawati et al. 2011; Fathani et al. 2014).

4 Implementation of Disaster Early Warning System

4.1 Establishment of a Landslide Early Warning System

Research in landslide early warning systems keeps evolving, with various generations of early detection tools under development. Landslide early warning systems are installed in the Sumatera, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Papua districts. Funding comes not only from the government, but also from several mining and energy companies. Nevertheless, many issues remain. For example, non-optimal supporting infrastructure and sensors, stolen and poorly maintained tools limit reliability and utility. Accordingly, the UGM team developed a strategy for the early warning system implementation that incorporates nontechnical and technical aspects to the installation. This multidisciplinary approach involved engineering, sociology, anthropology, psychology, economics, and agriculture (Karnawati et al. 2013; Fathani and Karnawati 2018).

Incorporating multidisciplinary technical and social approaches enriches the early warning system concept. A seven sub-system approach begins with: (1) risk assessments, (2) information dissemination, and (3) establishment of disaster preparedness teams. These initial stages are followed by: (4) development of evacuation route maps and (5) development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). Next comes (6) the installation of the early warning systems and evacuation drills, and lastly, (7) the establishment of commitments between communities, village councils, and district governments on the operation and maintenance of early warning systems that guarantee the sustainability of installed systems (Fathani et al. 2016, 2017). It is not necessary for evacuation route maps to conform with cartographic rules, so long as they are understandable to the communities affected (Fathani and Legono 2011; Karnawati et al. 2018; Setiawan et al. 2021).

Student Community Services are also involved in the implementation of landslide early warning systems at numerous sites in Indonesia such as Karanganyar District, Banjarnegara District, Banyumas District, Boyolali District, Sumatera Barat Province, and others (Fig. 4).

Fig. 4
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a Installation of extensometer; b A community landslide evacuation map; c Evacuation drill; d The local disaster preparedness team and UGM facilitator team

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5 Gadjah Mada Early Warning System (GAMA-EWS)

GAMA-EWS is designed to monitor, detect, and give early warning for sedimentary disasters such as landslides, floods, flash floods, and debris flows. The system comprises of an extensometer (a lateral, vertical, or rotational ground movement detection tool), tiltmeter (instruments used to measure ground tilt in slopes), inclinometer (instruments used to measure displacement in slip surface), and ultra-sonic sensor (instruments used to measure the change in water level) integrated and connected into one field server.

The current system is the 7th generation of GAMA-EWS since the innovation was developed in 2006. By 2020, about 40 variants of detection tools, namely the extensometer (upper/underground), crackmeter, tiltmeter, inclinometer, rain gauge, ultrasonic water level sensor, and groundwater sensor were developed. These early warning tools, manufactured with appropriate technologies, use 90% local components and manufactured by PT. GAMA-InaTEK as a subsidiary of UGM.

This process involves small and medium enterprises in the Special Region of Yogyakarta and Central Java Province. Manufacturing and design are monitored by the Center of Excellence of Technological Innovation for Disaster Mitigation UGM (PUI GAMA-InaTEK). The information on disaster early warning systems received by local authorities and the community is delivered in real-time via sirens, speakers, SMS blasting, email, website hosted on the GSM network, Wi-Fi, radio frequency, and via satellite.

The main components of GAMA-EWS are: (1) multiple sensors to monitor and collect field data; (2) a server and online system to receive and process the data; and (3) a warning system to improve the community preparedness in disaster emergencies, as illustrated in Fig. 5. All components work automatically through a telemetry system that has an independent energy source (solar panel) and operates wirelessly. Therefore, the early warning system can work effectively, particularly in remotely located hazard areas. GAMA-EWS has several advantages: it is easy to install, has flexible trusses, does not need electricity supply from PLN (using solar energy), and is easy to operate and maintain.

Fig. 5
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Detection of hazard zone and early warning information flow

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By 2021, GAMA-EWS has been installed in 33 provinces, 124 districts, and more than 500 villages in Indonesia. The implementation of the system is a collaboration between UGM and several institutions such as BNPB, BPBD, KPDTT, and in cooperation with numerous mining and energy companies, as shown in Fig. 6. In addition, the GAMA-EWS detection tools and early warning system have been implemented outside Indonesia, for example, in Myanmar.

Fig. 6
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Locations of landslides and floods early warning system implementation (2007–2021)

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In addition to the landslide early warning system, GAMA-EWS has also developed early warning systems for floods, flash floods, and debris flows implemented in numerous regions of Indonesia (Fathani and Legono 2013). The implementation of the early warning system is conducted through the UGM thematic Student Community Service and involves local universities and communities as the subject and the object of the activity. For the implementation of the system, the national, regional, and village governments, as well as local communities play significant roles in the operation and maintenance of their early warning systems.

6 Formulation of International and National Standard

6.1 Indonesian Standard of SNI 8235:2017 on Landslide Early Warning System

According to UN-ISDR (2006), an effective and comprehensive early warning system comprises four interconnected key elements: (1) risk knowledge; (2) warning service and monitoring technology; (3) communication and dissemination; and (4) response-ability. The challenge is not in technology development; rather it is in their implementation, which involves communities living in the vulnerable areas, and coordination between all levels of government, the private sector, and other stakeholders.

Consequently, UGM has developed a sediment disaster early warning system that integrates the social and technical systems that have effectively worked through the installation, operational, and maintenance phases. Referring to the four key elements above, UGM, supported by BNPB and BSN, developed a pragmatic landslide early warning system. This system comprises seven main activities: (1) Risk assessment, (2) Dissemination and communication on disaster knowledge, (3) Establishment of a disaster preparedness team, (4) Development of an operational evacuation manual, (5) Building a practical SOP, (6) Developing an evacuation drill, monitoring and early warning technology, and (7) Building the commitment of local authorities and communities to operate and maintain all components of the landslide early warning system (Fathani et al. 2016; 2017).

7 ISO 22327:2018 on Community Based Landslide Early Warning System

Indonesia, through BNPB, is a Center of World Excellence in Disaster Risk Reduction. Consequently, BNPB and UGM have encouraged the landslide early warning SNI to be adopted as an international standard (ISO) global guideline. In the 2nd Plenary Meeting ISO/Technical Committee (ISO/TC) 292 in Bali in December 2015, Indonesia officially proposed the landslide early warning SNI draft to be ISO 22327 entitled Guidelines for Implementing Community-based Landslide Early Warning System.

After a long technical discussion, at the 5th 292 ISO/TC meeting in Sydney, Australia, in March 2018, the proposed landslide early warning international standard was approved and adopted as ISO 22327:2018 Security and Resilience-Emergency Management: Guidelines for implementation of a community landslide early warning system. This is a follow up to SNI 8235:2017, established the previous year. It is a significant achievement since ISO 22327:2018 is the first international standard proposed by Indonesia, and the first from a developing country.

This means that every country could adopt this standard and state it in the early warning system implementation contract. The concept of early warning system comprising 7 sub-systems are fully implemented in Indonesia and Myanmar. Other countries such as Bangladesh and Argentina have started to adopt the standard.

As a result of the ISO 22327:2018, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigned Indonesia to develop the General Standard for Multi-Hazards Early Warning System (ISO 22328–1:2020), complete with Technical Specification for multiple hazards such as tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and floods. The document was in the process of finalization at the time of going to press (June 2022).

8 Conclusions

Creating innovative hazard monitoring systems takes a long time, requiring the study of basic processes by institutes of higher education, and dissemination of useful hazard information to maintain people’s interest. The disaster early warning system developed by Universitas Gadjah Mada, as an ICL member and a World Center of Excellence on Landslide Disaster Risk Reduction (WCoE-07), has been published as a national and international standard. However, intensive innovation, evaluation, and improvement is constantly undertaken. The challenges in conducting these are many, such as maintaining the sustainability, in this case, the endurance of the stakeholders. An appropriate strategy to maintain the awareness and preparedness of the community is needed. After a disaster, the community awareness and preparedness increase but they diminish after a period of time. Another challenge is media exposure. The media should actively deliver information on the importance of disaster risk reduction, mitigation, and early warning system prior to disasters instead of post-disaster. Innovation must be carried out continuously to develop equipment that is low maintenance and functions well in minimum conditions (weather, humidity, etc.). In addition to landslide monitoring, UGM has implemented the early warning system concept and strategy for other hazards leading to disasters, including volcanic eruptions, debris flows, seasonal floods, and flash floods.

The challenges in disaster management are still numerous and various. Through the innovation efforts and strategies initiated by UGM, national resilience and sustainability in disaster risk management is maintained. The success of the implementation of the early warning system is achieved through multidisciplinary collaboration, with full support from national and regional governments, and private sector stakeholders. In the future, UGM will continue to innovate with multiple parties to establish national technology sovereignty and disaster risk reduction globally.