Indonesia and the Politics of Disaster by Phillip Drake

Author:Phillip Drake [Drake, Phillip]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Ethnic Studies, General, Regional Studies
ISBN: 9781315525129
Google: poiuDAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2016-07-15T04:29:57+00:00

The Humanitus Sidoarjo Fund

The five-year anniversary symposium was neither the first nor the last time that the HSF attracted criticism. Most previous criticism stemmed from the HSF’s inability to capitalize on the wave of positive feelings and follow through on statements issued when it was established in Sidoarjo in 2010. Backed by the Australia-based Humanitus Foundation, the HSF is a non-political, non-religious NGO operating in Sidoarjo to “investigate long term solutions to the environmental effects and social impact of Lumpur Sidoarjo” (HSF 2011: 5). Although it has been a small player in the history of the Lapindo disaster, having only an occasional presence in the region, the HSF deserves attention because it was the first and only international NGO to commit to assisting the disaster management effort. All other international NGOs have been hesitant to intervene in disaster management operations due to the legal and political controversies stemming from the trigger debate and because then-President Yudhoyono had refused to declare the mudflow a national disaster, which implied that international intervention was not welcome. The HSF, however, was able to reach an agreement with the Indonesian government and has been conducting work, primarily in the form of promoting research, occasionally in cooperation with the BPLS.

On its website and in press releases, the HSF states its goal of establishing itself as a clearinghouse for information about the social and environmental aspects of the mudflow, in order to best aid the government and the people impacted by the disaster (HSF 2010a). The HSF website lists several key commitments: coordinating an international network of scientists; assessing the social impact of the disaster; using “scientific and social impact studies to assist in developing and improving programs to assist the affected communities”; and lobbying government and non-government institutions to raise funding to support scientific research and social assistance programs.15

Given the social and environmental challenges that characterized the Lapindo disaster in 2010 and the HSF’s stated objectives, there was reason to be hopeful that the HSF’s arrival might herald new resolutions. With seemingly every aspect of the disaster subject to contestation – its causes, effects, and stakeholders – there was a need for a neutral, third party to both organize and manage information about the mudflow. Because Indonesia lacks a robust tradition of peer review in professional and academic publishing, and because Indonesia suffers from a shortage of trained experts, it makes sense that vetting contributions from an international institution like the HSF would be useful. And despite criticisms in previous chapters about its staging of peer-reviewed publications alongside gray reports, the HSF’s online library remains the most comprehensive collection of scientific reports, government documents, and journalistic articles about the disaster available.16 Together, these articles and reports present a broad range of perspectives, including those that are critical of all stakeholders, including the central government, the BPLS, Lapindo Brantas, and the victims.

The HSF drew criticism, however, when the first study it sponsored was a report that concluded that drilling had no triggering impact on the mudflow. This

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