Optimising local institutional role for sustainable community preparedness in Krinjing: The slope of Merapi Volcano

Abstract

The effectiveness of local institutions in disaster-prone areas is often assessed with a bias towards administrative aspects or social solidarity alone, without in-depth operational evaluation. This study audits the internal performance of the Disaster Risk Reduction Organisation or Organisasi Pengurangan Risiko Bencana (OPRB) in Krinjing Village, Magelang, facing the threat of Merapi Volcano’s eruption. Using a quantitative descriptive approach with purposive sampling, data were collected through a closed-ended questionnaire administered to 12 key structural informants, followed by in-depth interviews to contextualise the findings. The results showed a significant difference: the OPRB demonstrated superior tactical capacity in the emergency response phase, driven by social capital and logistical independence. However, this advantage is inversely proportional to the pre-disaster phase, marked by top-down planning and minimal participation. In the post-disaster phase, the OPRB showed the lowest performance in monitoring and evaluation, breaking the organisational learning cycle. These findings indicate that the OPRB does not currently function as an adaptive resilience organisation. To transform this capacity, the study formulates three institutional engineering strategies: institutionalising disaster management in the RPJMDes document, formalising local wisdom and decentralising authority. These approaches are expected to close the managerial gap and achieve sustainable community resilience on Merapi’s slopes.
Contribution: This research fills a practical and theoretical gap by demonstrating how the dominance of top-down approaches in local disaster management stifles grassroots resilience, despite strong informal social capital during emergencies. Its primary contribution is a phase-specific evaluation and a strategic transformation model to institutionalise resilience, directly supporting the journal’s scope of disaster risk reduction and resilience.