GFSR Emphasizes Communities as Subjects of Disaster Recovery

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - The 3rd Global Forum for Sustainable Resilience (GFSR) officially concluded with an emphasis on the importance of placing communities at the center of disaster recovery and resilience-building efforts. Deputy for Systems and Strategy at the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), Raditya Jati, said lessons from the 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake showed that post-disaster recovery should not be limited to rebuilding infrastructure.

He said local wisdom, such as Hamemayu Hayuning Bawana, is an important principle in building relationships, trust, and shared responsibility within communities through mutual cooperation. At the forum, which concluded on Thursday, September 10, 2026, Raditya stressed that communities need to be actively involved throughout the recovery process.

“Communities must be recognized as subjects of recovery, not merely passive recipients of aid,” he said, as quoted from an official statement.

He said the success of recovery should not be measured only by the number of houses, schools, or roads rebuilt. Recovery must also address various aspects that directly affect people's lives.

“Recovery must also be measured not only by rebuilding homes, schools, or roads, but also by restoring livelihoods, essential services , community security, reducing vulnerabilities, and strengthening institutions,” the deputy said.

The 3rd GFSR also highlighted the importance of social inclusion in building resilience. Persons with disabilities, including the Difagana community, were seen not merely as vulnerable groups in need of protection, but also as actors and leaders in disaster risk reduction.

Regarding the use of technology and risk information systems, Raditya stressed that technology must remain people-centered. Technology is effective when communities understand, trust, maintain, and use it to take action.

“Technology succeeds when people understand it, trust it, maintain it, and use it to act,” Raditya Jati added.

In addition to community involvement and technology, the forum also discussed the need for more creative financing to support preparedness and investment in disaster risk reduction.

“Creative financing is not merely a new financial instrument. It is the strategic mobilization of resources, local assets, knowledge, institutions, and financing mechanisms around shared resilience objectives,” Raditya Jati said.

Raditya stressed that resilience efforts will have a greater impact if global commitments are translated into national policies, which can then encourage investment at the local level and strengthen communities' capacity to act before threats develop into disasters.

“Aligned impact is achieved when global commitments shape national systems, national systems enable local investment and financing, and communities combine knowledge, trust, local wisdom, partnerships, technology, and finance to act before threats become disasters,” he concluded.