Senator Mirah Supports Disaster Risk Financing Scheme to Strengthen NTB’s Economic Resilience

06 October 2026 oleh admin

Mataram, dpd.go.id — Senator Mirah Midadan Fahmid of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) has welcomed an initiative by the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), in collaboration with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), to develop an integrated disaster risk financing scheme in NTB. She said the initiative is crucial to strengthening community resilience while safeguarding the sustainability of the regional economy when disasters strike.

NTB has been selected as a pilot region for developing a disaster risk financing framework before the approach is expanded more broadly. The assessment covers several sectors vulnerable to disasters, including agriculture, fisheries, and tourism.

NTB’s experience shows that the fiscal and economic impacts of disasters can be substantial. BNPB recorded that the series of earthquakes that struck Lombok in 2018 caused approximately Rp7.45 trillion in damage and losses, including around Rp570.55 billion in the productive economic sector. The scale of these impacts highlights the importance of establishing financing capacity before disasters occur, so that recovery needs do not emerge entirely as sudden and unexpected burdens in the aftermath. “Disasters not only cause physical damage, but can also disrupt people’s incomes, business activities, agricultural production, fisheries, and tourism. Therefore, financing preparedness must be an integral part of disaster management strategies,” Mirah said.

She noted that a disaster risk financing approach is an important step, as disaster response has often been initiated only after an event occurs. With financing mechanisms prepared in advance, both the government and communities will have instruments to accelerate recovery in times of emergency.

Mirah said the involvement of local governments, Regional Development Planning Agencies (Bappeda), Regional Disaster Management Agencies (BPBD), the Financial Services Authority’s (OJK) Regional Office in NTB, the private sector, and village community groups should be maintained throughout the development of the scheme. She stressed that each region has different risk profiles and economic capacities, meaning that financing policies must take local conditions into account.

“The scheme must be realistic and easily accessible. Financing instruments should not be so difficult to understand or overly complicated that they become inaccessible to the communities they are intended to benefit. Education and assistance must go hand in hand,” she said.

She also emphasized that integrating disaster risk financing with adaptive social protection systems could deliver broader benefits. Communities that lose their livelihoods or experience economic disruption due to disasters need support that can be provided quickly, accurately targeted, and sustainably.

From a regional economic perspective, Mirah stressed that disaster resilience is an integral part of efforts to maintain economic stability in NTB. Agriculture, fisheries, and tourism are directly linked to people’s incomes, meaning disruptions in these sectors can trigger broader ripple effects throughout the regional economy.

The scale of this exposure can be seen in NTB’s economic structure. In 2025, the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sector generated approximately Rp24.15 trillion in real gross regional domestic product (GRDP). This means that disruptions to production and livelihoods in the sector can have broader consequences for regional economic activity, making disaster risk protection an important economic consideration as well.

“When farmers lose their crops, fishers lose their sources of income, or tourism businesses lose revenue because of a disaster, the impact does not stop at a single household. It disrupts an entire economic chain. Therefore, financial protection must be part of efforts to build regional resilience,” Mirah explained.

Senator Mirah expressed hope that the findings of the Gap Assessment Report, which is targeted for completion in November 2026, will serve as a basis for developing concrete policies. She urged that the assessment should not remain merely a document, but instead be translated into financing instruments tailored to the region’s needs.

“NTB must seize this momentum to build a strong, inclusive, and sustainable disaster risk financing system. The ultimate goal is not merely to determine how we respond to disasters, but how communities can recover more quickly and how the regional economy can continue to function in the aftermath,” Mirah concluded.