FAO in Indonesia

Livestock emergency preparedness and response for areas at high risk of volcanic eruptions

A number of cowsheds in Mount Agung, Bali. © DGLAHS MoA Taskforce
24/09/2020

Livestock emergency preparedness and response for areas at high risk of volcanic eruptions

 Jakarta – Indonesia has 129 active volcanoes which are among the most active volcanoes in the Asia Pacific ring region. It is estimated that more than 8.6 million Indonesians live in volcanic areas with a distance of 10 km from the center. This figure is the highest population when compared to any country in the world.

 

In Indonesia, people who live close to the mountains are usually agrarian communities who mostly own livestock. The position of livestock in an agrarian society does not only support the farm production but also acts for savings which are used for certain purposes. When a volcano erupts, the volcanic hazards generated during the eruption, such as ash rain, pyroclastic flows, and lahars, have the potential to disrupt the livelihoods of people in the affected area.

 

“In the last few years, we know that many volcanic events such as volcanic eruptions have harmed the community, especially in high risk areas. These natural disasters often have an impact on livestock and ultimately have an impact on the livelihoods of livestock owners. In fact, there are few cases of human victims due to not wanting to be evacuated because they don't want to leave the livestock,” said Director of Animal Health of the Directorate General of Livestock and Animal Health Services Ministry of Agriculture (DGLAHS-MoA), Fadjar Sumping Tjatur Rasa, Ph.D, in his remarks at the inception workshop on September 24-25, 2020.

 

FAO with funding support from the Bureau of Humanitarian Agency of the United States Agency for International Development (BHA-USAID) will work closely with DGLAHS-MoA, the National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB), and local governments launched a one-year project on support the capacity building of the Government of Indonesia, especially local governments, in reducing the impact of volcanic eruptions on livestock. The pilot areas of the project will be at Mount Merapi in the Special Region of Yogyakarta and Central Java and at Mount Agung in Bali.

 

“Livestock play a crucial part in people’s livelihood throughout the world and when humanitarian emergencies arise, rapid assistance is needed to assist, protect and later rebuild the assets of affected communities. During volcanic eruptions, evacuation of livestock is necessary from the impacted areas. But, the efficient evacuation of livestock involves significant planning. One of the significant key decisions faced by the policy makers in times of emergency when faced with a volcanic crisis in agricultural sector is whether to commit resources to evacuate livestock from impacted households and farms, or to let them stay in place,” said FAO Indonesia Representative ad interim Victor Mol.

 

Therefore, the FAO – USAID project aims to strengthen emergency preparedness and response capacities, particularly in mitigating the effects of volcanic eruptions on animals / livestock for farmers and other relevant stakeholders. Apart from Indonesia, this regional project will also be implemented in the Philippines and Vanuatu as countries which have the most active volcanoes in the world. The project's specific outputs are mapping of risks for livestock in areas around volcanoes, developing contingency plans including evacuation of affected livestock, capacity building in the form of training on emergency preparedness and response and simulation and development of platforms or tools that can be used for Disaster Risk Reduction in other countries. Hence, the tools can assist all countries in planning how they may better prepare communities in high risk volcanic areas to face the threat of volcanic disasters.