TEMPO.CO, Sleman - The Indonesian government integrates livestock evacuation as a new and important element in disaster management efforts. Livestock evacuation is closely related to human evacuation efforts, considering livestock as a valuable livelihood asset. Preparing a livestock evacuation route, in particular, can reduce human and animal casualties as well as economic losses.

For the first time, the livestock evacuation drill becomes a part of activities for the National Disaster Preparedness Day (Hari Kesiapsiagaan Bencana - HKB), which has been commemorated every April 26 since 2017.

"Indonesia’s disaster preparedness has improved significantly in saving lives of the people. However, in various disaster incidents, the human evacuation process is often hampered by the community, especially farmers who are reluctant to evacuate if they have to leave their livestock which are valuable livelihood assets. This can increase the risk of fatalities and economic losses, so the government needs to develop a special strategy to handle it," said Lieutenant General Suharyanto, Head of the National Agency for Disaster Management (Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana - BNPB) during the 2022 HKB activities, which are held in four districts around Mount Merapi, namely Sleman (Yogyakarta Special Region) and Boyolali, Klaten and Magelang (Central Java).

BNPB recorded that there were 2800 cattle deaths during the 2010 eruption of Mount Merapi, with 332 human fatalities. Around 12.4% of the total economic loss of 4.23 trillion rupiah was the loss of small and medium-sized businesses, including in the agriculture and livestock sectors. There were at least 156 volcanic eruptions throughout Indonesia in the 2010-2020 period or an average of 15 eruptions a year.

In Jakarta, the Director-General of Livestock and Animal Health Services of the Ministry of Agriculture (DGLAHS MoA), Nasrullah said that the MoA supports the efforts to integrate livestock evacuation in disaster management. According to Nasrullah MoA is aware that Indonesia has a high risk of volcanic disaster since this is related to more than 1.2 million Indonesians living around volcanic areas who make a living from agriculture and livestock, especially small-scale family farmers. For this reason, Nasrullah emphasized that livestock also needs attention and is properly handled in the event of a disaster.

Local community near Mt. Merapi exercises unloading cattle from vehicles to communal shelters (© FAO / Gayatri Kancana)

"The Ministry of Agriculture together with BNPB and local governments will prepare guidelines for handling livestock during volcanic disasters, which include arrangements for livestock evacuation and contingency plans," said Nasrullah.

"It is hoped that the guideline will complement the evacuation guidelines for humans, so that the community can have safety guarantees in the event of a disaster, both for themselves and their livestock as the main source of livelihood for families in rural areas," Nasrullah added.

”The purpose of this guideline is to reduce risks and losses due to volcanic disasters. The government would like people living in disaster-prone areas to remain safe and prosperous,” he further explained.

The Director of Veterinary Public Health, Syamsul Ma'arif, explained that the process of evacuating livestock should comply with animal welfare rules so that the evacuated livestock can safely arrive at the shelter. Guidance for officers or farmers is therefore largely needed while evacuating.

"We are preparing a Livestock Evacuation SOP [Standard Operating Procedure] that can be used as a guide for officers and farmers in the field so that the evacuation process can be carried out properly," said Ma’arif.

Volcanic eruption evacuation drills for humans and cattle near Mt. Merapi (© FAO / Gayatri Kancana)

Rajendra Aryal, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations Representative for Indonesia and Timor Leste also conveyed a similar message.

“FAO is working closely with BNPB and the Ministry of Agriculture to protect farmers from losses inflicted by volcanic disasters. We are providing necessary technical support according to the Sendai Framework, a global framework for disaster risk reduction, to conduct studies and develop guidelines for handling livestock, including livestock evacuation, capacity building and response plans that lead to today’s evacuation drill," said Aryal in Jakarta.

“As the chair of the G20 and host of the upcoming Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction that will be held in Bali this May, disaster management efforts in Indonesia can serve as an example to the world. Situated in the ring of fire that is prone to disasters with its large population, good experiences from Indonesia can serve as good practices to the rest of the world,” Aryal further added.

Since 2006, FAO with funding support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been working with different line ministries and agencies to increase Indonesia's capacity to prevent and respond to disasters, both natural and non-natural, including disease outbreaks, which can disrupt public health and agri-food systems that could lead to economic losses.

FAO