Adaptive Capacity of Local Governments to Socio-Ecological Challenges: A Case Study in Disaster-Prone Areas in Central Sulawesi

Authors

  • Hans Nayoan Disaster Management Study Program, Budi Luhur University of Jakarta Author
  • Marlyn Silaen Disaster Management Study Program, Budi Luhur University of Jakarta Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.71435/685969

Keywords:

Adaptive Capacity , Local Government, Disaster Management

Abstract

Purpose: This study examines the adaptive capacity of local governments in disaster-prone areas of Central Sulawesi, focusing on mechanisms, strategies, and constraints that shape institutional resilience through leadership, coordination, knowledge systems, and community participation.

Subjects and Methods: A qualitative case study was conducted in Palu, Sigi, and Donggala using semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and document analysis. Participants included government officials, community leaders, and NGO representatives. Thematic analysis was applied to identify patterns related to adaptive governance, learning processes, and collaborative practices.

Results: Adaptive capacity is shaped by effective coordination, strong leadership, and robust knowledge systems that support informed decision-making. Community engagement and collaboration with civil society enhance the relevance of adaptive strategies. However, fragmented coordination, weak institutional memory, inconsistent training, and unequal participation of marginalized groups limit the sustainability of adaptive governance and long-term resilience.

Conclusions: Strengthening local government adaptive capacity requires integrated, knowledge-based, and inclusive approaches that connect institutional, technical, and community dimensions. Institutionalizing learning, sustaining collaboration, and ensuring equitable participation can shift local governance from reactive disaster management to proactive resilience, offering important insights for policymakers and practitioners.

References

Abimbola, S., Baatiema, L., & Bigdeli, M. (2019). The impacts of decentralization on health system equity, efficiency and resilience: a realist synthesis of the evidence. Health policy and planning, 34(8), 605-617. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czz055

Aldunce, P., Beilin, R., Handmer, J., & Howden, M. (2021). Stakeholder participation in building resilience to disasters in a changing climate. In Environmental hazards and resilience (pp. 164-179). Routledge.

Armitage, D., Berkes, F., & Doubleday, N. (Eds.). (2010). Adaptive co-management: collaboration, learning, and multi-level governance. Columbia: UBC press.

Ayuningtyas, D., Windiarti, S., Hadi, M. S., Fasrini, U. U., & Barinda, S. (2021). Disaster preparedness and mitigation in Indonesia: A narrative review. Iranian journal of public health, 50(8), 1536. https://doi.org/10.18502/ijph.v50i8.6799

Bastos Lima, M. G., Kissinger, G., Visseren-Hamakers, I. J., Braña-Varela, J., & Gupta, A. (2017). The Sustainable Development Goals and REDD+: assessing institutional interactions and the pursuit of synergies. International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, 17(4), 589-606. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-017-9366-9

Bonfanti, R. C., Oberti, B., Ravazzoli, E., Rinaldi, A., Ruggieri, S., & Schimmenti, A. (2023). The role of trust in disaster risk reduction: a critical review. International journal of environmental research and public health, 21(1), 29. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21010029

Bullock, R. C., Diduck, A., Luedee, J., & Zurba, M. (2022). Integrating social learning, adaptive capacity and climate adaptation for regional scale analysis: a conceptual framework. Environmental Management, 69(6), 1217-1230. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-022-01630-x

Cedergren, A., & Hassel, H. (2024). Building organizational adaptive capacity in the face of crisis: Lessons from a public sector case study. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 100, 104235.

Cid, A., & Lerner, A. M. (2023). Local governments as key agents in climate change adaptation: challenges and opportunities for institutional capacity-building in Mexico. Climate Policy, 23(5), 649-661.

Dai, J., & Azhar, A. (2024). Collaborative governance in disaster management and sustainable development. Public Administration and Development, 44(4), 358-380. https://doi.org/10.1002/pad.2071

Elvegård, R., Andreassen, N., & Badu, J. (2024). Building collaboration and trust in emergency preparedness: a model for planning collaboration exercises. Safety in Extreme Environments, 6(4), 319-331. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42797-024-00107-w

Folke, C., Hahn, T., Olsson, P., & Norberg, J. (2005). Adaptive governance of social-ecological systems. Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour., 30, 441-473. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.energy.30.050504.144511

Hammond, S. P., Polizzi, G., & Bartholomew, K. J. (2023). Using a socio-ecological framework to understand how 8–12-year-olds build and show digital resilience: A multi-perspective and multimethod qualitative study. Education and Information Technologies, 28(4), 3681-3709. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-022-11240-z

Haque, C. E., & Doberstein, B. (2021). Adaptive governance and community resilience to cyclones in coastal Bangladesh: Addressing the problem of fit, social learning, and institutional collaboration. Environmental Science & Policy, 124, 580-592. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2021.08.007

Hermans, T. D., Šakić Trogrlić, R., van den Homberg, M. J., Bailon, H., Sarku, R., & Mosurska, A. (2022). Exploring the integration of local and scientific knowledge in early warning systems for disaster risk reduction: a review. Natural Hazards, 114(2), 1125-1152. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-022-05468-8

Igalla, M., Edelenbos, J., & van Meerkerk, I. (2021). Institutionalization or interaction: Which organizational factors help community‐based initiatives acquire government support?. Public Administration, 99(4), 803-831. https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12728

Järvelä, M. (2023). Dimensions of cultural sustainability—Local adaptation, adaptive capacity and social resilience. Frontiers in Political Science, 5, 1285602. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2023.1285602

Kangana, N., Kankanamge, N., De Silva, C., Goonetilleke, A., Mahamood, R., & Ranasinghe, D. (2024). Bridging community engagement and technological innovation for creating smart and resilient cities: A systematic literature review. Smart Cities, 7(6), 3823-3852. https://doi.org/10.3390/smartcities7060147

Kapucu, N. (2006). Interagency communication networks during emergencies: Boundary spanners in multiagency coordination. The American review of public administration, 36(2), 207-225. https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074005280605

Kigume, R., & Maluka, S. (2018). Decentralisation and health services delivery in 4 districts in Tanzania: how and why does the use of decision space vary across districts?. International Journal of Health Policy and Management, 8(2), 90. https://doi.org/10.15171/ijhpm.2018.97

Kristian, I., & Ikhsan, O. M. F. (2024). Integrating community-based approaches into national disaster management policies: Lessons from recent natural disasters. The International Journal of Law Review and State Administration, 2(4), 115-125.

Lansing, A. E., Romero, N. J., Siantz, E., Silva, V., Center, K., Casteel, D., & Gilmer, T. (2023). Building trust: Leadership reflections on community empowerment and engagement in a large urban initiative. BMC Public Health, 23(1), 1252. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15860-z

Nederhand, J. (2021). Evaluating the role of government collaboration in the perceived performance of community-based nonprofits: Three propositions. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 31(4), 634-652. https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/muaa059

Ngulube, N. K., Tatano, H., & Samaddar, S. (2024). Toward participatory participation: A community perspective on effective engagement in post-disaster recovery and reconstruction. Community Development, 55(6), 895-915. https://doi.org/10.1080/15575330.2024.2382169

Oktora, S. I., Wulansari, I. Y., Siagian, T. H., Laksono, B. C., Sugiandewi, N. N. R., & Anindita, N. (2024). Identifying the potential participation in natural disaster insurance: first attempt based on a national socio-economic survey in Indonesia. International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, 15(2), 177-192. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJDRBE-04-2022-0034

Oliveira, R., Santinha, G., & Sá Marques, T. (2023). The Impacts of health decentralization on equity, efficiency, and effectiveness: a scoping review. Sustainability, 16(1), 386. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16010386

Pandey, C. L., & Basnet, A. (2022). Managing disasters integrating traditional knowledge and scientific knowledge systems: a study from Narayani basin, Nepal. Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, 31(4), 361-373. https://doi.org/10.1108/DPM-04-2021-0136

Pörtner, H. O., Roberts, D. C., Adams, H., Adler, C., Aldunce, P., Ali, E., ... & Birkmann, J. (2022). Climate change 2022: Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability.

Putra, D. I., & Matsuyuki, M. (2020). The disaster-management capabilities of local governments: a case study in Indonesia. Journal of Disaster Research, 15(4), 471-480. https://doi.org/10.20965/jdr.2020.p0471

Rashidfarokhi, A. (2024). Resilience by whom and for whom? Empowering local communities for community-led resilience-building. Real Estate and Sustainable Crisis Management in Urban Environments, 39.

Refulio-Coronado, S., Lacasse, K., Dalton, T., Humphries, A., Basu, S., Uchida, H., & Uchida, E. (2021). Coastal and marine socio-ecological systems: A systematic review of the literature. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, 648006. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.648006

Salvador, M., & Sancho, D. (2021). The role of local government in the drive for sustainable development public policies. An analytical framework based on institutional capacities. Sustainability, 13(11), 5978. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13115978

Salvador, M., & Sancho, D. (2023). Local governments facing turbulence: robust governance and institutional capacities. Social Sciences, 12(8), 462. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.104235

Shmueli, D. F., Ozawa, C. P., & Kaufman, S. (2021). Collaborative planning principles for disaster preparedness. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 52, 101981. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.101981

Talubo, J. P., Morse, S., & Saroj, D. (2022). Whose resilience matters? A socio-ecological systems approach to defining and assessing disaster resilience for small islands. Environmental Challenges, 7, 100511. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envc.2022.100511

Tulenko, K., Mgedal, S., Afzal, M. M., Frymus, D., Oshin, A., Pate, M., ... & Zodpey, S. (2013). Community health workers for universal health-care coverage: from fragmentation to synergy. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 91, 847-852.

Usdin, L. (2014). Building resiliency and supporting distributive leadership post-disaster: Lessons from New Orleans a decade (almost) after Hurricane Katrina. International Journal of Leadership in Public Services, 10(3), 157-171. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLPS-07-2014-0010

Vasileiou, K., Barnett, J., & Fraser, D. S. (2022). Integrating local and scientific knowledge in disaster risk reduction: A systematic review of motivations, processes, and outcomes. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 81, 103255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2022.103255

Vossoughi, S., Marin, A., & Bang, M. (2023). Toward just and sustainable futures: Human learning and relationality within socio-ecological systems. Review of Research in Education, 47(1), 218-273.

Wamsler, C., & Johannessen, Å. (2020). Meeting at the crossroads? Developing national strategies for disaster risk reduction and resilience: Relevance, scope for, and challenges to, integration. International journal of disaster risk reduction, 45, 101452. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2019.101452

Wu, J. Y., & Chen, L. C. (2023). Traditional indigenous ecological knowledge to enhance community-based disaster resilience: Taiwan mountain area. Natural Hazards Review, 24(1), 05022014. https://doi.org/10.1061/NHREFO.NHENG-1673

Downloads

Published

2024-12-12

How to Cite

Adaptive Capacity of Local Governments to Socio-Ecological Challenges: A Case Study in Disaster-Prone Areas in Central Sulawesi. (2024). Adaptive Governance Research, 1(2), 41-56. https://doi.org/10.71435/685969