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Resettling at the Precipice: Deepening Vulnerabilities in Disaster Recovery from Upland Sulawesi

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Abstract

We analyze a 2006 landslide disaster in Indonesia that caused two neighboring villages to rebuild on increasingly precarious terrain. We use the pressure and release (PAR) model to examine natural hazards and disaster from a historical perspective, situating the origins of vulnerability among communities pushed to resettle in increasingly dangerous areas. From 2011, we conducted an initial five months of field research in two villages in Upland Sulawesi, followed by sustained engagement to trace the siting and reconstruction of settlements in locations highly prone to landslides in order to understand the conditions that led communities to rebuild in locations at heightened risk from similar landslide events. In doing so we extend research on the ways vulnerability and disaster risk extend into processes of recovery. Our extended analysis highlights the relational and unequal adaptive capacities unfolding among villagers. Our findings revealed that a combination of government development policies and market mechanisms established the roots of differentiated vulnerabilities, which were thereafter reinforced through disaster recovery planning and reconstruction initiatives. Thus, we show that risk and resilience are not only connected to a disaster event but also to efforts to rebuild and recover, illustrating how vulnerability is reproduced alongside initiatives intended to help communities recuperate and build resilience.

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Data Availability

The datasets analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Notes

  1. The second author was part of an NGO initiative that provided the emergency response team at these two villages, which began to raise questions about the extent to which formal disaster recovery programs fulfill their goals.

  2. The villagers also mentioned two other factors that cause land degradation. First, several types of trees are planted in the village but are “not suitable” for upland areas such as gmelina, cacao, coconut, and cloves. Second, the population of these trees in the state forest is growing to exceed the other trees. The strength of this analysis remains to be proven, however.

  3. These pests were not yet identified clearly, but resemble a pod borer insect. An informant with specific knowledge on this issue explained that this type of insect hampers the development of the candlenut fruit. He also stated that the mosquito population in Kompang and Gantarang had increased after the introduction of cacao.

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Acknowledgements

Parts of this research were made possible by the support of Partners for Resilience (PfR) Indonesia. Thanks also for the support of Universitas Hasanuddin especially to the Doctoral Forestry Program of Universitas Hasanuddin as well as Forest and Society Research Group, Universitas Hasanuddin.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Forest and Society Research Group UNHAS, Universitas Hasanuddin, Forestry Faculty, Makassar, Indonesia

    Nurhady Sirimorok, Karno B. Batiran, Micah R. Fisher, Bart Verheijen, Munajat Nursaputra & Muhammad Alif K. Sahide

  2. Sekolah Rakyat Petani (SRP) Payo-Payo, Sulawesi, Maros, Indonesia

    Nurhady Sirimorok & Karno B. Batiran

  3. East West Center, Honolulu, Hawai’i, USA

    Micah R. Fisher

  4. Leiden University, Rapenburg 70, 2311 EZ, Leiden, Netherlands

    Bart Verheijen

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  1. Nurhady Sirimorok
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Sirimorok, N., Batiran, K.B., Fisher, M.R. et al. Resettling at the Precipice: Deepening Vulnerabilities in Disaster Recovery from Upland Sulawesi. Hum Ecol 51, 737–751 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-023-00422-z

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