BALI - KOMINFONEWS. Mayor of Samarinda Andi Harun was again one of the speakers in the 2024 World Water Forum (WWF) series of events held on 18-25 May 2024 in Bali. In this event, the number one person in the Samarinda city government delivered material entitled Flood Mitigation in Water-Related Problems : The Samarinda Case at the session on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management to Build Resilience and Community Right Thursday (23/5/2024) at the Central Bali Nusa Dua Convention (BNDCC) Kintamani room 7. In his presentation, Andi Harun said that what the Samarinda City Government was doing in handling floods was :

Preparation of disaster map analysis for policy making (disaster analysis map for decision making)

River normalization :

• Construction of a retention pond with a capacity of 100,000 m3
• Integrated and modern drainage development
• Installation of sluice gates on the Karang Mumus river
• Law enforcement implementation
• Collaboration with the central government and provincial governments
• Installation of an early warning system (EWS) and automatic water level recorder (AWLR) on the Karang Mumus River at 26 points
• Community participation through activities to clean the Karang Mumus River, including the existence of a River School initiated by Mr. Misman.

Furthermore, Andi Harun also conveyed strategies to make Samarinda City a sustainable and climate resilient city through 5 strategies, namely :

1. Update the vision of the City of Samarinda in long-term development documents
2. Rivers that have been normalized are organized into climate-resilient open spaces, which currently the City of Samarinda is receiving a grant from the Adaptation Fund (USA) in collaboration with the Partnership and Cecur in the Embracing the Sun Project
3. Regional disaster management plan documents and flood disaster contingency plans
4. Establish a Samarinda City Climate Change Action Working Group
5. Commitment to regulation and multi-party collaboration.

However, he admitted, Samarinda faces challenges related to flooding, especially during the rainy season.

"Our flood management strategy includes building drainage, flood embankments and retention ponds to reduce the risk of flooding and protect vulnerable areas," he explained. Andi Harun became a star at the World Water Forum because he adopted a participatory approach to disaster management and also provided clean water. On the agenda, apart from Andi Harun, were several other speakers from abroad, namely the Mayor of Kumamoto Japan, Kazufumi Onishi, Representative of the United Nation Center of Regional Development (UNCRD) Taeko Yokota, as well as two speakers related to Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). Meanwhile, from National only Andi Harun was the Indonesian representative. (NAN/KMF-SMR)