Climate change risks to infrastructures: A general perspective

Abstract

Infrastructure is planned with certain design life, and it is expected that the infrastructures can be useful during the design life and sustainable. But in reality in the field, many infrastructures show unsatisfactory performance due to several factors, both technical and non-technical factors. For example, many urban drainage networks cannot function properly in conveying surface run-off because they are full of waste; or urban drainage networks cannot accommodate surface runoff that occurs due to extreme rainfall that has never been predicted before; or broken road because vehicles traveling through the road carry loads beyond the maximum planned and permitted load limits. In addition, extreme weather events due to climate change will likely increase disruption to infrastructures. When infrastructures performance in a region is disrupted, it will impact other sectors including economic and public health sectors. For example, when the drainage network cannot accommodate surface runoff due to extreme rainfall, there will be a flood disaster that will disrupt economic activity and cause many diseases (water borne diseases). This paper will outline a general perspective of the impact of climate change on infrastructure in a regional system. The information described in this paper is based on the literature study, and is expected to improve insight and knowledge to all stakeholders related to infrastructure management in Indonesia.