HOUSEHOLD VULNERABILITY TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE: EXAMINING ADAPTIVE CAPACITY OF HOUSEHOLDS TO FLOOD RISKS IN PALEMBANG

Abstract

Urban flood has plagued many metropolitan cities in Indonesia due to various reasons such as mismanagement of land use, overpopulation and poor drainage systems. Palembang on the other hand, is one of metropolitans in Indonesia, where most of its areas are dominated by wetlands, where many large and small rivers are located. The high demand to residential areas has caused many landuse changes from wetlands to dry lands by doing reclamation. As the result, the incidence of flood in Palembang has increased significantly in past years, which leave the society grappled with emerging challenges. This study aims to identify the adaptive capacity of the society affected by flood. The area selected as the case study is Macan Lindungan village which severely hit by flood. The survey was conducted on 210 families (KK) and the analytical method used is descriptive method of statistical analysis and correlation analysis to identify level of adaptive capacity and adaptive capacity relationship among the contributing factors. In addition, the analysis was also performed spatially to project the condition of the adaptive capacity based on the location in the study sites. This study demonstrates that the flood particularly exacerbates the economy of low-income society. Moreover, adaptation still largely focus on structural as elevating homes and storing other valuables, while the non- structural adaptation still focus on emergency funds. Finally, it concludes that preparedness of the society should be supported by both structural and non-structural policies from the government so that the risk of flood can be comprehensively reduced.