INTER-VILLAGE COOPERATION IN WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT: A NEW SOCIAL INSTITUTIONAL PROCESS IN VOLCANIC DISASTER-PRONE AREAS

Abstract

Water resources management is one of the crucial issues in people’s lives, especially in areas where disasters often occur. Mount Merapi, as one of the active volcanoes in its area, is also a forest ecosystem in which the water source fulfills household, agriculture, and other basic needs; after the 2010 Merapi eruption, several springs were covered with eruptive material, destroying the water distribution pipeline. The post-eruption government policy was to reorganize the Merapi area and designate several areas (villages) to become Disaster-Prone Areas (Kawasan Rawan Bencana/KRB) and Directly Affected Areas (Area Terdampak Langsung). Establishing inter-village cooperation in water management at Merapi KRB is inseparable from this location’s local wisdom and social institutions. Local wisdom and social institutions become the reinforcement and strength of cooperation between villages amid various regulatory challenges and formal structures from regional and central governments. This is interesting because a dynamic interplay exists between local wisdom, social institutions, and state legal structures that contribute to forming new institutions for managing water resources in disaster-prone areas.