BNPB manages Rp5.7 trillion as Indonesia weighs disaster risks

Labuan Bajo — Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) is managing about Rp5.7 trillion in combined regular and ready-to-use disaster funds in 2026, even as critics warn that much of the money remains geared toward emergency response rather than long-term mitigation.

BNPB principal secretary Rustian detailed the agency’s budget at a press briefing on Tuesday, 8 September 2026, saying BNPB has a regular budget of around Rp1.08 trillion this year alongside Rp4.62 trillion in ready-to-use contingency funds. According to Asia News Network, this brings BNPB’s available funding to roughly Rp5.7 trillion, with the agency simultaneously processing a proposal to the Finance Ministry for an additional Rp5.67 trillion in emergency funds.

The agency’s 2026 allocation has been politically contentious. Earlier in the year, BNPB chief Lt. Gen. Suharyanto told lawmakers that the core budget ceiling for 2026 had been set at around Rp491 billion, roughly 75 percent below the Rp2.01 trillion outlook for 2025. Asia News Network and other outlets reported that the regular allocation was later raised to about Rp1.05 trillion, topped up by around Rp26.88 billion for housing rehabilitation and reconstruction, lifting the regular budget to roughly Rp1.08 trillion.

Asia News Network’s analysis noted that from 2022 to 2025 BNPB’s annual budget ceilings ranged between about Rp4 trillion and Rp5 trillion, with a large share classified as ready-to-use emergency funds rather than dedicated mitigation spending. Public policy expert Trubus Hardiansyah of Trisakti University argued that BNPB’s budget is modest compared with large social programmes, such as the national free nutritious meals initiative, while climate campaigner Iqbal Damanik of Greenpeace Indonesia said the emphasis on contingency funds reflects a government approach focused on responding after disasters occur rather than reducing exposure beforehand.

Those criticisms underline that BNPB’s headline Rp5.7 trillion total cannot be viewed as a pure mitigation budget, because Rp4.62 trillion is held as ready-to-use emergency funding whose primary role is to finance response once disasters strike. BNPB’s own figures show the scale of that challenge. At the 8 September briefing, Rustian said the agency had recorded 1,730 disaster events across Indonesia between 1 January and 7 September 2026, dominated by hydrometeorological hazards such as floods and forest and land fires, as well as geological disasters.

Media reports citing BNPB data state that the 1,730 events affected more than 111,000 homes nationwide, with 29,143 houses severely damaged, 24,521 moderately damaged and 57,869 lightly damaged. Separate coverage based on BNPB tallies through 9 September 2026 put the number of disaster events at 1,764, with 397 fatalities, 13 missing persons, and more than 4.4 million people displaced or otherwise affected, highlighting how quickly the national statistics can rise.

BNPB deputy for prevention Abdul Muhari has said that simultaneous emergencies — including widespread forest and land fires — are placing much of the agency’s manpower in the field, though he stressed that BNPB aims to avoid being overwhelmed as new incidents occur. The briefings did not specify the number of personnel deployed or provide detailed indicators such as average response times, equipment inventories or local agency capacities.

East Nusa Tenggara’s local test of preparedness

East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), home to Komodo National Park and Flores, has faced several overlapping hazards in early 2026. The national disaster tally includes volcanic activity, floods, landslides and earthquakes affecting provinces across the archipelago, with NTT among the regions hit by recent geological and hydrometeorological events.

A local account from Flores Timur district illustrates how these pressures translate at ground level. Flores Timur’s disaster management agency (BPBD) recorded at least five formal disaster-emergency declarations in the early part of 2026, according to BPBD head Ariston Tokan. He told public broadcaster RRI that the emergencies covered the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki, extreme weather, cold-lahar flooding, social conflict and an earthquake, underscoring the diversity of risks faced by communities in eastern Flores.

Ariston said that the frequency of emergencies means residents need stronger preparedness and a better understanding of local hazards, emphasizing that people must be able to interpret and act on early warnings issued by authorities. His comments echo the national debate over how much of Indonesia’s disaster spending is directed to prevention — such as strengthening buildings, maintaining equipment and training local responders — rather than solely to post-disaster relief.

While BNPB’s contingency funds can be deployed when crises escalate, district-level agencies like BPBD Flores Timur are responsible for the first hours of response, often before national support arrives. Analysts argue that ensuring adequate local staffing, evacuation routes, shelters and monitoring systems is essential if Indonesia is to shift from a predominantly reactive model to one that invests more heavily in mitigation and preparedness.

President Prabowo Subianto acknowledged the need for higher mitigation spending during a limited virtual meeting on 8 September 2026. According to national radio reports, he cited Indonesia’s exposure to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and said the government should significantly increase disaster-mitigation allocations in future budgets.

Sources

• Asia News Network
• RRI (BNPB Catat 1.730 Kejadian Bencana hingga 7 September 2026)
• VIVA.co.id
• Media Indonesia
• Inilah.com
• Indonesian Updates
• IDN Times
• The Jakarta Post
• Batam News Asia