Samarinda City, one of CRIC project’s 10 pilot cities has taken a significant step forward in its efforts to adapt to climate change by completing the Climate Action Plan (CAP) development Training for Adaptation on October 17 to 18, 2023.

This training, which follows the completion of the mitigation training in 2022, has equipped the Samarinda City Working Group or Pokja with the knowledge and skills they need to develop and implement a comprehensive and effective CAP.

The training was attended by approximately 20-30 people from the working group, 3 representatives from the CCROM team, and from the CAP writing team, facilitated by the Kalimantan region field officer.

There are various key achievements and outcomes of the training, including completing the tagging of climate action-related programmes in alignment with the Samarinda City Strategic Plan (Renstra). This will help ensure that the CAP is aligned with the city’s overall development goals.

Another outcome is the completion of a vulnerability analysis of the city, identifying several urban villages with high potential impacts from climate change that need adaptive action. This will be utilised to prioritise adaptation measures in the city’s CAP.

The training also identified three disaster urgencies in Samarinda city, which comprises of flooding, landslides and drought. Mr. Basuni from the city’s environmental agency or DLH provided input on the results of the Urgency analysis, which will be verified and confirmed with the Disaster Management Agency (BPBD). The BPBD was also preparing data for landslides at the time of the training.

The completion of the climate action plan training for adaptation is a significant milestone in Samarinda city’s journey to becoming a more resilient city and now the working group or Pokja understands their role in implementing the CAP once it is completed, and designing programmes for high-impact areas. Mr. Kumbawan Wibisono, S.Pt, M.Si., from the Samarinda City Food Security and Agricultural Office and member of the Pokja further emphasised that the working group can play a key role in implementing programmes in accordance with the locations that should be prioritised, to reduce social and economic issues in these areas of the city, and support them to be climate resilient and inclusive.

Finally, as discussed in the training, the CAP will also pay attention to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3 on Good Health and Well-being, SDG 8 on Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 9 on Industry, Innovation and infrastructure, SDG 11 on Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG 13 on Climate Action, and SDG 16 on Peace, Justice and Resilient Institutions. Development, improvement, structuring and quality enhancement of these SDGs and its indicators are expected to increase the adaptive capacity of Samarinda city to climate change.

Contributor: Kesuma Yanti, Field Officer for Kalimantan Region, CRIC Project