Disaster mitigation governance increasingly requires attention to adaptive capacity as a process developed through interaction among actors rather than as a fixed set of resources or institutional attributes. In multihazard settings such as Mamuju Regency, West Sulawesi, this perspective helps explain how actors reorganise in response to disruption. This study examined how collective action contributed to adaptive capacity in local disaster mitigation governance in Mamuju Regency. This interpretive qualitative case study included 35 participants from disaster management agencies, local government institutions, volunteer organisations, and civil society. Data were generated through in-depth interviews, multistakeholder focus group discussions (FGDs), and institutional documents and analysed using thematic coding, interpretive reconstruction, and process tracing. Four interconnected mechanisms were identified: trust formation, adaptive coordination, social learning, and resource mobilisation. Their effects were visible in the reorganisation of communication and coordination during disruption. Adaptive capacity developed unevenly: absorptive capacity was most clearly observed, anticipatory capacity remained emerging, and transformative capacity was developing and conditional on the institutionalisation of learning and collaborative practices. Collective action did not automatically generate adaptive capacity; its contribution depended on whether interaction produced observable and sustained changes in preparedness, learning, coordination, and institutional adjustment. Contribution: The study provides a process-based explanation linking structural risk conditions, crisis-triggered interaction, collective-action mechanisms, adaptive outcomes, differentiated adaptive capacity, and governance adjustment.
Rwanda faces substantial and growing challenges from flood impacts in both rural and urban areas. This review examines riverine flood events and flood risk management (FRM) in Rwanda, identifying key drivers, institutional developments and persistent gaps. Frequent flooding, which has affected more than 2 million people, is primarily driven by steep topography and intense rainfall, compounded by rapid urbanisation, deforestation and unregulated mining activities. Based on a systematic review of 19 stakeholder reports and 41 peer-reviewed research articles, the study highlights critical shortcomings in current FRM practices, including fragmented data management, the absence of dedicated FRM legislation and limited technical capacity at sub-national levels. Although existing interventions increasingly incorporate nature-based solutions such as terracing and reforestation, their effectiveness is often constrained by governance structures that follow administrative rather than hydrological boundaries. To support Rwanda’s Vision 2050, the review advocates a shift from reactive disaster response towards proactive, catchment-based flood governance. Contribution: Key recommendations include the establishment of technically specialised catchment-level institutions, the deployment of automated telemetry-enabled hydro-meteorological monitoring systems and the expansion of integrated green-grey infrastructure. Collectively, these measures aim to establish a robust, multi-level FRM framework capable of reducing vulnerability under escalating climate risks.
In late 2025, catastrophic floods and landslides struck Sumatra, Indonesia, causing widespread destruction and nearly 1200 fatalities. Children were among the most severely affected, experiencing acute health problems, disruptions in essential healthcare services and significant psychosocial distress. This essay employs an evidence-informed analytical approach, integrating contemporaneous official reports, available scientific literature, international disaster risk reduction (DRR) frameworks, Emergency Medical Team (EMT) standards and the authors’ direct field experience during the disaster response. The disaster is examined across the disaster management cycle, including prevention, mitigation, preparedness, emergency response and recovery, to identify gaps between established child-centred disaster management principles and their practical implementation. The analysis demonstrates that, despite national policies and international guidance, implementation was inconsistent. Many children experienced preventable illnesses, interruptions in chronic medical care, inadequate continuity of paediatric healthcare and unmet psychosocial needs because of coordination challenges, limited child-focused preparedness and fragmented service delivery. The findings highlight that integrating child-centred DRR principles with specialised paediatric emergency training, strengthened EMT deployment, continuity of essential child health services, coordinated mental health support and multisectoral collaboration can improve disaster preparedness and emergency response. The lessons learned provide practical guidance for strengthening child-centred DRR, improving emergency response systems and informing policy development that better integrates child protection and paediatric healthcare into all phases of disaster management.
This study examined the role of Provincial or Regional Agency for Disaster (P|RAD) as budget agents in response to natural hazards and their reluctance to encourage the wise spending of disaster expenditures. This research employed qualitative critical analysis, drawing on regulatory dynamics and axiomatic framework theories. Fifteen respondents from Indonesia participated. The study highlights the Government of Indonesia’s (GoI) regulatory dynamic inconsistencies, which contribute to reluctance to spend disaster budgets. It demonstrated that budget agents engage in symbolic compliance (performativity) because of partial regulatory structures under uncertain recovery. They consequently adhere to the minimax (minimise the maximum) expected-utility axiom, but tension between compliance and fear of legal sanctions prevents disaster spending. It was found that the budget agents’ commitment is low because of regulatory complexity, sustainability needs, cost-control policies, and organisational adaptiveness. It is recommended that disaster budget agents be revitalised and restructured within regulatory ecosystems to achieve adaptability and accountability. Contribution: This article advances disaster budgeting by introducing regulatory dynamic inconsistency to explain budget agents’ reluctance to distribute funds. It contributes to behavioural public finance by applying axiomatic frameworks to reveal how regulatory ambiguity, overlapping regimes and fear of fraud lead to absentee decision-making and agents’ performativity. In practice, the study recommends revitalising the Central GoI National Boards for Disaster and P|RAD, establishing standardised cost mechanisms, simplifying regulations and enhancing social collaboration to improve the effectiveness of disaster response.
