A FLOOD CONTROL DASHBOARD FOR JAKARTA
NEWS
Jurjen Wagemaker has been a part of Flood Control 2015 since the very beginning. Recently he moved to Jakarta as a representative of HKV in South East Asia. For Flood Control 2015 this is another great opportunity to gauge the international interest in our innovative approaches. His conclusion: Indonesia is ready for a modern approach to operational flood information systems. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Indonesia uses the Flood Control Dashboard even before we do in The Netherlands”.
Flood Control Dashboard
One of the more visible innovations emerging from the Flood Control 2015 programme is that of the Flood Control Dashboard – a concept to boil down all relevant information on flood risks to its essence. Jurjen Wagemaker is one of its strongest champions. “The concept of the Dashboard is no rocket science”, he explains. “On the contrary, its strength is that it puts forward two decisive conditions for successful research and development. One, it automatically keeps the focus on the needs of the user and two, its transparent structure invites others to contribute, at the exactly the right place and time."
The Dashboard functions therefore both as window for smart flood control innovations as well as a means to cooperate. “The Dashboard now enables us to communicate and share resources more efficiently. Not only during high water, but interestingly enough the Dashboard already improves communication and sharing of information during the ‘preparation phase’”, Wagemaker adds. “Consider this: Organizations worldwide are known to be reluctant to share their flood information. And I understand that. But what do we see happening now? Organizations in Jakarta recognize the Dashboard as a platform in which they voluntarily offer to share their information to be used by third parties, in all transparency! The Dashboard explicates and credits the organizations that offer data, knowledge or information systems and with this, it functions as a ‘glue’ between existing and proposed initiatives.”
From Holland to Indonesia
Flood Control 2015 is a Dutch initiative, but the goal is to achieve international cooperation with all direct stakeholders. The Netherlands and Indonesia have recently renewed their cooperation in water management. An agreement for joint investments in R&D formed a good basis for further development of the Dashboard concept. “HKV consultants, Royal Haskoning, Deltares and ITC took up the challenge to take the Dashboard to Jakarta”, says Wagemaker. “In the past few months we talked to many of the stakeholders and we gave a dozen of presentations on Flood Control 2015. Almost all of the people we spoke with want to connect to Flood Control 2015, one way or the other”.
When asked if the people in South East Asia are ready for high-tech information systems, Wagemaker is very clear. “If you think that Indonesia cannot handle high-tech solutions, think again. We are in the age of remote sensing techniques making images of land fertility in Egypt, where mobile phones are relieving poverty in the rural areas of Bangladesh, where even low-income households in Jakarta have access to mobile internet. And the people in so-called ‘developing countries’ are the front-runners. We are now considering the Smartphone as the main carrier for the Dashboard, just because it is so widely spread in Jakarta. I wouldn’t be surprised if Indonesia uses the Dashboard even before we do in the Netherlands.”
For more information on the Flood Control Dashboard please contact Jurjen Wagemaker in Jakarta, Indonesia or Astrid Janssen in The Netherlands.