November 15, 2011
- The Java Reconstruction Fund (JRF) continues to make significant contributions to the recovery of Java from the earthquakes and tsunami of 2006. JRF projects showcase strong results, reaching housing, infrastructure and livelihoods targets on time and with high quality.
- This year two of JRF livelihood projects, implemented by International Organization for Migration (IOM) and dan Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) closed with impressive results. More than 15,000 micro, small and medium enterprises in 42 villages in Yogyakarta and Central Java provinces were assisted through these projects.
- The livelihood projects which received a grant support of US$17.2 million not only successfully rebuilt businesses affected by the 2006 earthquake, but also enhanced the recovery of livelihoods by promoting the growth of new micro and small enterprises, particularly among women. This is strongly being showcased with more than 50 percent of the projects beneficiaries being women.
- The Community-based Settlement Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Project (CSSRP or locally known as Rekompak) also showcase similar results. The project which received grant support of US$75.12 million, has built more than 15,000 earthquake resistant core houses in Central Java, Yogyakarta and West Java. The occupancy rate for these houses is up to 99 percent.
- Rekompak also completed over 265 Community Settlement Plans at village level. The CSP process was used to encourage greater involvement of communities in rebuilding their own homes and villages, including in preparing themselves for future and/or potential disasters. This process is currently being replicated by local governments through their own funding. Through the CSP process, Rekompak also built hundreds of community infrastructures, such as bridges, roads, irrigation channels and drainage systems.
- The five projects in the JRF portfolio were in their final phase when the Merapi eruptions occurred in October of 2010. Based on the decision of the Steering Committee (JRF decision making body), JRF operation was immediately extended to December 2012 from the previous December 2011.
- Shortly thereafter, the Steering Committee also decided to allocate the remaining available grant of US$3.5 million for the Rekompak project. The grant will be used to address housing and infrastructure needs after the disaster. This amount was the government’s first international support toward reconstruction.
- The additional grant is being utilized to develop community settlement planning in 88 villages, of which 43 are actually villages that have never received assistance from Rekompak. By June 2012, Rekompak is expected to have completed 250 earthquake resistant permanent houses under the JRF funding.
About JRF
The JRF is coordinated by the Government of Indonesia through Bappenas, to support the recovery efforts of Central Java, Yogyakarta and West Java after the 2006 earthquake and tsunami. This mandate has recently been expanded to also cover areas affected by the Merapi eruptions. The overall grant funds from seven donors pooled through the JRF is amounting to US$94.1 million. The World Bank serves as the trustee and the donors include the European Union, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the Asian Development Bank, Canada, Denmark and Finland.
