Bridging Aceh’s disaster risk reduction strategies within the 2005 Aceh Peace Agreement (Helsinki MoU) Agendas

Abstract

The tsunami that occurred on December 26, 2004, devastated and damaged Aceh’s coastal area. Several months after the event, the Aceh peace agreement was signed between the Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, GAM) and the Government of Indonesia (GoI) in 2005. This study aims to analyze the integration of disaster risk reduction strategies within the 2005 Helsinki MoU agendas. By employing multi-dimensional perspectives, this study highlights the development process of the Aceh DRR strategies within the 2005 Aceh peace agreement agenda. The data was collected and analyzed by reviewing some of the relevant documents. This study also included interviews with the key persons involved during the conflict and DRR actors. The result shows that the disaster and the 2005 Helsinki MoU have brought Aceh to be more conducive in implementing development within important sectors such as infrastructure, spatial planning, education, and the environment and building initiatives at the community level, both formal and informal. It should be noted that the result indicates that DRR strategies had no direct relation to the strategic issues as implemented of the 2005 Helsinki MoU.