BNPB is the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management (Indonesian: Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana). It was established in 2008 to replace the National Disaster Management Coordinating Board (Badan Koordinasi Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana or Bakornas PB) that was established in 1979 to replace the Advisory Board for Natural Disaster. BNPB is directly responsible to the president and the chairman is directly appointed by the president.
Amongst other things, the Board issues regular information about the status of alerts for selected Indonesian volcanoes. In issuing these information bulletins, the Board draws on the advice of the Centre for Volcanology and Disaster Hazard Mitigation (often known as PVMBG from the Indonesian name for the Centre, Pusat Vulkanology dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi). These bulletins are intended to warn local residents of likely threats and also help in planning for emergency response activities. The alerts are also useful for visitors who may be planning trips to these sites. As of September 2011, five volcanoes were included on the Level III "Alert" (Indonesian: Siaga) list and 12 were on the Level II "Vigilant" (Indonesian: Waspada) list The list of volcanoes for which warnings were outstanding as at September 2011 included the following:
Level III: Alert status
- Mt Lokon, Sulawesi
- Mt Ibu, Halmahera Island
- Mt Karangetang to the north of Sulawesi
- Mt Papandayan in West Java
- Mt Soputan in Sulawesi
Level II: Vigilant status
The well-known tourist site of Mount Bromo remained under review having been placed on the lower Level II "Vigilant" list as of 13 June 2011. Late in 2010 the Mt Bromo region had been placed on the highest Level IV "Warning" (Indonesian: Awas) but was later downgraded to Level III.
A useful National Disaster Plan for Indonesia 2010-2014 is available at the BNPB website.
The Board has noted that financial support for disaster responses in Indonesia remains relatively limited. A spokesperson for the board observed that a sum of only Rp 4 trillion (around $US 470 million) had been allocated to support disaster relief in Indonesia during 2011.
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