Reconstructing the Role of Government in Handling Chronic Flooding in Ten Villages in Sayung Subdistrict, Demak: A Social and Environmental Sukimin, A Heru Nuswanto, Raka Wahyu Ananda
Universitas Semarang
Abstract
Tidal flooding (rob) that has persistently affected ten villages in Sayung District, Demak Regency, has become a chronic problem requiring urgent government intervention. This phenomenon is not merely a natural event caused by rising sea levels but also the result of spatial planning inequality, land subsidence, and weak environmental governance. This study aims to reconstruct the government^s role in addressing the rob disaster through the lens of social and environmental justice. The research employs a socio-legal method, examining the relationship between legal norms (das sollen) and social realities (das sein) within the affected coastal communities. Findings reveal a legal vacuum in Indonesia^s Law No. 24 of 2007 on Disaster Management, as it does not explicitly recognize tidal flooding as a form of natural disaster. Consequently, government responses remain partial, reactive, and unsustainable. Although village governments have advocated for their citizens, limited legal and fiscal authority constrains effective action. The reconstruction of the government^s role is therefore essential through legal reform, local regulations on rob mitigation, and stronger community participation in policy formulation. By applying principles of social and environmental justice, rob management can become fairer, more inclusive, and sustainable, serving as a national policy model for coastal disaster governance in Indonesia.
Keywords: Keywords: government role reconstruction, tidal flooding, social justice, environmental justice, Sayung District
Topic: Governance, Policy, and Education of Coastal Area
