Disaster capitalism in Merapi post-2010 eruption: Tracing the co-optation footprints of the disaster risk reduction agenda

Abstract

This paper examines how the dynamics of disaster capitalism that emerged after the 2010 Mount Merapi eruption diverted disaster risk reduction (DRR) policies and generated disaster risk creation (DRC). Field observations, semi-structured interviews, and literature reviews were conducted across three districts: Sleman, Magelang, and Klaten. These districts share Mount Merapi’s upstream area and face common risks from lahar floods and river sedimentation; however, their governance contexts differ. Sleman, part of Yogyakarta Special Province under a provincial subnational monarchy led by a sultan as governor, contrasts with Klaten and Magelang, which are governed by directly elected governors in Central Java Province. While all three districts allow the utilization of Merapi’s sand resources for both economic and risk reduction purposes, DRR policies remain largely dominated by central government interventions due to Mount Merapi’s status as a national park. Applying a hybrid framework of political ecology and disaster capitalism, the findings reveal that policies intended to mitigate lahar flood risks have unintentionally encouraged extensive sand mining in the Merapi uplands, resulting in new socio-environmental vulnerabilities. Empirical evidence across the three districts demonstrates disaster capitalism footprints through widespread sand exploitation, unequal sand wealth distribution, problematic sabo dam management, vertical-horizontal governance conflicts, and fatalities linked to mining activities. This study finds that recovery processes prioritized economic extraction over genuine risk reduction, thereby marginalizing local communities and reinforcing existing inequalities. Overall, disaster capitalism has predominantly supplanted the DRR agenda associated with lahar risk, transforming it into a DRC mechanism that produces fatalities and deepens inequalities while serving the interests of specific groups and corporate actors.