This presentation surveys a series of influential studies by scientists affiliated with Lapindo Brantas, identifying a pattern of spreading misleading information about (1) what first triggered the Lapindo mudflow and (2) the mudflow’s social and ecological effects. These studies have been influential in shaping government responses to the disaster, from investigations to disaster management operations. And by promoting a narrative that shields Lapindo Brantas from responsibility, these studies also have undermined efforts by mudflow victims to receive justice and prevent unsafe energy mining in the future. Despite glaring flaws in many of these studies, many which will be outlined in this presentation, professional journals continue to publish these scientists’ reports, which raises broader questions about power and ethics within scientific institutions. I will conclude by asking whether it might be possible to decolonize Lapindo science, and consider what inquiry about geological, environmental, and human systems might look like outside of the hierarchies of power that often permeate mainstream global science. By paying closer attention to knowledge gathering activities of victims, residents, activists, and others who have touched by the disaster, alternative models of decolonized science might emerge to provide more accurate and nuanced information about disasters. Beyond advancing safety, equity, and resiliency among communities affected by the mudflow, these local scientific practices might provide lessons that could help vulnerable populations facing hazards throughout the world.

DISCUSSANT
Dr. Judith E. Bosnak (Leiden University, the Netherlands)

MODERATOR
Dr. phil. Anton Novenanto (Universitas Brawijaya, Indonesia)