Rising seas, land subsidence put Jakarta at critical risk: minister

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono has warned that Jakarta remains Indonesia's most vulnerable region to rising sea levels and catastrophic land subsidence.

"Jakarta is the area hardest hit by rising sea levels, compounded by land subsidence from excessive groundwater extraction and the relentless burden of urban development,” Yudhoyono told reporters following a national policy dialogue on sea level rise in Jakarta on Monday.

To counter this existential threat, the minister outlined an aggressive strategy focused on strict spatial planning and stabilizing water management from upstream to downstream zones.

Yudhoyono stressed that spatial planning regulations must be rigidly enforced to prevent zoning violations and to protect clean water reservoirs for both household and industrial use.

Optimizing water resource management, he added, will significantly lower the risk of tidal flooding in downstream areas and shield coastal communities from encroaching waters.

He warned that escalating tidal floods threaten to devastate not only residential coastal neighborhoods but also vital industrial zones that serve as engine rooms for the national economy.

To address the long-term crisis, the government is planning a mega-infrastructure project dubbed the "Giant Sea Wall" along the northern coast of Java.

The massive seawall is projected to span 500 to 700 kilometers, requiring an estimated investment of $80 billion over a 15- to 20-year construction timeline.

While this decades-long project remains the ultimate blueprint for Java's northern coast, the government is simultaneously deploying short-term, ecologically driven mitigation strategies.

These include intensive mangrove rehabilitation to serve as immediate natural barriers protecting both local communities and the marine environment.

"Ultimately, our primary mandate is to protect the people, as the ripple effects of this crisis are far-reaching," Yudhoyono said.

"If a dam breaches, we can always rebuild and repair it. But we must carefully consider whether simply patching up infrastructure is enough to genuinely safeguard our citizens and secure their future livelihoods."

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Translator: M. Baqir Idrus Alatas, Yashinta Difa

Editor: Aditya Eko Sigit Wicaksono

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