Achievements

Promoting countermeasures against land subsidence in Jakarta, wherein 60% of the land is below sea level

# Public Sector # Water Supply # Land conservation # Groundwater # Geology and Foundation # Coastal and Ocean # Asia # South East Asia # Disaster Risk Management # Flood Control # Urban Drainage # Non-revenue Water

Studying land subsidence in Jakarta

As the capital of Indonesia, Jakarta has a population of more than 10 million people (Central Statistical Agency, Indonesia in 2015) and is rapidly developing as an economic and political center. Meanwhile, Jakarta has been experiencing significant land subsidence mostly caused by over-abstraction of the groundwater with the recent economic growth and increase in population density in the capital. It is especially remarkable within the lowlands along the northern area which is the center of economic activities, and in some areas, damage caused by seawater flooding has been more frequently observed. Land subsidence, which is more than 4 m at maximum and rarely seen in the world, has been observed in the northern area. It occurs in a wide area including the center of Jakarta, and also has a great impact on the economy.

Mapping land subsidence in Jakarta

Institutional development and formulation of an action plan to mitigate land subsidence effectively

Countermeasures against land subsidence include not only monitoring but also various measures such as restrictions on groundwater abstraction, development of alternative water sources, and promotion of adaptation measures. Therefore, it is essential to take the following steps in order to establish a system in which related government organizations cooperatively promote these countermeasures under one Action Plan:

1) Propose effective mitigation measures against land subsidence;
2) Investigate risks of land subsidence, and estimate the costs of adaptation measures;
3) Raise awareness among stakeholders about land subsidence and its countermeasures; and
4) Promote activities related to implementing countermeasures.

Action plan on land subsidence mitigation

Contributing to climate change risk reduction through land subsidence countermeasures

In the Project, countermeasures to mitigate land subsidence phenomenon are referred to as “mitigation measures”, while the countermeasures against disasters induced by land subsidence such as floods and high tides are referred to as “adaptation measures”. Since the Project can contribute to risk reduction of disaster induced by climate change such as seawater rise or torrential rainfall, this Project can also provide solutions for climate change. In this Project, it is a key challenge to provide alternative water resources, but we believe it can contribute to safe and sustainable water use.

Overtopping by high tide in Jakarta's coastal area

Project Details

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