The Sinking and Shifting of the Indonesian Capital

With Indonesian Independence Day having just passed on August 17, this year was the first year that the Indonesian president celebrated it in the new capital city of Nusantara. Before Nusantara, the capital has always been Jakarta. Aside from being the most populated city in Indonesia, Jakarta is also one of the fastest sinking cities in the world. Many estimate that one-third of the city will be underwater by 2050, less than 30 years from now.

The rapid sinking of Jakarta was the main reason for the relocation of Indonesia’s capital. The reasons for Jakarta’s sinking are a combination of man-made issues as well as natural factors. For one, Jakarta is located on low swampy land with many bodies of water running through and around it. The Java Sea on the northern side of the city as well as Jakarta’s 13 rivers going through it mean that it can be especially vulnerable to flooding. Jakarta is especially susceptible to flooding during the monsoon season between October and March, the height being January through February, which bring an average of 300 mm of rain. Not only do the rivers contribute to the flooding, but also the Java Sea on the northern coast of Jakarta continues to rise because of climate change. Flooding in Jakarta can cause an average of $300 million in damages each year.

The flooding will only continue to worsen as the city continues to sink. Parts of North Jakarta sink 25 cm every year. North Jakarta may be the worst off, but West Jakarta sinks at 15 cm per year, and East Jakarta 10cm. The sinking is made worse by the citywide practice of getting water from underground. Jakarta can only provide around 40% of the water needed for its inhabitants through piped water, partially because of pollution of water sources, and partially because of lack of infrastructure to pump the water through pipes. Because of this, people have to extract the water from under the ground, sometimes drilling hundreds of meters down. After the water is taken from beneath the soil, it causes the ground to sink more. Sometimes, the soil can sink the buildings with it. 

There are different proposals as to how Jakarta’s sinking could be helped. The government of Jakarta hopes to lessen the amount of drilling for groundwater by making sure that anyone who is doing it legally with a license. Another proposal was the proposal of the Great Garuda sea wall. The sea wall would have been 25 miles long and composed of 17 artificial islands along Jakarta Bay. However, this project which was gotten rid of in 2017 had multiple issue. For one it would have hurt thousands of fishers in Jakarta. Sea walls can also have negative impacts on marine environments as well. Since they would reflect some of the waves back into the ocean they could hurt sea life as well as increase erosion in front of the wall. 

Since Jakarta is still sinking, the government decided they had to move the capital. They started work on Nusantara in 2022 and probably won’t be done until 2045. They hope that this city will be sustainable and net zero by 2045. Moving the capital would help with population density in Jakarta, however, building this new city will have an impact on the environment. The initial phases started with clearing 138,800 acres for government buildings, and eventually, the city will encompass 990 square miles. 

Overall the measures being taken to help the environmental issues in Jakarta will probably help, although they might cause different issues. Other measures are being taken to help the environment in Jakarta such as the government working with the C40 organization and introducing electric buses for public transport. When the sea wall project was canceled, they instead wanted to start building coastal embankments in North Jakarta.