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Indonesia Plans to Move Its Capital Out of Jakarta, a City That's Sinking

posted by mrpg on Tuesday April 30 2019, @09:30AM   Printer-friendly
from the backup dept.

"exec" writes:

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

[...] After a cabinet meeting on Monday, planning minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said President Joko Widodo has decided to move the capital out of Indonesia's main island, Java. [...] "The idea to move the capital city appeared long ago. ... But it has never been decided or discussed in a planned and mature manner," Widodo said before the meeting, according to The Associated Press. Jakarta is plagued by massive challenges. As the BBC has reported, it's the fastest-sinking city in the world, with almost half of its area below sea level. "If we look at our models, by 2050 about 95% of North Jakarta will be submerged," Heri Andreas, an expert in Jakarta's land subsidence at the Bandung Institute of Technology, told the broadcaster.

-- submitted from IRC

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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by c0lo on Tuesday April 30 2019, @12:18PM (3 children)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday April 30 2019, @12:18PM (#836642) Journal

    Learn to swim, see you down in Depok Bay

    Stop drinking fresh water [theaseanpost.com]

    In severe cases of sinking land, the main cause is over-extraction of groundwater resources for everyday use. In the case of Jakarta, its surface water resources can’t be treated for consumption as they are too contaminated. Lack of proper and sufficient wastewater treatment, as well as waste management means that much of the megacity’s liquid and solid wastes are dumped into the 13 rivers running through it.
    ...
    However, only 35 percent of Jakarta’s annual water needs of up to 1.3 billion litres is served by the water utility company. The rest is mostly served by privately drilled wells to tap the aquifer. In 2016, there were as many as 4,720 wells in Jakarta, up 5.5 percent from the previous year.

    Under normal conditions, the aquifer will be naturally recharged. However, the rate of groundwater recharge in Jakarta is too slow when compared to the rate of groundwater extraction. This is most probably due to the paving, development of built up areas, as well as deforestation.
    ...
    The issue of sinking coastal megacities in Southeast Asia is not the domain of Jakarta alone. Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok are also facing a similar situation, albeit at a slower rate. Before lives are lost, and before climate change impacts amplify the situation, the trifactor of water resource management, wastewater treatment and urban planning has to be addressed, not only through policy, but also enforcement, practice and education. For Jakartans though, the situation looks bleak as their city continues to sink.

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
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  • (Score: 4, Funny) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday April 30 2019, @01:30PM (2 children)

    by Phoenix666 (552) on Tuesday April 30 2019, @01:30PM (#836665) Journal

    Actually, placing your capital city where the earth will eventually swallow it might be a feature, not a bug.

    --
    Washington DC delenda est.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 30 2019, @03:59PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 30 2019, @03:59PM (#836729)

      We should have seen it coming when the civil engineering curriculum expanded into urban planning and planned obsoleteness strategies such as planting seasonal trees instead of evergreens became an accepted practice.

    • (Score: 1) by zoward on Tuesday April 30 2019, @05:32PM

      by zoward (4734) on Tuesday April 30 2019, @05:32PM (#836777)

      Your sig makes this *really* funny...