Hi! I hope you guys had an awesome week so far (: Welcome to the first series of posts where I will discuss the government’s reasons to relocate the capital from Jakarta.
It is not a secret that Jakarta is sinking.
Yes, it is built on a swamp with unstable soil and is surrounded by 13 rivers .
No, those are not the main reasons why Jakarta is sinking.
According to Abidin et al., ( 2011 ), over-extraction of groundwater and changing land use for urban development purposes are the dominant drivers of land subsidence. This megacity is constantly under pressure to fulfil the ever-increasing water demand due to the increasing economic activities and population growth. Ali ( 2011 ) reported that this resulted in 64% of the water demand being fulfilled by groundwater extraction.
Land subsidence leads to other environmental problems, such as flooding, which could also halt daily socio-economic activities. The after-effect of the flood further causes inundation of the spaces and infrastructure, seawater intrusion, and other environmental degradation problems.
This problem stems from a lack of proper urban planning and precautionary measures to prevent these urban challenges like floods from happening.
With all these irreversible damages and problems, should the government relocate the capital?
If the answer is no, it could be because many of the activities are already established in Jakarta and it would be harder for them to continue their activities if they start with a clean slate.
Also, the government should come up with strategies to prevent Jakarta from sinking further. Perhaps, they could implement mitigation measures to prevent inundation and lessen the severity of the flood. They could also limit the number of new settlers that come to Jakarta to suppress the population growth and rate of urbanisation. They could have enforced a stricter measure regarding the over-exploitation of groundwater too.
Yet, I personally believe that these strategies might not be sustainable and effective in the long run as capitals need to be constantly pumped to maintain the infrastructure for the regulatory officers.
If the answer is yes, it could be because the problems in Jakarta are too complex and irreversible.
The government should make sure that there is proper planning of the infrastructure, especially water infrastructure, to ensure that the same urban problems will not happen again.
However, looking at the current state of awareness of how important urban planning is in Indonesia, I would question the level of expertise and their ability to foresee the environmental urban problems that can happen to the new capital in the future.
Those are my opinions on the considerations of whether the government should relocate the capital or not.
Well, that’s all for today! Choose which “side” you are on, red or blue, and collect the puzzle pieces ( not building blocks ) every week to see the bigger picture in the end!
Until my next post <3
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References :
Abidin, H.Z., Andreas, H., Deguchi, T., Fukuda, Y., Gumilar, I., & Pohan, Y.E., (2011). Land subsidence of Jakarta (Indonesia) and its relation with urban development, 7-16. DOI 10.1007/s11069-011-9866-9
Ali F (2011) Personal communication. Technical board member of Jakarta Water Supply Regulatory Body, Tuesday, 22 Feb
Hi Sherry, I’ve read your blog and it was suggested that the problems may be too complex and irreversible, hence the need for relocation of capital. However, I can’t help but wonder if that’s the easy way out for nations, instead of tackling the issue head-on. May I know your opinion on this?
Cheers
Yu Xun
Hi Yu Xun! Thank you for your question!
I totally agree with you. I believe that the relocation of the capital could be an easy way out. In a way, the government could be just “discarding” the current capital without solving the problems. And that is why I aim to understand more both sides of this issue in the series of posts that I will publish every week so I hope you can stay tuned (:
As for other nations, I personally feel like I have no say on this issue because I have not conducted extensive research on it but for the context Jakarta, relocation might be a feasible solution for Indonesia in the long run as Indonesia will definitely require a capital city that could handle administrative and economic tasks productively without being bogged down by these environmental issues. But again, it is too early for me to say so I hope we can explore together in this journey and by the last post, you can see my take on this issue! Cheers (:
Hi Sherry,
Yu Xun’s point is excellent – clear, concise and challenging. Your reply is great too.
jc
Wow Sherry, the idea of having us readers collecting blocks is so innovative.
Personally, for me I would choose the red tile. I think the problems that are faced here would be replicated if they simply moved to Borneo. This is as they are simply ignoring the root problem and moving elsewhere. I don’t have much knowledge on the geography of Indonesia but as you mentioned the 13 rivers that surrounds Jakarta. May I ask what is the cause of their immense reliance on groundwater extraction?
Hi Li Zhe! Glad to see you here again (: Also, I totally agree with what you said!
As for your question, the reliance on groundwater extraction is due to the fact that the water supply sources that are provided by Jakarta’s private water companies ( like Palyja and Aetra ) are often unreliable and not affordable. The costly water prices are a major problems for the locals, particularly the ones from the low-income bracket which constitutes the highest proportion of the poeple in Jakarta. Other than that, it is more convenient for the residents to extract groundwater as all they need to do is to buy a pump and extract it. They do not even need to pay for water taxes as it is oftentimes unregulated. Lastly, I doubt that Jakarta has sufficient capital to install water treatment plants that could convert the water from the rivers to potable and drinkable water.
These are the reasons why most locals still rely on the groundwater for their clean water sources.
See you next week <3