Indonesia: The Giant Sea Wall and national disaster-risk reduction

Dicky Pelupessy Jakarta Post 18 Oct 14;

Initiated during the governorship of Fauzi Bowo, the construction of Jakarta’s Giant Sea Wall is getting under way. The project is part of the National Capital Integrated Coastal Development (NCICD) Master Plan that aims to enhance flood prevention and foster the urban development of Jakarta.

This is a mega-project and giant on every scale. It will involve the construction of a 32-kilometer sea wall spanning the distance from the city of Tangerang in the west of Jakarta to Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok Port.

The sea wall will consist of 17 artificial islets in the form of the iconic Garuda, Indonesia’s national symbol, and will include a number of large lagoons. The overall construction will cost Rp 600 trillion (US$49 billion) and is expected to be complete by 2030.

For the past week Indonesians have been exposed to the controversy surrounding the launch of the project. The ground-breaking ceremony was held on Oct. 9 and led by Coordinating Economic Minister Chairul Tanjung amid criticism from environmental groups and the admission by the Presidential Working Unit for the Supervision and Management of Development (UKP4) chief Kuntoro Mangkusubroto that he had never seen its integrated study.

The impression was therefore created that the government of outgoing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had rushed to launch the project before the end of his term.

On the one hand, the launch of the project is part of the legacy the Yudhoyono administration leaves to the incoming Joko “Jokowi” Widodo administration. On the other hand, it coincides with the fact that October is celebrated as disaster-risk reduction month, referring to the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction on Oct. 13. As an element of disaster-risk reduction, the project needs to be critically examined.

The project aims to protect Jakarta against floods and to boost the metropolitan development of Jakarta. Thus, if it is to be of practical use in reducing the risks of flooding in Jakarta, it is imperative that it tackles the causal factors of flooding in Jakarta.

It is quite clear that these factors are not merely land subsidence and sea-level rises. Apart from natural phenomena (such as monsoon rains) that can trigger flooding, the root causes of flooding in Jakarta — among many other things — are the deteriorating condition of the 13 rivers that dissect Jakarta and the Jakarta Bay area, poor land management and excessive groundwater extraction.

The Giant Sea Wall is, of course, a countermeasure that Jakarta needs to deal with the factors that Jakarta is prone to.

However, it is evident that protecting Jakarta from flooding needs not only measures taken offshore by constructing the sea wall but more importantly measures taken onshore (e.g. improving the condition of rivers, controlling and enforcing the law on groundwater extraction etc.).

On top of everything else, the construction of the Giant Sea Wall will be integrated with the new development of residential and business areas, transportation networks and amenities on its surface. This could potentially create distractions from the wall’s main function.

The goal of disaster-risk reduction effort is to reduce the susceptibility to disaster and potential losses in lives and the disruptions to the socio-economic and environmental assets of communities that follow the occurrence of a disaster. In itself, the Giant Sea Wall is a disaster-mitigation measure, thus, any future development on the surface of the sea wall should certainly not obstruct its flood-prevention functions.

As soon as he is inaugurated as president on Monday, Jokowi will inherit the Giant Sea Wall project from Yudhoyono. It is highly likely that the project can be better situated and managed by the new government. It needs to be situated on the basis that disaster-risk reduction is a nationwide agenda.

According to the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas), 62 percent of districts/cities in Indonesia are in the disaster-prone category. From 2004 to 2014 disasters in Indonesia caused losses worth Rp 162 trillion and drew down another Rp 102 trillion to fund relief efforts.

At Rp 600 trillion, the budget for the Jakarta Giant Sea Wall clearly outweighs the cost inflicted by disasters in the country in the last decade. Therefore it is not only Jakarta that needs such a disaster-mitigation measure, but also other disaster-prone regions.

Jakarta, unquestionably, is the capital and its economy and businesses are of vital importance to the whole country. Jakarta and its businesses and people must be protected, but so must other cities and regions in Indonesia.

It is fortunate that Jokowi’s vice president, Jusuf Kalla has quite extensive exposure and experience in dealing with disasters. Kalla was head of the National Disaster Management Coordination Board (Bakornas PB) up until the establishment of National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) in 2008, and currently has been head of the Indonesian Red Cross since 2009.

Therefore, we can expect that he will well understand the idea of preventing losses and saving lives.

It is hoped that Kalla will instill in the new government a greater interest and sensitivity toward national disaster-risk reduction beyond the Giant Sea Wall. Time will tell.

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The writer is former vice chair of the Indonesian National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction