Photo essay: Rising sea levels are sinking Indonesia's coastlines

The south-east Asian archipelago is one of the most vulnerable in the world to the effects of climate change

A view of a mangrove tree that survived in an area damaged by the 2004 tsunami in the Ujong Pancu area, Banda Aceh, Indonesia, 08 April 2023. The mangrove swamp bordering residential areas had suffered severe damage during the tsunami leaving only a few trees that survived. Rising sea levels have caused rapid coastal erosion in Aceh. In addition, the 2004 tsunami disaster also contributed greatly to the destruction of mangrove forests on the west coast of Aceh. The real result is a massive reduction in land mass due to coastal erosion and the loss of mangrove forests. Director of the Aceh Jaya Manggrove Institute Foundation, Abdul Hadi, believes that good mangrove forests can protect land areas from rising sea levels and coastal abrasion. His AMI Foundation supports mangrove planting activity throughout Aceh Jaya by donating seeds for free, and continuing to plant throughout the year. EPA/HOTLI SIMANJUNTAK ATTENTION: For the FOCUS essay text go to https://epaimages. com/misc. pp?code=section-focus

Pantai Lango fishing village in Balikpapan bay, East Kalimantan, Indonesia

The abandoned Waladuna mosque is sinking because of rising sea levels and land erosion in the Muara Baru area on Jakarta's northern coast

Another view of the abandoned Waladuna mosque that has been sinking due to rising seawater and land erosion

Jumadi Guthafsitom, 40 years old, sits over the sea water barrier dam near the abandoned Waladuna mosque that has been sinking due to rising seawater and land erosion in the Muara Baru area on Jakarta's northern coast, Indonesia, 11 April 2023. Jumadi, who works at the fish auction at the Muara Baru fish market, is one of the living witnesses of the sinking of the Waladuna mosque. He said his father often brought him to pray at the Waladuna mosque when he was a small child. Jumadi's parents' house used to be approximately 150 meters from the Waladuna mosque, but due to rising sea levels, he and his father moved to a safer area. Now Jumadi lives in an apartment built by the Jakarta regional government. Every month he pays around 175 thousand rupiah, or around 12 euros rent for the flat. EPA/ADI WEDA ATTENTION: For the full PHOTO ESSAY text please see Advisory Notice epa. . .

The Kampung Apung, or floating village, in Jakarta, Indonesia has been flooded for more than 20 years

Susnandi Wahyu Budiawan Alatas, 58, on a path connecting the dry land with his village, known locally as Kampung Apung

Villager Siti on the floor of her wooden house which is on stilts above water

Boats at a dock behind the coastal embankment in Cilincing, Jakarta

Fishermen manoeuvre their boats in Cilincing

Charmani, 52, is a fisherman who dives to gather various shellfish

A newly hatched sea turtle make its way to the sea after leaving a conservation centre in Kuta, Bali

Agung Alit Putra, of the Bali Sea Turtle Society, gathers turtle eggs shortly after a mother turtle laid them at a beach in Kuta, Bali

A beach littered with waste that washed ashore at Kuta Beach in Bali

The Mangrove Ecotourism area separated by the main road from the Indian Ocean in Gampong Baro Sayeung, Indonesia

The remains of a house after the 2004 tsunami in the Ujong Pancu area, Indonesia

Abdul Hadi, left, director of the Aceh Jaya Manggrove Institute Foundation, plants mangrove trees in damaged swamp areas in Gampong Baro Sayeung, Aceh Jaya

Abdul Hadi, director of the Aceh Jaya Mangrove Institute Foundation, with mangrove seedlings that will be distributed to local communities in Gampong Baro Sayeung

The site of Indonesia's new capital city, Nusantara, in Sepaku, East Kalimantan

Workers load building materials on to a lorry at a construction site in Indonesia's new capital city

Sibukdin, 58, leader of the Balik Indigenous community poses for a portrait inside his house in Sepaku, Penajam Paser Utara, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, 08 March 2023. Sibukdin who has been fighting for the rights of his people, is concerned that the massive construction project of the new capital city will displace indigenous people whose livelihood depends on the land and forest for their daily needs. Indonesia has started to build Nusantara as the new capital city on the 56,180 hectares area in East Kalimantan province amid concerns over the effects of the city’s development on the environment and indigenous people. Communities and fragile ecosystems along Indonesia’s coastlines are increasingly at risk as sea waters rise to unprecedented levels. Made up of over 17,000 islands and over 54,000 kilometers of coastline, the southeast Asian archipelago nation is one of the most vulnerable in the world to the impacts of the climate crisis. Nowhere is the threat of rising sea levels clearer than Indonesia’s sprawling capital, Jakarta. By 2050, it is estimated that over 95% of North Jakarta will be submerged, according to a report by the Bandung Institute of Technology. EPA/MAST IRHAM ATTENTION: For the FOCUS essay text go to https://epaimages. com/misc. pp?code=section-focus

Rusli, 41, a fisherman, in Balikpapan bay, East Kalimantan, Indonesia

Communities and fragile ecosystems along Indonesia’s coastlines are increasingly at risk as sea waters rise to unprecedented levels.

Made up of more than 17,000 islands and more than 54,000 kilometres of coastline, the south-east Asian archipelago country is one of the most vulnerable in the world to the effects of climate change, according to a joint report by the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.

Nowhere is the threat of rising sea levels clearer than Indonesia’s sprawling capital, Jakarta.

Rapid urban development and population growth over the past 30 years has caused the city – 40 per cent of which already lies below sea level – to sink further, as the paddies and mangroves that would naturally protect the city from excess water are replaced by asphalt and concrete.

The impact is most visible in the north of the city, which is sinking at a rate of 25 centimetres a year. By 2050, it is estimated that more than 95 per cent of North Jakarta will be submerged, according to a report by the Bandung Institute of Technology.

Jumadi Guthafsitom, 40, near the abandoned Waladuna mosque, which has been sinking because of rising seawater and land erosion in the Muara Baru area on Jakarta's northern coast. EPA

Jumadi Guthafsitom, 40, grew up in Muara Bar, a slum area of North Jakarta, and today works at the local fish market, just a stone’s throw from the Waladuna mosque, where he used to play as a child.

Today, the mosque has been abandoned due to the rising water and land subsidence in the area.

“This was my childhood playground – it used to be very beautiful,” Jumadi says, recalling how he would join his mother and father for daily prayers before the mosque was finally lost to the water in 2010.

Residents of West Jakarta face similar challenges. The village that Susnadi, 58, grew up in used to be on dry land, but huge construction projects over the past 20 years have caused the area to sink further below sea level, leading to severe flooding every year.

“It was once a beautiful place, with a lot of trees,” Susnadi says. “Then there was a lot of construction and development, the area behind the village was a paddy field and turned to swamp, they levelled up the ground and turned it into warehouses.”

A new capital city

The sinking is so severe that Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced in 2019 that the government was moving the capital city 2,000km to East Kalimantan on Borneo island.

The new capital, Nusantara, is currently being built, raising concerns over the construction’s effect on the environment and local indigenous peoples.

Sibukdin, 58, leader of the Balik indigenous community, is concerned that construction of the new capital city will displace indigenous people. EPA

Sibukdin, 58, leader of the Balik Indigenous community in Sepaku, is worried that the building project will displace indigenous people whose livelihoods depend on the land and the forest.

“We want our place where we plant and live to remain the same and not to be disturbed,” Sibukdin says.

“I hope the government pays more attention to our community. We are also humans who have the same rights. We want justice for everyone.”

Rising sea levels not only threaten human activity and communities – ecological habitats in Indonesia’s coastal areas are also increasingly in danger.

The number of sea turtles nesting on Kuta beach is decreasing drastically every year, the Bali Sea Turtle Society says. Before 2020 they would rescue about 700 nests in a year. But last year they recorded only about 200 sea turtle nests on Kuta beach.

Mangrove forests to the rescue

Abdul Hadi, director of the Aceh Jaya Mangrove Institute Foundation, believes that healthy mangrove forests are key to protecting land areas from rising sea levels and coastal erosion.

His foundation supports planting mangroves throughout Aceh by donating free seeds and planting throughout the year.

“By planting mangroves, it becomes the forefront of the coast’s defences, so seawater does not cause erosion any more,” he says. “If the sea level rises, with the presence of mangrove trees, or other trees, settlements would be safer and would no longer erode.”