CLIMATE CHANGE WILL AFFECT THE BASIC ELEMENTS OF LIFE FOR PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD — ACCESS TO WATER, FOOD PRODUCTION, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT. HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE COULD SUFFER HUNGER, WATER SHORTAGES, AND COASTAL FLOODING AS THE WORLD WARMS.
Nicolas Stern
So, I want to travel in the future, and as I look at places I want to visit, I, as someone interested in the impacts of climate change find that there are many coastal cities that are struggling and appear to be sinking. People in these coastal areas are suffering as their homes are being flooded and governments are trying to find solutions before the damage becomes irreversible.
Why do Coastal Cities Sink?
Climate change is seen as a huge reason for coastal cities sinking and that is one reason for cities going under but groundwater extraction is also playing a role in the sinking of cities.
Groundwater extraction has been the leading cause of sinking cities and this is due to a process known as land subsidence. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, US Department of Commerce (NOAA) land subsidence is the “sinking of the ground because of underground material movement”.
There are different causes of subsidence such as the extraction of minerals, oil, and water from the ground. This extraction can be done through different means such as mining, pumping, or fracking. Subsidence is not limited to anthropological activities as natural events can also lead to this such as landslides, erosion, and sinkhole formations just to name a few.
Climate change has also been a contributor to these sinking cities as due to glacier sheets melting and water expanding as it warms the sea level are rising. Since 1880 there has been an increase in the sea level by 8–9 inches (21–24 centimeters), the highest annual sea level was reported from 1993 to 2020 by 91.3 millimeters (3.6 inches).
Coastal communities make up 37% of the global population in 2017. Coastal areas are not only important as food resources, but economically they are crucial as they bring in tourists, for Small Island Development States tourism makes up 25% of GDP.
Sinking City
Many countries are affected by sinking cities, such as the US, which has 40% of it’s population living in coastal areas.
One of the more well-known cases of sinking cities would be Jakarta, Indonesia as during the years 2019 and 2020 the coastal city was sinking between 1.8 cm and 10.7 cm. In Jakarta, groundwater extraction has been a huge driver of the city's sinking, as the extraction creates empty space which leads to soil degradation below the city. As much as 7.1 cubic meters of water was extracted from 4,231 wells in 2011 this increased to 8.9 million cubic meters of water from 4,473 wells in 2014. The extraction of water was due to Residents of Jakarta using the wells to get freshwater as well as the new buildings, hotels, and shopping centers being created leading to more dependency on the resource.
Jakarta houses approximately 10 million people and the number triples in the greater metropolitan area. At the rate at which the city has been sinking studies estimate one-third of the city will be submerged by 2050.
What's being done?
Due to the issue at hand, the municipality of Jakarta has tried to reduce the amount of groundwater being extracted, but there is currently no alternative water supply. This would lead to 9 million residents not having proper access to water as well as the15 million people who commute and work in the city. The municipality must look for different ways in which water can be supplied as the extraction of groundwater, if continued, will create irreversible damage.
There have been projects in which sea barriers are used to protect the coastal areas, twenty kilometers of sea walls were created as well as other forms of reinforcements along the river banks. But as the sea levels rise and the city continues to sink, the national government has been considering moving the capital city elsewhere.
On January 18, 2022, the Indonesian Parliament, passed new legislature on the construction of a new city known as Nusantara which means “archipelago” in Javanese. The new capital city will be located almost 2000 km away from Jakarta, but this comes with its own problems. The area in which the new city will be built is home to orangutans, leopards, and other wildlife and is already home to 3.7 million people. This move has sparked conversations about the environmental protection of species in the area as well as cultural integrity. The relocation of the capital city and construction is estimated to cost $32.4 billion (466 trillion rupiahs) as major infrastructure projects will be undertaken.
For more information check out the video below!
Aldrian, Edvin. “Indonesia’s Capital Jakarta Is Sinking. Here’s How to Stop This.” The Conversation, March 15, 2022. https://theconversation.com/indonesias-capital-jakarta-is-sinking-heres-how-to-stop-this-170269.
“Groundwater Exploitation Sinks Jakarta by 9 Cm per Year.” Tempo. TEMPO.CO, March 26, 2016. https://en.tempo.co/read/757088/groundwater-exploitation-sinks-jakarta-by-9-cm-per-year.
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“Indonesia Names New Capital That Will Replace Jakarta.” BBC News. BBC, January 18, 2022. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-60037163.
“Indonesia’s Capital Is Rapidly Sinking into the Sea.” NPR. NPR, January 26, 2022. https://www.npr.org/2022/01/26/1075720551/jakarta-indonesia-sinking-into-java-sea-new-capital.
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Medina, Ayman. “Indonesia Passes Bill to Build New Capital City: Deadline 2024.” ASEAN Business News, April 28, 2022. https://www.aseanbriefing.com/news/indonesia-passes-bill-to-build-new-capital-city-deadline-2024/#:~:text=On%20January%2018,%202022,%20Indonesia's,2024%20to%20East%20Kalimantan%20province.
“Sea Level.” NASA. NASA, April 15, 2022. https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/sea-level/.
US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “What Is Subsidence?” NOAA’s National Ocean Service, March 14, 2019. https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/subsidence.html.
