The capital of Indonesia, Jakarta is sinking and sinking fast. It is predicted that by the year 2030 half of the city will be completely underwater.
In order to tacle the situation, the city of Jakarta has decided to build a sea wall costing them an entire $10 billion. However this is not a permanent solution.
There are certain parts of the city in which almost ten million people reside that has sunk ten feet in the past few decades, with some submerging seven inches annually.
The problem is caused by the millions of residents who are completely dependent for survival on drawing water up from the aquifers that are beneath the foundation of the city. Especially since Jakarta was built over marshland, the people themselves are the ones causing the ground to fall.
Politicians, city planners and residents alike struggle to find a long-term solution. JanJaap Brinkman, a Dutch hydrologist who is working on a solution explains that evacuating four to five million people from the city would be a solution, or building an other sea dike would provide another few decades.
However relocating half of a city is no simple matter. Most people feel been connected and passionate about their homes, regardless of the potential dangers. And even if people were to leave, it would still take the city years upon years to fix the city’s water infrastructure. The only thing that is certain, something needs to be done fast.
