A sinking city.

Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia. It is located on the island of Java between a chain of islands, with Sumatra to the northwest, Bali to the east, Borneo to the northeast and Christmas Island to the south. It is the 13th largest island in the world. The city of Jakarta covers 410 square miles of Java and has a population of 10.5 million as of 2020, making it a mega city!

Not only does Jakarta have geographical significance (which I will express later on) it also have great global significance. Jakarta serves as the government headquarters and the centre of Indonesia’s business and industry. 1/4 of Indonesia’s trade and services come out of Jakarta, 2/3 of Indonesia’s banking and financial sector are located here and it is a eductaion centre for many younger citizens. The geographical importance of Indonesia is both physical and human. People’s livelihoods depend on the services located here to be running smoothly and successfully. Jakarta has an amazing landscape that provides beauty but also problems…

Jakarta has a variety of physical components that make it such an interesting area to study:

• It is relitavely flat as it lies on low, alluvial plains. It is historically a swampy area. However the parts further inland are slightly higher.
• Jakarta is a hot, tropical and humid city. It’s annual temperatures range between 24-34 degrees Celsius. It also has a relative humidity of 75-85%.
• The annual rainfall in Jakarta is more than 1,700mm. It has its rainy season from October to May and its dry season from June to September.
• The soil it lies on is very fertile as most of it is from volcanic origin. This is due to the fact that south of Jakarta there are volcanoes, including Pangrango. Pangrango is 3,019 metres high.

Physical Features:

1. Delta - Jakarta was created thousands of years ago due to mud sediment from rivers depositing as they headed to the gulf. Overtime this sediment hardened forming a delta, shaped like a Chinese wood-fan.

How Is a delta formed?

• Form when rivers meet a sea or lake.
• When flowing water meets still water the river loses energy due to loss of velocity.
• This leads to the river depositing its load.
• Flocculation (when particles cluster together and become bigger so are able to settle) occurs as sea water contains charged ions which like to clump with particles, clay especially.
• These deposits block the main river channel so it is forced to split into smaller channels called distributires.
• Contiued deposition means the delta is formed and grows out to sea. Forming flat , marshy extensions of land.

2. Floodplain- most of the northern part of Jakarta is floodplain or plain land. Some parts here are even below sea level so are very subject to flooding.

How are floodplains formed?

• They are flat land next to the river which is liable to flood when the river rises after heavy rainfall.
• They are badly drained and subject to lateral erosion due to meandering rivers.
• They are made of soft alluvium, as it is formed by deposition of materials from the river, so very susceptible to erosion.
• There 3 main forms deposition which contribute to the formation of floodplains; deposition of fine silt and mud (in times of flood), deposition of point bars (occurs on the inside of meanders) and deposition of sediment on river bed (times of low water)

Jakarta is very significant to its citizens and their livelihoods:

• Jakarta is currently the largest city in South East Asia and its metro area is so large it has it’s own name, Jabodetabek.
• The metropolitan area has a population that exceeds 30 million poeple and covers a total area of 4,384 square kilometres.
• The city has a high population density of 14,464 people per square kilometre.
• In 2022 Jakarta’s population is 11,074,811 and growing.

1. Population=

Jakarta’s age breakdown:

• 0-14 year olds = 25.02%
• 15-24 year olds = 16.99%
• 25-54 year olds = 42.4%
• 55-64 year olds = 8.58%
• 65 years and older= 7.01%

Therefore Jakarta has a very youthful population. With this come many advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages of a Youthful Population:

• More individuals of working age so earning money which contributes tax and so helps city’s economy.
• Decrease in dependency ratio.
• Also more individuals that will become of working age so can provide plentiful labour later on and slightly cheaper labour.

Disadvantages of a youthful population:

• Pressue on healthcare as majority of population will come to child bearing age at the same time.
• Pressure on education system as more classroom space will be needed.
• Greater job competition as more people able to work for the same amount of jobs avaliable.
• More stress on food supplies as a surplus of mouths to feed.

Jakarta has undergone mass popualtion growth from 1970 to today. In 1970 the popualtion was 4.5 million, today it exceeds 11 million. Due to this Jakarta’s resource have been experiencing more pressure and are coming to a breaking point.

2. Urbanisation=

Defintion- the increasing proportion of people living in urban areas as they move from rural to urban areas.

Due to Jakartas rapid popualtion growth it has meant more infratsure has needed to be built to allow these people to live and work. This has meant urban sprawl, urbanisation and the set up of illegal settlements has had to occur.

• Inbetween 1980 and 2002 almost 1/4 of land in Jakarta that was non-urban use has been converted for urban use, like for housing and industry.
• 97% of Jakarta’s wetlands have been converted into concrete.
• Huge congestion issue have been caused as road Infrastructure has not been built to support the vast amounts of people now able to live in Jakarta.
• About 29 million Indonesians live in slums with poor basic services. (World Bank, 2016)

My intrest in Jakarta originated from the very rare but prominent ssue that Jakarta is sinking.

Why is it sinking?

• Rapid population growth.
• More frequent and extreme weather events.
• Unchecked urbanisation.
• Excessive water abstraction.

Due to Jakarta’s physical features, it being on low lying, marshy land that originated as a delta and also the issue of the 4 points above it has meant that 95% of Jakarta will be submerged by 2050.

1. Rapid Popualtion Increase=

• It has occured because Jakarta has become a more desireable place to live, it is the home to 2/3 of Indonesia’s financial sector. So more employment opportunities.
• In 1980 the population was 11.4 million in 2018 the popualtion was 34 million.
• This rapid increase in people has meant that the infrastructure in place is not good enough to provide for all of them.
• There is plenty of water in Jakarta however it is contaminated and not actually available for people to use for drinking or bathing.
• Piped water only reaches 60% of the population in Jakarta and this is usually the wealthier more central residents.
• The lack of water available and the growing number of people has meant that the governemnt needed a quick fix…. Water Abstraction!

WHAT IS WATER ABSTRACTION? -

Is the process of abstracting water from any natural source. (In Jakrata’s case this a groundwater source, the aquifer)

2. Unchecked Urbanisation=

• As stated above mass urbanistaion has had to occur.
• Most of the new residencies are illegal slums which not only have no access to services like water and electricity but have been built without the government knowing which makes it very hard to manage the issue of too many impermeable surfaces.
• This is an issue as urbanisation brings impermeable surfaces, like concrete and tarmac, which let very little or no water infiltrate and percolate.
• Also by more buildings being built it means there is less vegetation to intercept water and store it to slow down flooding.
• This means more surface run off is produced and so increases flooding risk. Add this to the fact that in these slums there is no drainage systems in place and that Jakarta is a costal, low lying city flooding is becoming extreme!

3. More Extreme and Frequent Weather Events=

• So both flooding and water abstraction are occurring in Jakarta which is speeding up the sinking .
• Another thing which is not helping Jakarta sinking is Climate Change!
• Climate change means that there is an increase in precipitation, sea levels are rising and an increase in temperature.
• All these factors mean that weather events become more extreme and more frequent.
• So if there is heavy rain it will be even heavier and so flooding will be more likely.
• Also storm surges will become more common as Jakarta lacks the flood infrastructure to prevent it.
• There have been 2 detrimental floods in Jakarta in the last 20 years; 2007 and 2003.
• 2007- 4m deep floodwater engulfed the city not only rainwater but also sea water that had risen up. 300,000 people had to be evacuated and 80 died.
• 2003- there was several days of heavy rain and the flood infrastructure was overwhelmed and collapsed. This led to bad flooding especially in poorer areas. 45 peopel died.

4. Excessive Water Abstraction=

• Water abstraction is a cause of why Jakarta is sinking but it is also the solution to other issues in Jakarta.
• Water abstraction has become excessive as the popualtion is growing and needs more avaliable water, water abstraction provides that water.
• Residents, businesses and even the government have sunk boreholes into the aquifers to gain water.
• It has added to the issue as the ground has become much more unstable due to water being removed from it leading to land subsidence.
• Land subsidence is when large amounts of groundwater have been withdrawn from certain types of rocks, the rock compacts as the water is partly responsible for holding the ground up. When the water is withdrawn, the rocks fall on itself. 
• This has result in the aquifers sinking as it is not being replenished by rainfall. The impermeable surfaces are not allowing percolation and infilatraion. This means there is no recharge so the aquifer and water table lower.
• This in time makes the whole area sink.

The Consequences:

• Houses will be in more vulnerable positions. So many people may have to be relocated or be left displaced.
• Flooding! The increase in impermeable surfaces, lowering land levels due to land subsidence and climate change are all adding to increase risk of flooding.
• More extreme government control. The Jakartian government will have to become more strict on water abstraction and the illegal slums that are being created.

All of these factors really interested me and drew me to want to research more into Jakarta. By looking at Jakarta and the issues it is facing I concluded that we are increasingly seeing large organisations introduce technologies, like water abstraction, into LICs or struggling countires with no intrest in the long term impacts. Initially water abstraction was seen as an effective technolgy, helping the population easily gain access to safe water. However we are now seeing the long term effects. The city is sinking!

Large, global issues can not be solved by short term technologies because as Jakarta has shown not only do they not solve the issue they are fixing for the forseeable future they are also creating new ones.

I recognise with the current climate crisis that flying is not the most environmentally friendly way to travel to Jakarta. However due to how far Jakarta is from London, which will be my starting point, I will have to take one flight to be able to get there safely.

1. Interail from London to Athens:

Via the route shown below. I feel that taking trains will be a more sustainable way to travel and this will also allow me to see many parts of the world I have not before. Also I will be able to see urban areas that are copying with climate change better then Jakarta. So when I arrive in Jakarta I have a standard in my mind of what it should be like.

2. A flight from Athens to Singapore:

3. Finally I will get a boat from Singapore to Jakarta:

This journey will allow me to get to Jakarta safely and reduce my carbon emissions as I travel. Hopefully one day I will be able to visit Jakarta it has a beautiful surrounding landscapes as well as a booming city. I would like to see it before it is too late!