Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has set up a new authority to build a massive seawall along the north coast of Java, a project aimed at shielding millions of residents from flooding and sinking land, but observers reject it as a true solution while highlighting risks, elite bias and lack of consultation.

The president on Aug. 25 officiated the formation of the North Java Coast Management Authority to oversee the construction of a 700-kilometer (435-mile) seawall from Banten to Gresik, aimed at protecting 20 million coastal residents from erosion, tidal flooding and land subsidence. The $80 billion project will cover planning, financing and construction, with officials hoping to attract investors while addressing environmental and social impacts.

Prabowo appointed retired Vice Admiral Didit Herdiawan Ashaf, who’s currently the vice fisheries minister, to lead the new government agency, with Darwin Djajawinata and Suhajar Diantoro serving as vice chairs. The agency will oversee planning, financing and construction of the seawall, addressing environmental and social considerations, and its head can adjust plans as needed.

“Why two vice chairs? Because managing the North Coast (Pantura) will inevitably involve investment. One vice chair was appointed from Danantara. The other represents the government, specifically the Ministry of Home Affairs, given that this project will span five provinces on Java Island,” State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi told reporters in Jakarta as quoted by local media Tempo.

A 2023 study found that major northern Javan cities, including Jakarta, Pekalongan, Semarang and Demak, are sinking at least nine times faster than the current rate of global sea-level rise. In some reported cases, subsidence on the coastline in northern Java has raised the water level by up to 2 meters (6 feet).

While subsidence and flooding along Java’s northern coast are widely recognized as urgent, critics warn that the government’s giant seawall could worsen coastal damage, serve elite interests and advance quickly for profit, all with little input from local communities.

“Climate issues should not be reduced to fake, quick-fix solutions that act like a fire extinguisher — treating the problem as if it were fire: You pour water, and it’s done. It doesn’t work that way,” Susan Herawati, the secretary-general of national NGO the People’s Coalition for Fisheries Justice (KIARA), told Mongabay.

She said the project could reopen the door to debt or investment, as it will consume an enormous amount of funds that will not be sourced from the state budget alone. Susan also pointed out that the government must address questions of whether the giant seawall was truly the best solution by supporting it with a solid analytical framework and academic recommendations.

“Is the GSW truly a solution for communities facing the impacts of rising sea levels, or is it just part of a political “cake-sharing” scheme?” Susan said.

The Prabowo administration’s seawall project builds on a 2014 initiative to shield Jakarta from rising seas and sinking land that have fueled relentless flooding along Java’s northern coast. Experts warn the former capital is steadily sinking as unchecked groundwater extraction drains the city from below, a crisis so severe it has pushed the government to move the seat of power to eastern Borneo. Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency reports that sea levels have risen an average of almost 4.3 millimeters (0.2 inches) a year since 1992, with the pace quickening in recent years under the pressure of climate change.

Parid Ridwanuddin, the ocean and coastal campaign manager at Indonesia’s largest environmental group, Walhi, pointed out that communities along Java’s north coast didn’t need a giant seawall or a new government authority, but rather a thorough review of spatial planning and policies that would allow them to keep fishing. He said the government has pushed a costly, top-down project without public consultation, jumping to concrete solutions while ignoring ecological and community needs.

Rising ocean acidity and warming waters are set to push fish stocks past the already dangerous stress levels documented in today’s tropical seas. On Java’s north coast, fishers are forced to sail ever farther from the world’s most crowded island in search of dwindling catches.

“If the issue they are raising is the climate crisis, then what’s urgently needed is a climate justice law that must be passed by the government,” Parid told Mongabay.

Cornel Gea, a public lawyer with Semarang Legal Aid Foundation, noted that the new authority must prioritize consulting with the communities along the northern coast of Java, particularly in figuring out how to maintain fishing routes and to resolve potential displacement. Further public consultation must also focus on key details like sourcing the construction materials and sand mining plans to avoid conflicts, he suggested.

He noted that before launching a giant seawall, the government should address the failures of the Semarang-Demak toll road project, which has already left behind blocked fishing routes, destroyed mangroves and worsening floods. Cornel added that officials must address deforestation and runoff as drivers of tidal flooding and be transparent enough to learn from the extensive critiques already on record.

“The North Coast Management Authority needs to understand that the entire coastal region is interconnected by land and by sea. What happens in one area immediately affects others, sometimes within months, not years,” Cornel said.

Basten Gokkon is a senior staff writer for Indonesia at Mongabay. Find him on 𝕏 @bgokkon.

See related story:

In an ancient Javanese sultanate, coastal women battle climate fallout

Citation:

Susilo, S., Salman, R., Hermawan, W., Widyaningrum, R., Wibowo, S. T., Lumban-Gaol, Y. A., … Yun, S. (2023). GNSS land subsidence observations along the northern coastline of Java, Indonesia. Scientific Data,10(1). doi:10.1038/s41597-023-02274-0

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