Land of The Sea

Indonesia has one of the longest coastlines in the world, stretching as far as 95.181 km. The majority of them are on the brink of inundation of rising sea levels, one of the consequences of a hotter planet. According to Institut Teknologi Bandung, more than 100 cities or districts are potentially drowned by 2050. More than 60% of the population live in a radius of 50 km from the coastline, making them vulnerable to the constant peril of rising sea levels.

If the temperature remains rising, the northern coast of Java will be the first to go. The tragic alteration of the landscape has already happened in several regions in Central Java like Gresik, Semarang, and Pekalongan. The settlement ravaged. Many of the houses are permanently drown by seawater. Innumerable residents who persisted survive by leveling up their house foundation, generating a ragged structure and unsafe to live. Without including the land subsidence in the coastal area, an estimation of 0.3-0.8 cm sea levels increase every year.

For the last two decades, natural disasters have become more frequent and brutal. It has altered and impacts the way of life of the community residing in the region. Abrasion has engulfed more than 100 hectares of milkfish embankment in Gresik. Unpredictable weather and the constant decrease of natural resources create hardship for the fishermen's livelihoods in Semarang. In Pekalongan, the coastal flood interferes with the drying process and causing a derogation in the fabrics' color absorption for batik artisans.

In addition to an endless fight with seawater, a long list of difficulties like water crisis, pollution, drought, and the decrease of rainfall are also in the reckoning. Indonesia is the biggest archipelago country in the world. But if we continue at this pace, the islands will soon be the sea.