Institute for Research on Economics and Society – Faculty of Economics and Business – University of Indonesia

Overcoming Land Subsidence and Water Crisis in Jakarta – Environmental Policy Update Volume 1 No. 3.

land subsidence

In recent years, the issue of 'Jakarta is sinking' has become the world's spotlight due to the alarming rapid rate of land subsidence. Jakarta is one of the cities experiencing the fastest land subsidence in the world, with a decline rate reaching 2 - 15 cm per year in the last fifty years, even reaching 20 - 28 cm in certain locations (Abidin et al., 2011). From 1982 to 1991, the rate of land subsidence reached 1-9 cm per year. Furthermore, in the periods 1991 to 1997 and 1997 to 2011, the rate of land subsidence increased to 1 – 25 cm per year and 1 – 28 cm per year (Abidin et al., 2011). Areas adjacent to the coast are those most affected by land subsidence, including several areas in the north, northwest and northeast of Jakarta, namely Cengkareng, Penjaringan, Mutiara Beach, Pantai Indah Kapuk, Ancol, Cilincing and Cakung (Sarah, 2022) . From 2016 to 2019, the average land subsidence in North Jakarta reached 11 cm per year (Ariefa et al, 2019).

The issue of land subsidence in Jakarta has been a topic of discussion since the 1990s. As a coastal city, Jakarta is located on an alluvial sedimentary type of soil that is susceptible to land subsidence. The city's rapid urban growth, characterized by the expansion of business, industry, commerce, transportation, and real estate, has attracted a large influx of residents. This has resulted in massive population growth and a significant increase in the need for clean water. However,
Jakarta faces challenges in increasing the capacity of clean water infrastructure, with only 65% ​​of the area covered by piped water infrastructure to date. This lack of access to clean water has pushed the residential, commercial and industrial sectors to overextract groundwater over the last three decades (Hasibuan et al., 2023). This practice has become the main trigger for increasingly worsening land subsidence in Jakarta. Groundwater extraction was recorded to have increased from 21.849.031 m3 per year in 2000 to 22.629.468 m3 per year in 2008. In 2020, the figure fell to 6.014.240 m3 per year due to the implementation of a tax on groundwater extraction by DKI Jakarta Provincial Government since 2009. However, reports of continued land subsidence continue to be received even after 2009 (Taftazani et al., 2022).

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