balinews
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo wants to see the speedy construction of a giant sea wall around Jakarta to prevent the low-lying Indonesian capital from sinking under the sea, lending renewed backing and a sense of urgency to a slow-moving and politically contested mega-project.Widodo and his government are up against a tight timetable, including a forecast by experts that at the current rate, one-third of Jakarta could be submerged by 2050.The existential crisis facing the city is the culmination of decades of unfettered development, almost nonexistent urban planning and misrule by city politicians who have served private interests over those of the public.Lacking a comprehensive water network, industry and homeowners have tapped into aquifers, causing rapid subsidence in northern Jakarta, home to several million people.In that area, the swampy ground has been sinking at an average of about 10 centimeters (4 inches) a year. Rising sea levels from a heated-up planet will compound the problem in decades to come.[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/07/28/asia-pacific/science-health-asia-pacific/jakarta-slowly-sinks-indonesian-leader-calls-speedy-construction-giant-sea-wall/#.XT-AO_xS9N4[/URL]
