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Indonesia's President: Sinking Jakarta Needs Giant Sea Wall

Associated Press

   JAKARTA, INDONESIA - Indonesia's president said in an interview that he
   wants to see the speedy construction of a giant sea wall around Jakarta
   to prevent the low-lying capital from sinking under the sea, lending
   renewed backing and a sense of urgency to a slow-moving and politically
   contested mega project.

   President Joko 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.

   City sinking

   Lacking a comprehensive piped water network, industry and homeowners
   have tapped into the city's aquifers, causing rapid subsidence in
   northern Jakarta, home to several million people.

   In this 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.

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