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LIPI calls for 'more comprehensive' policy on climate change
The nation's leading science institute has urged the government to update its policy on climate change, particularly regarding the approach to coastal communities faced with sinking land and rising sea levels.
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Farmers harvest rice from a flooded farm in Demak, Central Java. About 200 hectares of rice fields in the regency is threatened with harvest failure due to flooding from land subsidence. (Antara/Aji Styawan)
T
he government needs to establish climate change adaptation laws to address environmental issues such as land subsidence and sea level rise, the nation's leading scientific body has said.
Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) researcher Laely Nurhidayah said that the prevailing law did not “comprehensively” address the climate issue, and that the government should consider the implication on social justice and human rights.
“The government needs to establish a new policy to cope with environmental as well as human rights issues, because climate change has significantly impacted local communities in coastal areas, particularly those whose livelihoods depend on coastal resources,” Laely said on Thursday during a discussion at LIPI headquarters in Kuningan, South Jakarta.
LIPI's research shows that land subsidence and sea level rise are the two key problems facing communities on Java’s northern coast, particularly in Central Java's Semarang municipality and Demak regency.
According to the study, Semarang and Demak are experiencing land subsidence at an annual rate of about 8-12 cm, which has caused permanent inundation in several coastal areas.
Speaking at the same discussion, People’s Coalition for Fisheries Justice (KIARA) secretary-general Susan Herawati said that many villagers of Sri Wulan and Bedono in Sayung district, Demak regency, were forced to seek refuge because of land subsidence.
The LIPI study recorded that 1,200 residents of Sri Wulan village and 800 residents of Bedono village had migrated because their lands were permanently flooded.
