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Complex measures, partnerships needed to deal with floods in Jakarta
"Thorough measures and multi-stakeholder partnerships between ministries and officials in Jakarta, Banten and West Java are necessary to solve flood problems in the capital city," urbanists say.
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The Ciliwung River embankment in Bidara Cina, East Jakarta, as seen on Nov. 11, 2017. (Kompas/Lucky Pransiska)
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s the water subsides from roads and houses and Jakarta starts to recover from the recent massive floods, stakeholders begin to discuss a new approach to deal with the perennial occurrence.
The city administration is sticking to its plan to normalize the Ciliwung River, the biggest of 13 rivers that run through the capital by allocating Rp 600 billion (US$43 million) in 2020.
However, urbanists say it will need much more than just river normalization to prevent or mitigate floods in the capital city.
“Thorough measures and multi-stakeholder partnerships between ministries and officials in three provinces, Jakarta, Banten and West Java, are necessary to solve flood problems in the capital city,” Elisa Sutanudjaja, executive director at the Rujak Center for Urban Studies said in a press conference recently.
Elisa explained that river normalization by building a concrete river embankment would only cause water to flow faster from rivers upstream to the Jakarta Bay, increasing the burden on the city’s canals.
“Kampung Pulo and Bukit Duri, two subdistricts in West Jakarta and South Jakarta were flooded last week, even though the part of the Ciliwung River that passes through those areas have been embanked. It’s solid proof that river embankment does not solve the problem,” she said.
Elisa said it was necessary to restore the river thoroughly from upstream to downstream to prevent flooding. She said property development in Puncak, Bogor, West Java, where the river begins, had caused disruption to the river ecosystem. “River restoration measures should start from upstream.”
