Anies Baswedan Affirms Jakarta Will Not Sink In History Today, August 10, 2021

Portraits of Anies and the DKI Jakarta government sealing the islands of Reclamation C and D (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Today, four years ago, August 10, 2021, the Governor of DKI Jakarta, Anies Baswedan emphasized that Jakarta would not sink. His efforts to stop reclamation of Jakarta Bay are seen as a precise strategy. This view was revealed because the estuary reclamation project was damaged by the marine ecosystem.

Previously, the Reclamation Island development project became a polemic. The project received rejection from various parties. The government considers reclamation as a flood prevention strategy. People see it as different: business only.

The government's desire to reclamation land on the north coast of Jakarta is nothing new. The plan has emerged since the era of the New Order of the 1990s. However, it didn't happen well. Crisis is the main problem.

The reclamation project began to be seriously discussed by the government in the era of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY). The desire for reclamation of songs was continued with the result that the design of 17 reclamation islands from Island A to Q) north of Jakarta was initiated from 2012.

His execution was then promoted in the era of Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok) to become the leader of Jakarta. The Governor of Jakarta from the 2014-2017 era considered the reclamation island to bring many benefits of increasing Jakarta's land area. It could be a flood prevention too. However, Ahok's talk is considered a mere boast.

Rizal Ramli actually sees the opposite. Ahok is considered like a developer employee who promotes his boss's business. The Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs in the 2015-2016 era considers that the reclamation project will actually read a major disaster for Jakarta. The marine ecosystem is damaged, the floods are more frequent, fishermen are difficult to get fish.

The reclamation moratorium in Jakarta Bay was inflamed by Rizal. Problems arise. Rizal was removed as a minister by the Jokowi government from 2016. In particular, Rizal is not the only one who has a destructive reclamation view. The next governor of DKI Jakarta, Anies Baswedan, saw the same thing.

He wants to stop the Reclamation Island project. Anies' first step was to seal the islands of Reclamation C and D on June 7, 2018. Anies then revoked the principle permit for 13 artificial islands and stopped the reclamation project on September 26, 2018.

"Third islands that have received permission to carry out reclamation, after we carry out verification, the governor officially revokes all of the reclamation island permits, so that reclamation activities in Jakarta that reclamation activities have been stopped," said Anies as quoted on Detik.com page, September 26, 2018.

Recently, the issue of Jakarta has been predicted to sink in the next 10 years. Those who predict it are not just anyone. The prediction came out of the mouth of the President of the United States (US), Joe Biden. However, Anies evaded on August 10, 2021. He emphasized that Jakarta would not sink.

His efforts to stop reclamation are an accurate strategy to prevent Jakarta from sinking. Anies views that the construction of an artificial island is considered the culprit for rising sea levels. This view was revealed because there had been further research.

This means that Joe Biden's prediction regarding Jakarta sinking in the next 10 years will not happen. Anies also thinks that he will continue to make efforts and seek other efforts. An effort that will be able to protect Jakarta so that it does not sink.

"This is a fact that makes us even more confident that stopping from continuing reclamation is the right step to reduce the impact of rising sea levels. The decrease in land level on the artificial island takes place faster than the mainland Jakarta origin. North Jakarta is about tens of millimeters per year on the artificial island or reclamation that lasts more than 80 millimeters per year," Anies said in a Jakarta Webinar Sinking with the ITB Alumni Association as quoted by VOI, August 10, 2021.