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H. Warsilah
Introduction
Indonesia and other archipelagic nations in the world are currently facing a real
and serious threat of climate change. The threats are in the form of sea level rises,
uncontrolled coastal abrasion, coral reefs destruction, and coastal residents who have
been forced to move from their homes. Geographical facts show that Indonesia is
an archipelagic nation consisting of more than 17,000 islands and one of the largest
archipelagic nations with a vast marine jurisdiction and a very diverse population.
Indonesia itself has lost around 29.000 ha of coastal areas due to sea level rises in
the northern region of Java and other regions as well. The Indonesian government
has strengthened its awareness and formulated appropriate actions related to climate
change. One of the results is the formation of National Action Plan to cope with
Climate Change (RAN-PI) which is currently still in legal formation process. The
formulation of the RAN-PI certainly shows government’s willingness to deal with
climate change. Climate change referred to the impact of global warming in the form
of significant changes in physical and biological systems. These changes include
the increase of tropical storms intensity, changes in precipitation patterns, salinity of
seawater, changes in wind patterns, reproduction of animals and plants, distribution
of species and population size, frequency of pest attacks and disease outbreaks, and
affecting ecosystems in areas with high latitude, high location, and coastal ecosystems
(KLH 2007). These changes will gradually result in a real impact, especially for
archipelagic nations with long coastlines, in the form of sea level rises and high
waves.
Efforts to make coastal cities with a better social security in dealing with climate
change require a good adaptation. The concept of adaptation is one that needs to be
prioritized and mainstreamed in a long-term planning at the national to individuals
level, primarily related to urban space governance. Mainstreaming climate change
adaptation is an important process in all development programs in urban areas, small
islands, and coastal areas in Indonesia. However, the problems of coastal cities are
quite complex, including (1) Ecological problems, for example, the loss of biodiversity, loss of marine habitat, the declining of marine productivity, the contamination
and alteration of river flows, and reclamation efforts. (2) Economic problems, for
instance, the rising of health costs, loss of work days, rising social services for
new infrastructure and rehabilitation. (3) Social Problems, for example, unemployment, loss of income or livelihood, loss of employment opportunities, the decrease
of productivity, loss of social protection, and life-supporting infrastructure needs.
Based on the above problems, the question of this paper is How the Government’s
efforts to make coastal cities have a better social resilience in the face of climate
change?
The research question at the top is how can the government make coastal cities
have better social resilience in facing climate change, especially when regulations are
applied, of course in accordance with RAN-API, namely the reclamation of marine
and coastal areas?
H. Warsilah
Introduction
Indonesia and other archipelagic nations in the world are currently facing a real
and serious threat of climate change. The threats are in the form of sea level rises,
uncontrolled coastal abrasion, coral reefs destruction, and coastal residents who have
been forced to move from their homes. Geographical facts show that Indonesia is
an archipelagic nation consisting of more than 17,000 islands and one of the largest
archipelagic nations with a vast marine jurisdiction and a very diverse population.
Indonesia itself has lost around 29.000 ha of coastal areas due to sea level rises in
the northern region of Java and other regions as well. The Indonesian government
has strengthened its awareness and formulated appropriate actions related to climate
change. One of the results is the formation of National Action Plan to cope with
Climate Change (RAN-PI) which is currently still in legal formation process. The
formulation of the RAN-PI certainly shows government’s willingness to deal with
climate change. Climate change referred to the impact of global warming in the form
of significant changes in physical and biological systems. These changes include
the increase of tropical storms intensity, changes in precipitation patterns, salinity of
seawater, changes in wind patterns, reproduction of animals and plants, distribution
of species and population size, frequency of pest attacks and disease outbreaks, and
affecting ecosystems in areas with high latitude, high location, and coastal ecosystems
(KLH 2007). These changes will gradually result in a real impact, especially for
archipelagic nations with long coastlines, in the form of sea level rises and high
waves.
Efforts to make coastal cities with a better social security in dealing with climate
change require a good adaptation. The concept of adaptation is one that needs to be
prioritized and mainstreamed in a long-term planning at the national to individuals
level, primarily related to urban space governance. Mainstreaming climate change
adaptation is an important process in all development programs in urban areas, small
islands, and coastal areas in Indonesia. However, the problems of coastal cities are
quite complex, including (1) Ecological problems, for example, the loss of biodiversity, loss of marine habitat, the declining of marine productivity, the contamination
and alteration of river flows, and reclamation efforts. (2) Economic problems, for
instance, the rising of health costs, loss of work days, rising social services for
new infrastructure and rehabilitation. (3) Social Problems, for example, unemployment, loss of income or livelihood, loss of employment opportunities, the decrease
of productivity, loss of social protection, and life-supporting infrastructure needs.
Based on the above problems, the question of this paper is How the Government’s
efforts to make coastal cities have a better social resilience in the face of climate
change?
The research question at the top is how can the government make coastal cities
have better social resilience in facing climate change, especially when regulations are
applied, of course in accordance with RAN-API, namely the reclamation of marine
and coastal areas?