Jakarta, is one of the many coastal cities along Java island that is in danger of sinking due to rising sea levels
Knowing that Indonesian live surrounded by the sea, we learned about many natural disasters that quite frequently occur in our beloved country. Disaster such as earthquake, hurricane, tsunami, flood and many more. It makes us so familiar with the word “coastal flood” throughout our school days. We were taught about what coastal flooding is, what causes coastal flooding, the impact and also its prevention. As time goes by and global warming gets worse, the word becomes something that we not only learned in school but it’s becoming a very near future that awaits us, Indonesian, especially those who live on the island of Java. In general, the coastal communities of south and north coast Java are facing the great threat of coastal flooding. Recently, the cases of coastal flooding have increased significantly, for example our capital city, Jakarta, is one of the many coastal cities along Java island that is in danger of sinking due to rising sea levels. So what are the ways we can do to prevent the island of Java
flooding?
One of many things we can do to reduce coastal flooding that potentially occur on the north coast and south coast of Java is creating mangrove forest. Mangroves are the first line of defense for coastal communities. They stabilize shorelines by slowing erosion and provide natural barriers protecting coastal communities from flooding, hurricanes and increased storm surge. Preventing seawater intrusion into land is also one of the important roles of the trees. With the existence of mangrove forests, mud will be deposited on tree roots to slowing down erosion due to damaging waves. Not only that mangroves are home to many incredible species. They provide habitat for fish and shellfish. This also gives the coastal communities a better livelihood as they can harvest fish, crab and clam for them to consume or to sell. In short mangrove forests are essential to prevent the coastal flooding and also a very productive ecosystem that provides critical benefit to all of us. Therefore, it’s our, the millennials and zoomers, responsibility to promote the planting of mangrove massively to the community. Because the future is in our hands!
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Written by: Lathifah