Worsening flood risks in Semarang, Indonesia

In Semarang, many people live in coastal areas surrounded by ponds and agricultural lands. These areas suffer from flooding and land subsidence, problems expected to be exacerbated by sea-level rise and intensification of typhoons caused by climate change. These issues are jeopardizing the livelihoods of the local people; in particular, lowland residents are vulnerable to coastal flooding. Many people are exposed to flood risks because rapid urbanization happened without a careful consideration of disaster risks. Moreover, rapid urbanization and increasing population size in Semarang are causing the over exploitation of groundwater, which raises the risk of salinity of groundwater and land subsidence. However, the local people depend on fishing and agriculture and are reluctant to relocate to other, less vulnerable areas. This is especially true for the poor population: residents in flood-prone areas often decide to stay there, even though they are aware of the risks involved. In the end, without economic alternatives, it is not realistic for them to move from vulnerable and exposed areas in Semarang. Therefore, Semarang needs not only an effective approach for flood risk reduction, but also more comprehensive measures to address other issues like the diversification of local livelihood and the restoration of groundwater.

Enhancing Nature-based Solutions through Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM)

The Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) approach is being used in Semarang to address risks of coastal flooding, salinity, and land subsidence. According to the World Bank, ICZM is “a process of governance and consists of the legal and institutional framework necessary to ensure that development and management plans for coastal zones are integrated with environmental (including social) goals and are made with the participation of those affected.” (World Bank 1996). Recently, ICZM is considered as a multidisciplinary approach to manage populated coastal areas exposed to multi-hazards (PEDRR and CNRD, 2014), and a useful framework to incorporate ecosystem-based approaches such as NbS. It also pays attention to social goals, especially the involvement of the most-affected population into the planning phase. After all, those are the people most aware of the needs for adaptation.

The city of Semarang and the Indonesian government are implementing ICZM to alleviate the problem of flooding. Concrete measures are classified into structural and non-structural measures. The main structural measures include flood control in low-lying areas, embankment and drainage systems, shoreline reclamation, pumping stations, and polder facilities. These structural measures are mainly implemented by local and national governments. Non-structural measures focus on strengthening the organizational framework for disaster management, coastal planning and management, and education. These non-structural measures are mainly implemented by local community groups and non-governmental organizations.

However, just alleviating the flood risk through structural and non-structural measures is not sufficient for the issues facing Semarang. As discussed, the problem of worsening flood risk has been associated with rapid urbanization and unsustainable land-use, including the overexploitation of groundwater. To improve resilience in the long-term, more transformative change in the coastal zone may be necessary. In this light, the Semarang city also incorporates ecosystem-based measures in its ICZM policy package. These measures typically include the utilization of sand dunes, coral reefs, and mangroves to protect the local ecosystem and the local community’s livelihood from coastal hazards, and they also respond to the social needs of the local population to diversify and strengthen their livelihood. Incorporating NbS approaches into the ICZM framework was helpful, as in isolation they may not have been effective enough to respond to these challenges. In this way, the multi-benefit aspects of an ecosystem-based approach have been enhanced.

Towards sustainable and adaptive management of coastal zones

ICZM is one way to integrate and mainstream NbS into a policy package. There are two key aspects. First, ICZM, as an institutional framework to produce comprehensive policy packages for coastal zone management, has enabled the application of NbS as a component of resilience enhancement measures. Each component of ecosystem-based approaches, such as restoration of mangroves, may not be good enough for specific purposes, like for flood risk reduction. However, ICZM helps to see mangrove restoration as a solution together with other structural and non-structural measures. Second, ICZM has an integrated policy objective compared with other kinds of policy packages, such as disaster risk reduction or enhancement of local livelihood. Since it is designed to integrate environmental and social goals, measures with multiple benefits such as NbS can be squarely situated within the policy package. Actually, in Semarang, the remaining mangrove ecosystems were under pressure from intense agricultural land use and industrial and residential demands. The ICZM policy package helps to protect and restore mangrove forests and recognizes their economic value as fishponds for local fisheries. Under ICZM, the multiple benefits of mangroves are properly appreciated.

Ultimately, however, the most prominent aspect of ICZM in Semarang is that it strengthens the involvement of local communities in coastal zone management through various localized programs. In the end, it may be necessary to impose relocation as part of ICZM to lower flood risk, but to implement this understanding and support from the local population will be key. In relation to this, ICZM involves some localized programs, which is expected to help deepen the communication and mutual trust among different stakeholders. For example, as part of the ICZM strategy, the Village Climate Program disseminates coastal management strategies at the district level, which involves mangrove rehabilitation and conservation to reduce erosion and increase soil surface conditions. The ICZM package also includes education as a non-structural measure, which promotes the implementation of ecosystem-based measures. Through these continued efforts in communication and collaboration, adaptive capacity based upon a strong multi-stakeholder network may emerge in Semarang.

Tips for users

• The employment of comprehensive or holistic policy approaches like ICZM is an approach to make the most out of NbS which usually has multiple benefits.
• The implementation of NbS requires, among others, institutional and legal development, improved environmental management, public awareness of disaster risks, and participation of all relevant stakeholders during the implementation of the measures. ICZM provides a useful policy package for this.
• In implementing ICZM, various stakeholders must be involved. Among others, local communities need to be involved in the decision-making processes so that ICZM is more effective and sustainable.

Location