Holding back the tide

Editor's note: In this weekly feature China Daily gives voice to Asia and its people. The stories presented come mainly from the Asia News Network (ANN), of which China Daily is among its 20 leading titles.

The encroaching ocean laps against a road in Karminah's village, threatening her home in Central Java, where the government says it has a plan to hold back the tide.

Indonesia wants to construct an $80 billion, 700-kilometer seawall along Java's coast to address land loss, as climate change raises sea levels and groundwater extraction causes land to sink.

For residents who have seen the tide come more than 1 km inland in parts of Java, the plan sounds like salvation.

However, with a timeline of decades and uncertain financing, it appears unlikely to arrive quickly enough, and climate experts warn that it could make matters worse by accelerating erosion elsewhere and disrupting ecosystems.

For Karminah, 50, those concerns feel distant.

"What's important is that it doesn't flood here. So that it's comfortable," she said in Bedono village, referring to a coastal road that disappears almost daily.

"School can't happen, the children can't play, they can only sit on the pavement staring at the water."

The government describes the colossal wall as one of its "most vital" initiatives to help coastal communities in Java, which is home to more than half of the country's 280 million citizens, as well as the fast-sinking capital, Jakarta.