Jakarta – The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) has issued a serious warning about the impact of climate change that threatens to cause Indonesia to lose up to 30,120 square kilometres of land by 2050. Studies conducted by BRIN show that sea level rise due to climate change is one of the main factors that could cause this land loss.
Deputy Head of BRIN, Amarulla Octavian, explained that climate change has a significant impact on water resources and results in various environmental and social problems. “The impact of climate change on water resources includes the urban clean water crisis, food insecurity, increased frequency of disease, changes in rainfall patterns, and disaster vulnerability,” Amarulla said in a press release released on Monday, July 22.
BRIN data shows that in the period 2010-2017, there was an increase of 887 hydrometeorological disaster events, including floods, landslides, droughts, tornadoes, forest fires, tidal waves, and abrasion.
Eddy Hermawan, Research Professor of Meteorology at BRIN’s Center for Climate and Atmospheric Research, explained that in 2010, the sea level rose by 0.4 meters, leading to the loss of 7,408 km² of land.
“It is estimated that by 2050, sea level will rise by 0.56 meters, which will cause the loss of about 30,120 km² of Indonesian land,” Eddy said.
Eddy also mentioned that the impacts of climate change are not only limited to water resources, but also include the cropping calendar, loss of small islands, and flooding.
“By 2100, Indonesia is expected to lose 115 medium-sized islands located in the provinces of North Sumatra to West Papua,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Principal Expert Researcher of Watershed Management, Center for Limnology and Water Resources Research at BRIN, Irfan Budi Pramono, argued that nature-based solutions (NBS) have great potential to address water resources issues in line with climate change.
“The paradigm of water management must shift from ‘drain’ to ‘infiltrate’,” said Irfan. According to him, implementing NBS in water resources management requires the involvement of many parties, both the government and the community.
Overall, climate change impacts water resources in various ways, including increased rainfall intensity in the wet season, increased frequency and intensity of floods, reduced rainfall and river discharge in the dry season, and longer dry season periods. In addition, rising temperatures followed by heat waves, ecosystem changes, increasing intensity and frequency of storms, as well as coastal abrasion and expanding areas affected by seawater intrusion are also serious threats.
With the threat of significant land loss, BRIN calls on all parties to take climate change more seriously. Collaborative efforts between the government, academics and the community are needed to mitigate the negative impacts that are already being felt today and will get worse in the future. (Hartatik)
