Jakarta: Many of Indonesia's islands may be swallowed up by the sea if world leaders fail to find a way to halt rising sea levels at this week's climate change conference on the resort island of Bali.
Doomsters take this dire warning by Indonesian scientists a step further and predict that by 2035, the Indonesian capital's airport will be flooded by sea water and rendered useless; and by 2080, the tide will be lapping at the steps of Jakarta's imposing Dutch-era Presidential palace which sits 10 kilometres inland.
The Bali conference is aimed at finding a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012, on cutting carbon emissions that contribute to global warming. With over 17,000 islands, many at risk of being washed away, Indonesians are anxious to see an agreement reached and quickly implemented that will keep rising seas at bay.
Just last week, tides burst through sea walls, cutting a key road to Jakarta's international airport until officials were able to reinforce coastal barricades.
"Island states are very vulnerable to sea level rise and very vulnerable to storms. Indonesia is particularly vulnerable," Nicholas Stern, author of an acclaimed report on climate change, said on a visit to Jakarta earlier this year.
Even large islands are at risk as global warming might shrink their land mass, forcing coastal communities out of their homes and depriving millions of a livelihood.
The island of Java, which accounts for more than half of Indonesia's 226 million people would be hit hardest. Rising sea levels would swamp three of its biggest cities - Jakarta, Surabaya and Semarang - destroying industrial plants and infrastructure.
"Tens of millions of people would have to move out of their homes. There is no way this will happen without conflict," Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar said recently.
Rooted to conservation
Indonesia has planted millions of trees to soak up an estimated 50,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases to be emitted during UN-led climate talks in Bali, Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar said yesterday.
Pines, acacia, and meranti trees, a type of tropical hardwood, have been planted on about 4,500 hectares on the islands of Sumatra, Kalimantan and Java, Witoelar said. "The government of Indonesia is dedicating the carbon stock of the trees to offset the emissions produced by the UN meeting," he told a news conference. "Apart from offsetting emissions, we'd like to make this a carbon-positive event."
A car-free zone has also been introduced on the Nusa Dua strip where meetings are held and delegates are being encouraged to walk or cycle from one venue to another.
