The qualitative analysis of the nexus dynamics in the Pekalongan coastal area, Indonesia

Abstract

Several studies investigated the dynamics of coastal areas, investigating some issues such as sea-level rise, floods, and water scarcity. Despite existing studies discussing coastal areas, there are limited studies investigating Asian coastal areas and their proposed solutions may not overcome extreme events. This study investigates the dynamics of the Pekalongan coastal area, Central Java, Indonesia. Despite efforts such as the development of dikes and groundwater pumping, people in Pekalongan have currently experienced more frequent floods and land subsidence that have led to larger inundated areas and people migration. Using the system archetypes, this study shows that the coastal area consists of renowned nexus elements (water, land, and food) and less recognized nexus elements (health and wellbeing). This means that changes in one nexus element may threaten other nexus elements, exacerbating problems in the observed system. For instance, unsustainable nexus actions such as overexploited groundwater tend to increase flooded areas, threatening people health, and inducing people migration. The system archetypes also show that the coastal area consists of Limits to Growth structures. As such, growth engines such as land-use change and groundwater pumping should be managed or restricted properly. Managing growth engines can prevent us from natural disasters such as floods and water scarcity. Likewise, as the system archetypes describe generic patterns and solutions, some findings of this study can be useful for the other coastal areas.

Land Subsidence and Groundwater Storage Assessment Using ICOPS, GRACE, and Susceptibility Mapping in Pekalongan, Indonesia

“…The cause of the land subsidence in Pekalongan was known to be groundwater exploitation for domestic use and agriculture. The groundwater utilization in Pekalongan was because of the scarcity of the water source, especially the surface water [35], [87]. The groundwater extraction activities in Pekalongan in this study were shown by the groundwater level data in a monitoring well near the GPS station in Fig.…”

“…This incident can result in the use of groundwater to be used as the main water source which in turn can cause other problems such as land subsidence and seawater intrusion. Land subsidence in Pekalongan was reported to have a significant impact with an increase in tidal flooding of around 50-100 cm which caused an increase in inundation area on the coast of Pekalongan and its surroundings in the last decades [35].…”

“…Meanwhile, the lithological features of Pekalongan which consists of an alluvium landform could affect the land subsidence due to unconsolidated sediment that could be compacted due to the gaps in soil pore that exist due to the groundwater extraction. The distance to the river map and drainage density describes the groundwater condition and could indirectly affect the land subsidence [4], [29], [35], [47], [55].…”

Global patterns of water‐driven human migration

“…Excessive groundwater pumping along coastlines has contributed to saline contamination of many aquifers, land subsidence, and inundation, changing patterns of internal migration in many coastal cities, such as Semarang, Pekalongan, and Jakarta in Indonesia (Buchori et al, 2018; Khairulbahri, 2022) and along the southwest coast of Bangladesh (Rakib et al, 2019). The situation will worsen as sea levels rise under climate change.…”

Mapping the environmental impacts from land subsidence hazard in Pekalongan City and its correlation with the subsurface condition

“…Pekalongan city suffers from direct and indirect impacts on land subsidence. Regular flooding devastates the city, causing large inundation area and forcing people to migrate [8]. Coastal flooding also affects the water quality of the shallow groundwater, making the previously potable shallow well contaminated by seawater [9].…”