Feasibility Study on Coastal Resettlement Affected by Permanent Coastal Inundation Using a Managed Retreat Approach in Coastal Areas

BACKGROUND

Mercy Corps Indonesia is part of Mercy Corps, a global organization dedicated to helping communities build resilience in the face of crises, including disasters and climate change. One of its key initiatives is through the Zurich Climate Resilience Alliance (ZCRA), formerly known as the Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance (ZFRA), a cross-sector collaboration involving Zurich Insurance Group, NGOs, and academic institutions. The Alliance aims to strengthen community resilience to climate risks, particularly through an evidence-based approach and interventions that include community collaboration, research, and policy advocacy.

The northern coastal region of Central Java, including Demak Regency, is one of the area’s most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change in Indonesia. The combination of land subsidence, sea level rise, and coastal abrasion is causing tidal flooding (rob) that is becoming more frequent, more extensive, and increasingly difficult to recede[1]. Water as Leverage: City Report Semarang records that Semarang is experiencing land subsidence of up to 8 centimetres per year[2]. Semarang, Demak, and Pekalongan share similar geological conditions, namely low-lying alluvial plains formed from the sediment of small rivers, which are naturally prone to subsidence, a vulnerability further worsened by groundwater extraction and development pressure. At a number of points, what was once periodic flooding has turned into Permanent Coastal Inundation (PCI), altering the region's topography and submerging rice fields, fishponds, jasmine plantations, and residents' settlements. As a result, residents' livelihoods have undergone change and adjustment in response to these shifting conditions. Artiningsih (2018) highlights communities that have adapted and continued to survive in affected areas by managing productive assets such as jasmine gardens, which have gradually been lost to seawater intrusion.

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