MPB-07564; No of Pages 3
Marine Pollution Bulletin xxx (2016) xxx–xxx
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Marine Pollution Bulletin
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/marpolbul
Editorial
Impacts of megacities on tropical coastal ecosystems — The case of Jakarta, Indonesia
Keywords:
Megacities
Tropical coastal ecosystems
Coastal pollution
Marine biodiversity
Coastal livelihoods
Of today's 28 megacities in the world (cities with more than 10 mil-
lion inhabitants), 16 are located in Asia (UN, 2014). Megacities have
moved from being associated predominantly with developed countries
to a phenomenon related to developing and emerging economies,
which also reflects the overall trend of industrialization and urbaniza-
tion in emerging and developing countries in the last few decades
(e.g. Marsh, 2012; Suri and Taube, 2014). Most megacities are located
at the coast, causing various environmental problems such as water
pollution and coastal littering, eutrophication, seafood contamination,
depletion of fishery resources and loss of habitat (Blackburn et al.,
2014). As the environmental issues faced by these megacities are
complex and diverse, their assessments require collaborative efforts
covering a range of disciplines. Yet, there are few interdisciplinary and
comprehensive studies of the marine environment of coastal megacities
(e.g. Pelling and Blackburn, 2014). The present interdisciplinary special
issue addresses the impacts of the rapidly transforming megacity Jakar-
ta, the capital of Indonesia and the center of the 2nd largest urban
agglomeration worldwide, on the adjacent tropical coastal ecosystem
by an array of studies covering different research disciplines.
The maritime nation of Indonesia is an archipelago with ~ 17,500
islands, the world's fourth most populous country and a center of
marine biodiversity (Roberts et al., 2002). With over 80,000 km,
Indonesia has the second largest coastline of any country, and over
130 million people out of a total population of around 238 million live
within 50 km of the coast. Marine resources play a major role as protein
source and generate substantial income for the nation (MMAF, 2009).
Indonesia's share of the global manufacturing output increased from
0.7 to 1.8% in the period 1990–2010 (Marsh, 2012). This rapid economic
development induced a migration towards the cities, a trend also visible
in other emerging economies. The Jakarta region is the center of the
national economic activity and has been the most attractive area in
Indonesia for investment during the last 30 years (Nur et al., 2001). Ja-
karta City is located on the Northern coast of Java Island. An estimated
number of over 25 million inhabitants live in the Greater Jakarta Metro-
politan area (Firman and Rakodi, 2008; UN-Habitat, 2009). This area is,
besides the metropolitan areas of Mumbai, Bangkok and Manila, one of
the coastal megacities in the tropical zone of Asia. Noteworthy, tropical
coastal zones provide important ecosystem functions and services and
often host unique and vulnerable habitats like mangroves and coral
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.11.060
0025-326X/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Please cite this article as: Dsikowitzky, L., et al., Impacts of megacities on tropical coastal ecosystems — The case of Jakarta, Indonesia, Marine Pol-
lution Bulletin (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.11.060
reefs which are characterized by a high biodiversity. Therefore, rapid
growth of coastal megacities in tropical regions implies a strong poten-
tial for conflict between economic interests and nature conservation.
Several recent studies documented the rapid transformation of the
Greater Jakarta area as well as the risks and problems associated with
this transformation. Jakarta City forms part of the wider metropolitan
region Jabodetabek, including the surrounding districts Bogor,
Tangerang, Depok and Bekasi. Much of the expansion of Greater Jakarta
in the last years has taken place in peri-urban areas to the west, south
and east (e.g. Turner, 2012). The population growth and the developing
economic activities led to increased demands on the urban water sup-
ply. Public clean water supply reaches less than half of the population
(Douglass, 2005). The greatest proportion of the city's water require-
ment is covered by groundwater extraction (Bakker, 2007; Delinom
et al., 2009), and the rate of groundwater extraction for domestic and in-
dustrial purposes between 1998 and 2007 strongly increased (Firman
et al., 2011). As a result, the shallow groundwater level has descended
steadily (Delinom et al., 2009), and due to over-pumping, this aquifer
is contaminated with urban surface waters and intruding saltwater
(Bakker, 2007; Steinberg, 2007). The excessive groundwater pumping
has also led to the intrusion of contaminated water from the shallow
aquifer into the deeper aquifers (Kagabu et al., 2013). The overexploita-
tion of the groundwater resources, the load of constructions/buildings
as well as the natural consolidation of the alluvial soils caused a land
subsidence (in some locations up to 20–28 cm y−1), mainly in the
northern and central parts of Jakarta City. The land subsidence induced
changes in river and canal flow systems, malfunctions of the drainage
system and a wider expansion of flooding areas (Abidin et al., 2011).
Currently, about 40% of Jakarta is located below sea-level, and the city
is vulnerable to the climate change-related impacts of river floods and
rising sea level (Firman et al., 2011). Recent big floods occurring during
the rainy season affected up to 60% of the city area, killed dozens of
people and caused the submerging and destroying of thousands of
houses, with more than 400,000 people being temporarily homeless.
An enhanced rate of water-borne diseases was observed, and large
parts of the city were disconnected from electricity and telecommunica-
tion services (Douglass, 2005; Steinberg, 2007).
Only 2% of the households in Jakarta are connected to a centralized
sewage treatment facility (Setiabudi Wastewater Treatment Plant),
and 16% are connected to individual treatment plants. The wastewater
of 71% of the population is collected in septic tanks and transported to
septic tank wastewater treatment installations. However, the capacities
of these facilities (e.g. in Bantar Gebang and Kosambi) are too low to fa-
cilitate the whole population. A proportion of 11% of the city residents,
namely in the slum areas, have to dispose of their wastewater directly
into the rivers (Apip et al., 2015). In these areas, the wastewaters from
flush lavatories have to be collected in septic tanks, whereas all other
wastewaters remain untreated and flow directly from the households
2 Editorial
into open channels which are connected to rivers and storm drains.
Entire sections of the city lack adequate drainage and an appropriate
sewage system (e.g. Cybriwsky and Ford, 2001; Apip et al., 2015). More-
over, due to the inadequate capacity of the rubbish collection services,
approximately 500 tons of solid wastes per day, that is about 7% of the
total daily waste amount, are not collected and are potentially dumped
into the rivers (BPLHD, 2012). The Indonesian government has initiated
a number of actions to cope with these problems, such as the Indonesian
Clean River Program (Prokasih — Program Kali Bersih), the 3 R (“Reuse,
Reduce, Recycle”) program as well as solid waste segregation (BPLHD,
2012). These programs have improved the public awareness towards
the value of waste management, although they have not fully succeeded
yet. Up to the present day, enormous amounts of solid wastes and
partially treated or untreated wastewaters from households and indus-
tries are transported by the 13 rivers and canals flowing through the
metropolitan area of Jakarta. These rivers and canals discharge their
loads into the coastal ecosystem, the Jakarta Bay.
Jakarta Bay covers a wide environmental gradient. The northern part
of Jakarta Bay contains the Thousand Islands (Kepulauan Seribu), an
archipelago of more than 100 low-lying coral cays on a shallow shelf
partly protected by the Kepulauan Seribu Marine National Park. The
islands are home to more than 20,000 inhabitants depending mostly
on marine resources for their livelihoods (Fauzi and Buchary, 2002).
To the south, the bay is bounded by the Greater Jakarta metropolitan
area. Approximately 60% of the bay shoreline has been modified for
urban, industrial or infrastructure development, with a further 30%
modified for agriculture or aquaculture purposes. Jakarta Bay is one of
the leading harbors in Southeast Asia, and the harbor functions as key
engine for the Indonesian economic development (Bengen et al.,
2006). An estimated number of 40,000 coastal inhabitants derive their
principal source of income from fishing using traditional fishing
techniques in the bay (Badan Pusat Statistik, 2012; Prabowo et al.,
2008). A further income source of local communities is the cultiva-
tion of the green mussel Perna viridis on racks in the inner part of
Jakarta Bay.
The discharge of huge pollutant and solid waste loads from the met-
ropolitan area and the rapid infrastructure development on the coast
resulting in habitat degradation have affected the whole Jakarta Bay
ecosystem. The deteriorating water quality has led to severe impacts
on the marine communities in the bay (Rees et al., 1999; De Voogd
and Cleary, 2008, Taurusman, 2010; van der Meij et al., 2009).
Mangroves and coral reefs in this area have decreased dramatically in
recent years, from islands with diverse coral communities to depauper-
ate assemblages (Bengen et al., 2006; van der Meij and Hoeksema,
2010; Cleary et al., 2014). Coral cover in the inner part of the bay
today is only around 2% (Baum et al., 2015). Recurrent harmful algal
bloom formation, fish mortality, a decreased overall fish stock and
contamination of economic important fish and bivalve species are
further impacts (e.g. Bengen et al., 2006; Steinberg, 2007, Takarina
et al., 2012; Putri et al., 2012).
Although a number of studies addressing the environmental condi-
tions in the Jakarta Bay ecosystem and related effects were conducted,
the knowledge still remains patchy. There is a lack of comprehensive
interdisciplinary scientific assessment covering an impact assessment
in the bay and an investigation of the underlying environmental
problems in the metropolitan area in the hinterland. As an example, al-
though they constitute a major factor influencing the environmental
conditions in Jakarta Bay, the pollutant loads of the rivers flowing
through the metropolitan area have never been comprehensively
characterized or quantified. Moreover, comprehensive information is
urgently required for decision making, as there are extensive plans for
the development of new infrastructure in the city. Major land reclama-
tion activities are underway in the lower part of the bay, and the
construction of a great seawall is planned to cope with the risks of
land subsidence and rising sea water level. This increases the need to
address the uncontrolled wastewater discharges.
Please cite this article as: Dsikowitzky, L., et al., Impacts of megacities on tropical coastal ecosystems — The case of Jakarta, Indonesia, Marine Pol-
lution Bulletin (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.11.060
Therefore, several studies presented in this special issue focused on
the origin and characterization of harmful pollutant loads in the Jakarta
metropolitan area and the transport of land-derived compounds into
the Jakarta Bay ecosystem. The environmental conditions and the
oceanographic setting of the bay are reported. The pollution of the bay
and its effects on food safety of fishery resources and on marine re-
source use of local communities was assessed. Laboratory experiments
were conducted to test the effects of relevant anthropogenic stressors
on economic or functionally important bivalve and fish species. Changes
of the biotic community composition in relation to different environ-
mental conditions and along environmental gradients were deter-
mined. This included an investigation of biodiversity changes in the
coral reefs located in the Thousand Islands. Finally, possible future im-
pacts of the planned great sea wall were studied. The overall results
are summarized in a synthesis paper at the end of the special issue.
We hope that the presented studies provide valuable information for
the future development of Greater Jakarta City as well as for other
densely populated tropical coastal areas facing similar challenges,
since knowledge gaps have been identified as one of the major prob-
lems in introducing effective management strategies.
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Please cite this article as: Dsikowitzky, L., et al., Impacts of megacities on tropical coastal ecosystems — The case of Jakarta, Indonesia, Marine Pol-
lution Bulletin (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.11.060