The 'wickedness' of governing land subsidence: Policy perspectives from urban Southeast Asia

PLoS One. 2021 Jun 9;16(6):e0250208. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0250208. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

Drawing on Jakarta, Metro Manila and Singapore as case studies, we explore the paradox of slow political action in addressing subsiding land, particularly along high-density urban coastlines with empirical insights from coastal geography, geodesy analysis, geology, and urban planning. In framing land subsidence as a classic 'wicked' policy problem, and also as a hybrid geological and anthropogenic phenomenon that is unevenly experienced across urban contexts, the paper uses a three-step analysis. First, satellite-derived InSAR maps are integrated with Sentinel-1A data in order to reveal the socio-temporal variability of subsidence rates which in turn pose challenges in uniformly applying regulatory action. Second, a multi-sectoral mapping of diverse policies and practices spanning urban water supply, groundwater extraction, land use zoning, building codes, tenurial security, and land reclamation reveal the extent to which the broader coastal governance landscape remains fragmented and incongruous, particularly in arresting a multi-dimensional phenomenon such as subsidence. Finally, in reference to distinct coastal identities of each city-the 'Sinking Capital' (Jakarta), 'Fortress Singapore', and the 'Disaster Capital' (Manila) the paper illustrates how land subsidence is portrayed across the three metropolises in markedly similar ways: as a reversible, quasi-natural, and/or a highly individualized problem.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Asia, Southeastern
  • Environmental Policy*
  • Groundwater
  • Humans
  • Indonesia
  • Natural Resources*
  • Philippines
  • Singapore
  • Urban Renewal*

Grants and funding

This study was generously funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft / the German Science Foundation (DFG), through the first phase of the Special Priority Program (SPP) - 1889 “Regional Sea Level Change and Society.” The paper integrates interdisciplinary work of three SPP 1889 research projects – “Epistemic Mobilities and the Governance of Environmental Risks in Island Southeast Asia” (EMERSA), the “Hazardous Potential in Indonesia and South East Asia” (CoRSEA), and “Holocene Sea-level Changes in Southeast Asia” (SEASchange).