Land Subsidence in Sayung, Demak: A Socio-Geographical Perspective on Governance

There are several investigations on the topic of monitoring land subsidence, especially in the Northern Java area. In particular, Sayung district of Demak Regency experiences a rate of subsidence up to 15 cm/year [1]. The rate has exacerbated pertinent risk of tidal flooding, while causing major coastal erosion too [2]. Most of the research also focused on monitoring physical aspects [3] with less focus on understanding its societal impacts. The objective of this research is to understand the land subsidence from the people who experience it and to draw some insights on the governance of land subsidence. We implement geo-spatial analysis to observe changes of the physical environment followed by semi-structured interviews with communities of different levels of the area. Our geo-spatial analysis found changes in the physical environment in the most impacted land subsidence area. Subsequently, our interviews have documented impacts of land subsidence, responses of the community, and response of governance at the higher level. We found that communities falsely adapt to the current condition, which makes everyday life constantly struggle with water, without knowing that land subsidence was the cause of permanent inundation. The transforms of landscapes, lives and livelihoods have influenced societal perceptions and the interrelation between the communities and water in the area. We also found that understandings and responses to land subsidence in Sayung varies according to socio-cultural identities, prejudices, epistemic understandings, and preferred practices of those experiencing or associated with the phenomenon. This requires rethinking of a polycentric governance of land subsidence in the area. Finally, we suggest some explorative ideas for policy actions and further research to contribute to the required rethinking on land subsidence. References [1] T. Mous, B. van Veen, R. Oost, R. Akmalia, R. Dam, G. Oude Essink, P.S.J. Minderhoud. (2022). Explaining land subsidence variation in the coastal cities of Semarang and Pekalongan, Central Java, Indonesia. TISOLS 2023. https://www.tisols.org/conference [2] Rahmawati, N., Vuillaume, J. F., & Purnama, I. L. S. (2013). Salt intrusion in coastal and lowland areas of Semarang city. Journal of Hydrology, 494, 146–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2013.04.031 [3] Hamdani, R. S., Hadi, S. P., Rudiarto, I. (2021). Progress or Regress? A Systematic Review on Two Decades of Monitoring and Addressing Land Subsidence Hazards in Semarang City. Sustainability, vol. 13, no. 24, Art. no. 24, Jan. 2021, doi: 10.3390/su132413755.