{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1719583,
        "msgid": "absorbing-public-aspirations-mpr-deputy-speaker-urges-action-on-rob-crisis-in-demak-1778197962",
        "date": "2026-05-05 19:12:58",
        "title": "Absorbing Public Aspirations, MPR Deputy Speaker Urges Action on Rob Crisis in Demak",
        "author": "",
        "source": "DETIK",
        "tags": "",
        "topic": "Social Policy",
        "summary": "Rerie, the Deputy Speaker of the MPR, has highlighted the structural crisis in Sayung, Demak, where coastal flooding and abrasion are eroding land and livelihoods, affecting 15,000 families and displacing agricultural communities into unstable informal sectors. Drawing on recent BRIN research showing 65.8% of northern Java's coastline suffering erosion due to upstream infrastructure disruptions, she warns this is a national issue impacting thousands of hectares. Rerie calls for systemic, long-term solutions including economic transition programs, social protection, ecosystem restoration, and sustainable coastal policies beyond mere physical barriers like dykes.",
        "content": "<p>\u201cWhat is happening in Sayung, Demak, is no longer just tidal\nflooding, but a structural crisis causing the gradual loss of land and\nliving spaces for the community,\u201d emphasised Rerie in her statement on\nTuesday (5 May 2026). She made these remarks following up on the results\nof absorbing public aspirations during the recess period in Sayung\nSubdistrict, Demak Regency, last week. Recent research from the National\nResearch and Innovation Agency (BRIN) records that 65.8% of the northern\nJava coastline has experienced abrasion over the period from 2000 to\n2024. These findings were presented by Researcher from BRIN\u2019s Centre for\nClimate and Atmospheric Research, Tubagus Solihuddin, during the Earth\nand Maritime Research Organisation (ORKM) Expose and Focus Group\nDiscussion (FGD) themed \u2018Resilient Pantura, Sustainable Indonesia for\nthe Integration of Science, Innovation, and Coastal Resilience\u2019 at the\nBJ Habibie Building, Jakarta, on Monday (4 May). Based on Sentinel\nsatellite imagery analysis, changes in the northern Java coastline are\ndominated by erosion at 65.8%, while accretion only reaches 34.2%. This\nphenomenon is considered unusual as it occurs in delta areas that are\nnaturally sedimentation zones. The condition is triggered by various\nupstream activities, such as canalisation, river diversion, and the\nconstruction of road infrastructure and dams that disrupt sediment\nsupply to the coast. Furthermore, the impacts are already visible in\nseveral areas. In Tanjung Pontang, Serang, Banten, land area of 1.72\nsquare kilometres has been lost due to erosion. Meanwhile, in Pantai\nBahagia, Muara Gembong, Bekasi, West Java, seawater has penetrated up to\n4 kilometres inland, submerging more than 1,000 hectares of ponds.\nSimilar conditions have occurred in Legonkulon, Subang, West Java, with\nseawater intrusion up to 2 kilometres, submerging around 700 hectares of\nponds. In Indramayu, West Java, abrasion has even damaged village roads\nspanning 500 metres to 1 kilometre. In the Demak area, seawater has been\nrecorded to have entered up to 5-6 kilometres inland, submerging rice\nfields and residential areas. Rerie emphasised that what is happening in\nSayung is not just a local case, but a national warning for all northern\nJava coastal regions. Throughout 2026, 6,600 hectares of Demak territory\nhave been affected by tidal flooding and permanent inundation. The\naffected area has increased dramatically from last year\u2019s recorded 1,200\nhectares. Rerie, a legislator from Electoral District II of Central Java\n(Demak, Kudus, and Jepara Regencies), revealed that around 15,000\nhouseholds in 20 villages are directly affected. Only about 5 villages\nin Sayung remain as rice field areas. Furthermore, Rerie disclosed that\nthe majority of the community has lost agricultural land and is forced\nto switch to pond farming without adequate knowledge, as well as\nentering the informal sector with unstable incomes. \u201cThis transition\noccurs forcibly, without readiness and without systemic support,\u201d said\nRerie, explaining the field findings during the recess. The senior\nmember of the NasDem Party\u2019s High Council also conveyed several\ncommunity complaints, including rice fields that can no longer be\nplanted, drastically reduced incomes, damaged or flooded homes and\nenvironments, and continuously rising living costs. \u201cThey are left to\nface those conditions on their own,\u201d said Rerie, conveying the\ncomplaints of the community in Sayung Subdistrict. In addition, Rerie\nurged concrete and measured steps in handling the tidal flooding in\nSayung. Several steps taken, she added, must be systemic and long-term\nbased, with real economic transition programmes for affected\ncommunities, strengthened social protection, coastal ecosystem\nrestoration, and sustainable coastal area policy arrangements. Rerie\nstressed that physical handling such as dyke construction is not enough\nwithout accompanying economic transition policies and social protection\nthat favour the community. \u201cWhat is lost in Sayung is not just land.\nWhat is lost is living space, certainty, and the future,\u201d concluded\nRerie.\u201d<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/absorbing-public-aspirations-mpr-deputy-speaker-urges-action-on-rob-crisis-in-demak-1778197962",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}