Professional Documents
Culture Documents
133-143
P-ISSN: 2614-3917, E-ISSN: 2775-5037
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24815/jr.v6i1.29460
INTRODUCTION
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Riwayat: Educational Journal of History and Humanities, 6 (1), 2023
In Semarang, a large port city of 1.7 shrunk: the soil in the main Semarang
million people, high tides regularly area is becoming softer and more brittle,
produce riots, the local word for high which will scientifically result in the level
tide. Rob is an undesirable excess of of subsidence in the soil; furthermore,
water that, ideally, should not occur in the burden on the land in northern
highly populated metropolitan settings. Semarang is quite heavy due to the
In recent years, however, both govern- expansion of infrastructure; and lastly,
ments and coastal communities have the land in northern Semarang has been
found it incredibly difficult and intimi- subjected to a significant amount of
dating to counter piracy. Adjustments to abrasion (Suhelmi & Prihatno,2014).
the infrastructure, such as raising roads
and damming rivers, can provide Patria Rizky Ananda, a science
temporary solutions for containing the manager for WALHI in Central Java,
ever-increasing volume of water, but determined that factories and industrial
ultimately these facilities have failed to areas on the Semarang coast contribute
contain the water output and volume of to the exploitation of groundwater by
water. In an impoverished area in the drilling groundwater for industrial
north like Kaligawe, it appears hard to purposes, given that the majority of
prevent the intrusions and tides (tide of factories and industrial areas in Se-
robbery) ( Krause & Harris,2021). marang are located on the coast of North
Semarang. It should be noted that there
Eliminating sea level rise in the has been a ban on the use of ground-
form of rob is very difficult to overcome, water for the Semarang area regarding
because most of the land in inhabited groundwater management, but until
Indonesia lies below sea level and is now the implementation of this regional
trapped in the process of inevitable regulation has not been maximally
subsidence, intense accumulation, and applied even though the PDAM water
groundwater discharge, resulting in land subsidy has oversupplyed this regulation
subsidence which is quite huge. There- as stated in Regional Regulation No. 3 of
fore, in the subject of tidal flooding, it can 2018, so there is a discrepancy here
be argued that the land is reducing daily, towards government policies with the
not the sea water, which is rising, but the reality that occurs in the field which
land on the Semarang coast, which is raises questions about the propor-
declining daily. Heri Andreas, a surveyor tionality of the regional regulations that
from the Bandung Institute of Techno- have been made (Setiyawan,2022).
logy, has demonstrated that the ground
around the shore of Semarang sinks an There is a lack of government
average of 10 centimeters each year and oversight on the permits and processes
up to 20 centimeters per year in some for these industrial companies, particu-
areas. Therefore, Heri Andreas theorized larly those that use groundwater.
that ground subsidence contributed to
North Semarang's vulnerability to tidal
flooding and the possibility of drowning.
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Riwayat: Educational Journal of History and Humanities, 6 (1), 2023
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Riwayat: Educational Journal of History and Humanities, 6 (1), 2023
to this long standing issue, and inhabi- ment in Semarang have changed rapidly.
tants have lost their homes one by one. Changes in land use that occurred in the
upper and lower Semarang areas are
However, what are the Semarang now getting out of control. These events
government's political policies regarding often overlook the environmental capa-
the phenomena of land subsidence in city of the system. Housing growth,
Tambakrejo Semarang? It is reasonable industrial expansion, and agriculture in
to say that the government does not low-lying areas are contributing to land
uphold the requirements of government subsidence and the area affected is
administration, namely mandated effici- increasing every year.
ency, which they should pursue as
optimally as possible with high produc- The focus of this discussion is
tivity, given that this issue already affects land subsidence in Tambakrejo. Tam-
a great number of the rights of Indone- bakrejo village was affected by one of the
sian citizens. worst subsidences in Semarang. The
land subsidence at Tambakrejo Se-
METHOD marang was between 10 and 18 centi-
meters (Herlambang , 2021). The land
This study was discussed using
has turned into the ocean, several areas
empirical juridical research methods in and residential areas have disappeared
which researchers made observations in and have been submerged in water,
the field directly by gathering facts
especially the Tanjung Mas area where
through interviews with related sources public cemeteries are also submerged in
and collecting data from various jour- sea water. This incident left grief for the
nals, researchers used applicable legal families whose houses were submerged
regulations and then correlated with the in sea water and the graves of residents
fact data obtained by obser-vation
who were submerged in sea water. This
results that have occurred in the midst of
is contrary to the goals of the Indonesian
people's lives. Legal materials consist of state and the provisions of the highest
law books, journals, articles, and online
source of law in Indonesia. Communities
sources related to environ-mental law have the right to live and have a decent
and state administrative law.
and healthy place to live as stated in the
1945 Constitution of the Republic of
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Indonesia article 28H.
The Impact of the Land Subsidence
Phenomenon in Tambakrejo There are multiple causes of land
Semarang on Society subsidence in Tambakrejo Semarang,
Soil subsidence, as the movement including groundwater extraction, the
of the soil surface under downward natural consolidation of alluvium soil,
pressure, is a major constraint to deve- and the excessive use of land by irres-
lopment in many regions around the ponsible parties governed by Law No.4
world ( Prasetyo&Subiyanto,2014). This of 1982 and Law No. 23 of 1997
can damage existing buildings, roads, regarding land subsidence caused by
bridges, industrial areas, and result in infrastructure development and cons-
loss of homes, even causing injury or loss truction loads. The leading cause of land
of life. Many urban areas in Indonesia, subsidence is soil compaction in certain
such as Jakarta, Bandung, and Semarang aquifer systems coupled with excessive
are experiencing land subsidence. Land groundwater pumping. In addition, mo-
use patterns and the physical environ- difying the drainage system is likely to
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Riwayat: Educational Journal of History and Humanities, 6 (1), 2023
cause further, less obvious, slow-develo- from the Tambakrejo Semarang com-
ping difficulties. Due to the rising water munity in accordance with Law No. 26 of
level near the river's mouth, field drai- 2007. (Ivars,2007) The government's
nage and canals may sink. Soaking limits actions in the Tambakrejo land subsi-
drainage capacity and can cause diffi- dence case were disproportionate, there
culties with waterlogging and Sali- was no guarantee of human rights in the
nization (Archenita,2015) forcible removal of individuals, and the
community naturally rejected the
government's efforts because there was
no assurance of land ownership rights
and no compensation.
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Riwayat: Educational Journal of History and Humanities, 6 (1), 2023
gence, the Tambakrejo Semarang com- ration of Human Rights (Article 25) and
munity lost their homes and made efforts Article 11 of the International Covenant
to raise the house to spend up to Rp. on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
40,000,000.00 each year. There is a need (1966). The right to a good and healthy
for repressive efforts to enforce the law environment is also emphasized in Arti-
on environmental protection and mana- cle 28 H of the 1945 Constitution of the
gement for anyone who violates it must Republic of Indonesia. Some of the
be given a penalty based on Law No. 32 impacts that the Tambakrejo community
of 2009 through administrative law has suffered have disrupted their every-
enforcement, investigations into envi- day lives, thus the government must take
ronmental crimes, and settlement of decisive steps to address this complex
disputes outside the court. land subsidence situation. Government
promises must be fulfilled so that the
The people of Tambakrejo consequences they experience are not
Semarang are not just silent about big exacerbated and can be managed.
events like this. Semarang State Uni-
versity together with the Tambakrejo Political Policy of the Semarang
Semarang community created a com- Government in Responding to Land
munity engaged in abrasion handling at Subsidence in Tambakrejo Semarang
Pesisi Semarang which was formed on
December 2 2011 which was named The phenomenon of land sub-
CAMAR. The community and the CAMAR sidence in Tambakrejo, Semarang has
group are aware of and care about the devoured dozens of houses, so there is a
surrounding environment, which is need for solutions and political action by
increasingly concerned about water the Semarang government to solve the
having devoured several residents' problem of the sinking of dozens of resi-
houses. As an effort to deal with this, the dents' houses in Tambakrejo. Residents'
CAMAR group pioneered the planting of homes that have not yet been submerged
mangroves. are also flooded every day by water that
enters the house, damaging residents'
The issue of land subsidence is belongings.
becoming increasingly complex and dif-
ficult to manage effectively. These signs Since 2010 until now, local
are reflected in the deteriorating condi- residents have not felt the effective
tion of the ecosystem. The fact that the efforts of the Government of Semarang.
Tambakrejo consume groundwater and After the author interviewed the Head of
dispose of trash in their dwellings Neighbourhood, Mr. Edi Setyono, RT
frequently results in health problems. In 05/RW016, Tambakrejo, Kel.Tanjung
addition, bites from snakes are a Mas, he said that residents had not
common form of snake attack. (Setyono, experienced an effective solution from
2022) Losses from reduced subsidence the Government of Semarang in handling
include the occurrence of health hazards tidal floods around Tambakrejo.
or negative effects, immaterial, material
losses (costs used to raise houses or des- So far, Mr. Edi Setyono stated that
troyed houses), and the natural balance the solution that the residents hoped for
does not work as it should. (Guzy & was the construction of a concrete wall in
Malinowska,2020) The right to a healthy the form of a village belt and pumps
environment is one of the basic rights named "Larap Flood Control and Rob in
enshrined in the 1948 Universal Decla- the Tambak Lorok Area "which was
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Riwayat: Educational Journal of History and Humanities, 6 (1), 2023
proposed by the Semarang City Task sation in the form of a house renovation
Force Ir. Hj. Hevearita Gunaryanti, M. program for 9 houses by the Central
Sos. Where implementation is expected Government. Seeing from the people's
to begin in early September 2022. Initial houses that were renovated by the
identification in the form of measuring government is not comparable to the
residents' assets from the wall of PT number of residents' houses that have
Indonesia Power to the east roughly 37 suffered losses so that the imple-
meters to the north seaward 28 fields mentation of the principle of propor-
has been accomplished thus far. None- tionality cannot be seen.
theless, the Government of Semarang has
not yet implemented the village belt's Frequently, tidal flooding occurs
construction. In this instance, the during the full moon since the sea tide
administration has expressed legitimate rises when the full moon shines. With the
optimism over the ground subsidence cooperation of the Department of
situation in Tambakrejo. Geology Engineering at Diponegoro
University, the Port, and the Mete-
orological, Climatological, and Geo-
physical Agency, which provided a tidal
calendar, it was possible to foresee the
abrupt tidal flood that destroyed the
homes of residents. However, this
calendar is only provided by the Meteo-
rological, Climatological, and Geo-
physical Agency and the port if residents
request the tidal calendar in advance.
The government is not swift in preven-
ting tidal waters. The government should
Figure 3. Schematic of the Tambakrejo provide a routine tide calendar without
Village Belt Plan being asked by residents. The Tambak-
rejo community has the right to get
The incident in 2020 was a dark access to information such as the tide
period for the residents of Tambakrejo, calendar provided by the government
because the seawater had devoured 15 and to have fulfillment of their rights to a
houses in the Tambakrejo area, to be healthy and good environment in
precise at RT 05 RW 16. After the resi- accordance with UUPPLH regulations
dents' houses were lost, the seawater Article 65 paragraphs (2) and (4)
plunged, this incident forced residents to (Habibah, 2021).
leave their homes, so that in 2020 many
residents feel they have lost their lives. In spite of the government's
this incident because they did not get efforts to build the East Flood Canal Ban-
compensation or compensation for the dungan in order to reduce the volume of
house they left behind. tidal water so that it does not spread to
other regions of Semarang, Semarang is
While residents whose houses were still affected in the Tambak-rejo area.
damaged by the crashing sea waves The government of Semarang relocated
mostly reported damage and loss of their citizens affected by development in the
homes to the local RT and RW to obtain East Flood Canal area to the Tambakrejo
compensation from the Government, settlement. This resulted in the con-
only a few of them received compen- struction of more and more dwellings in
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Riwayat: Educational Journal of History and Humanities, 6 (1), 2023
The authors believe that the Tam- namely CAMAR or the Tambakrejo envi-
bakrejo community requires advocacy ronmental care community which was
and communication regarding the issue established to prevent tidal floods. In
of land subsidence in order to identify this instance, the government failed to
the reasons and implement preventative apply the proportionality principle and
measures. However, it is regrettable that did not implement the primary social
the government has not advocated for or welfare requirements.
reached out to the Tambakrejo com-
munity, as a result of which the com- The incident in Tambakrejo
munity has no other recourses or options needs a policy by the government.
to address the issue of land subsidence Policies that have been carried out by the
other than to attempt to raise the home. government include the plan to build a
Similarly, the people who were relocated Flood Control Larap and Rob in the
from the East Flood Canal to Tambakrejo Tambaklorok Area which includes
did not receive socialization and advo- Tambakrejo in the form of a village belt,
cacy from the government regarding the existence of a house renovation
their relocated residences. As a result, program carried out by the central
when they occupied the relocation government on 9 houses of residents
houses in Tambakrejo, they felt dis- who were destroyed, the creation of a
advantaged because they had not tidal calendar by the Meteorological,
received adequate housing and the area Climatological, and Geophysical Agency
was still affected by land subsidence. In and Diponegoro University, Construc-
addition, environmental management in tion of the East Flood Canal and drainage
Indonesia must have a court that is water pump, and road elevation around
distinct from other courts so that Tambakrejo. Thus, the government is
persons who continue to break the rules expected to be able to realize the policies
for the use of groundwater can be that have been planned and carry out
pursued. There is a need for law advocacy and outreach to the people of
enforcement reform with a paradigm Tambakrejo.
that maximizes the application of
administrative punishment.
REFERENCES
CONCLUSION Abdullah, Nuriman, & Rahmah, S. (2022).
The land subsidence that occur- Empowerment of Community
ed in Tambakrejo had serious impacts on Broad-Base Education Center for
the Tambakrejo community, including Arabic-Jawi Study at Deah Nurul
the loss of residents' settlements due to Yaqin. Riwayat: Educational
tidal flooding, forced relocation and the Journal of History and Humanities,
absence of compensation or compen-
5(2), 306–317.
sation, the use of groundwater resulting
in disruption of public health, and the Aji Styawan. “Banjir Rob Jawa Tengah:
presence of a large number of wild Pemerintah Segera Bangun
animals, such as snakes, that frequently Tanggul, Tapi Peneliti Sebut
attack residents. Therefore, the residents Penurunan Muka Tanah Penyebab
often experience skin health problems, Utama Banjir.” BBC Indonesia,
the amount of plastic waste that is (2022).https://www.bbc.com/ind
carried from several areas so that
onesia/indonesia-61573061.
residents' settlements are polluted, and
the existence of a mangrove community,
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