My project aims to look at how Muslims in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, band together to save the city from completely sinking. Right now, Jakarta is already one of the fastest-sinking cities in the world, with 40 percent of the capital already dipping below sea-level. The main cause is groundwater extraction, where most Jakarta residents rely on raw water supply by draining groundwater beneath the city because only 50 percent of households have piped water – the lowest in Indonesia. This problem is exacerbated by climate change, which causes the sea level in Jakarta Bay to rise 6 mm every year. At the same time, Jakarta is increasingly urbanized with new high-rise buildings popping up every year. As a result, water can’t be absorbed by the ground as concrete replaces soil. This has resulted in water being wasted in alarming amounts and more frequent flooding in Jakarta during the rainy season. Now, Jakarta produces more wastewater than clean tap water. With the threat of Jakarta being submerged getting more real, the Muslim community in Jakarta has decided to take actions through a campaign called eco-mosque. With the campaign, preachers in mosques teach Muslims how to practice a more sustainable living during their sermons. An example is how to conserve water used during prayer rituals. Some people wash their body parts three times before praying, while the Al Quran urges people not to waste water. The campaign also invites local communities to plant trees, with 36 mosques in the Greater Jakarta area planning to plant 4,000 trees, which could help the city to preserve more water and reduce flooding. There are other examples of sustainable living that could be campaigned during sermons, such as reducing food waste during the Eid al-Fitr holiday, when people usually throw lavish feast. Seeing how Indonesia is home to 225 million Muslims, the world’s largest Muslim population, the campaign could have a significant impact in tackling climate change in Indonesia, where there are many coastal cities and small islands threatened by rising sea-level. In Jakarta, there are more than 3,000 mosques. And in Indonesia, the number rises to more than 800,000. If one mosque plants 100 trees, then there will be more than 80 million trees planted throughout Indonesia, an area equivalent to 2 million hectares. My project could help the campaign to gain steam among Muslims in Jakarta and other cities in Indonesia.
