2 Indonesian islands vanish due to rising sea levels

Two islands in South Sumatra have vanished while four more islands are already on the brink of disappearing as a result of rising sea levels according to the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi).

Betet Island and Gundul Island have submerged due to climate change and are sitting one metre and three metres below sea level, respectively.

“These islands were uninhabited. One of the islands, Betet, is a part of Berbak-Sembilang National Park, ” Walhi South Sumatra executive director Hairul Sobri said.

“Should there be no significant efforts to address the ever-rising oceans, four other islands in the area with elevations of less than four metres above sea level could follow suit and disappear sooner or later”, Hairul said.

The four are Burung Island, the elevation of which is currently at sea level; Kalong Island and Salah Namo Island, both of which are currently two metres above sea level; and Kramat Island, which is three metres above sea level.

There are currently 23 small islands located off the eastern coast of South Sumatra’s Banyuasin. Some of the islands are uninhabited, while some including Salah Namo Island have people living on them.

Climate change-driven rising sea levels, which come with further warming of the earth, particularly threaten archipelagic countries like Indonesia, where millions of people currently live in low-lying coastal areas spread across some 17,000 islands.

Syahrul, head of the neighbourhood unit in Salah Namo Island said people who lived on the island have moved their houses tens of metres away from their original place where their houses were first built.

Most residents moved to the island in 1970 to have a better life by planting rice and becoming fishermen. Back in 1990 there were large fields in front of people’s houses where they could exercise and children could play together, but things are different now.

“There is no field in front of our houses. Many of the people have also moved from here, ” Syahrul said.

Berbak-Sembilang National Park, which was declared a world biosphere reserve in 2018 by Unesco, is home to mangrove areas as well as being rich flora and fauna, including the Sumatran tiger and kingfisher birds.

According to Walhi, tropical countries are more vulnerable to the effect of global warming due to people there are depended a lot on coal, oil and natural gas, thus contributing to emissions of greenhouse gases.