(Photo by International Rivers via Flickr/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 DEED)
In Indonesia’s northern coastal regions, entire villages are slowly sinking beneath the sea. The district of Demak is one of the most affected. There, rising sea levels, mangrove deforestation, and unregulated urbanization cause tidal flooding, forcing thousands to abandon their homes. This is not merely an environmental crisis, but a man-made emergency, where climate change, poor urban planning, and systemic neglect are leading to disastrous environmental consequences.
Around the world, climate impacts are forcing more people to flee their homes than ever before. According to the 2024 Global Report on Internal Displacement, weather-related disasters displaced at least 6.6 million people in 2023 alone, and many people experienced multiple forced movements. Floods accounted for the majority of these events, and nowhere is this more visible than in Southeast Asia.
But this isn’t just about climate change. This is about human rights.
How Climate Change is Forcing People to Flee Their Homes
The adverse effects of climate change, such as desertification, rising sea levels, and harsh and unpredictable weather conditions, are undermining the enjoyment of human rights. These include the right to life, access to water and sanitation, adequate housing, and education.
People from the most negatively impacted countries also face increased vulnerability, issues of human mobility, displacement, and a risk to their human rights. Climate-linked displacement is a growing global reality, and it reflects and amplifies the deep inequalities and injustices already embedded in the world today.
In 2021, the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) recognised the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment in its resolution 48/13. This document acknowledges how environmental degradation harms millions of people across the world, particularly persons and groups in vulnerable situations. Extreme weather events like cyclones and floods can destroy infrastructure and upend communities, undermining the right to life and adequate living standards. Slow-onset disasters, such as sea level rise, eat away at coastlines and farmland, endangering food security and displacing entire populations.
Climate Risks Across Indonesia
Indonesia is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world. The archipelago faces frequent floods, landslides, droughts, and forest fires, all of which are intensifying due to the climate crisis. Flooding internally displaced 4.2 million people in Indonesia between 2008 and 2021. In 2020 alone, it affected nearly 900,000 people.
Rapid urbanization and population growth have concentrated millions of Indonesians in highly vulnerable areas. Record-breaking rains hit Jakarta that same year, displacing over 397,000 residents. In a follow-up assessment of the 2021 floods, 41% of affected people experienced displacement twice, and 14% three times. Displaced families earned, on average, one-third less than their non-displaced neighbours.
Rising Waters and Sinking Lands: The Case of Java
Java, the most densely populated island and home to the capital Jakarta, is especially at risk. Research has shown that persistent rising sea levels and flooding will sink entire parts of the island in the coming years. The sinking capital has received media coverage in recent years. On the other hand, other parts of the country, affected just as much by severe flooding, have received less attention. Around 300 miles from Jakarta, entire villages along the Java Sea are submerged in murky brown water. Experts say rising seas and stronger tides as a result of climate change are some of the causes.
Gradual sinking of the land and development also play a crucial role. A striking example of this is the district of Demak. Located on the northern coast of Central Java, Demak is considered the second-worst erosion-hit district of the region, having already lost 2,218 hectares of coastal land to the sea. Here, the loss of livelihoods, homes, and the destruction of coastal ecosystems are some of the more serious threats this region is suffering from and will continue to face in the coming years.
Community leaders and research experts have repeatedly highlighted the effects of unregulated urbanization, together with climate change, on the erosion of Central Java’s northern coast. This crisis has multiple drivers: climate change has intensified tidal flooding, while mangrove loss, groundwater depletion, and unchecked coastal development have weakened natural defences. The sea isn’t just rising; the land is sinking.
Legal Bling Spots: Where the Law Fails to Protect
Over the past few decades, climate-related disasters have uprooted millions of people, highlighting a clear link between climate change, disaster management, and human mobility. For this reason, it is critical that governments develop a holistic approach when addressing such issues. As a disaster-prone country, Indonesia has several national regulations tackling the interlinkages between climate change, disaster, and displacement. Among these is Law No. 24 of 2007 on Disaster Management, the main legal instrument that addresses all disaster-related issues, including in the context of displacement.
However, this law and other similar regulations present a crucial gap: the protection for internally displaced persons (IDPs) affected by climate-related disasters. In particular, in the context of human mobility, none of these regulations address protection for displaced persons when they are in the process of moving from one place to another. Yet, this movement phase is an important displacement phase where people are in the most vulnerable state, and thus in need of the government’s protection.
Globally, the situation is no better. There are significant gaps in international legal protections for individuals displaced by climate change. The 1951 Refugee Convention does not include climate displacement and leaves climate-displaced persons in legal limbo, where they are unable to access the rights and protections provided to conventional refugees. Without reform, those fleeing uninhabitable land may remain unprotected, unrecognized, and ultimately, unseen.
Communities Take the Lead: Local Responses in Demak
In the absence of a comprehensive legal framework, civil society groups are stepping up, and activists in Indonesia are advocating for climate action. Together, they are pushing for stronger regulations and conducting awareness campaigns to address environmental and human rights challenges. Among these is Yayasan SHEEP Indonesia Foundation, a local non-profit organization focused on community empowerment, education, health, environmental sustainability, and human rights.
In February 2024, they conducted a Flood Assessment to understand the challenges tidal floods posed to communities in the Demak region. The research concluded that in most villages, the main issues were related to clean water availability and sanitation, health, housing and recovery, and livelihoods. To adapt, residents have raised their homes and built protective walls. But these efforts are proving insufficient as the floods worsen. Fish ponds, once a key source of income, are now unusable. Many families are struggling to survive.
The assessment emphasized that community adaptation to tidal flooding requires education and assistance in making adequate structural changes, as well as infrastructure support such as adequate water reservoirs and septic tanks. Furthermore, supporting community livelihoods by providing tools like fish seed, pond production facilities, and mangrove replanting.
Trying to mitigate the challenges that tidal flooding and rising waters are bringing to Indonesian villages is essential in providing direct and adequate support to the communities. However, more sustainable and long-term plans and solutions must be implemented at a national level to safeguard the human rights of those affected and at risk of displacement.
A Man-Made Crisis, a Shared Responsibility
What’s happening in Northern Java is not an isolated event. And yet, the world’s global response remains fragmented and inadequate, only focusing on short-term relief instead of long-term justice. International frameworks remain outdated. There is no globally accepted definition of climate-displaced persons, and few protections for their rights. This gap leaves millions exposed to long-term insecurity, with no legal right to remain, return, or relocate safely.
Climate justice demands more. It requires legal reform, global solidarity, and the amplification of frontline voices. It means holding polluters accountable and investing in those most affected. It means recognizing displacement not as an unfortunate side-effect, but as a central injustice of the climate crisis.
No one should have to watch their home disappear, one tide at a time. And no one should face that loss without protection, dignity, and fundamental rights.
Edited by Khushi Mehta
