Jakarta, one of the world's most densely populated cities, is also threatened as the world's fastest sinking city under the weight of out-of-control development and rising sea levels caused by climate change. The Indonesian government has proposed a $40 billion, 15-mile seawall and 17 artificial islands around Jakarta's northern coastline to help stem the tide. However, in August 2019 the government announced that it would relocate the capital from Jakarta to a city yet to be built on the island of Borneo. And while President Joko Widodo has said the move is necessitated by the burden of overcrowding, pollution and traffic congestion in a city of more than 10 million people, it is also true that parts of the city are sinking by as much as 10 inches (25.4 cm) per year, with almost half of Jakarta sitting below sea level. Researchers warn that the city could be completely submerged by 2050. Photographer Ed Wray has been documenting the impact the rising sea level is having on this vast m...
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