Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Urban greening and displacement · Indonesia · 2014–2025

Jakarta evictions, Ciliwung normalisation and the Giant Sea Wall

Nature's voice · report
The ground of north Jakarta is sinking because groundwater is drawn out of me.
Did nature suffer? Yes. Harm is on record.
Recorded
  • 500 km of my coastline were oiled.
    Length of the planned sea wall along Java's north coast.
People
  • 8,145 people were displaced or listed for relocation.
    LBH Jakarta count.
What the record lacks: 3 none on record · 1 disputed See the gaps

Civil-society counts record 113 forced evictions in Jakarta in 2015, and residents evicted under the Ciliwung normalisation programme later won a court ruling. In 2025 the Indonesian president approved a US$80 billion sea wall along Java's north coast.

113 evictions, 8,145 household headsForced evictions in Jakarta in 2015, as counted by LBH Jakarta
Civil-society count, not an official one. LBH also counted 6,283 businesses, and said 72 of the locations were not offered public housing.

Status As of June 2025: President Prabowo approved the US$80bn Giant Sea Wall; the last court outcome in the record is the October 2017 Bukit Duri compensation report.

What?
Forced evictions in Jakarta, including under the Ciliwung normalisation programme, and a Giant Sea Wall plan; residents of Bukit Duri won a court ruling. Republika
Where?
Jakarta, Indonesia; Jakarta Bay and Java's north coast. Indonesia Business Post
When?
Evictions in 2015–2016, court reports in 2017, sea wall approval on 12 June 2025. Indonesia Business Post
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
  • Evicted residents — 113 evictions in 2015 affecting 8,145 household heads; no public housing at 72 locations Republika
  • Kampung Pulo households — No compensation because the land was treated as state property; rent of 300,000 rupiah a month for the 518 rehoused Liputan6
  • Fishers in Jakarta Bay — At least 25,000 affected by works in the bay, per a fishers' association PreventionWeb
Harmed
  • North Jakarta ground — Sinking attributed to groundwater extraction
Why?
Evictions were carried out in the name of Ciliwung normalisation and, in Kampung Akuarium, for a sea wall and a maritime tourism plan. Mongabay Indonesia
How?
Evictions of kampung residents, with compensation tied to land status; a Giant Sea Wall and 17-island plan for the bay, approved in 2025 at US$80bn, with the Jakarta Bay section shared equally by the city and the central government. Indonesia Business Post
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

In 2015 the legal aid group LBH Jakarta counted 113 forced evictions in the city under Ahok, affecting 8,145 household heads and 6,283 businesses. At 72 of the locations residents were not offered public housing. Eviction counts in Indonesia come from civil-society groups such as LBH Jakarta rather than from an official body.

In Kampung Pulo, evicted in August 2015, Liputan6 reported that no compensation was paid because the land was treated as state property. 518 of 927 households received public housing, with rent of 300,000 rupiah a month. The headline of the same report quotes a minister, Ferry, saying Ahok had not been wrong to evict residents.

Residents of Bukit Duri, whose homes were demolished in the name of Ciliwung normalisation, won the first stage of their case in an administrative court in January 2017, according to Mongabay Indonesia. In October 2017 the Jakarta Post reported that the Bukit Duri evictees were entitled to Rp 18.6 billion in compensation.

Kampung Akuarium was evicted in 2016 for a sea wall and a maritime tourism plan. Tempo reported in 2017 that residents and the city government had not reached a deal. After a change in the political administration the kampung was re-established as a pilot for a kampung improvement programme.

The Giant Sea Wall plan included 17 artificial islands in the bay; a fishers' association said works in the bay affected at least 25,000 fishers. The Indonesia Business Post reported that on 12 June 2025 President Prabowo approved a US$80 billion, 500 km sea wall along Java's north coast, with the Jakarta Bay section costing US$8 to US$10 billion, shared equally between the city and the central government.

  1. 2014Giant Sea Wall and 17-island plan under discussion; fishers' association later says at least 25,000 fishers affected
  2. 2015LBH Jakarta counts 113 forced evictions; Kampung Pulo evicted in August, with no compensation because the land was treated as state property
  3. 2016Kampung Akuarium evicted for a sea wall and maritime tourism plan
  4. 2017January: Bukit Duri residents win the first stage in an administrative court. October: Jakarta Post reports Bukit Duri evictees entitled to Rp 18.6bn
  5. 202512 June: President Prabowo approves a US$80bn, 500 km Giant Sea Wall

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

Were the evictions lawful and compensated?
Communities and civil society
LBH Jakarta

113 forced evictions in 2015, with no public housing offered at 72 of the locations.

Republika
Government and regulators
Minister Ferry

Ahok was not wrong to evict Kampung Pulo residents (headline).

Liputan6
Press and investigations
Liputan6

No compensation was paid in Kampung Pulo because the land was treated as state property.

Liputan6
Courts
Administrative court

Bukit Duri residents won the first stage (January 2017); the Jakarta Post reported in October 2017 that they were entitled to Rp 18.6bn.

The Jakarta Post

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • Ahok was not wrong to evict Kampung Pulo residents (headline).
    Minister Ferry, as reported by Liputan6 · Liputan6
  • The Giant Sea Wall was reported as approved to protect Java's northern coast.
    Indonesia Business Post (headline) · Indonesia Business Post

Recorded

  • LBH Jakarta counted 113 forced evictions in 2015, affecting 8,145 household heads and 6,283 businesses; 72 locations had no public housing offered.
    Republika
  • In Kampung Pulo no compensation was paid because the land was treated as state property; 518 of 927 households received public housing at 300,000 rupiah a month.
    Liputan6
  • Bukit Duri residents won the first stage in an administrative court (January 2017).
    Mongabay Indonesia
  • Jakarta Post reported Bukit Duri evictees entitled to Rp 18.6bn in compensation (October 2017).
    The Jakarta Post
  • A fishers' association said works in the bay affected at least 25,000 fishers.
    PreventionWeb
  • The sea wall approved in June 2025: US$80bn, 500 km; Jakarta Bay section US$8–10bn, split equally between the city and central government.
    Indonesia Business Post

Who gained

Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

Reached nature or the ground

Not published
No figure published.

Gained elsewhere

Not totalled
Currency: USD · Window: 2025. All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.

Responses on record

  • indonesian-government (2015-08): Minister Ferry was reported saying that Ahok had not been wrong to evict Kampung Pulo residents (headline). · Liputan6

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

  1. 2017Claimant wonIDR 18600000bn Compensation reported (Rp 18.6 billion)
    Bukit Duri residents v the authorities over Ciliwung normalisation evictions
    Administrative court (location not stated in the sources) · Administrative · Bukit Duri residents → Not named in the sources

    Mongabay Indonesia reported in January 2017 that residents whose homes were demolished in the name of Ciliwung normalisation won the first stage in an administrative court. The Jakarta Post reported in October 2017 that the evictees were entitled to Rp 18.6 billion in compensation. The Jakarta Post

Insurers

No insurer decision on record.

What nature saw

Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

Ground in north Jakarta
Sinking
Attributed to groundwater extraction; the piped network does not reach everyone
Fishing in the bay
At least 25,000 fishers affected
Per a fishers' association, on the sea wall and island works (PreventionWeb)

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Displacement reportedCourt ruling existsNo independent ecological evaluation

Accounts

  • Disputed Were the evictions lawful and compensated?

Record

  • None on record Eviction counts for Jakarta come from civil-society tallies (LBH Jakarta); no official count appears in the sources.
  • None on record Bukit Duri: the sources do not state whether the Rp 18.6bn was paid, or which authority was the defendant.
  • None on record Kampung Akuarium: Tempo reported in 2017 that no deal had been reached; the terms of the later re-establishment are not stated.

Did the harm stop?

Not established. The sea wall was approved in June 2025; the sources record no ecological evaluation.

Who paid?

The evicted households bore the loss of their homes: no compensation in Kampung Pulo, rent of 300,000 rupiah a month for those rehoused. The Jakarta Bay section of the sea wall is to be paid equally by the city and the central government.

Sources

Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

Press and investigations

Connected cases

Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
Terms used on this page

Science and environment

Groundwater
Water held underground in soil and rock, drawn through wells.
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