His meager income is being further strained by having to borrow cash to shore up his home against lapping waves coming further inland on this vulnerable coastline. “If you have a house on land and then work at sea, it’s hard. But now I work at sea and I live at sea,” said Miskan, 44, who uses one name, speaking outside his small home, where a caged songbird hangs from the rafters. His community’s battle against inundation, blamed on both man-made environmental destruction and the impact of climate change, reflects the risks posed to millions of people by a sinking coastline on Indonesia’s most populous island of Java. The flooding in Tambaklorok in Central Java province is now so bad that Miskan uses a window to enter his home since his door is half blocked by dirt piled up to keep out the sea. “It’s hard to save money when you’re a fisherman,” he said.

As sea engulfs coastline, Indonesians pay high price to shield homes. (2019, December 2). Manila Bulletin, p. 6.