Given the important role of local government in both climate action and infrastructure planning and financing, the Sustainable Infrastructure Programme in Asia (SIPA) organised a regional deep dive in Semarang City to better understand the perspective, challenges and needs of public authorities active in infrastructure planning at the local level.
At risk of coastal erosion, drought, and landslides, the city of Semarang, located on the northern coast of Java, is a pioneer in climate adaptation among Asian cities. With support from the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network and 100 resilient cities, of which Semarang is a longstanding member, the city developed its first climate change resilience strategy in 2010, followed by a renewed resilience strategy in 2016. Semarang has completed a vulnerability assessment, which identified the city’s key climate hazards and prioritised adaptation actions. As a result, the city launched a number of projects in the past two decades, including a flood warning system, rainwater harvesting, and mangrove planting and rehabilitation to protect coastlines, creating a green belt of plants along shores, river conservation and a citywide rainwater channel belt. Recent developments in infrastructure cover for instance strategic projects including climate resilient toll roads and a number of NbS that the OECD was able to visit.
The OECD exchanged with the project managers and representatives from the City Hall office to understand how climate resilient measures were considered in these two projects. For Semarang to excel in its climate resilience efforts, the city has benefitted from three key enabling factors, substantial support from national government, notably Bappenas which supports the city in development planning, the distribution of relevant data and information from universities and NGOs, as well as considerable multilateral donor funding and expertise.
The SIPA is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection through the International Climate Initiative (IKI).