AHMAD Subarkah, 45, was gazing distantly. While smoking a clove cigarette, he said, “Really?” Ahmad is one of the fishermen in Muara Angke, North Jakarta. He was sad and disbelieving as Tempo told him the sea around Pluit would be reclaimed and turned into a habitable island. “Where are we going then?” queried Ahmad, exhaling smoke.

According to Ahmad, even without reclamation, fishermen have been driven out of the Jakarta sea. Pollution