Our thirst for drinking water causes severe reductions in many regions around the world, putting them at risk of flooding. But some communities are trying to solve the problem.
From Miami to Jakarta, coastal communities around the world are struggling against the effects of rising sea levels.
But in some places, the problem is exacerbated by another phenomenon: the land is falling.
The Indonesian capital, for example, sank to 17 cm (6.7 inches) per year. "That's a problem, because they're right at sea level," says Michelle Sneed, a land degradation specialist at the US Geological Survey (USGS). "They have an added pressure of increased flooding and rising sea levels. They built sea walls. But the city subsided so fast that, at high tide, the water just flowed. "
A man rides his motorbike along the flooded road in Jakarta, a city that faces the twin challenges of rising sea levels and a decline
Partly because examples like Jakarta, ambles are often misinterpreted by climate change skeptics, who argue that this phenomenon alone explains the increasing flooding in coastal areas. The reality is more challenging. Sea level rise and soil surface decline occur at once. But while sea level rise is a global problem caused by ocean warming and melting of the world's ice, soil decline is a local problem, affecting some communities but not others.
In a coastal area that is unfortunate enough to be hit by both phenomena, the risk of flooding can become severe. And although rural people are unlikely to suffer much from sea level rise, many, including Mexico City and California's San Joaquin Valley, are grappling with the challenges posed by drowning of land instead.
But there is good news. While most scientists agree that rising sea levels can only be reduced by reducing carbon emissions, which will require global consensus, communities can control their own land decline.
"If the water is high because of rising sea levels, then you have to overcome the whole world," says University of Utrecht University geologist and researcher Gilles Erkens. "In some ways, it makes it easier to cope with land subsidence, because you only have to look at the local area."