The Study of Coastal Vulnerability in South Central Timor Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Province

Abstract

The presence of anthropogenic activities on the coast of South Central Timor (SCT) regency has weakened coastal resilience which may affect the rise of sea level. One important factor which needs to be analyzed is the vulnerability assessment. This study aimed to determine the spatial distribution and variables that can influence the vulnerability in the coastal areas. The methods used were the Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) and the Social Vulnerability Index (SoVI) which then used Multi Criteria Analysis (MCA) to perform the standardization value. The integrated index values ​​were then integrated into the Geographic Information System (GIS) for comprehensive spatial information. The result has shown that in general, the coast of SCT regency was in the category of very low, low, medium to high category. Areas of high physical vulnerability were alluvial lowland areas and areas closed to hills. The karst hills that are characteristic of the coast of SCT regency have become a threat to the lives of coastal communities. Communities living in coastal hill areas including the Kolbano and Oetuke coasts and in the alluvial lowlands namely the Tuafanu, Kualin and Oni coasts need to be the focus and priority areas for recovery efforts. This is due to the high level of vulnerability, both physically and socio-economically. The physical variable that contributed most to the high vulnerability of the SCT regency coast was geomorphology while the socio-economic variable that contributed most was land use.