Abstract:
The island of Bengkalis in Riau province is highly vulnerable against the impact of future sea level rise because of its low lying coastal area. Moreover, actions of waves, currents and human interferences may lead to even faster retreat of the coastlines. The objective of this study is to investigate the shoreline changes over the last decades and to determine coastalvulnerabilitydue to climate change in the future. GIS method has been implemented to assess shoreline changes based on satellite images and other supporting data. Based on LANDSAT images, we found the northern part of Bengkalisshoreline suffers 4 m/year of erosion while the southern part experiences 2m/year of erosion. Combined with the analysis of future climate changes that may lead to sea level rise, the island of Bengkalis is considered to have high index of coastal vulnerability due to dense occupation in the coastal area and constant retreat of shorelines.
