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INTRODUCTION TO COASTAL VULNERABILITY INDEX (CVI) – CASE STUDY AT LANGKAWI

The coastal zones are highly resourceful and dynamic. These areas are vulnerable to natural hazards such as coastal erosion, storm surge, tsunami, coastal flooding and sea level rise, impacts from global warming. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC-CZMS, 1992) defines vulnerability of coastal zones by their degree of incapability to cope with the impacts of climate change and accelerated sea-level rise. Therefore, vulnerability assessment need to include a combination of factors that determine the degree to which someone’s life, livelihood, property and other assets are put at risk by a discrete and identifiable event in nature and in society. The coastal vulnerability index (CVI) will indicate the high vulnerability area along the shore line from the impact of sea level rise. This output would help the implementation agencies in preparedness of the impact of sea level rise (SLR) at the early stage of planning, to minimize the risk of SLR impacts to the coastal population and their livelihood. This paper discuss the method in assessing the CVI, which can be a tool in Decision Support System (DSS) and suggest a few adaptation measures to mitigate the SLR impacts.