Socio-Cultural Vulnerability Index (SVI) Approach for Social Impact Assessment among the Coastal Community Management Due to Climate Change

Climate change is one of the effects of global warming that affects the social and physical environment. The effects of climate change on coastal communities are expected to have significant implications for society, culture, economic and theirs well-being. Coastal communities play an important role in sharing information and should be consulted and included in all efforts to promote climate action and adaptation. Local knowledge are an important component for climate planning and development programmes of action. Social-cultural assets and practices are valuable. The loss and damages of social-cultural parameters should be considered in valuations of climate change impacts. This paper is attempts to indicate the socio-cultural factors that may increase sensitivity to coastal areas. It is also to develop a comprehensive Socio-cultural Vulnerability Index (SVI) to determines the vulnerability of coastal areas to climate change phenomena such as coastal flooding and erosion due to sea level rise, heavy rain, storm surge, high tide, and wave action. Data collection to develop SVI are based on selected parameters indicate during the survey process. Finding indicate that housing charateristics and demographic vulnerabilities are the most significant factors influencing community sensitivity to climate impacts. In contract, cultural and historical components contributed the least. This research contributes a novel, locally contextualized methodology for evaluating social vulnerability and serves as a practical decision-making tool for municipal planners, policymakers, and climate adaptation stakeholders. Integrating SVI outcomes into development planning will support more equitable and effective resilience building among coastal communities.

Socio-Cultural Vulnerability Index, coastal community, climate change, sea level rise, Malaysia

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