Development of an integrated coastal vulnerability index and its application to the low-lying Mandarmani-Dadanpatrabar coastal sector, India

The expansion of the population and tourism industry, especially near the coast, is altering land use and deteriorating coastal resources. This contributes significantly in increasing the susceptibility of a coastal area to flooding and sea-level rise. Therefore, identifying vulnerable coastal areas through an integrated approach for comprehensive coastal development and realistic management policies is pivotal. This paper presents a method for assessing coastal vulnerability by employing selected physical and human indices. It was applied to the Mandarmani-Dadanpatrabar coastal sector of West Bengal, where the issue of rapid tourism growth at the expense of coastal resources is a major concern. For the assessment of coastal vulnerability, the entire length of the study area was divided into 64 equal segments. A set of six physical variables (shoreline change, beach width, coastal slope, dune discontinuity, vegetation, and coastal geomorphology) and three human variables (land use land cover, coastal protection, and distance of road) were measured using fieldwork and remote sensing and geographical information system. Subsequently, the physical and human vulnerability was calculated and then combined to create an integrated coastal vulnerability index (ICVI). While the majority of the coast is low-to-moderately vulnerable, it was observed that high vulnerability was present in areas where physical resources were rapidly exploited for the growth of tourism. This study emphasizes the need of implementing existing coastal regulation zone guidelines in a more realistic way to prevent loss of assets and promote integrated development.