Coastal adaptability to the risk of environmental incidents from the mainland – A case study in the Southeast coastal area

Abstract

The coastal area has been facing many negative impacts from the development process, containing many risks of environmental incidents from the continent affecting the ecological environment and the livelihoods of millions of coastal residents people. Therefore, how to increase the adaptability of the coastal area, contribute to limiting risks and reduce damage when environmental incidents occur is a trend of interest to scientists. This study was conducted to assess and zone the adaptability of the Southeast coastal region due to the risk of environmental incidents from the mainland, the most dynamic development region in Vietnam, based on a multi-criteria analysis tool with selected criteria weighted fit, combined with GIS methods. The research results have proposed a set of criteria for assessing the adaptability of coastal areas, with five selected criteria: Income, Education, Health, Mangrove Forest, and Environmental Incident Response. Calculation and assessment of adaptability for 27 coastal sub-regions in the Southeast and classified into 04 groups of adaptation classes: Very high, high, medium and low, accounting for 18.52%; 7.41%; 51.85% and 22.22%, respectively, and propose solutions to increase adaptability for sub-regions with low and medium adaptability. In addition, the research results also contribute to supporting relevant research works and decision-makers to ensure sustainable use of resources and protect the environment, contributing to the sustainable development of coastal areas.