Developing a Conceptual Framework of an Environmental Resilience Index

Abstract

Of late, the impact of the global climate change has significantly affected the local environmental context in many towns. Malaysia is fortunate to have an abundance of environmental resources that provide many environmental services to the development of the nation. Simultaneously, we experience a continuous occurrence of natural disaster, ranging from monsoon floods and flash floods, landslides, and even earthquake. In this regard, the environmentally sensitive areas such as forestry, coastal areas, wetland, and many others are essential to provide the ecosystem services and concurrently can become the natural agents for a resilient town. Thus, this paper aims to generally explain the importance of resilience and sustainability in the built environment, focusing on a domain of the environment. This paper also covers on importance of different land uses which are forest area, coastal area, and built-up area for the man. It addresses the issues and challenges, as well as environmental degradation faced on those land uses respectively. Global and national policies on preserving and protecting the environment are also tabulated. The research method involves the selection of environmental indicators in developing an overall conceptual Environmental Resilience Index (ERI), covering the key components of the environment. Through this ongoing research, it enables key players in the urban sectors to take actions in molding a better future for Malaysian cities and the communities in it.