Risk assessment on the vulnerability of freshwater aquaculture to climate change: a case study from West Java, Indonesia

Abstract

Since the beginning of 1970, aquaculture has already become an important sub-sector to provide job and protein supply that contributes to economic growth, especially ii developing countries. Over two decades, climate change disturbs crop production globally Therefore, relevant stakeholders should pay attention to the impacts of climate change on the parameters that influence aquaculture production. This paper aimed to assess the vulnerability of aquaculture to climate change impacts in West Java, Indonesia. The first stage of the research involved the selection of specific and proper indicators and then calculated to assess vulnerability of aquaculture to climate change. The assessment was applied to 11 major species in West Java using a simple, transparent, and repeatable methodology that was appropriate fo a range of different aquaculture systems and fish species. The second stage consisted of two key step analyses: literature-based review or ‘species profiling’ and risk scoring assessmen related to sensitivity and impact to the species based on the previous study to rank the species from higher to lower risk based on several attributes. From the analysis, the study focused on highlighting the impacts of climate change on several key attributes of aquaculture production from each species. The results indicated that the highest vulnerabilities were found on striped snakehead and giant gourami aquaculture, with tilapia and African catfish, were found at the lowest vulnerabilities. The impacts of climate change to freshwater aquaculture across majo: species in West Java, Indonesia mostly affected larval rearing, connectivity of grow-out to the natural environment, and diseases-related problems.