Indonesian Journal on geoscience assessment on coastal changes at Kuching Wetland National Park, Sarawak

The Kuching Wetlands National Park, designated as a Ramsar Wetland Site, holds significant ecological importance and biodiversity It provides mutual benefits with marshes in sustaining aquatic ecosystems. Despite their crucial role, mangrove forests face alarming destruction, often due to the oversight of their non-market environmental values in developmental decisions. This study investigates shoreline change and coastal erosion dynamics in the Kuching Wetlands National Park from 2019 to 2023. Utilizing remote sensing and GIS techniques, coastlines were demarcated and extracted from Landsat images to facilitate DSAS-based change detection. The results reveal significant erosion rates, particularly along the park's western boundary. Anthropogenic activities emerge as primary contributors to this erosion, with about 62.77% of the coastal area experiencing erosion and rates reaching up to 12.46 meters per year. Monitoring and addressing shoreline dynamics is crucial to safeguarding coastal environments and communities from the adverse effects of erosion and accretion.