The effectiveness of breakwaters decreasing the peat shoreline change in Bengkalis Island

Abstract

The preserve presence of peatland in Indonesia is not only endangered by direct anthropogenic force (e.g., peat fires, logging, land-use change, and canalisation). In the last three decades, coastal peat erosion upon northern Bengkalis Island threatens the peat ecosystem's subsistence. Climate change, rising global sea levels, and high tides across the Malacca strait are potential threats to the Island's existence. This paper will emphasise analysing the current coastal breakwaters' effectiveness and their effect on the shoreline change rates from 2014-2020. The result indicates that the compounding Mangrove and breakwaters conserved the coastal area and decreased erosion rates for the last five years in Bantan districts.