A novel formulation of ecosystem health index in urban areas of Java Island, Indonesia

Abstract

Quantitative assessment of ecosystem health in Indonesia is determined by water quality, air quality and forest cover condition. However, it is unable to describe the ecosystem quality completely. Therefore, we propose three additional parameters to complement the current ecosystem health index to be a novel ecosystem health index in Indonesia. This research aimed to formulate quantitative approaches of urban ecosystem health assessment as a basis of calculation and formulation of national ecosystem health assessment and to calculate urban ecosystem health in selected municipalities in Java Island Indonesia, namely Gunung Kidul, Sleman, Batu, Blitar, Mojokerto, Tangerang, and Tegal. The chosen locations were based on geographical location distribution and the comprehensiveness of the required data. This research was carried out during March-May 2020 by direct measurement and completed by secondary data. Six parameters determined a novel formulation of ecosystem health index completely including air quality index (AQI), water quality index (WQI), forest cover index (FCI), biodiversity index (BDI), public health index (PHI) and environmental health index (EHI). Based on data assessment, ecosystem health index of Gunung Kidul was 66.75, Sleman was 68.64, Batu was 77.64, Blitar was 67.22, Mojokerto was 66.35, Tangerang was 54.39, and Tegal was 57.46.