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recent study by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) shows that West Nias in North Sumatra and Paniai in Papua are the country'€™s areas most vulnerable to climate change.

The research, conducted by Tiodora Hadumaon Siagian from the BPS'€™ social resilience statistic directorate and Gouranga Dasvarma, associate professor and director of Flinders University'€™s school of the environment in Adelaide, Australia, released Wednesday the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI), an assessment of an area'€™s ability to manage external stresses on human health, like natural disasters or outbreaks
of disease.

'€œThe SVI of West Nias and Paniai was 1.47 and 1.43, respectively, while Denpasar, Bali, was the least vulnerable region, with [a rating of] minus 1.2,'€ Tiodora said during the Demographic and Sustainable Development Scientific Meeting at Padjajaran University in Bandung, West Java.

Areas that score more than 1.5 are considered very vulnerable to the effects of climate change, while those with scores of below minus 1.5 are deemed well-positioned to adapt to climate change.

Calculations are based on assessments of four factors: education and employment, gender and age, family size, and economic and population growth.

'€œHigh levels of unemployment among the 64-and-over population, for example, will raise the vulnerability-level in that area,'€ Tiodora said.

She added that Denpasar had the lowest vulnerability rating because it had a low level of poverty and a high literacy rate. A local economy driven by tourism and the service sector rather than on natural resources was found to be another advantage.

'€œI hope the index can be used as a guide for the government to make areas with high vulnerability a developmental priority,'€ she said.

The study also highlighted how rapid urbanization had triggered huge amounts of waste and would lead to higher emissions-levels.

According to the BPS'€™ 10-year censuses, 22.4 percent of (Indonesia'€™s) population lived in cities in 1980, 30.9 percent in 1990, 42.4 percent in 2000 and 49.8 percent in 2010.

'€œHigh economic activities in one city will increase the effects of climate change in the area. Unplanned urbanization makes an area very vulnerable to natural disaster,'€ Tiodora continued.

National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN) chairman Fasli Jalal, who was also at the Wednesday meeting, said that he hoped the meeting would support the exchange of ideas on demographic issues.

He added that with growing awareness among the public, the government should better incorporate demographic considerations in its development plans.

'€œA lot of people have started to consider population increase as an important issue. We are also hoping that the demographic bonus will help support the development process,'€ Fasli said.

A demographic bonus, which is predicted to happen in Indonesia between 2025 and 2035, is when the number of people in the productive age bracket is larger than the combined population of elderly persons and children.