Evaluation of coastal vulnerability for Parita’s Bay coastline

Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) was developed for Guayaberos’ and Monagre’s beaches, located within the Parita’s Bay coastline. CVI included seven variables: coastal elevation, coastal slope, geomorphology, inundation, tidal amplitude, wave height, and land use. Geographic Information System (GIS) tools were used to define highly vulnerable sites. Results showed that high vulnerability was mostly linked to geomorphology, land use, and elevation. Meanwhile, coastal slope indicated varied vulnerability. Inundation, mean tidal amplitude, and wave height were linked to low vulnerability. Overall CVI ranged from 4.28 to 11.29, with a mean of 7.67 and median of 7.14 for both beaches. Approximately $52 \%, 26 \%, 15 \%$, and $6 \%$ of the coastline was classified into moderate, high, low, and very high vulnerability categories, respectively. These findings underscore the need for targeted conservation efforts in Parita’s Bay, particularly in ecologically significant areas, and for coastal planning.