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JOURNAL OF DEGRADED AND MINING LANDS MANAGEMENT

Volume 10, Number 4 (July 2023):4647-4658, doi:10.15243/jdmlm.2023.104.4647


ISSN: 2339-076X (p); 2502-2458 (e), www.jdmlm.ub.ac.id

Research Article

Land management semi-arid archipelago based on water carrying capacity:


Studies on Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara
Farah Syuraih Muchtar1*, Hayati Sari Hasibuan1, Philiphi de Rozari2
1 School of Environmental Science, Universitas Indonesia, Jl. Salemba Raya, Jakarta 10430, Indonesia
2
Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Nusa Cendana, Jl. Adisucipto Penfui, Kupang NTT, Indonesia
*
corresponding author: farah.syuraih@ui.ac.id

Abstract
Article history: Archipelago areas have high marine tourism resource potential, so they are
Received 6 December 2022 often exploited for tourism needs. The characteristics of the Labuan Bajo
Accepted 13 February 2023 region in the form of islands with geomorphological conditions in the form
Published 1 July 2023 of hills have the potential to reduce the carrying capacity of the environment.
Regional development in Labuan Bajo, classified as a semi-arid area for
tourism purposes, can potentially cause a clean water crisis. This study aimed
Keywords: to analyze the environmental carrying capacity related to water availability
archipelago to support the development of the Labuan Bajo region to become a super-
semi-arid priority tourism destination. The research method used is quantitative in the
tourism area form of spatial analysis, literature studies, and water-carrying capacity
water carrying capacity analysis based on the Decree of the Minister of Environment and Forestry
No. 297 of 2019. The research data were obtained from field observations
and government agencies. The results show that the carrying capacity of
water in 56.87% of the area in West Manggarai Regency has a deficit status.
Most areas experiencing a deficit are on the mainland of Flores Island,
especially in the urban area of Labuan Bajo. This is due to low rainfall, low
soil ability to absorb water, and high anthropogenic activity from both local
residents and tourism activities. In addition, the content of salinity, detergent,
and BOD (biological oxygen demand) in groundwater samples in the urban
area of Labuan Bajo has exceeded the water quality standard threshold. The
results of this study can be considered for policy directions related to land
use for regional development in semi-arid island areas.

To cite this article: Muchtar, F.S., Hasibuan, H.S. and de Rozari, P. 2023. Land management semi-arid archipelago based on
water carrying capacity: studies on Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara. Journal of Degraded and Mining Lands Management
10(4):4647-4658, doi:10.15243/jdmlm.2023.104.4647.

Introduction Belitung, and the Riau Archipelago (Puspitawati,


2020). Semi-arid areas have lower rainfall than
An archipelagic region is an area that has a vast ocean potential evapotranspiration (Messakh et al., 2015),
with many small islands to form a group of islands i.e. rainfall intensity of less than 2,000 mm per year, a
(Leatemia, 2011), as well as having the same dry season that lasts for more than seven months with
ecosystem and modality or administrative boundaries rainfall below 100 mm per month (Mulyani and
(Harun, 2021). Indonesia is the largest archipelagic Sarwani, 2013). This causes semi-arid areas to have
country in the world, with an ocean area of 5.9 million limited availability and continuity of clean water
km2 (Lasabuda, 2013). In addition, several regions in sources (Messakh et al., 2015). In semi-arid areas,
Indonesia are also classified as islands, such as West large rock outcrops are also found due to less intensive
Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, North weathering of parent rock, such as in wetlands
Maluku, North Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, Bangka

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(Mulyani and Sarwani, 2013). Other characteristics of Manggarai Regency area needs to intensify ecosystem
semi-arid areas are very high rainfall intensity during services and environmental carrying capacity,
the rainy season (Sardjono et al., 2003), low vegetation especially in the coastal environment (Tussadiah et al.,
and soil conditions containing little organic matter 2021).
(Mays, 2014). This research focused on analyzing the
Development activities in archipelago areas environment's carrying capacity related to clean water
generally occur due to tourism potential resulting in due to tourism development activities in the semi-arid
regional urbanization (Pons et al., 2014; Wibisono et archipelago. Much research has been done on the
al., 2019). However, the tourism sector in archipelagic carrying capacity of the water environment in tourism
areas often exploits natural resources without and island areas, such as Achmad et al. (2020) and
considering environmental sustainability, causing Renfors (2021). However, not much research has been
environmental degradation and pressure on natural conducted in archipelagic areas with the characteristics
resources, especially water resources (Gössling et al., of semi-arid areas with high tourism activity, even
2012). As happened in the Galapagos Islands, namely though most of the southeastern region of Indonesia
the tourism sector is the primary sector that uses much has a semi-arid climate with problems with the
clean water, amounting to 55% of the total use of clean availability of clean water (van Cooten and Borrell,
water in the islands (Reyes et al., 2017), as well as in 2000).
the Nusa Penida tourism area (Cahyani et al., 2018;
Sudipa et al., 2020). Not all semi-arid areas in
Indonesia are archipelago areas. However, in the Materials and Methods
eastern region of southern Indonesia, most of them are Study area
dominated by semi-arid island areas, which are prone
to problems with the availability of clean water This research is located in West Manggarai, one of the
(Suryati, 2016). districts on Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara
All human activities for the utilization of water, Province. West Manggarai Regency has 12 districts
if it is not balanced with proper management of water spread across the coast to the highlands, with the centre
sources, can affect the quality and quantity of water of government and tourism activity in Labuan Bajo,
resources (Habiebah and Retnaningdyah, 2014). The Komodo District. West Manggarai Regency has a land
carrying capacity of the availability of clean water is area of approximately 3,141.47 km2, which consists of
essential for the archipelago's development. Its caused the mainland of Flores Island and several large islands
the archipelago has a high potential for a clean water such as Komodo Island, Rinca Island, Bidadari Island,
crisis due to the limited water catchment area and the Longos Island and 182 other small islands.
vulnerability to seawater intrusion (Cahyadi, 2012). Geographically, West Manggarai Regency is located
Environmental carrying capacity is defined as a between 08o14'-09o00' South Latitude and 119o21'–
combination of thresholds that cause spatial-temporal 120o20' East Longitude (BPS West Manggarai, 2021).
changes or damage to natural resources, assimilation The population of Manggarai Regency is 256,317,
of environmental capacity, ecosystem services, social with the highest population density in the Komodo
environment and environmental structure and function District, which is 53.724 people. West Manggarai
(Maulana et al., 2020). Through overlapping and Regency has quite varied geomorphology from flat,
scoring techniques (Nabila et al., 2017)., sloping, hilly, undulating and mountainous topography
environmental carrying capacity can be determined by with a height of more than 1000 meters above sea
knowing the environment's capacity and existing level, as well as soil types dominated by cambisol soil
resources (Sari et al., 2021). Analyzing the (BPS West Manggarai, 2021). The research location is
environment's carrying capacity requires the main shown in Figure 1.
variables of land potential and population (Tong et al., The research location has relatively dry rainfall
2018). This is because increased built-up land and high with an average annual rainfall of around 1500
human activities reduce water quality (Rimba et al., mm/year. The rainy season is relatively short, starting
2021). in November - March, with the number of rainy days
Labuan Bajo is one of the areas currently ranging from 100-180 days a year. The type of rainfall
designated as a National Tourism Strategic Area to is classified as the monsoonal rain type, namely, rain
support economic growth (Kodir et al., 2020). The that only occurs once a year. The distribution of
primary water sources in Labuan Bajo are water from rainfall is shown in Figure 2. Meanwhile, the land use
Municipal waterworks (PDAM) and groundwater, but condition in the study locations was not plentiful,
at certain times groundwater sources from dug wells dominated by forest land use with an area of
cannot be used because they smell and taste salty 117,151.85 ha or 37.31%. These forests are widely
(Wolo et al., 2020). In terms of quality, groundwater spread from the north to the centre of the mainland of
in the coastal area of Labuan Bajo cannot be used for the West Manggarai area on Flores Island. Meanwhile,
drinking water because it has exceeded the water coastal areas and small islands are dominated by land
quality threshold (Wolo et al., 2020). Overall, the West cover in the form of grassland and savanna (Figure 3).

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Figure 1. Map of research location.

Figure 2. Map of rainfall.

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Figure 3. Map of land use and land cover in West Manggarai.

The research location has unique landscape conditions Manggarai area. The morphology of the hills is widely
compared to other archipelago areas, namely on the spread along the coastal area with an altitude of 100-
mainland of Flores Island and on small islands 500 meters above sea level.
dominated by hilly landscape conditions, which cover The distribution of the landscape of the study
an area of 139,007.35 ha or 44% of the entire West locations is shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Map of geomorphology of West Manggarai.

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The condition of the slopes at the research location is area, both in coastal and mountainous areas. Its
dominated by rather steep slopes both in the area of correlates with the condition of the landscape, where
small islands and on the mainland, which is there are many hills. The condition of the landscape
201,356.48 ha or around 64% of the total area of West and slope is shown in Figure 5. The distribution of the
Manggarai. The relatively steep slope of the slopes is condition of the landscape and slope in the research
spread evenly over almost the entire West Manggarai area is shown in Table 1.

Figure 5. Map of slope in West Manggarai.

Table 1. Distribution of landscapes and slopes.


No Morphology Slope
Type Area Slope (%) Type Area
Hectares (ha) (%) Hectares (ha) (%)
1 Hilly 139,007.4 44% 0-2% Flat 17,065.36 5%
2 Undulating 68,348.39 22% 2-5% Ramps 18,567.96 6%
3 Mountainous 43,804.23 14% 5-15% Ramps 70,764.7 23%
4 Flat 36,918.37 12% 15-40% Rather steep 201,356.5 64%
5 Sloping 25,904.06 8% > 40% Steep 62,26.9 2%
Source: Data analysis (2022.

Data collection Population density data were from West Manggarai


BPS, and water quality condition data were from the
This study used secondary data from several
West Manggarai Environment Agency. Water
government agencies and primary data in water
sampling was carried out at four locations, provided
sampling to answer research objectives. The data used
the location conditions were in coastal and non-coastal
were rainfall data and the long intensity of sunlight
areas with different water sources. The water sample
from BMKG Komodo. Data on soil types, land use
was a sample of groundwater in a coastal location right
conditions, slope, and morphological data were
around the hotel or tourism service, namely Kampung
obtained from the Cipta Karya Office for spatial
Ujung, in Labuan Bajo. Other water samples are
planning and water resources in West Manggarai
groundwater and springs in the non-coastal area
Regency. Data on aquifer productivity conditions were
around Komodo Airport, namely in Lamtoro Labuan
obtained from the portal website esdm.go.id.
Bajo Village, and rainwater samples collected from the

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urban area of Labuan Bajo. The determination of the data from river water samples obtained from the West
water source used for the research sample was based Manggarai Regency Environmental Service to
on the water source most used by the people in Labuan complement water quality. The locations of water
Bajo. In addition, this research also used secondary sampling are shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6. Map of water sampling location.

Data analysis coastal area surrounded by a tourism service area.


Hence, it has the potential to experience seawater
Research data were analyzed using spatial analysis
intrusion and pollution from the surrounding
techniques using Arcmap 10.3, analysis of laboratory
environment. The process of taking water samples was
test results and descriptive analysis. The spatial
based on technical instructions for taking water
analysis included analysis of morphological
samples, namely a minimum of 1.5 liters for one
conditions, slope conditions, soil type conditions,
sample and using a container that was closed from
rainfall conditions, aquifer productivity conditions,
exposure to sunlight. The sampling of this water used
and the carrying capacity of the water environment.
1.5 liters bottle containers with as many as two pieces
The descriptive analysis included the sun exposure
at each water source. The sample was then sent to the
duration and the results of laboratory tests on water
Kupang UPTD Laboratory for analysis using the
samples. Analysis of water carrying capacity was
limited detection method.
based on the provisions of the Minister of Environment
and Forestry Decree No 297 of 2019 concerning
National Water Carrying Capacity and Capacity, Results and Discussion
namely by overlaying a map of land cover conditions,
rainfall, average water demand, and population of each Water environmental condition
village. The rainfall distribution map was overlaid with The mapping results show that the research location
the land use map by entering the land cover coefficient has unique physical environmental conditions. Areas
values for each land cover using a 30 x 30 cm grid with steep slopes are in the south and southwest of
based on village administrative boundaries. West Manggarai on the mainland of Flores Island,
Furthermore, the results of the support map were Rinca Island and Komodo Island. The condition of the
correlated with the actual environmental conditions landscape and the slope of the slopes in West
around it. Water sample test analysis was carried out Manggarai in urban and non-urban areas, as well as in
using 11 parameters. The parameters were determined small island areas, is dominated by hilly conditions
based on the Minister of Health Regulation No. 32 of and rather steep slopes, and the rocks contain
2017 concerning clean water quality standards for limestone. It correlates with the results of field
hygiene and sanitation. The salinity parameter was observations in Labuan Bajo urban and non-urban
added because the research location is located in a areas, namely in Golomori Village and the Seraya

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Besar Island area. Dry physical environmental 10-30 households. However, in the coastal area, well
conditions and soil with lots of large rock and water is of poor quality because it tastes brackish,
limestone outcrops have resulted in very limited tastes lime, and has a high level of salinity.
sources of clean water in the study area. In the urban Environmental conditions in urban areas are shown in
area of Labuan Bajo, one well water source is used by Figure 7.

Figure 7. Conditions of (a) urban area; (b) non-urban area; and (c) small islands.

Based on the results of field observations and in-depth In small islands, aquifer productivity conditions are
interviews, the community's need for clean water in dominated by minor productive aquifers. Highly
Labuan Bajo is highly dependent on groundwater. Its productive aquifers with wide distribution are only
because the distribution of PDAM water to the available in the southern part of the mainland of Flores
community has not reached evenly due to the Island.
accessibility of the location, where there are many In addition to quantity, carrying capacity
hilly areas and steep slopes, which cause obstacles to analysis is also carried out on water quality. Based on
the installation of pipeline transmission networks. In laboratory tests on four samples of water sources in the
addition, people in the small island area and tourism urban area of Labuan Bajo, namely two samples of
services such as “pinisi” cruise also buy water from the groundwater, one sample of water from a spring, and
urban area of Labuan Bajo. It starkly contrasts with the one sample of rainwater, several parameters exceeded
soil conditions in Labuan Bajo, which have little the threshold water quality. The laboratory test
groundwater content. parameters refer to clean water quality standards
according to Minister of Health regulations No 32 of
Environment carrying capacity
2017, Government Regulation No 22 of 2021, and an
The availability of clean water is closely related to additional parameter in the form of salinity.
groundwater conditions. West Manggarai Regency, an Laboratory test results presented in Table 2 show
area with relatively low rainfall and a landscape that water sources in the urban area of Labuan Bajo
condition dominated by karst outcrops, also has have several parameters that exceed the clean water
relatively low groundwater potential conditions. Low quality standards. Groundwater test sample 1, located
rainfall is accompanied by sun exposure in West in RT 008/014 Lamtoro, Labuan Bajo, contains
Manggarai, classified as total irradiation >60%. Based detergent exceeding the quality standard of 1.95 mg/L.
on data from the Komodo Meteorology, Climatology The groundwater test sample 2 had hardness,
and Geophysics Agency (Komodo BMKG) shows that detergent, TSS and salinity levels that exceeded the
the average sunshine duration in Labuan Bajo is 78%, quality standards. This condition indicates that the
with the lowest radiation duration being in January by groundwater sample at Kampung Ujung, Labuan Bajo,
55%. Meanwhile, the highest irradiation duration has experienced seawater intrusion and is unsuitable
occurs from April to October, which is more than 80%. for drinking or cooking water consumption. This is due
Based on groundwater productivity data obtained from to the well's location in the coastal area. Rainwater test
the official portal of the Ministry of Energy and samples in the Wae Mata area, Gorontalo Village,
Mineral Resources, the geology section, aquifer contained detergents that exceeded the quality
conditions are dominated by productive aquifers with standard but had a lower value than other spring water
a local distribution of 392,320.23 hectares or 38% of sources.
the total area (ESDM, 2022). However, this aquifer The spring test sample was taken in the RT
also includes aquifers with rare groundwater 008/014 Lamtoro, Labuan Bajo Village, containing
conditions in the West Manggarai region on the detergent exceeding the quality standard, namely
mainland of Flores Island. 1.875 mg/L. This condition is caused by people often
Productive aquifers dominate the overall washing and bathing right at the location of the spring
groundwater condition in West Manggarai with local water resource. CaCO3 levels in groundwater and
distribution and minor productive aquifers (Figure 8). springs are quite high, although only the water in the

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second sample of well water exceeds the quality pipe diameter due to scale buildup, thereby reducing
standard. The high level of CaCO3 material not only the flow rate in the water distribution process (Musli
causes health impacts but can also cause a reduction in and de Fretes, 2016).

Figure 8. Map of aquifers productivity in West Manggarai.

Table 2. Condition of water quality in the research location.


Test Quality Unit Sample Condition
Parameters Standard Ground Ground Rain Springs
Water 1 Water 2 Water
pH 6.5-8.5 - 7.49 7.39 6.98 7.63
Fe 1 mg/L 0.032 0.022 < MDL 0.024
Mangan 0.5 mg/L 0.035 0.045 0.051 0.046
CaCO3 500 mg/L 398 *1240 53 332
Deterjen 0.05 mg/L *1.950 *1.48 *0.94 *1.875 *water sample has
Nitrate 10 mg/L 0.63 6.486 0.893 0.736 exceeded the quality
TDS 1000 mg/L 341 737 51 297 standard threshold
TSS 50 mg/L 6 *53 22 4
Salinity 0.5 ppt 0.3 *0.6 0.1 0.3
BOD 3 mg/L *12.62 *11.44 *15.34 < MDL
COD 25 mg/L 15.640 13.727 19.503 < MDL
Source: Results of UPTD Kupang laboratory test, Environment and Forestry Service agency of NTT. TDS = total dissolved
solid, TSS = total suspended solids, BOD = biological oxygen demand, COD = chemical oxygen demand.

This study also used river water quality data for 2022 standard threshold indicate that the river water has
obtained from the West Manggarai Regency been polluted by chemical compounds that can come
Environmental Service. River water quality in the from pesticides, fertilizers, or detergent waste (Asrini
urban area of Labuan also has conditions that have et al., 2017). This is in accordance with field
been polluted in Labuan Bajo, namely the Wae Ara conditions and the results of interviews with local
River, the Air Kemiri 1 River, and the Air Kemiri 2 people that in the middle of the river, there are many
River. The water quality data in the three rivers have a rice fields for residents, where these rice fields
total phosphate content that has exceeded the quality massively use pesticides during the planting season,
standard. There is both upstream, midstream and and many people wash their clothes in the river bodies.
downstream. Phosphorus levels above the quality River water quality data is shown in Table 3.

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Table 3. Condition of river water quality in the research location.


River Sample Sample Parameters
pH BOD COD Total TSS Nitrate Fecal
(mg/L) (mg/L) Phosphorus (mg/L) (mg/L) Coliform
(mg/L) (/100 mL)
Section River Standard Quality
6.5-8.5 3 25 0.2 50 10 1000
Wae ara 7.99 < MDL <MDL 0.858 8.5 0.263 2300
Upstream Air kemiri 1 7.41 3.62 8.231 0.261 5 0.193 400
Air kemiri 2 7.45 371 8.528 0.162 4.5 0.225 2100
Wae ara 7.89 < MDL < MDL 0.634 9.25 0.287 780
Midstream Air kemiri 1 7.59 < MDL < MDL 0.647 11.5 0.569 2400
Air kemiri 2 7.72 < MDL < MDL 1.269 6 1.723 1700
Wae ara 7.77 3.4 9.023 1.971 43.5 0.299 1400
Downstream Air kemiri 1 7.6 3.17 6.623 0.274 4 1.405 450
Air kemiri 2 7.68 < MDL < MDL 1.567 1.5 2.512 2300
Source: West Manggarai Regency of Environmental Service (2022).

The content of fecal coliform was also found to exceed the rainfall conditions in these locations are classified
the quality standard threshold in all parts of the Air as dry.
Kemiri 2 River, the upstream and downstream parts of Second, land use in the mainland area is still
the Wae Ara River, and the middle part of the Air dominated by forests, but most plant species that grow
Kemiri 1 River. fecal coliform content that exceeds are dry plant types such as teak, Mahogany, Sengon
quality standards indicates that the river water has been and Jabon plants, namely plants that do not store much
contaminated with human and animal faeces water content. This is supported by the condition of the
(Sulistyorini et al., 2016). This is following the field soil type, which is dominated by Cambisol Soil, which
conditions that many residents live on the riverbanks is soil that has little water content.
and dispose of waste in the river body. The BOD Third, most of the community and tourism
values in the upstream and downstream samples of the services in Labuan Bajo use clean water as the main
Air Kemiri 1 River, the upstream Water Kemiri 2, and source, either obtained from suctioning private wells
the downstream Wae Ara River exceeded the quality or purchased from mobile water vendors.
standard threshold. The BOD content that exceeds the Fourth, the small islands around Labuan Bajo do
quality standards indicates that the water has been not have a water source, be it well water, springs, or
polluted by organic matter around the river. BOD river water, so residents on small islands get clean
levels indicate the amount of oxygen aerobic water from the Labuan Bajo urban area.
microorganisms need to decompose almost all Tourism services such as “pinisi” cruise sailing
dissolved and suspended organic matter in water around the small islands of Labuan Bajo do the same,
(Ningrum, 2018). namely buying clean water from the urban area of
Labuan Bajo. This, if left unchecked, could potentially
Water carrying capacity
cause land degradation in the area of Flores Island as
Clean water sources for surface water types in West the mainland of Labuan Bajo. The condition of the
Manggarai Regency are 15 rivers and one lake. Labuan Bajo landscape, dominated by hills with urban
However, only 25% of rivers can flow throughout the areas located in coastal areas, can exacerbate the
year, with the average total surface runoff in West carrying capacity related to water quality. This is
Manggarai Regency being 2,008.5 million m3/year because groundwater extraction in coastal areas can
(RPJMD West Manggarai Regency 2021-2026, 2021). exacerbate seawater intrusion into the surrounding
The water carrying capacity map in Figure 6 shows groundwater and, in the long term, can change the
that the condition of the water carrying capacity in the process of water circulation in groundwater basins in
uplands and a small part of the coastal area has been the hydrological cycle (Mays, 2014). It is necessary to
exceeded. In contrast, it has not been exceeded in the strengthen the community's role on small islands by
area of small islands and most of the coastal areas. developing irrigation infrastructure that can
The total area in West Manggarai that has independently meet the needs of the small island
exceeded the carrying capacity of water is larger than population. The massive tourism development in the
the area that has not been exceeded, namely 178,557 research location that occurs in the coastal area also
ha or 56.87% of the total area of West Manggarai. This affects the environment's carrying capacity. Based on
is caused by four factors. data from the West Manggarai Tourism and Culture
First, the number of residents in the mainland Service, currently, there are 115 hotels or inns, most of
area of Flores Island, based on BPS 2021 data, is more which are located in the urban area of Labuan Bajo,
than the number of residents on small islands, while and the average tourist visit reaches 119,174 people
per year.

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Figure 9. Map of water carrying capacity in West Manggarai.

The tourism development also increases the potential 56.87% of the total area with a deficit status, especially
for decreasing water quality. The development in the urban area of Labuan Bajo. The factors causing
activities in coastal areas will cause environmental the environment's carrying capacity to be in a larger
changes (Wibowo, 2018), especially water availability deficit status are the large population but relatively low
in semi-arid areas (Kent et al., 2002). Small islands are rainfall, the condition of the type of soil that is
generally vulnerable to development for tourism but hydromorphic, and the high use of groundwater for the
have limited accessibility and resources, so they are community's clean water needs and tourism services.
very dependent on the mainland area (Kerstetter and The status of water carrying capacity that experiences
Bricker, 2012). In fact, not all water-carrying a water deficit is more common in the mainland of
capacities in tourism areas are in deficit status if they Flores Island than in the small islands around Labuan
have ecosystem services with high rainfall and large Bajo. This condition does not mean that the small
water catchment areas (Harianto et al., 2020). island areas are still safe from scarcity of clean water.
Therefore water management in Labuan Bajo needs to However, this condition shows that the dependence on
optimize the use of surface water, such as river water water sources on small islands with the mainland of
and rainwater, during the rainy season. Optimization Flores Island is still very high.
of river water can be carried out using the technique of There is a need for water management based on
constructing constructed wetlands to ensure the quality the use of surface water, such as the use of rainwater
of the wastewater discharged into the environment is and the creation of artificial wetlands in river border
at most the quality standard. This technique utilizes areas. Its to prevent land degradation due to high
pumice media, Thypa latifolia sp., Lemongrass and groundwater extraction. Ultimately, this research is
Melaleuca trees as filtering pollutants (Rozari et al., limited to analyzing landscape conditions, water
2020a, 2020b; Greenway et al., 2022). Management in quality, and water carrying capacity. Further research
this way is expected to reduce pollutant loads in rivers, is expected regarding the potential for sustainable land
especially in the upstream and middle riparian areas use for tourism activities in coastal areas and small
with levels of phosphorus and fecal coliform pollution islands without causing environmental degradation.
that exceed quality standards.
Acknowledgements
Conclusion The authors thank the School of Environmental Science,
The carrying capacity of water in West Manggarai Universitas Indonesia, for financing this study through grant
Regency in most areas has exceeded the carrying number PKS-0034/UN2.F13/D1/PPM.00.04/2022. The
capacity of water, which is 178,557 hectares or authors also thank the Komodo Meteorology, Climatology

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and Geophysics Agency (BMKG Komodo), the West Quality-of-Life Research (pp.445-462),
Manggarai Regency Spatial Creation and Water Resources doi:10.1007/978-94-007-2288-0_26.
Office, The West Manggarai Regency of Environmental Kodir, A., Tanjung, A., Astina, I.K., Nurwan, M.A.,
service, and the West Manggarai Regency Tourism and Nusantara, A.G. and Ahmad, R. 2020. The dynamics of
Culture Office for their assistance in providing data. access to tourism development in Labuan Bajo,
Indonesia. GeoJournal of Tourism and Geosites
29(2):662-671, doi:10.30892/gtg.29222-497.
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