Journal of Infrastructure Planning and Engineering
Vol. 4 No. 2 (2025)

From destruction to enhanced greening: Quantifying vegetation cover dynamics in Banda Aceh 20 years after the tsunami

Raja Al-Fath (Department of Architecture and Planning, Syiah Kuala University, Banda Aceh, 23111, Indonesia)
Shiti Maghfira (Department of International Environment and Resources Policy, Tohoku University, Sendai, 980-8577, Japan)
Ahmad Jihan Muzaki (Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Diponegoro University, Semarang, 50275, Indonesia)
Arief Gunawan (Department of Architecture and Planning, Syiah Kuala University, Banda Aceh, 23111, Indonesia)



Article Info

Publish Date
31 Oct 2025

Abstract

The 2004 tsunami disaster caused severe ecological damage in Banda Aceh City, destroying a vast majority of its vegetation cover. This study aims to analyze the spatio-temporal dynamics of post-disaster vegetation recovery over two decades (2004-2024) to identify the stages of ecological succession. Using a remote sensing approach, Landsat satellite imagery from 2004 (pre-tsunami), 2005 (post-tsunami), 2014 (one decade later), and 2024 (two decades later) was analyzed using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). The NDVI classification results show a drastic change: the non-vegetated area surged from 67.58% in 2004 to 89.01% in 2005, while the dense vegetation class was entirely eliminated. However, a recovery process unfolded over the subsequent two decades. By 2024, the non-vegetated area had drastically shrunk to just 13.11%, while the combined area of moderate and dense vegetation surged to over 45% of the city's total area, surpassing the pre-tsunami condition. This study concludes that Banda Aceh has not only successfully restored its vegetation cover but has also undergone a significant ecosystem maturation phase. These findings provide a robust scientific basis for integrating NDVI analysis as a proactive monitoring instrument into the Banda Aceh City Spatial Plan (RTRW) to support sustainable and disaster-resilient urban development.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

jipe

Publisher

Subject

Civil Engineering, Building, Construction & Architecture Engineering Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering

Description

Journal of Infrastructure Planning and Engineering (JIPE) is a peer-reviewed and open-access journal that was launched by the Master Program of Infrastructure and Environmental Engineering, Postgraduate Program, Warmadewa University, Denpasar, Bali in 2022. This journal publishes regularly twice a ...