A TWO-STEP CLUSTER FOR CLASSIFYING PROVINCES IN INDONESIA BASED ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to conduct a cluster analysis of the environmental health index in Indonesia for all the provinces. Clustering the environmental health index was important to reveal regional disparities, target and intervention policies, monitor progress over time, and allocate resources more effectively for improved environmental health outcomes. In this study, a sample of 34 units was utilized, encompassing all provinces in Indonesia. The environmental health index was clustered based on five indicators, namely Water Quality Index, Air Quality Index, Soil Quality Index, Marine Quality Index, and Land Cover Quality Index. This research used the two-stage clustering method, which was unique in combining both hierarchical and non-hierarchical clustering methods to produce a more accurate and reliable solution. Four clusters were determined to group provinces in Indonesia based on the environmental health index. The analysis found that the quality of clustering was in the fair but close to good category. The clustering results showed that 32% of the provinces were in cluster 4 and 26.5% of the provinces were in cluster 1. Then, 23.5% and 17.6% of the provinces were in clusters 2 and 3, respectively. In addition, two indicators were found to be the most predictive of the overall clustering solution, namely the Soil Quality Index and the Land Cover Quality Index. The results also implied that provinces in cluster 3 had the lowest environmental quality so they must improve it by looking at provinces in cluster 4, which was the group with the best environmental quality index.