Located in the west of Kupang City, the capital of the province of East Nusa Tenggara, Semau Island is directly adjacent to the Savu Sea (or the Sawu Sea) in the South, West, and North. In the East, the island is bordered by the Semau Strait which is an international sea crossing. In the Southern part, Semau Island faces Rote Island bounded by Pukuafu Strait.

As a small island, Semau is likely to receive significant impacts caused by any environmental changes, particularly extreme weather, water availability, and climate change. The impact not only has implication for the environment, but also immensely affects human-environment relationship and the people who live on the coast or those who are dependent on agriculture.

Although the island has rich biodiversity, Semau still has limited fresh water since the rainfall in Semau is relatively small. More over, the number of springs in each villages is limited. Water availability immensely affects the people and development in the island. The decreased rainfall during critical times (August - October) may increase high drought risk. Changes in precipitation patterns also lead to a shift in seasonality and consequently to uncertain availability to produce agricultural goods. This in turn losses in food production, increase the number of undernourished people in an unusual way, and slow down progress against poverty and food security. (East Nusa Tenggara, November 2019).