Abstract
The Egyptian Red Sea coast has experienced rapid development since the 1970’s. In particular, the coastal area near the City of Hurghada has been transformed into a long strip of touristic villages and hotels in this short time span. This is an area that has historically had abundant and diverse coral reef communities. To assess possible impacts on benthic coral reef cover in the region, Landsat satellite data collected over the Red Sea from 1973 through 2015 were analyzed to estimate urban expansion in the Hurghada region, shoreline changes, and changes in coral reef cover over time. A time series of satellite observations using Landsat 1-MSS, Landsat 5-TM, Landsat 7-ETM+, and Landsat 8-OLI was assembled, with images acquired in 1973, 1984, 1987, 1992, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2010, and 2015. Images were geometrically, radiometrically and atmospherically corrected, and a water-column correction was implemented prior to comparing images to assess change in landcover. The results show that during the last 42 years, the coral reef cover decreased 6.21 Km<sup>2</sup> while the built coastal area increased 13.4 Km<sup>2</sup>. These observations were used to compute total economic value (TEV) of coral reef habitats and the cost of degradation in terms of physical losses of coral reef area which equals about18.63$ Billion.
Highlights
The Red Sea is the world's northernmost tropical sea [1]
Changes in the shoreline around Hurghada have occurred primarily due to coastal development, including dredging and landfilling
At the beginning of the high-development period, when the tourism industry accelerated between 1984 and 1987, the land accretion rate was about +0.18 km2 and erosion rate about +0.097km2
Summary
The Red Sea is the world's northernmost tropical sea [1]. It holds an extraordinary range of habitats and biological diversity and endemism, with over 1,000 invertebrate species including over 300 species of soft and hard corals and more than 1,200 species of fishes. Mangroves, and sea grass beds provide key food resources, shoreline protection, stabilization and other economic benefits [2]. Egyptian reefs host about 200 species of hard corals, including some endemic species [5]. These resources are facing increasing threats from coastal development to service a growing tourism industry [6,7]
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have