Planning Of Coastal Areas Research Articles

Use of Satellite Imagery as Environmental Impact Assessment Tool: A case Study from the Nw Egyptian Red Sea Coastal Zone

Knowledge and detecting impacts of human activities on the coastal ecosystem is an essential management requirement and also very important for future and proper planning of coastal areas. Moreover, documentation of these impacts can help in increasing public awareness about side effects of unsustainable practices. Analysis of multidate remote sensing data can be used as an effective tool in environmental impact assessment (EIA). Being synoptic and frequent in coverage, multidate data from Landsat and other satellites provide a reference record and bird's eye viewing to the environmental situation of the coastal ecosystem and the associated habitats. Furthermore, integration of satellite data with field observations and background information can help in decision if a certain activity has caused deterioration to a specific habitat or not. The present paper is an attempt to utilize remote sensing data for assessment impacts of some human activities on the major sensitive habitats of the NW Egyptian Red Sea coastal zone, definitely between Ras Gemsha and Safaga. Through multidate change analysis of Landsat data (TM & ETM+ sensors), it was possible to depict some of the human infringements in the area and to provide, in some cases, exclusive evidences for the damaging effect of some developmental activities.

Improving the State of Coastal Areas in the Asia-Pacific Region

Stresses impacting the coastal zone in the Asia-Pacific region are briefly reviewed under the headings of sustainable coastal activities, coastal ecosystem management, community/resource interactions, coastal resource economics and sustainability, coastal area planning, and integrated coastal policies. Recent contributions on mitigation of these stresses are introduced, with emphasis on the Coastal Zone Asia-Pacific Conference, held in Bangkok, May 2002, where various innovative approaches to research, education, information sharing, and coastal policies aiming at improving the state of the coastal areas were presented. These include the roles of community in integrated coastal management; tools and planning for management of coastal areas; education program and capacity building; and the establishments of national and regional frameworks for integrated coastal management. As appropriate information and its transfer are critical to these processes, an analysis is presented of the content of the database on coastal projects in the region, highlighting areas of research interests, funding sources, and achievements. Another database on coastal ecosystems, currently under development, is presented as an example of the type of resource that can be expected to help advance our knowledge and ability to improve the management of coastal areas. Overall, these tools should allow us, given the political will, to improve the state of coastal areas.

Business and auditing impacts of new technologies: Part 3

Marine finfish production is currently a market opportunity and an activity that could be more developed in the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Ocean. Here, we discuss the reasons a country like Brazil, which has great potential for marine finfish farming, still has not managed to evolve this activity. We present the main arguments for the Brazilian unsuccess as an example to other countries that also have not yet achieved prominence in marine finfish production. Finally, we argue that one of the challenges is obtaining the leasing title (‘cessão de área’), which enable the spatial planning in coastal areas. However, conflicts are a natural occurrence due to the multiple uses of these areas; thus, advancement and success of marine finfish farming can only be attained through governance strategies, such as adaptive governance. The adaptive management would bring legal certainty for the Government and guarantee a participatory and transparent process for all involved. Brazil example demonstrates that the organization of the aquaculture space is not sufficient for the activity evolution, as conflicts arise from different interests in the use of these spaces. Therefore, only establishing adaptive governance would be possible to organize the marine space, reducing conflicts and developing the activity. Therefore, only establishing the adaptive governance would be possible to organize the marine space, reducing conflicts and establish the activity.

Template for evaluation of impacts of sea level rise on Caribbean coastal wetlands

Published predictions of the impacts of sea level rise on mangroves are too simplistic, due to the assumption that ecosystem structure and plant zonation are uniform. Field survey and analysis of over 200 coastal wetland sites in the Insular Caribbean suggests the likelihood of very variable system responses, because of the wide range of wetland types and geomorphic settings. A template is presented for use in predicting site-specific responses to sea level change in mangrove and associated coastal wetlands. Significant predictors are site physiography and relation to neighbouring coastal systems, plus the immediate hinterland and recent changes to wetlands resulting from human intervention. Impacts on mangroves may include some losses, but inland migration, change in species dominance, and increase in area are more likely in the short term, depending on the range of site characteristics. This is supported by review of palaeoecological studies on wetland development in the region. The use of the template in coastal area planning and engineering is discussed.

Coastal area management in Japan: An overview

Abstract Japan is a relatively small, ultra‐high density, coastal, industrially developed, East Asian nation. It uses its highly variable, complex, superbly beautiful, and extremely vulnerable and hazardous coastal environment very intensively. However, the national government, which is primarily responsible for coastal affairs, has yet to develop a comprehensive management‐and‐planning system for that environment. In this paper, the administrative context and legal basis as well as the problem of coastal area ownership and rights are briefly introduced as are the factors involved in coastal area planning. A cross section of views on the government's approach to coastal area management follows, and finally suggestions are made regarding several adaptations or changes considered desirable to help make the approach better able to cope with the nation's coastal area problems.