Fish Right Program
Grant
Overview
abstract
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Nearly one billion people will live within the coastal zone by 2030, and already, approximately 10% of the global population lives in Low Elevation Coastal Zones (LECZs). Sustaining communities requires food resources, economic revenue and quality of life, all of which are related to the available coastal habitats and their health. Communities around the Philippines rely on marine and terrestrial habitats (e.g., coral reefs, seagrasses, mangroves and beaches) for nutrition, tourism and ecosystem services. Disturbances on the coast are inevitably linked to human pressure and development as well as weather events and other natural disasters. To understand these impacts, it is important to assess habitat quality and quantity across the coastal continuum from the land to the sea, such as mangroves and shallow water habitats, as well as identifying the impacts and threats to ecosystem functions. While on-the-ground measurement can provide immediate and high-resolution insights into specific processes, the capability of satellite remote sensing to capture detailed information about habitat complexity and change has increased dramatically. This study aims to measure natural and human attributes of the coast using underwater, ground, drone, and multi-sensor satellite data with the goal of quantifying characteristics and assessing areas holistically across the coastal continuum while also capturing dynamic changes over time. While it may be impossible to accurately measure all attributes and dynamics, an assessment of key habitats and natural and anthropogenic driven changes can inform resources and management efforts. Here, we present an integrated remote sensing monitoring framework, supported by field and drone measurements, to assess the full coastal zone (e.g., mangroves, seagrass, and coral reefs) for several case studies across the Philippines in order provide comparisons that span gradients of anthropogenic influence and coastal geomorphology.
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