Coastal Zone Management Handbook

Climate change has emerged as a principal threat to coral reefs, and is expected to exacerbate coral reef degradation caused by more localised stressors. Management of local stressors is widely advocated to bolster coral reef resilience, but the extent to which management of local stressors might affect future trajectories of reef state remains unclear. This is in part because of limited understanding of the cumulative impact of multiple stressors. Models are ideal tools to aid understanding of future reef state under alternative management and climatic scenarios, but to date few have been sufficiently developed to be useful as decision support tools for local management of coral reefs subject to multiple stressors. We used a simulation model of coral reefs to investigate the extent to which the management of local stressors (namely poor water quality and fishing) might influence future reef state under varying climatic scenarios relating to coral bleaching. We parameterised the model for Bolinao, the Philippines, and explored how simulation modelling can be used to provide decision support for local management. We found that management of water quality, and to a lesser extent fishing, can have a significant impact on future reef state, including coral recovery following bleaching-induced mortality. The stressors we examined interacted antagonistically to affect reef state, highlighting the importance of considering the combined impact of multiple stressors rather than considering them individually. Further, by providing explicit guidance for management of Bolinao's reef system, such as which course of management action will most likely to be effective over what time scales and at which sites, we demonstrated the utility of simulation models for supporting management. Aside from providing explicit guidance for management of Bolinao's reef system, our study offers insights which could inform reef management more broadly, as well as general understanding of reef systems.

Obtaining Approvals for Oil and Gas Projects in Shallow Water Marine Areas in Western Australia using an Environmental Risk Assessment Framework

Mangrove forest destruction in Boalemo Regency has increased significantly over the past decade. The condition of mangrove forests has been degraded due to the pressure of population growth, especially in coastal areas. Damage to mangrove forest resources is certainly very dangerous to the ecosystem of fisheries resources, biodiversity and destroys the stability of coastal forests that support the protection of inland and rural agricultural crops. The purpose of this research is to design a model of sustainable mangrove forest resource management strategy in Boalemo District, Gorontalo Province, so that it can be applied as a policy in improving and optimizing mangrove forest resource management efforts in Gorontalo Province. The method used is Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM). The results showed that there are thirteen sub-elements of program requirements needed to build the model, of the thirteen elements of program requirements there are no sub-elements that occupy quadrant I, in quadrant II there are two sub-elements and in quadrant III there are six sub-elements, in quadrant IV is occupied by five sub-elements which are key elements to build a mangrove forest resource management strategy model.

In a number of disciplines including ecology, ecotoxicology, water quality management, water resource management, fishery biology etc., there is significant interest in the testing of new materials, environmental samples (of water or sediments) and specific sites, in terms of their effects on biota. In the first instance, we consider various sources of aquatic pollution, sources typically associated with developed areas of the world. Historically, much water quality assessment has been performed by researchers with a background in chemistry or engineering, thus chemical analysis was a dominant form of assessment. However, chemical analyses, particularly of such materials as organochlorines and polyaromatic hydrocarbons can be expensive, and local environmental factors may cause the actual exposure of an organism to be little correlated with chemical concentrations in the surrounding water or sediments. To a large extent toxicity testing has proceeded independently of environmental quality assessment in situ, and the work has been done by different, and differently-trained researchers. Here we attempt to bring together the various forms of biological assessment of aquatic pollution, because in our opinion it is worth developing a coherent framework for the application of this powerful tool. Biotic assessment in its most primitive form involves the simple tracking of mortality in exposed organisms. However, in most natural environments it is extended, chronic exposure to contaminants that has the most wide-ranging and irreversible repercussions--thus measures of sub-lethal impairment are favoured. From an ecological standpoint, it is most valuable to assess ecological effects by direct study of in situ contaminant body burdens and impairment of growth and reproduction compared with 'clean' sites. A distinction is made here between bioindication and biomonitoring, and a case is made for including aquatic macrophytes (angiosperms) in studies of contaminant levels and effects in the biota. It is apparent that there is a concurrent need for laboratory-based testing of new industrial by-products before any are released in the environment, and such studies should aid the investigation of mechanisms and modes of toxicity, but environmental assessment, and tracking of improvements in environmental quality are most effectively achieved by active biomonitoring experiments.

Coral reefs ecosystems have been impacted by natural and anthropogenic effects resulting in a decline of coral communities worldwide. This decline in coral reefs has an economical impact in tourist areas, and marine ecosystems. Coral reef scientists and resource managers monitor and map coral reefs communities manually. Automated techniques are nonexistence, especially in deep waters where the absorption and scattering properties of the water do not allow the use of satellites. In these cases, other imaging platforms like autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) are needed. This work presents a prototype classification algorithm with applications in the study of deep coral reefs taken by the SeaBED (AUV) at the Hind Bank Marine Conservation District (MCD), south of Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Because of light conditions, the images acquired by this AUV have low contrast, are very noisy, and are extremely rich in both spatial variability and texture, making the automated classification a very difficult task [Rivera Maldonado Francisco J, 2004; River F.J. et al., 2004], The classification algorithm developing in this research use the local homogeneity coefficient segmentation algorithm [Rivera Maldonado Francisco J, 2004; River F.J. et al., 2004] as first stage to find the different regions of interest in the images like corals, bare substrate, and sand among others classes. Combining a pixel by pixel Euclidean classification in each region with some texture features the classification of each region is performed. Finally, the results of the algorithm are validated with the traditional manual classification done for this type of applications.

Recreational value of different coral reefs richness levels in Oman

The utilization of the resources of the coral reef ecosystem in Tanah Merah Bay area (Depapre) has been going on for a long time by the local communities around the area. Ironically, the dependents are still using destructive tools and methods, such as the use of blast fishing and tuba roots. On the one hand, local communities’ expecially of the Tefraa / Tabla tribe have wisdom in coral reef resources that have been passed down through generations, namely the Tiaitiki system. This research will evaluate and assess the sustainability status of socio-economic and institutional aspects of coral reef management by local communities in three villages, namely Tablanusu, Tablasufa and Waiya villages using RAPSOCIO-ECOSYSTEM method modified from a Rapid Appraisal for Fisheries Approach (RAPFISH). Based on the findings of the study, showed that the socio-economic dimensions of the villages of Tablanusu and Tablasufa were in the “less sustainable”, and the village of Waiya was “quite sustainable” with the leverage attributes, namely the level of existence of professional tourism guides, the existence of companion NGOs, dependence on fisheries as a livelihood, dependence on marine tourism as a livelihoods and Tiaitiki understanding (goals and benefits). The Institutional dimension shows that the three villages are in the category of “quite sustainable” with the leverage attributes, namely Tiaitiki area monitoring agency, NGO / stakeholders in the management especially the implementation of Tiaitiki, Tiaitiki management strategic document, availability of formal rules for managing Tiaitiki, and socialization (implementation, rules and sanctions) of Tiaitiki.

This paper deals with the new direction in the urban runoff and water environment master planning for the Municipality of Bergen, Norway. The goal is to manage the runoff (wastewater and storm water) in a way that environmental damages are avoided at lowest possible costs. The plan is partly based on the findings in the research program carried out in the Birkeland basin and the subcatchment Sandsli in Bergen since 1981. The solution to the surface water management requires the use of a source control of the water quantity and quality combined with the green trends in the urban storm water management to utilise the capabilities of the urban nature to take up the storm water and to reduce the pollution content in the water. The interaction between the research and the master plan is outlined. In the planning process brooks, rivers and lakes were kept as natural as possible. In evaluating alternative solutions for the urban runoff in the Birkeland basin, the need for better design values and experiences became apparent. Therefore, a research program was started in Birkeland basin and in Sandsli urban hydrological research catchment. The findings in Birkeland and Sandsli have provided valuable data and experiences to the master plan.

Brazil has performed an important role in the oil and gas industry mainly because the offshore E&P activities in Campos Basin, characterized by deep waters far away from the coast and its sensitive areas. However other basins have increased their importance in the E&P industry where some operations are located very close to the shore in shallow waters with a remarkable environmental sensitivity. Because of this, a new approach has been adopted by Brazilian Federal Environmental Agency (IBAMA) - firstly regarding oil spill preparedness and lately concerning environmental risk assessment. Risk analysis used to be developed as a preliminary hazard analysis (PHA) part of the environmental impact statement that operators (oil companies) have to perform in order to obtain a permit to operate. The main feature of this PHA was the qualitative and subjective risk assessment taking into account only the oil spill amount, in spite of the area sensitivity. Once the operations in those high sensitivity areas have potentially increased, IBAMA has developed a particular Term of Reference regarding the oil spill risk calculation for valued environmental resources such as marine mammals, sea turtles, fishes, etc as well as ecosystems (for example, coral reefs and mangroves). According to the new approach the environmental risk assessment regards to the recovery time of any valued environmental resource that could be affected by oil spill in comparison with the leakage occurrence time. The oil spill risk related to a valued environmental resource is calculated by the product of the release frequency and the environmental consequences based on exposure probability. This paper discusses this new approach adopted in Brazil, involving a quantitative method for the environmental risk assessment of Brazilian Offshore E&P.

The Nha Trang Bay (Vietnam) is an international marine protected area with significant economic, natural and recreational values. Considerable economic development is expected in particularly for tourism, navigation and aquaculture. However, in recent years the environmental quality of the Bay has been degraded by human activities and impacts. Even though the conditions of the Bay are monitored with in-situ measurements in a marine station, the environmental data, measured only in half-yearly intervals, are not sufficient for comprehensively assessing environmental quality at various temporal and spatial scales. Therefore, it is necessary to seek for complementary data sources to assess, control and manage the marine environment of Nha Trang Bay. We conducted three field trips in Nha Trang Bay at 23 stations, including 6 off-shore stations that are not influenced by freshwater from land, and measured the distribution of marine optical properties. These properties include the light extinction coefficient (K) of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) in the surface layer (i.e. 1m depth) and in water columns. K ranged from 0.099 m -1 off-shore to 0.409 m -1 in coastal waters. In addition, light absorption at various wavelengths were used to assess the concentration of chlorophyll-a, total suspended sediments and primary production. Further, we collected and used spatially explicit data using the OC4 method and the method of band 1, 2 and 3 ratios of the Landsat TM satellite. A data comparison confirms a significant correlation between the different sources of in-situ and remotely sensed data of light absorption. However, the predicted values at stations with a water depth of less than 5 m are significantly affected by sea bottom reflection of, for example, mud, sand, coral reefs and algae. The results indicate that it is appropriate to use remote sensing methods to derive spatially explicit distributed variables of optical properties and derived products for an environmental assessment of coastal waters.

Natural hazards disrupt the social-ecological system, causing much suffering, death, injury, and devastation of property and the environment. This study explores the factors influencing the disaster psychology and psychological adaptation of people living in disaster-vulnerable areas in Bangladesh. Data have been collected from 100 households in Bangladesh’s riverine island areas (char) of northern Bangladesh. Several criteria have been used to measure char dwellers’ disaster psychology (vulnerability concern, factor, and intensity) and psychological adaptation (weakness concern and emotional response). This study reveals that char dwellers perceived several hazards like floods (100%), riverbank erosion (83%), drought (29%), and earthquakes (14%). It is also found that females (88%) are more concerned about earthquakes than males (12%). The key vulnerability factors in the char areas are geographic position (100%), no access to migration (75%), resources (76%), housing (83%), training (18%), and alternative livelihood (24%). Flood and drought are identified as the most destructive hazards in char areas. Most household heads also felt anxiety (88%), fear (54%), helplessness, sadness, and anger due to natural hazards. The government should implement a context-specific disaster management plan to reduce household vulnerability and create livelihood opportunities in char areas to enhance char dwellers’ psychological resilience against disasters.

This dissertation investigates social and ecological factors that facilitate effective management of coral reefs as social-ecological systems. Meta-analytical and field-based methods were employed to examine current management challenges and identify strategies that improve management effectiveness and coral reef health. A meta-analysis was used to evaluate biological indicators of reef health in relation to the types of fishing regulations in place (no-take areas, gear restriction areas, and periodic closures) and the actor groups (community-based, co-management, state, private) involved in management efforts for coral reef fisheries throughout the world. Other than enhancement of fish biomass within no-take areas that was significantly greater than in gear restriction areas, most biological indicators benefitted similarly from management techniques of no-take areas and gear restriction areas. Community-based and co-management were the best performing management arrangements for some biological outcomes but require further case studies to verify findings. Investigation of management effects by region indicated that previously degraded reefs received fewer benefits from management implementation than did relatively healthier reefs. For field investigations, the Comoros islands in the Western Indian Ocean served as a model for tropical coral reefs with challenging socioeconomic contexts, high biodiversity, and high vulnerability to coral reef degradation. Empirical study at 21 sites was used to identify the relative effects of natural and anthropogenic threats to coral reefs of the Comoros. Most previous studies of reef health focus on primarily natural factors or a single anthropogenic threat. This study examined suites of natural factors and human activities to identify the relative importance of each on reef health. Human activities including fishing, sand extraction, and beachfront housing and development were the best predictors of reef health status. Most notably, human population and fishing predicted fish richness, abundance, and biomass with seasonal variation in the effects, while site orientation strongly predicted benthic cover. Field studies in the Comoros were also used to investigate the roles of community and state actors in co-management and compare effectiveness of comanagement across sites with varying levels of actor participation. Effective management was found to occur with community or `meta-community' (in this case, a Marine Protected Area in which the efforts of several communities were organized) participation in governance and support of state or external agents, while resilient management that overcame considerable challenges was found to occur only with strong community participation and leadership in governance. External agents were found to contribute to development of meta-community governance structure and initiation

Assessment of drought is one of the most important steps in risk management of drought analysis. Drought is mostly the result of a decrease in precipitation in comparison with the mean value and would affect the quantities of soil moisture and water resources. The basis of drought indices is often based on measuring the deviation of precipitation values from long-term mean, during a specific period of time. The standard precipitation index (SPI) can be used for indicating the associated temporal and spatial variations. The aim of this research is the assessment of the characteristics such as intensity, frequency and duration of meteorological drought using SPI with 1, 3, 6, 12 and 24 months time scales in West Azarbaijan Province, Iran. The indices have been computed in various time scales for 38 gauging stations with 32 years record period in the study area and evaluated for the recent drought during 1998-2001. The results indicate that with an increase in return period and time scale, the duration of drought will be increased. Frequency of drought, with an increase in scale, will also be decreased linearly, but their durations show an increase. This index having temporal and spatial variations and is attributed as a suitable tool for analyzing drought for different hydrological purposes.@JASEM Keywords: Meteorological Drought, Standardized Precipitation Index, Drought Management, West Azarbaijan Province J. Appl. Sci. Environ. Manage. Dec, 2011, Vol. 15 (4) 589 - 596

SUMMARYThroughout the tropics, developing countries and territories are highly dependent on nearshore marine resources for food and income, however information on the sustainability and proper management of these fisheries is lacking. In Pohnpei, Micronesia, the sustainability of a coral reef finfishery was assessed by comparing coral reef fish demand to coral reef biocapacity using a marine ecological footprint (MEF) analysis. Based on geo-referenced satellite and aerial imagery, Pohnpei and surrounding atolls have 184.2 km2 of coral reef habitat with a sustainable finfish yield of 573–1118 t yr−1, however total harvest was estimated at 4068 t yr−1, exceeding biocapacity by 360–710%. The MEF was supported by observed impacts to coral reef resources, including (1) long-term declines in fish spawning aggregation density, (2) reductions in mean size, age and fecundity of key commercial species, (3) reliance on undersized fish, and (4) decadal declines in mean size and abundance of fishes of iconic value and critical to ecosystem maintenance. The commercial fishery was responsible for 68% of finfish catch volume, while reef fish consumption, at 93 kg person−1 yr−1, was among the highest in the region. To sustainably meet current demand, up to 833 km2 of additional reef area would be required. The study illustrates the MEF, at least rudimentarily, reflects biological reality on local reefs and represents a valuable analytical tool in a marine policymaker's toolbox.

Rapid urban expansion without effective environmental consciousness means that in virtually every urban center – from large cities and metropolitan areas to regional centers and small market towns – a substantial proportion of the population is at risk from natural and human-induced environmental hazards. A strategic approach is essential if urban areas are to enjoy all the benefits which nature can bring. This paper evaluates the concepts of the integrated city and sustainable development. It goes further to assess the general environment of the Federal Capital City, Abuja and the effects of urban growth and development on the cityscape. The environmental consequences of socioeconomic and other activities are evaluated in a bid to determine how sustainable Abuja's urbanization is. The study reveals that the city is growing faster (13%) than the provisions of its master plan. It is fast turning into an environmental embarrassment, with developments springing up in gross violation of zoning and other planning codes. Abuja, which was supposed to be an epitome of beauty and an enlightened vision of city development, has suffered over the years from unnecessary distortions in the implementation of its master plan. The paper concludes by suggesting pragmatic strategies such as good urban governance, periodic review of the Abuja master plan, public enlightenment for achieving an integrated and ecologically balanced environment - a Sustainable Abuja City. DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2013.v3n5p145