provide important economic value, but are threatened by pollution, defoliants,
harvesting for wood products, urbanization, reclamation, water diversion, and
conversion to aquaculture or salt ponds (Farnsworth and Ellison, 1997; Spalding et al.,
1997). Degradation of coral reef and mangrove habitats often leads to a “lose-lose”
situation in which short-term economic gains evaporate and economic losses follow
habitat destruction (Dadjouh-Guebas, 2002). Assessing the impacts of coastal
degradation on fisheries and prioritizing management actions is limited by inadequate
knowledge of basic parameters such as habitat locations, extent and characteristics
(McManus, 1997). Moreover, there is often a lack of quantitative knowledge on the
more complex processes that link terrestrial processes to the coastal zone.
In this context of habitat modification and degradation, extensive information on
previous condition, current status, and change of coastal habitats is critical in order to
make appropriate management decisions and monitor future change. In most regions
worldwide, Burke et al. (2000) noted that existing information was not adequate to
assess conversion of coastal habitats (to urban, agricultural and industrial uses) and
corresponding changes in sediment flows and shoreline erosion. Even countries that
have extensive efforts in natural resource mapping and monitoring, such as the United
States, are struggling to understand loss of coastal habitats and how to better manage
them (e.g. Bookman et al., 1999). The U.S. National Academy of Sciences is currently
completing a report on “National Needs for Coastal Mapping and Charting” to identify:
1) primary data sets that need to be integrated; 2) gaps and overlaps among agencies
collecting the information needed; and 3) technologies to acquire, archive, and
disseminate information to the user community (National Research Council, 2004).
The struggle to map, manage, and monitor coastal ecosystems is even more challenging
in developing countries where technological and scientific resources are more limited.
Obtaining the information needed to set management priorities for coastal habitats
requires synthesis of various data sets. Among them, remotely sensed data from
airborne and satellite platforms are a cost-effective way of collecting information on
coastal habitats for regional management objectives so as to optimize coverage of
different spatial scales, and to be able to integrate processes on land, at the coast, and in
the sea (Mumby et al., 1999). The objective of this chapter is to summarize the
synthesis of different data types for meeting the information needs for management and
conservation. Our emphasis is on efforts to provide regional or global datasets that are
of value to managers as baseline information, the systems that are being deployed to
make that information available (particularly across international boundaries), and how
combining information from different data sources will contribute to better resource
management.
2. Global Datasets Derived from Primarily Cartographic Origins
Natural resource managers, conservation organizations, and international planning
organizations rely on map data and commonly use geographic information system
(GIS) tools in supporting their planning. A number of major global datasets are
commonly employed in these endeavors because of their ready accessibility for
incorporation into GIS systems (Table 1). For example, PAGE (Pilot Analysis of
Global Ecosystems) Coastal Ecosystems Study, conducted by the World Resources
Institute, used a variety of GIS layers in an analysis of coastal ecosystems (Burke et al.,
2000). It also assembled numerous available GIS datasets and applied them to
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Robinson, Andréfouët and Burke
harvesting for wood products, urbanization, reclamation, water diversion, and
conversion to aquaculture or salt ponds (Farnsworth and Ellison, 1997; Spalding et al.,
1997). Degradation of coral reef and mangrove habitats often leads to a “lose-lose”
situation in which short-term economic gains evaporate and economic losses follow
habitat destruction (Dadjouh-Guebas, 2002). Assessing the impacts of coastal
degradation on fisheries and prioritizing management actions is limited by inadequate
knowledge of basic parameters such as habitat locations, extent and characteristics
(McManus, 1997). Moreover, there is often a lack of quantitative knowledge on the
more complex processes that link terrestrial processes to the coastal zone.
In this context of habitat modification and degradation, extensive information on
previous condition, current status, and change of coastal habitats is critical in order to
make appropriate management decisions and monitor future change. In most regions
worldwide, Burke et al. (2000) noted that existing information was not adequate to
assess conversion of coastal habitats (to urban, agricultural and industrial uses) and
corresponding changes in sediment flows and shoreline erosion. Even countries that
have extensive efforts in natural resource mapping and monitoring, such as the United
States, are struggling to understand loss of coastal habitats and how to better manage
them (e.g. Bookman et al., 1999). The U.S. National Academy of Sciences is currently
completing a report on “National Needs for Coastal Mapping and Charting” to identify:
1) primary data sets that need to be integrated; 2) gaps and overlaps among agencies
collecting the information needed; and 3) technologies to acquire, archive, and
disseminate information to the user community (National Research Council, 2004).
The struggle to map, manage, and monitor coastal ecosystems is even more challenging
in developing countries where technological and scientific resources are more limited.
Obtaining the information needed to set management priorities for coastal habitats
requires synthesis of various data sets. Among them, remotely sensed data from
airborne and satellite platforms are a cost-effective way of collecting information on
coastal habitats for regional management objectives so as to optimize coverage of
different spatial scales, and to be able to integrate processes on land, at the coast, and in
the sea (Mumby et al., 1999). The objective of this chapter is to summarize the
synthesis of different data types for meeting the information needs for management and
conservation. Our emphasis is on efforts to provide regional or global datasets that are
of value to managers as baseline information, the systems that are being deployed to
make that information available (particularly across international boundaries), and how
combining information from different data sources will contribute to better resource
management.
2. Global Datasets Derived from Primarily Cartographic Origins
Natural resource managers, conservation organizations, and international planning
organizations rely on map data and commonly use geographic information system
(GIS) tools in supporting their planning. A number of major global datasets are
commonly employed in these endeavors because of their ready accessibility for
incorporation into GIS systems (Table 1). For example, PAGE (Pilot Analysis of
Global Ecosystems) Coastal Ecosystems Study, conducted by the World Resources
Institute, used a variety of GIS layers in an analysis of coastal ecosystems (Burke et al.,
2000). It also assembled numerous available GIS datasets and applied them to
280
Robinson, Andréfouët and Burke