ROLE OF REMOTE SENSING TO INTEGRATED COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT 
Shailesh Nayak 
Space Applications Centre (ISRO), Ahmedabad 380 015, India. 
E-mail: snayakad | (@sancharnet.in 
  
Commission VII, Th S 18 
KEYWORDS: Remote sensing, coast, ecosystem, application, management 
ABSTRACT: 
The coastal zone represents varied and highly productive ecosystems such as mangroves, coral reefs, sea grasses and sand dunes. These 
ecosystems are under pressure on account of increased anthropogenic activity on the coast, as a result of globalisation. It is necessary to 
protect these coastal ecosystems to ensure sustainable development. This requires information on habitats, landforms, coastal processes, 
water quality, natural hazards on a repetitive basis. In India, remote sensing data, especially Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) data, having 
moderate (23-36 m) to high spatial resolution (6 m), have been used to generate database on various components of coastal environment 
of the entire country. However, the moderate resolution data provide macro-level information on 1:250,000 and 1:50,000 scale about the 
condition of habitats, type of landforms and areas under erosion and deposition. The major advantage of remote sensing data is 
monitoring of change periodically. The combination of moderate and high-resolution data provided detailed coastal land use maps on the 
1:25,000-scale for implementing coastal regulation measures. The classification accuracy have been achieved is 85 per cent or better at 
90 per cent confidence level. Mangrove areas were classified up to community level through contextual editing. Various zones of coral 
reef were identified, however, species level information is not possible to generate using such data. The knowledge about bio-optical 
properties of water is vital for coral reef and sea grass bed monitoring. The OCEANSAT I (IRS P4) Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM) data 
provide useful information on the phytoplankton and suspended sediments. The information on phytoplankton and sea surface 
temperature (SST) has been used to predict potential fishery zones routinely. The information on sediments provides some insight in to 
the movement of sediments along the coast. Satellite-derived derived information were integrated with the other collateral information 
through GIS to select sites for aquaculture, zoning of coastal zone for regulatory purpose and assess possible impact of sea level rise. 
Realising the value of the remote-sensing derived information, the state and central agencies responsible for the conservation of these 
ecosystems are increasingly adopting remote sensing data for their routine use. 
1. INTRODUCTION ; 
Thus there is an urgent need to conserve the coastal ecosystems 
  
The coastal zone of world is under increasing stress due to 
development of industries, trade and commerce, tourism and 
resultant human population growth and migration, and 
deteriorating water quality. This region is of very high biological 
productivity and thus an important component of the global life 
system. Coastal ecosystems harbour wealth of species and 
genetic diversity, store and cycle nutrients, filter pollutants and 
help to protect shorelines from erosion and storms. Marine 
ecosystems play a vital role in regulating climate and they are a 
major carbon sink and oxygen source. The industrial development 
of coast has resulted in degradation of coastal ecosystems and 
diminishing the living resources of Exclusive Economic Zone 
(EEZ) in form of coastal and marine biodiversity and 
productivity. More than half population lives within 60 km of the 
coast and would rise to almost three quarters by 2020 (Anon, 
1992). Episodic events, such as cyclones, floods, pose serious 
threat to human life and property in the coastal zone. Human 
activities also induce certain changes or accelerate the process of 
change. 
and habitats including individual plant species and communities 
so, settlements, recreation, environment and agriculture. 
In order to ensure sustainable development, it necessary to 
develop accurate, up-to-date and comprehensive scientific 
databases on habitats, protected areas, water quality, 
environmental indicators and carry out periodic assessment of the 
health of the system. The modern scientific tools of remote 
sensing, GIS and GPS are extremely valuable in development of 
databases and to analyse them in the integrated manner and derive 
management action plans. Availability of repetitive, synoptic and 
multi-spectral data from various satellite platforms, viz. IRS, 
LANDSAT, SPOT, have helped to generate information on varied 
aspects of the coastal and marine environment. Ocean colour data 
from OCANSAT I OCM, SeaWiFS, MODIS, provide information 
on biological aspects useful for fisheries and coastal ecosystems. 
In India, satellite based information has been used for generating 
inventory on coastal habitats, landforms, coastal land use and 
shoreline condition, condition assessment of protected areas, 
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