Oceans provide food and jobs to billions of people around the world. Fisheries and aquaculture employ around 60 million people, the majority of whom work in small-scale fisheries in developing countries. Healthy oceans and coasts are critical for economic growth, food production, and local population health and well-being. Coastal and marine environments are frequently rich in productivity and biodiversity, but they are also vulnerable to climate change and human-induced pressures.

The Blue Economy approach to the oceans promotes economic growth, social inclusion, and livelihood improvement, while also ensuring the continued health of coastal and marine ecosystems and the services they provide. This necessitates meticulous planning and management based on a thorough understanding of the marine and coastal environments. However, these areas are costly and difficult to measure and monitor using only in-situ techniques. In many cases, there are no viable alternatives to Earth Observation (EO) for providing decision-makers with the information they require to build a sustainable blue economy.

Mapping coastal bathymetry, coastline change, changes in coastal land cover and land use, monitoring of water quality and marine pollution, and assessments of coastal habitat extent and status are just a few examples of how EO-derived information can support sustainable development activities in marine and coastal environments.

In this  film, Karen Kemper outlines the range of ways in which Earth Observation provides critical insights and perspectives on coastal regions and the ‘blue economy’, and can help with monitoring in locations that are otherwise hard to reach.

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Mini Task

• Complete this ESA Climate from Space story on 'Coasts under threat'

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Featured Educators:

• Karin Kemper, (Formerly World Bank)
• Kanta Kumari Rigaud, World Bank