Coastal Degradation

 Just 15.5% of the world’s coastal regions remain ecologically intact, according to a study, led by researchers at the University of Queensland, that used satellite data to examine the extent to which human activities have encroached on coastlines around the globe.

It found that up to 2013 – the latest year for which the data was available – few intact coastlines remained.  The situation certainly would not have improved since 2013.

The small areas of the coast that remain undamaged by pressures such as fishing, agriculture, urban development, mining and roads were mostly in Canada, followed by Russia, Greenland, Chile, Australia and the United States.

Very few intact areas and often high levels of degradation were found in island nations, much of Europe, and countries including Vietnam, India and Singapore.

Coastal regions containing seagrasses, savannah and coral reefs had the highest levels of human pressure.

James Watson, of the University of Queensland, said remoteness didn’t guarantee coastlines would remain intact, pointing to mining and particularly fishing as industries causing environmental decline in those places.

He said he had expected Madagascar, Namibia and northern Australia would all retain large areas of intact coastline, but it had not proved to be consistently the case.

“It shocks me how pervasive fishing is. It’s just everywhere. You can’t avoid it,” he said. “These remote places around the world, you’re seeing fishing impacts.”

Barely 15% of the world’s coastal regions remain ecologically intact, study says | Coastlines | The Guardian