THEMATIC SLIDES

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THEMATIC SLIDES
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COASTAL AREAS
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COASTAL AREAS

• Gulf of Fonseca, Honduras
• Gulf of Guayaquil, Ecuador
• Huang He Delta, China
• Thonburi, Thailand
• Sundarban, India/Bangladesh

• Phnom Penh, Cambodia
• Isahaya Bay, Japan
• Knife River Delta, Canada
• Ijsselmeer, Netherlands

Coast of Spain, Credit Digital Globe
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COASTAL FACTS

• The oceans cover 70 per cent of the planets
  surface area and marine and coastal environments
  contain diverse habitats that support an
  abundance of marine life coastal zones account
  for 20 per cent of the worlds land area

• Coral reef ecosystems are increasingly being
  degraded and destroyed worldwide by a variety of
  human activities and by global warming

The oceans cover 70 percent of the planets
surface area and

• Global harvests for marine fisheries have been
  above 80 million tonnes per year since the latter
  half of the 1980s, with peak of 87 million tonnes
  in 1997 and 2000

• Mangroves extend over 18 million hectares (44
  million acres) worldwide, covering a quarter of
  the worlds tropical coastlines

UNEP-CBD 2005 GEO Year Book 2006 UNEP 2005
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Shrimp farms replacing mangroves in Gulf of
Fonseca, Honduras
1987-1999 shrimp farms and ponds have
mushroomed, carpeting the landscape around the
Gulf of Fonseca, in blocks of blue and black
shapes
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Loss of Mangrove in Ecuadors largest seaport -
Gulf of Guayaquil
1985-2000 Loss of mangrove aquaculture grew 30
percent in a 15-year period
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Dramatic changes in Huang He Delta, China
Images show the mouth of the Yellow River and the
emergence of a huge parrot-headed peninsula

• 1979-2000 Huang Hes yellow color is the result
  of huge loads of sediments

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Changes in Huang He Delta, China

• From 1989 to 1995 the Yellow River delta area
  grew

• From 1995 to 2000 the Yellow River delta area
  shrank

Credit NASA Earth Observatory
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Replacement of mangroves by aquaculture in Thon
Buri, Thailand

• 1973-1978 Area is caught in the battle between
  needs of people versus the welfare of the coastal
  areas

• 2002 Shows extensive aquaculture ponds (blue
  patches inland)

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Sundarban Largest mangrove forest of the world,
India/Bangladesh
Forest degradation has been occurring in many
parts of Sundarbans
Shrimp farming is a major threat to mangrove
forests
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Impact of flooding in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
These images show the extent of flooding and
extensive ditches and canals used for irrigation

• 2000 Taken during the period of flooding

• 2001 Taken after the flood waters had receded

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Land reclamation changes along Isahaya Bay, Japan

• 1993 Turning tidal lands into farmlands

• 2001 The straight line of the sea wall is
  visible

• 2003 The area has been fully reclaimed from
  the sea

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Coastal vegetation change along Knife River
Delta, Canada

• 1973 Impact of snow geese on coastal vegetation

• 1996 Overgrazing has turned the shoreline into
  an enormous mudflat

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Transformation of Ijsselmeer The Netherlands
These images show the transformation of polders
(areas of reclaimed land) into useable farming
land

• 1973-2004 lighter blue water is the Markermeer
  buffer against floodwaters

• 2004 this area of reclaimed land was covered
  with farms

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COASTAL AREAS
One Planet Many People Atlas of Our Changing
Environment
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