Coastal vulnerability and climate change adaptation in South Africa: Remote sensing challenges and opportunities

Abstract

South Africa is nestled between the Atlantic, the Southern and the Indian Ocean. Its coast is about 3000 km long and comprises 300 estuaries. Its coast stretches across three bioclimatic regions, namely the Cool Temperate South-West, a Warm Temperate South, and a Subtropical East. Accordingly, natural coastal vegetation includes desert-like sparse low shrubs on the west coast, dense evergreen fynbos shrublands in the south and subtropical thickets and coastal forests in the east. Being a very attractive environment for economic and leisure activities, the population in the coastal zone and the related land use pressure are extremely high: In South Africa, about 40% of the population lives within 60 km of the ocean and in 2011 an estimated 3.5 million South Africans resided within 5-7 km of a coastline, and 60% of these people were in the four densely populated metropolitan areas. Populations in coastal municipalities grew by approximately 1.8 million people between 2001 and 2011, and this rate, which far exceeds national growth rates in other areas, continues to date. This continued growth increasing forces urban sprawl into spaces affected by coastal dynamics and predicted climate impacts such as increased storm frequency and intensity and sea level rise. Both, human development pressure and predicted climate change impact alert to the need of effective integrated spatial planning and geospatial vulnerability assessments, as well as preservation of natural coastal environments and the services these ecosystems provide. South Africa has embraced this challenge and is conducting various projects that will provide information to guide decision making in these challenging and complex fields.