Monitoring nature-based solutions to protect coastal communities
Challenge
The community of Weg naar Zee in Suriname, South America, is prone to coastal flooding resulting in loss of agricultural productivity due to salinisation, damage to property from inundation and degradation of the environment.
Through an agreement with Suriname’s Anton de Kom University, Capricorn Energy is engaged in a mangrove rehabilitation project designed to protect the local community and nearshore environment. . A nature-based solution was initiated in 2015 to inhibit coastal erosion through construction of semipermeable Sediment Trapping Units (STUs) and mangrove planting. The STUs enable mangroves to be re-established, further stabilising coastal land and supporting biodiversity.
Monitoring of the mangrove restoration progress using traditional on-ground survey methods is hindered by the remote geographic location and there is a risk of further damage to the environment by traversing the restoration areas on foot. Remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) are used to visually assess the restoration progress, however a more repeatable and structured method was needed that could monitor the restoration over time and also allow comparison with the historical baseline state.
Solution
Capricorn Energy engaged Ecoda to use satellite remote sensing technology to monitor the progress of the restoration project and help inform decisions about future mangrove planting. Ecoda obtained high resolution archive imagery captured by Maxar Technologies Worldview satellites to provided baseline data for STUs recently or not yet constructed, and ongoing monitoring for the earlier constructed STUs. Additional new imagery was acquired in 2022 to provide the next monitoring event. For each year analyses were undertaken to produce metrics for mangrove cover and health across the STUs and a reference area of established mangroves.
An Ecoda workspace was designed for the project area that included the individual STUs and reference area, and allowed for addition of more STUs in future.
Outcome
Using a combination of historical and current data Ecoda has provided a consistent and repeatable measurement of mangrove cover and health. Within the Ecoda platform the project partners can see how each STU structure is performing to increase mangrove cover over time and in comparison to other STUs including the reference (control) area. The information can be accessed by stakeholders to help them visualise and understand progress of the project and formulate management decisionss.
The Suriname mangrove restoration project demonstrates how remote sensing technology and the Ecoda platform can be used to support nature-based solutions that benefit communities around the world.
Capricorn Energy and Ecoda acknowledge the work that Professor Sieuwnath Naipal of Anton de Kom University has undertaken in Project Managing the STU and mangrove rehabilitation work at Weg naar Zee.
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