Use of Earth Observation data
for assessment and monitoring of coastal habitats for Island states

Reef Conservation is acting as a sub consultant to implement activities under the program GMES & Africa (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security and Africa). The overarching goal of this programme is to enhance knowledge and develop decision making services that support sustainable and coastal resources management and governance across the Western Indian Ocean area.

From 2023 to 2025, Reef Conservation, in collaboration with the MarCOSIO consortium (Marine and Coastal operations for Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean), will carry out research activities focused on seagrass meadows, coral reefs, and mangrove ecosystem.

Building on its strong network with coastal communities, Reef Conservation will also lead awareness and outreach efforts, helping local populations understand and utilise the tools and insights generated through the GMES Phase II project.

Two core themes of the project are of particular importance for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) like Mauritius and Rodrigues:

1. Coastal Ecosystem Mapping
2. Coral Bleaching Monitoring and Assessment

Project Objectives

The project is guided by five specific objectives:

1. Coral bleaching monitoring at pre-defined locations around Mauritius and Rodrigues Islands for testing and validating bleaching prediction models.
2. Assessment and monitoring of critical lagoon habitats (seagrass, coral and mangrove) at a strategic location in Mauritius.
3. Community empowerment and integration to participate in a science-based approach of lagoon management.
4. Stakeholder engagement in Mauritius and Rodrigues in the use of water quality reports.
5. Facilitating activities of the island states in use of Earth Observation (EO) data for coastal management.

Collaborators

Shoals Rodrigues, our project collaborator, implemented the first activity in Rodrigues Island by deploying several data loggers around the island. These data loggers will collect in-situ temperature data thus validating bleaching prediction alerts. These predictions will help the Rodrigues Regional Assembly in decision making and management of coastal resources.

Temperature Logger Deployment Across Mauritius and Rodrigues

Temperature loggers were deployed at 18 sites across Mauritius, as shown on the map below, and at 8 sites in Rodrigues.

Water Quality Services

Water quality monitoring services are provided through the MarCOSIO (Marine and Coastal Observations in the Indian Ocean) Project. These services include maps generated using satellite data from both Sentinel-3 and Sentinel-2.

• Sentinel-3 data is available daily, but only for predefined areas. The data is processed into maps with a 300 m spatial resolution..
• Sentinel-2 provides data with a higher resolution of 10 m, covering the entire globe, but with a delay of approximately five days after each satellite overpass.

Key Features Monitored

• Sentinel-3:
  • Chlorophyll-a concentration
  • Turbidity
  • Cyanobacteria flag
  • Cloud and vegetation flags
• Sentinel-2:
  • True colour imagery
  • Chlorophyll-a data
  • Bloom index
  • Enhanced vegetation index
  • NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index)

Coral Bleaching Monitoring Services

This service offers stakeholders with a possible forecast of a coral bleaching alert which is based on anomalies in average recorded sea surface temperatures

Explore More: Project Website and Water Quality Tool