A volunteered geographic information system for managing environmental pollution of coastal zones: A case study in Nowshahr, Iran
Introduction
Coastal regions are potentially one of the most important ecosystems for further development and human interaction along with attraction of population. Linkage between land and water is the most conspicuous feature of coastal areas. This feature has built an infrastructure for a variety of industries such as fishing, maritime, oil and gas, and inspired the need for further social, economic, and political development. According to statistic reports in 2007, 40 percent of the world population live within 100 km distance from shorelines (IOC/UNESCO, IMO, FAO, UNDP, 2011), placing coastal regions amongst areas with the highest population density throughout the globe. These regions are commonly at risk of environmental pollution as a result of various direct human activities (such as direct accumulation of garbage) and indirect ones (such as pollution from wastewater discharge into seas), which in return threaten various plant and animal life present in the ecosystem along with resident human beings of the area. High population density of coastal regions accompanied by visits from large numbers of tourists year round has increased pollution in such areas. Also, wastewater from factories and industrial centers along with urban and agricultural wastes, especially oil contaminants are amongst main causes of pollution in coastal regions (Pirouz et al., 2010). According to Tosic et al. (2017), identification and prioritization of polluting sources are of paramount importance to management of coastal regions. However, these procedures are met with great challenges due to the variety of pollutants and the lack of adequate relative information. Although developed countries have sought numerous health and care measures in regards to health maintenance in coastal regions, these proceedings are still incompetent and lack efficiency and more so in developing countries.
Various artificial sensors (different types of sensors, cameras, etc.) have recently been applied as a means for momentary, online, and continuous monitoring of pollution, albeit they have been limited to certain locations or specific types of pollutants and demand big budgets. Moreover, such sensors are incapable of intelligent observation and interpretation of all aspects of coastal pollution in precise detail, and therefore are unable to provide corresponding organizations with adequate information regarding conditions in such areas. Participation of the public as dynamic sensors capable of performing analytic, intelligent, and intractable observations and monitoring of environmental conditions in coastal regions may be an added benefit, a rather large one at that, to the already applied sensors. Until now, many researchers have investigated the position and significance of public participation in environmental studies (Ibrahim, 2009; Gera, 2016; Mauerhofer, 2016; Ogihara et al., 2016; Benham, 2017; Sinclair and Diduck, 2017; Wu et al., 2017), amongst which, Ibrahim (2009) suggested public participation in environmental studies as a dynamic and advantageous method in information exchange and considered it a fundamental principle in environmental evaluation. Considering that each individual affects and is affected by its surrounding environment, one can appreciate the necessity of active and responsible participation of all individuals in creating a more clean and healthy environment. Under such conditions, certain environmental monitoring tasks, services, and responsibilities are divided amongst the government and the general public. This transforms people from being passive observers to becoming active individuals responsible for the improvement of their environment (Jelokhani-Niaraki, 2016). During recent years, Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI)-based systems have emerged as one of the most efficient tools for public participation in monitoring and management of environmental pollution. Making efficient, high quality, and timely decisions in the area of environmental protection along with its phenomenal effects on public health further highlight the importance of such systems (Foster and Dunham, 2015; Griffin and Jiao, 2015; Upton et al., 2015; Poser and Dransch, 2010; Vidal-Filho et al., 2013; Seeger, 2008; Foody and Boyd, 2012). Through application of such tools, researchers are not only able to resolve many issues of study deficiencies, but also utilize a large volume of collaborative data.
So far numerous studies have applied web GIS technology or other collaborative location-based systems in order to improve and promote quality in management of coastal regions (Sarptas et al., 2005; Green, 2010; Kulawiak et al., 2010; Sheik and Chandrasekar, 2011; Fustes et al., 2014; Kulkarni et al., 2014; Lathrop et al., 2014; Morgado et al., 2014; Levine and Feinholz, 2015; Barnett et al., 2016; Mayerle et al., 2016; Yang, 2016; Munro et al., 2017; Qin and Lin, 2017). Green (2010) investigated the role of PPGIS in decision making, management, and development of coastal platforms. Kulkarni et al. (2014) utilized a web GIS system for modeling floodwater in a coastal city. Lathrop et al. (2014) used a web GIS system in coastal management as a means for monitoring sea level rise and vulnerability of coasts against this phenomenon. Mayerle et al. (2016) also applied a web GIS system for management of coastal waters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. All of the mentioned studies sought to utilize web GIS systems as an appropriate tool for alleviating managerial deficiencies and issues arising in decision making for coastal regions. Some cases focused mainly on monitoring and management of coastal pollution. For instance, Sarptas et al. (2005) applied a GIS-based decision support system for management of solid wastes in coastal regions. Kulawiak et al. (2010) also used a web GIS tool as a means for visualization of data gathered from monitoring and prediction of coastal pollution. In another study by Fustes et al. (2014), a web platform in conjunction with radar images was utilized for detection and monitoring of oil stains within coastal zones. Nevertheless, to our knowledge, no studies have yet investigated the development and application of VGI-based web GIS systems in monitoring coastal pollution.
The main objective of this study is to integrate GIS with concepts of coastal pollution management and public participation in order to design and demonstrate the implementation of a volunteered geographic information system for the purpose of monitoring coastal pollution. In this regard, the proposed system was applied in coastal regions of the Caspian Sea in order to monitor pollution in certain parts of the sea's coastline. One of the major issues faced in coastal regions of the Caspian Sea is the lack of limiting regulations in occupation status of the coasts by both the government and the private sectors without general access to regions of the coast which has resulted in 96% of the coast being inaccessible to the public. This issue has limited accessibility of tourists visiting these regions year round to only 4% of the northern coastal zones, causing an increase in density of tourists within this small 4% share of the entire coastal region (Pak and Farajzadeh, 2007). Such factors have increased the level of coastal pollution at Caspian ports. According to the global bank reports, an annual estimated amount of one million cubic meters of impure industrial wastes are directly depleted to the Caspian Sea (Parizanganeh et al., 2006). In addition to wastewater, various urban solid wastes, which are commonly a result of limited space for appropriate expulsion, are either released into waters of the Caspian sea ports or near its margins.
Section snippets
Study area
Mazandaran, a coastal province located in the southern margins of the Caspian Sea has one of the most densely populated coastlines in Iran with access to 337 km of coastal lines (Hedayatifard and Kheyroddin, 2017). The vast tourism potential of this province has turned it into one of the most appealing tourism destinations in the country. Despite many environmental potentials and attractions of this province in promoting the tourism industry along with the economic significance of this coastal
Result and discussion
In order to relatively recognize the nature of individuals who volunteered for the coastal monitoring program, users were categorized based on registered information in their profiles. Results of this classification, which was according to gender, age, level of education, and domestic status are shown in Fig. 9. The first classification was based on user gender types. As can be seen from Fig. 9, male volunteers contributed to 60.8% of the total participants, with the remaining 39.2% indicating
Conclusion
Utilization of VGI-based systems in monitoring coastal pollution is on one hand an underlying platform which can improve public participation in the area of coastal health, cultural development, and citizen's sense of responsibility and on the other hand, can facilitate the management of coastal pollutants. This study demonstrates the implementation of a VGI-based system for monitoring coastal pollution in the port city of Nowshahr. Through the application of the proposed system, public members
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