Tourism and environmental change in Saint Martin Island, Bangladesh: Insights from remote sensing data

IF 3.8 Q2 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Remote Sensing Applications-Society and Environment Pub Date : 2025-01-01 DOI:10.1016/j.rsase.2025.101484

Jayanta Biswas , Tanmoy Malaker , Taposh Mollick

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This study uses remote sensing data and geospatial analysis to evaluate the impact of unregulated tourism on the ecological vulnerability and land use dynamics of Saint Martin Island, Bangladesh. Saint Martin, the only coral-bearing island in Bangladesh, has experienced significant environmental degradation due to increased tourist activities, population growth, and tourism-induced development. In this study, multi-temporal Sentinel-2 imagery from 2018 to 2024 has been utilized for land use and land cover (LULC) classification to assess the impact of tourism on ecology, achieving an accuracy range of 94.56%–98.89%. Key environmental indices were calculated to assess vegetation cover, water quality, and climate patterns, along with land surface temperature (LST). The results showed a 2.52% increase in developed areas and a 12.77% decrease in sandy water between 2018 and 2024. Polluted water areas shrank from 2.16 acres in 2018 to 0.74 acres in 2020, reflecting ecological recovery due to reduced tourist activity during the COVID-19 lockdown period. However, pollution resurged to 0.97 acres by 2024 after restrictions were lifted. Coral reef degradation reached 25% between 2015 and 2022, severely impacting the island's marine biodiversity and future marine life. Additionally, a rise in land surface temperature (LST) from 32 °C in 2020 to 36 °C in 2024 was observed, along with a decrease in vegetation cover. The study demonstrates a clear link between unregulated tourism and environmental degradation, emphasizing the urgency of sustainable tourism practices such as limiting tourist visits, enhancing waste management, and protecting sensitive ecological areas to prevent further harm to the island's ecosystem and livelihoods.

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来源期刊

Remote Sensing Applications-Society and Environment Multiple-

CiteScore

8.00

自引率

8.50%

发文量

204

审稿时长

65 days

期刊介绍： The journal ''Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment'' (RSASE) focuses on remote sensing studies that address specific topics with an emphasis on environmental and societal issues - regional / local studies with global significance. Subjects are encouraged to have an interdisciplinary approach and include, but are not limited by: " -Global and climate change studies addressing the impact of increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases, CO2 emission, carbon balance and carbon mitigation, energy system on social and environmental systems -Ecological and environmental issues including biodiversity, ecosystem dynamics, land degradation, atmospheric and water pollution, urban footprint, ecosystem management and natural hazards (e.g. earthquakes, typhoons, floods, landslides) -Natural resource studies including land-use in general, biomass estimation, forests, agricultural land, plantation, soils, coral reefs, wetland and water resources -Agriculture, food production systems and food security outcomes -Socio-economic issues including urban systems, urban growth, public health, epidemics, land-use transition and land use conflicts -Oceanography and coastal zone studies, including sea level rise projections, coastlines changes and the ocean-land interface -Regional challenges for remote sensing application techniques, monitoring and analysis, such as cloud screening and atmospheric correction for tropical regions -Interdisciplinary studies combining remote sensing, household survey data, field measurements and models to address environmental, societal and sustainability issues -Quantitative and qualitative analysis that documents the impact of using remote sensing studies in social, political, environmental or economic systems