Enhancing coastal resilience through comprehensive Mangrove Management using Multi temporal satellite images and geospatial techniques

Abstract. The world's most productive ecosystem, the mangrove forest, is a diverse collection of salt-tolerant plant communities in tropical and subtropical intertidal zones. They are found in tropical regions worldwide, with the Indo-Pacific area having the largest concentration. It ranges from 15 million hectares globally, with 123 nations and territories in tropical and subtropical regions, accounting for 1% of all tropical forests. Mangroves serve as a shoreline's natural barrier against ocean dynamics. However, due to human activities near the sea-sore area and other reasons, 35% of the world's mangrove forests were lost over the past two decades of the 20th century. Developers are increasingly targeting mangrove land due to urbanization. Consequently, mangrove afforestation and replanting have recently received much interest in lessening the effects of climate change. Conserving and restoring mangrove forests can lower the net CO², stabilize coastlines, and reduce erosion. Governments and non-governmental groups have set high standards to enhance the world's mangrove area by 20% by 2030. Remote sensing-based analysis is used for these studies because of the extensive area monitoring, repeated observations, information collection beyond human vision, cost-effective solution, and change detection accessibility. It can also significantly save expenses and time for processes and labour requirements, but these techniques are complex. Global acquisition of a multispectral satellite of Sentinel-2 with high temporal, spectral, and spatial resolution is possible, providing an opportunity to monitor mangroves more consistently and regularly and using this satellite imagery. The study aims to identify, monitor, and recommend suitable sites to plant new mangroves. In this study, 90.58 km² of mangrove areas were identified, of which approximately 31 km² were found to be in good health. Additionally, 48 km² of land was classified as suitable for new mangrove plantations. These findings support informed data-driven conservation strategies, future restoration, and afforestation efforts.