Identifying and Prioritizing Environmental Hazards in ‎the Southern Coasts of Iran

Background and Purpose: Coastal regions around the world are currently subjected to numerous pressures local economic forces, ‎biophysical drivers, and socio-ecological system dynamics leading to significant hazards and the ‎degradation of these natural ecosystems. Given that shorelines are continually exposed to the ‎consequences of environmental hazards and a range of human activities, identifying and assessing ‎these hazards is of paramount importance. Accordingly, vulnerability assessment conducted through ‎the identification of the pressures and threats imposed on these natural ecosystems constitutes one of ‎the most important tools for informing decision-making and providing effective management strategies ‎to reduce adverse impacts and to achieve the objective of protecting coastal areas. In this context, the ‎coastal zones of Iran represent one of the most important biological reservoirs and sources of ‎ecosystem services; thus, the identification of environmental hazards and the sustainable, optimal use ‎and protection of these resources are essential.
Methodology: This study focuses on the environmental conditions of coastal areas and all stressors and ‎environmental hazards that disrupt ecological balance and threaten the existence and persistence of ‎these zones. The research comprises three stages. In the first stage, a systematic description, analysis, ‎and identification of regional environmental hazards were conducted based on the DPSIR framework. ‎In the second stage, the identified environmental hazards were scored across five categories very high, ‎high, medium, low, and very low (on a numeric scale of 9, 7, 5, 3, and 1, respectively). In the third ‎stage, the hazards were ranked and prioritized using the TOPSIS method. Finally, to address the ‎identified environmental threats, corrective actions aimed at reducing the pressures and threatening ‎factors in these areas were proposed.
Findings and Discussion: This result indicates that 60 factors contribute to environmental hazards in the coastal areas of ‎southern Iran, of which 50 are of anthropogenic origin and 10 are of environmental origin. The ‎findings show that the highest incidence of environmental hazards occurs on coasts where the factors ‎are anthropogenic in origin. According to the weighting and prioritization results for environmental ‎hazards in the region, the highest weight is assigned to climatic and hydrological drought (water stress) ‎‎(0.187), while the lowest weight is assigned to changes in the pathways of deltas and rivers (0.065). ‎Moreover, the predominant hazards, ranked highest, are, in order: climatic and hydrological drought ‎‎(water stress); effects arising from the development of human activities adjacent to coastal areas; ‎pollution from desalination plants effluents; pollution from shipyards and industrial facilities adjacent ‎to the shore; tourism beyond capacity; illegal fishing (trawling); and changes in precipitation regimes.‎
Conclusion: This result indicates that the expansion and persistence of anthropogenic activities, along with the ‎continuity and intensity of environmental hazards, can increase the vulnerability and lead to ‎irreversible consequences in the southern coastal regions of the country. Accordingly, controlling these ‎hazards requires strategic planning and managerial interventions in these areas. The findings of this ‎study can aid decision-makers and planners by presenting a comprehensive range of environmental ‎hazards and the degree of vulnerability of the country’s coasts, thereby supporting the development of ‎a managerial program and the adoption of strategic actions in these regions. ‎