Environmental Impact Assessment of Industrial Activities on Coastal Ecosystems
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70716/reswara.v3i1.422Keywords:
coastal ecosystems, industrial activities, environmental impact assessment, cumulative impacts, sustainable managementAbstract
Coastal ecosystems are increasingly exposed to industrial pressures that threaten biodiversity, ecosystem services, and socio-economic sustainability. This study provides a systematic synthesis of recent environmental impact assessments of industrial activities affecting coastal ecosystems worldwide. Using a structured literature review approach, 30 peer-reviewed articles published between 2022 and 2025 were analyzed to identify dominant industrial drivers, pressure pathways, ecological responses, and management implications. The findings reveal that major industrial stressors include port development, offshore drilling, sand mining, wastewater discharge, shipbuilding, and coastal industrial estates. These activities generate cumulative pressures such as chemical contamination, habitat degradation, underwater noise, and biological disturbances, leading to measurable declines in benthic biodiversity, seagrass coverage, and ecosystem service provision. Integrated assessments consistently demonstrate that impacts are spatially concentrated near urbanized and industrialized coasts and disproportionately affect sensitive habitats such as mangroves, seagrass meadows, coral reefs, and estuaries. The review highlights that conventional project-based Environmental Impact Assessments remain insufficient to address cumulative and cross-sectoral impacts. Therefore, ecosystem-based management, strategic environmental assessment, and cumulative effects assessment are recommended as more effective governance tools. This study contributes a comprehensive synthesis of industrial impacts on coastal ecosystems and offers evidence-based recommendations for strengthening environmental governance to support sustainable coastal development.
References
Aarflot, J. M., Bjordal, V. R., Dunlop, K. M., et al. (2024). Ecosystem risk from human use of ocean space and resources: A case study from the Norwegian coast. Ocean & Coastal Management, 246, 107299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2024.107299
Ahmed Dar, A., Chen, Z., Sardar, M. F., et al. (2024). Navigating the nexus: Coastal climate, microplastics, and the uncharted waters of coastal pollution. Environmental Research, 243, 118971. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2024.118971
Berkademi, W., Mizuno, K., & Soesilo, T. E. B. (2023). Threats of industrial estates and anthropogenic activities on seagrass ecosystems in Lima Island, Serang, Banten. International Journal on Advanced Science, Engineering and Information Technology, 13(4). https://doi.org/10.18517/ijaseit.13.4.18240
Culhane, F., Austen, M. C., Ashley, M., et al. (2024). Assessing impact risk to tropical marine ecosystems from human activities with a Southeast Asian example. Journal of Applied Ecology, 61(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14812
Deng, C., & Guo, L. (2024). The impact of offshore drilling activities on marine ecosystems. International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.58531/ijest/2/1/2
Dreujou, E., Beauchesne, D., Daigle, R. M., et al. (2023). Multiple human activities in coastal benthic ecosystems: Introducing a metric of cumulative exposure. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2023.00024
El-Sharkawy, M., Alotaibi, M. O., Li, J., et al. (2025). Heavy metal pollution in coastal environments: Ecological implications and management strategies: A review. Sustainability, 17(2), 701. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17020701
García Scherer, M. E., Sardinha, G. D., Souza, V., et al. (2024). Under pressure: An integrated assessment of human activities and their potential impact on the ecosystem components of the Southern Brazilian continental shelf. npj Ocean Sustainability, 3, 44. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44183-024-00044-y
Hegazy, I. (2024). Strategic environmental assessment for sustainable coastal zone management in Saudi Arabia, aligning with Vision 2030. Environmental Challenges. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43995-024-00081-1
Huong, D. T. V., Khanh, D. G., Thao, N. V., et al. (2023). Environmental assessment of coastal sand mining using proposed DPSIR criteria: A case of Hai Phong. Sustainable Marine Structures, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.36956/sms.v5i1.812
Kennish, M. J. (2022). Management strategies to mitigate anthropogenic impacts in estuarine and coastal marine environments: A review. Open Journal of Ecology, 12(10), 38. https://doi.org/10.4236/oje.2022.1210038
Lloret, J., Wawrzynkowski, P., Sardá, R., et al. (2025). The new wave of ocean industrialization and the challenges for biodiversity conservation in the Mediterranean Sea: The case of the Costa Brava. Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-15279-z
Macalisang, J. S., Balangao, J. K., & Logronio, F. V. (2024). Environmental assessment in Panguil and Iligan Bay, Philippines: Review and future perspectives. Journal of Environmental Nanotechnology. https://doi.org/10.13074/jent.2024.09.243888
Naser, H. A., & Abdulla, K. H. (2024). Coastal dredging and reclamation in the Arabian Gulf. In Coastal and marine environmental management (pp. xxx–xxx). CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003321408-26
Pournara, A., & Sakellariadou, F. (2024). Addressing the climate crisis on the coastal ecosystem using the Agenda 2030. In OCEANS 2024 Conference Proceedings. IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/oceans51537.2024.10752606
Pournara, A., & Sakellariadou, F. (2023). Impacts of the shipbuilding industry on the ecosystem services and the challenges for a sustainable blue economy. E3S Web of Conferences, 436, 05003. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202343605003
Purushothaman, A., & Krishnan, A. (2024). Impact assessment of ports and effluent discharge on macrobenthic communities in Indian coastal ecosystems: A comprehensive review. Total Quality Environmental Management. https://doi.org/10.1002/tqem.22341
Qin, H. (2024). Understanding and addressing the impact of industrial and nuclear wastewater on marine ecosystems. Highlights in Science, Engineering and Technology. https://doi.org/10.54097/5ef2d860
Sakellariadou, F., & Pournara, A. (2023). The implementation of sustainable blue economy in a coastal industrial area. In OCEANS 2023 Limerick Conference Proceedings. IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/oceanslimerick52467.2023.10244685
Van der Biest, K., Staes, J., Prigge, L., et al. (2023). Integrating ecosystem services into impact assessments: A process-based approach applied to the Belgian coastal zone. Sustainability, 15(21), 15506. https://doi.org/10.3390/su152115506
Willsteed, E. A., New, L., Ansong, J. O., et al. (2023). Advances in cumulative effects assessment and application in marine and coastal management. Cambridge Prisms: Coastal Futures, 1, e6. https://doi.org/10.1017/cft.2023.6
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Muhammad Jamal Ananda, Fani Sakellariadou (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
