Abstract
A disaster is generally sudden whether natural or man-made and requires prompt action. Combination of GIS and RS technologies in the world leading towards the emergence of GIS based Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI). This provides the ecologist and resource managers necessary information and data to take timely decisions for any ecological/environmental response. This paper examines the benefits of GIS and RS, specifically for the Least Developing Countries (LDCs), as the technological subset often aggravates the situations due to delayed actions and wrong assessment of the damages thus resulting in loss of most productive/sensitive coastal zones. This has happened in 2003 when 31000 tons of light crude oil was spilled by Tasman Spirit in the Arabian Sea near the port of Karachi, Pakistan causing massive ecological and environmental damages. This study demonstrates how the GIS and RS help in synthesis and integration of the data of various research studies. It also aims at predicting the pattern and the pathway of any potential damages to the most sensitive coastal areas/ecosystems, before and after any disaster, considering Tasman Spirit case studies delineating the Biologically sensitive zones with the help of the ESI model which is based on five main factors: Shoreline Slope Exposure to waves, Wind Direction, Socioeconomic Exposure and Biological Productivity (flora, fauna and habitats) and developed for the first time for the coastal areas of Pakistan for this research study
