Assessment of marine environment resilience in the northQeshm Island - Strait of Hormuz based on the DPSIR model

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 PhD Student, Department of Environmental Science, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

2 Professor, Department of Environmental Science, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Science, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

There is always an adamant need to comprehend and draw the complex challenges of sustainability and help to organizing studies due to the increasing human-related pressures on coastal zones. Hence, by formulating such a comprehensive framework, it could be possible to anticipate changes and supporting managerial decisions, as well as the degree of environment resilience in the region. One of the approaches utilized in littoral zones is the conceptual framework of drivers, pressure, status, impact and responses, DPSIR. Qeshm Island, the largest island in the Persian Gulf, accounts for being the most vital and strategic area in the region. In recent decades, Qeshm has become one of the major cultural, natural, geological as well as tourism hubs of the country due to its unique regional characteristics, along with its biodiversity and environmental sensitivity. Thereby, in the present research, a combined approach was followed to explore the resilience of the marine environment in the northern coast of the Qeshm Island by taking advantage of the socio-economic criteria. In this respect, the conceptual framework of the DPSIR model is utilized in combination with the structural squation model (SEM-PLS), which is one of the non-experimental techniques, to quantify the results in the best possible manner. On the basis of the fuzzy cognitive map (FCM), the Regional economic index bears the weights of 0.62, 0.62 and 0.5 along with the Institutional-managerial and Biological indexes, respectively, denoting a two-way positive correlation whereas having a two-way but adverse correlation with a weight of 0.65 in terms of the Socio-cultural index. There is also a one-way and negative relationship, as to the Economic index, with a weight of 0.69 in relevance with the Physio-chemical index likewise.

Keywords

Atkins, J. P., Burdon, D., Elliott, M., Gregory, A.J., 2011. Management of the marine environment: integrating ecosystem services and societal benefits with the DPSIR framework in a systems approach. Marine Pollution Bulletin 62(2), 215-226.
Bolokbashi, A., 2001. Qeshm Island, the undiscovered oyster of the Persian Gulf. Tehran: Cultural Research Office.
Borja, A., Galparsoro, I., Solaun, O., Muxika, I., Tello, E. M., Uriarte, A., Valencia, V., 2006. The European Water Framework Directive and the DPSIR, a methodological approach to assess the risk of failing to achieve good ecological status. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 66(1-2), 84-96.
Bouzar Jomehri, K., Raisi, I., Amiri, B., Bakhsh Mohammadnejad, R., 2013. Investigation of Makran Coastal-Marine Environmental Pollution, Capabilities and Threats, Executive Strategies with Sustainable Development Approach. Paper presented at the The First National Conference on the Development of Mokran Coasts and Maritime Authority of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Cook, G. S., Fletcher, P. J., Kelble, C.R. 2014. Towards marine ecosystem based management in South Florida: investigating the connections among ecosystem pressures, states, and services in a complex coastal system. Ecological Indicators 44, 26-39.
Enright, S. R., Boteler, B., 2020. The ecosystem approach in international marine environmental law and governance. In Ecosystem-based management, Ecosystem services and aquatic biodiversity (pp: 333-352): Springer, Cham.
Fletcher, P.J., Kelble, C.R., Nuttle, W.K., Kiker, G.A., 2014. Using the integrated ecosystem assessment framework to build consensus and transfer information to managers. Ecological Indicators 44, 11-25.
Gao, J., Shi, H., Dai, Z., Mei, X., Zong, H., Yang, H., Li, S., 2018. Linkages between the spatial toxicity of sediments and sediment dynamics in the Yangtze River Estuary and neighboring East China Sea. Environmental Pollution 233, 1138-1146.
Habibi, S., Sharifipour, R., Danehkar, A. (2013). Study of physical sensitivity of the coast of Hormozgan province based on environmental sensitivity index (ESI). Oceanography 16, 95-100.
Islam, M. M., Arifuzzaman, A., Alam, M.T., Islam, M. S. (2018). Durability characteristics of fly ash blended concrete in marine environment. Journal of Civil Engineering (IEB) 46(1), 53-68.
Jahnke, A., Arp, H.P.H., Escher, B.I., Gewert, B., Gorokhova, E., Kühnel, D., Schmitt-Jansen, M., 2017. Reducing uncertainty and confronting ignorance about the possible impacts of weathering plastic in the marine environment. Environmental Science & Technology Letters 4(3), 85-90.
Kombiadou, K., Matias, A., Carrasco, R., Ferreira, Ó., Costas, S., Vieira, G., 2018. Towards assessing the resilience of complex coastal systems: examples from Ria Formosa (South Portugal). Journal of Coastal Research 8 (10085)), 646-650.
Lamers, M., Pristupa, A., Amelung, B., Knol, M. 2016. The changing role of environmental information in Arctic marine governance. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 18, 49-55.
Liang, J., Li, Y., 2020. Resilience and sustainable development goals based social-ecological indicators and assessment of coastal urban areas-A case study of Dapeng New District, Shenzhen, China. Watershed Ecology and the Environment 2, 6-15.
Lowe, C. D., Gilbert, A.J., Mee, L.D. 2014. Human–environment interaction in the Baltic Sea. Marine Policy 43, 46-54.
Mafi-Gholami, D., Mahmoudi, B., Zenner, E.K., 2017. An analysis of the relationship between drought events and mangrove changes along the northern coasts of the Pe rsian Gulf and Oman Sea. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 199, 141-151.
Mumby, P. J., Sanchirico, J. N., Broad, K., Beck, M. W., Tyedmers, P., Morikawa, M., Kelso, D., 2017. Avoiding a crisis of motivation for ocean management under global environmental change. Global Change Biology 23(11), 4483-4496.
Ness, B., Anderberg, S., Olsson, L., 2010. Structuring problems in sustainability science: The multi-level DPSIR framework. Geoforum 41(3), 479-488.
Nobre, A.M., Bricker, S.B., Ferreira, J.G., Yan, X., De Wit, M., Nunes, J.P., 2011. Integrated environmental modeling and assessment of coastal ecosystems: Application for aquaculture management. Coastal Management 39(5), 536-555.
Padash, A., Jozi, S., Nabavi, S., Dehzad, B., 2016. Stepwise strategic environmental management in marine protected area. Global journal of environmental science and management, 2(1), 49-60.
Samimi, K., Kamali-Bernard, S., Maghsoudi, A.A., 2018. Durability of self-compacting concrete containing pumice and zeolite against acid attack, carbonation and marine environment. Construction and Building Materials 165, 247-263.
Soininen, N., Platjouw, F.M., 2018. Resilience and adaptive capacity of aquatic environmental law in the EU: An evaluation and comparison of the WFD, MSFD, and MSPD. In The Ecosystem Approach in Ocean Planning and Governance (pp: 17-79): Brill Nijhoff.
Sun, C., Wu, Y., Zou, W., Zhao, L., Liu, W. (2018). A rural water poverty analysis in China using the DPSIR-PLS model. Water Resources Management 32(6), 1933-1951.
Zhang, S., Zhang, F., Wang, C., Wang, Z., 2020. Assessing the resilience of the belt and road countries and its spatial heterogeneity: A comprehensive approach. Plos one 15(9), e0238475.
Zinetullina, A., Yang, M., Khakzad, N., Golman, B., 2020. Dynamic resilience assessment for process units operating in Arctic environments. Safety in Extreme Environments 2(1), 113-125.