ABSTRACT
Coastal areas refer to regions close to water, such as lake, sea, or ocean. They are considered to be very suitable for residential, recreational, and economic development. As a result, most coastal regions are subject to regular and intensive resource management, environmental protection, land development, and reclamation. The success of all such activities relies on good planning, for which it is essential to gather all relevant geospatial data. Acquisition of land-use and land-cover information through conventional fi eld visits and surveying is very tedious, time-consuming,
and costly. As an increasingly promising alternative, the use of high-resolution satellite and airborne remote sensing imagery provides a rapid and cost-effective means for the planning and management of coastal zones.
