Coastal Zones, Home to Forty percent of World Population

Coastal Zones occupy 20% of land surface and host 40% of the world’s population. They have some of the best natural resources available. Discover Their impact on Life.

WATER: Covers 71% of the Earth’s surface; The Antarctic ice sheet, contains 61% of all freshwater on Earth, LAND: In the image, see the coastal zones of Africa and the Middle East. AIR: Condensed atmospheric water can be seen as clouds.

Man has always sought out dwelling places close to water for convenience and pleasure. Coastal zones include low-lying areas of land next to the sea where land and sea activities interplay.

They cover up to one hundred kilometers inland and represent approximately 20 percent of the Earth’s surface, where they are home and workplace to around three billion people (40 percent of the world’s population).

Seventy-five percent of megacities, a city with a population in excess of ten million, have been built here on all the continents. This highly concentrated zone of rich resources includes the continental shelf with its lavish fishing reserves, extending to a depth of 200 meters.

This is the meeting point of two of the three fundamental elements on Earth, one of which is stable (land), and one of which is in perpetual motion (water). When the third agitates (air), coastal land needs to take cover.

Its variety of ecosystems — coral reefs, mangroves, salt marshes, and outer…