Comparison of Effectiveness of NOAA and IMO Methods for Identification of Environmentally Sensitive Areas in Coastal Areas of Sistan and Balochestan Province along the Gulf of Oman

Coastal areas are the confluence of interaction between earth, large bodies of water and atmosphere. It is constantly affected by natural motion and human interference in the balance of nature. Generally speaking, everywhere in the world coastal areas are very resourceful and provide better condition for human habitat, and therefore, attract human populations and become centers for civic developments. As a result of excessive use, and in some cases abuse of the resources by human beings, adverse conditions develop and cause a decline in coastal areas ecosystem such as; mangroves, coral reefs,cliffs, beaches, tidal flats and estuaries. Such condition makes it imperative to draw urgent attention for protection and rehabilitation of coastal areas. In current research the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) of NOAA and the Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) method of IMO were applied to the region under consideration. These methods are credible and worldly accepted for such investigations, in particular where pollutant source include petrochemical materials. The result of study utilizing Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE) and External Factor Evaluation (EFE) matrices of the Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) way of analysis indicated that both methodsproduce acceptable results with scores above 3.0. However, weighted scores of NOAA method, using both IFE and EFE matrices, came out somewhat higher than those for IMO method, and considered better choice for application in the coastal areas of Siatan and Baluchestan province.