The World Bank is increasingly turning to Earth Observation (EO) to strengthen how it plans, assesses, and invests in coastal and marine environments. In the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, this shift is already shaping how blue carbon ecosystems are understood and integrated into decision-making.
The region’s mangroves and seagrasses are critical natural assets, supporting biodiversity, fisheries, tourism, and coastal livelihoods. At the same time, they play a key role in climate mitigation through carbon storage. Yet, for countries such as Egypt, Djibouti, Yemen, and Jordan, a lack of consistent and spatially detailed data has long constrained effective planning and investment.
Through collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) under the Global Development Assistance (GDA) Fast EO Co-Financing Facility, the World Bank has integrated EO-derived information directly into its Marine and Coastal Ecosystem Assessment. This marks an important step in embedding satellite-based evidence into operational workflows, enabling more informed decisions on coastal resilience, climate action, and Blue Economy development.
Rather than relying on fragmented field surveys, the project provides a harmonised, regional picture of ecosystem extent, condition, and carbon stocks – offering the World Bank a robust and scalable evidence base to guide both current analysis and future investments.
EO Application
EO data was used to generate consistent, high-resolution assessments of mangroves and seagrasses across the region, supporting a step change in the availability of actionable environmental information.
For mangroves, satellite imagery enabled the mapping of ecosystem extent at 10 m resolution for both 2018 and 2023. These maps were combined with modelling approaches to estimate above- and below-ground biomass, as well as soil organic carbon, resulting in spatially explicit assessments of total carbon stocks. The approach delivers not just maps, but decision-ready information that can be directly used in climate and natural capital analyses.
Seagrass mapping required a broader assessment of shallow coastal waters, covering more than 8,000 km². Using EO-based water column correction and bathymetry techniques, the project classified seafloor habitats and identified dense and sparse seagrass meadows. Carbon stock estimates were then derived using regionally appropriate reference values, providing the first consistent overview of seagrass carbon storage across the four countries.
While the underlying methodologies are scientifically robust, their value lies in translating complex data into clear, comparable, and policy-relevant outputs.
Results and Impact
A regional baseline for blue carbon ecosystems
The project establishes the first harmonised regional baseline for blue carbon ecosystems in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden – an important milestone for both the World Bank and partner countries.
Mangrove extent increased from 20.9 km² in 2018 to 23.8 km² in 2023, accompanied by a significant rise in estimated carbon stocks. Seagrass ecosystems were mapped at 343.9 km², with substantial associated carbon storage. Beyond the numbers, these results provide a new level of spatial detail and national relevance compared to existing global datasets.
Crucially, the impact goes beyond improved data. The EO-derived products are already supporting the World Bank’s operational processes by informing ecosystem assessments, identifying priority areas for conservation and restoration, and strengthening the analytical basis for future investments.
For example, the results highlight where restoration efforts are delivering measurable gains, such as in Egypt and Djibouti, while also pointing to areas where degradation may require targeted intervention. This enables a more strategic allocation of resources and helps ensure that investments are grounded in consistent and up-to-date evidence.
Table 1: Carbon estimates in tC for 2018 and 2023
| AGB | AGC | Root Carbon | SOC | Total C | Mean Mg C/ha | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Egypt | 466.94 | 233.47 | 55.09 | 41223.69 | 41512.25 | 168.37 |
| Djibouti | 863.73 | 431.86 | 102.47 | 53667.49 | 54201.82 | 116.17 | |
| Yemen | 1024.51 | 512.25 | 136.04 | 155182.59 | 155830.88 | 115.33 | |
| SUM | 2355.18 | 1177.58 | 293.6 | 250073.77 | 251544.95 | 133.29 | |
| 2023 | Egypt | 643.04 | 321.52 | 74.51 | 48881.71 | 49277.74 | 183.84 |
| Djibouti | 1552.94 | 776.47 | 174.34 | 74008.28 | 74959.09 | 147.71 | |
| Yemen | 2016.56 | 1008.28 | 253.19 | 222925.25 | 224186.72 | 144.72 | |
| SUM | 4212.54 | 2106.27 | 502.04 | 345815.24 | 348423.55 | 158.75 |
Supporting World Bank operations
A key outcome of this work is the direct integration of EO into World Bank workflows. The datasets feed into regional and national Blue Economy strategies, support climate-related reporting, and provide a spatial foundation for planning coastal resilience and natural capital investments.
By making ecosystem extent and carbon stocks visible and comparable across countries, EO enables the World Bank to move from general assessments to more targeted and evidence-based decision-making. This strengthens both project preparation and long-term investment planning.
Stakeholder Engagement
The project was developed in close collaboration with the World Bank task team, as well as regional and national stakeholders, including the PERSGA Secretariat. Continuous exchanges ensured that the EO outputs remained aligned with operational needs and could be effectively integrated into ongoing analytical processes.
This collaborative approach also helped bridge the gap between technical analysis and policy application, ensuring that the results are both credible and usable.
Uptake of EO in IFI Processes
This activity demonstrates how EO can move beyond a technical input to become a structural component of International Financial Institution (IFI) workflows.
Within the World Bank, EO is now contributing directly to analytical work, supporting project design through spatial insights, and enabling ongoing monitoring through repeatable methodologies. The ability to update and scale these assessments over time makes EO particularly valuable for long-term engagement in the region.
As a result, EO-based blue carbon information can now be incorporated into marine spatial planning, climate diagnostics, and natural capital accounting, reinforcing its role in core decision-making processes.
Benefits of EO for IFIs
The experience in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden highlights several advantages of EO for development finance institutions. It enables consistent and cost-effective coverage of large and often inaccessible areas, delivers comparable datasets across multiple countries, and aligns with the timelines of operational and analytical work.
Equally important is its scalability. The methodologies developed here can be replicated and extended, reducing reliance on resource-intensive field campaigns while maintaining a high level of analytical robustness.
Conclusion and Next Steps
This work demonstrates how EO can support a transition from data gaps to actionable intelligence within IFI operations. The World Bank now has access to a regional baseline for blue carbon ecosystems, along with methodologies that can be sustained and expanded over time.
Looking ahead, there is clear potential to extend the time series, integrate EO outputs into planning tools, and build capacity among national institutions. Expanding the approach to additional ecosystems and countries would further strengthen its impact.
Continued collaboration between ESA, the World Bank, EOMAP, and regional partners will be key to ensuring that EO remains embedded in decision-making processes – supporting more resilient coastlines, better-informed investments, and sustainable Blue Economy development.
