Due to high population density and climate vulnerability, the Asia-Pacific coastal oceans are experiencing environmental pressures. Notably, eutrophication and harmful algal bloom (HAB) are causing damage to marine ecosystems and fisheries resources, leading to socioeconomic impacts. Climate change is expected to intensify eutrophication and HAB (EuHAB), exacerbating future impacts on life below water and food security by reducing seafood availability. The United Nations (UN) identifies EuHAB as a global issue, mentioning eutrophication as an indicator for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 and linking HAB to climate change in the IPCC 5th Assessment Report (AR5) and the IPCC 2019 special report.
Because EuHAB is a transboundary issue occurring over a large spatial scale, research to address EuHAB should be conducted through regional collaborations. Monitoring and tracking to help EuHAB mitigation and adaptation should use satellite-based Earth Observation (EO) that can provide information in near-real-time over a large spatial scale. Therefore, we propose a project that primarily aims at developing an EO-based EuHAB monitoring system to enhance decision-making for EuHAB impact mitigation and adaptation in Asia-Pacific regions. This project aligns with the UN Ocean Decade, contributing scientific support for several SDG initiatives (2, 6, 13, 14, and 17).