Atlas · Eritrea / Reports
ATLAS REPORT

Country report: Eritrea

Generated 15 October 2026, 01:44 from live Atlas data

EditPrint / PDF

Executive summary

Atlas holds 100,798 mapped features and 37,971 observations in 26 datasets. The mapped mangrove canopy covers 7,208 ha in 1,166 polygons across 1 formation classes; Mangrove dominates with 100.0% of the area. The median patch is only 0.259 ha, while patches of 10 ha or more hold 86.6% of the area. 0 ha (0.0%) lies within 10 km of the LAPSSET development footprint.

Single mapping epoch (2019). Areas are geodesic hectares recalculated from geometry.

Species & formations

FormationPolygonsArea (ha)ShareMean patch (ha)
Mangrove1,1667,207.8100.0%6.18
Shannon evenness by area: 0.00

Pressure: LAPSSET and villages

Mangrove ha by distance from LAPSSET

Mangrove ha by distance from villages

Data quality

DatasetFeaturesRepairedScore
Global Mangrove Watch: mangrove extent 2020, Eritrea1,1260100
Global Mangrove Watch: mangrove extent 1996, Eritrea1,2350100
Global Mangrove Watch: mangrove extent 2007, Eritrea1,9590100
Global Mangrove Watch: mangrove extent 2010, Eritrea1,4480100
Global Mangrove Watch: mangrove extent 2015, Eritrea1,3200100
Global Mangrove Watch v4.1: mangrove extent 2025, Eritrea1,3510100
Global Mangrove Watch v4.1: mangrove extent 2020, Eritrea1,1660100
Global Mangrove Watch v4.1: mangrove extent 2015, Eritrea1,0740100
Global Mangrove Watch v4.1: mangrove extent 2010, Eritrea9130100
Global Mangrove Watch v4.1: mangrove extent 2005, Eritrea9190100
Global Mangrove Watch v4.1: mangrove extent 2000, Eritrea8860100
Global Mangrove Watch v4.1: mangrove extent 1996, Eritrea8200100
Fibre Cable Landing Stations126095
Rivers228095
Power Plants (Power output MW)642095
AfricaPriority_River857095
Small airport1,979095
Dams2,586095
Districts6,0991395
World Database on Protected Areas7,438195
Divisions17,649995
Irrigated Areas23,095195
Agro-Ecological Zones25,7911795
Carbon projects: Eritrea43090
Seagrass (UNEP-WCMC): Eritrea41090
Community and nature projects (UNDP): Eritrea7090

Recommendations

High 12 of 9 themes have no data yet
Atlas holds no records for: Salt Marsh, Coastal Forests, Blue Carbon, Restoration Sites, Protected Areas & Landscapes, Land Use & Land Cover, People & Settlements, Wildlife & Habitats, Fire & Climate, Farming & Livelihoods, Mining, Oil & Licences, Surveys & Field Data. Seagrass and salt marsh would come from UNEP-WCMC global datasets; carbon projects from the Verra and Gold Standard registries; community projects from partner programmes.
Action: Ingest the planned sources listed in the Source Catalogue, starting with Global Mangrove Watch, UNEP-WCMC seagrass and salt marsh, and the carbon registries.
High Licence terms to be confirmed for 11 datasets
Licence terms are being confirmed with the publisher. Atlas holds the data for scientific and internal use and shows the original attribution, but cannot grant bulk redistribution rights.
Action: Request written permission from WWF Kenya, KMFRI and KFS for redistribution and derivative products.
Medium Most polygons are very small, but most area sits in large stands
33.5% of the 1,166 mapped polygons are under 0.1 ha, yet patches of 10 ha or more hold 86.6% of all mangrove area. Management and monitoring effort should focus on the large stands, while the small-patch tail needs checking against satellite imagery.
Action: Prioritise field verification of large stands; review the sub-0.1 ha tail for mapping artefacts.
Low Net gain of mangrove since 1996
Global Mangrove Watch maps 6,524 ha of mangrove in Eritrea in 1996 and 7,319 ha in 2025: a net gain of 795 ha (12.2%), about 27 ha per year. This is the net balance of total mapped area; gains and losses inside the country can cancel out, so real loss may be larger.

Datasets & sources

DatasetPublisherFeatures
Global Mangrove Watch: mangrove extent 2020, EritreaGlobal Mangrove Watch (Aberystwyth University, soloEO, Wetlands International, UNEP-WCMC, JAXA)1,126
Global Mangrove Watch: mangrove extent 1996, EritreaGlobal Mangrove Watch (Aberystwyth University, soloEO, Wetlands International, UNEP-WCMC, JAXA)1,235
Global Mangrove Watch: mangrove extent 2007, EritreaGlobal Mangrove Watch (Aberystwyth University, soloEO, Wetlands International, UNEP-WCMC, JAXA)1,959
Global Mangrove Watch: mangrove extent 2010, EritreaGlobal Mangrove Watch (Aberystwyth University, soloEO, Wetlands International, UNEP-WCMC, JAXA)1,448
Global Mangrove Watch: mangrove extent 2015, EritreaGlobal Mangrove Watch (Aberystwyth University, soloEO, Wetlands International, UNEP-WCMC, JAXA)1,320
Global Mangrove Watch v4.1: mangrove extent 2025, EritreaGlobal Mangrove Watch (Aberystwyth University, soloEO, Wetlands International, UNEP-WCMC, JAXA)1,351
Global Mangrove Watch v4.1: mangrove extent 2020, EritreaGlobal Mangrove Watch (Aberystwyth University, soloEO, Wetlands International, UNEP-WCMC, JAXA)1,166
Global Mangrove Watch v4.1: mangrove extent 2015, EritreaGlobal Mangrove Watch (Aberystwyth University, soloEO, Wetlands International, UNEP-WCMC, JAXA)1,074
Global Mangrove Watch v4.1: mangrove extent 2010, EritreaGlobal Mangrove Watch (Aberystwyth University, soloEO, Wetlands International, UNEP-WCMC, JAXA)913
Global Mangrove Watch v4.1: mangrove extent 2005, EritreaGlobal Mangrove Watch (Aberystwyth University, soloEO, Wetlands International, UNEP-WCMC, JAXA)919
Global Mangrove Watch v4.1: mangrove extent 2000, EritreaGlobal Mangrove Watch (Aberystwyth University, soloEO, Wetlands International, UNEP-WCMC, JAXA)886
Global Mangrove Watch v4.1: mangrove extent 1996, EritreaGlobal Mangrove Watch (Aberystwyth University, soloEO, Wetlands International, UNEP-WCMC, JAXA)820
Fibre Cable Landing StationsWWF Kenya126
RiversWWF Kenya228
Power Plants (Power output MW)WWF Kenya642
AfricaPriority_RiverWWF Kenya857
Small airportWWF Kenya1,979
DamsWWF Kenya2,586
DistrictsWWF Kenya6,099
World Database on Protected AreasWWF Kenya7,438
DivisionsWWF Kenya17,649
Irrigated AreasWWF Kenya23,095
Agro-Ecological ZonesWWF Kenya25,791
Carbon projects: EritreaBerkeley Carbon Trading Project, University of California, Berkeley43
Seagrass (UNEP-WCMC): EritreaUN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and Short FT41
Community and nature projects (UNDP): EritreaUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP)7

Methods & limits

Areas and lengths are recomputed on the WGS 84 ellipsoid; units are harmonised (ha, m, %, UTC). The mapping is a single 2019 epoch; the source publishes no licence; field plots are a sample; scenario figures are illustrative assumptions. Cite the original publishers listed above. Full methods: Methodologies page.
Guest preview · 175s left Explore until the timer ends. Then you’ll be asked to log in or create an account (about two minutes) to keep going.
Ask Atlas