**5. Conclusion**

Studying soil erosion is essential for appropriate risk management of small watersheds because it helps us to identify the areas and factors that are most prone to erosion. This study describes the identification of precise locations of soil erosion hotspots that fall within the high soil erosion category (30 ton ha�<sup>1</sup> yr.�<sup>1</sup> ) within the small Ramla watershed. The impact of such an intolerable degree of soil erosion in this area is being demonstrated by following the resultant deterioration of coastal water quality at the mouth of the watershed during high rainfall episodes. Based on a case study, the impact of sedimentation resulted in a 120% and 133% increase in CHLA and TSM levels respectively against background levels. The observed CHLA levels during and after rainstorms indicate eutrophic water type resulting from this sedimentation. This study provides for the first time an understanding of the causes and effects of localized soil erosion processes on the basis of which authorities should take the necessary steps to prevent its negative impacts on this watershed and interconnected coastal dynamics. In this regard, a number of recommended risk management strategies are being recommended for national authorities. These include the need to support effective soil conservation practices, strengthening of erosion control measures, and regular monitoring of coastal water quality for quality assurance purposes. Nowadays, novel remote sensing technologies, such as UAV-borne LiDAR and multispectral imaging of this watershed, are able to identify and quantify extremely highresolution dynamics that can assist further risk management processes by providing a more accurate erodibility estimates and coastal water quality characterization at centimeter scale pixel resolution.
