Final Report Summary - ECOMANAGE (Integrated Ecological Coastal Zone Management System)
Human activities such as tourism, industrial and urban development and fisheries construction were rapidly expanded on coastal and estuarine areas during the past, imposing pressures on the ecosystems and complicating the sustainable management of the impacted areas. Recent environmental awareness highlighted the necessity to maintain economic and social development while preserving the natural features and ecological services of the coastal zones. Thus, appropriate management tools ought to be provided so as to assist strategic decisions at both national and local levels.
The ECOMANAGE project aimed to apply an interdisciplinary, integrated approach in order to develop tools for coastal ecosystems' management. Human activities within neighbouring catchments discharging in the sea were prioritised as the most influencing factor, since additional pressures were imposed on the estuaries by polluted surface and groundwater. Thus, the necessity for extensive examination of upstream basins was pinpointed and connected to the thorough study of the coastal water body. It was also noted that the impacts of activities on the ecosystems depended on their environmental characteristics and were related to socioeconomic counter-effects.
The developed tools were based on mathematical models for the coastal areas forced by loads that were either directly discharged into the sea or transported by rivers. Both coastal and catchment models were utilised. The proposed methodology was subsequently tested in three South American estuarine areas, which covered a wide environmental spectrum because of their geomorphology and numerous human activities.
The 'drivers, pressures, state, impacts and responses' (DPSIR) framework was utilised to identify relationships between the causes and results of environmental pressures. Moreover, participatory methods were applied for interacting with stakeholders in order to establish scenarios and indexes for the undertaken analyses, which took into consideration spatial and temporal variability. Field data and modelling results were inserted into a spatial decision support system (SDSS) for evaluation of the alternative scenarios' performance.
A complete list of drivers was developed for each examined site and the resulting impacts were computed using catchment and groundwater models. In addition, emergency situations were identified and incorporated in the undertaken approach. The models were calibrated using historical field data sets, while additional sampling was employed for the enhancement of insufficient data series. Furthermore, suitable management responses were schematised based on the simulation outcomes.
Stakeholders were motivated to participate in the decision making process, so as to establish a collaboration framework at an international level. The project outcomes interested both scientific and water resources management communities, while the undertaken dissemination actions allowed for increased public awareness and participation. Finally, the publication of a book summarising ECOMANAGE outcomes was a noticeable activity, in excess of the initial project objectives.
The ECOMANAGE project aimed to apply an interdisciplinary, integrated approach in order to develop tools for coastal ecosystems' management. Human activities within neighbouring catchments discharging in the sea were prioritised as the most influencing factor, since additional pressures were imposed on the estuaries by polluted surface and groundwater. Thus, the necessity for extensive examination of upstream basins was pinpointed and connected to the thorough study of the coastal water body. It was also noted that the impacts of activities on the ecosystems depended on their environmental characteristics and were related to socioeconomic counter-effects.
The developed tools were based on mathematical models for the coastal areas forced by loads that were either directly discharged into the sea or transported by rivers. Both coastal and catchment models were utilised. The proposed methodology was subsequently tested in three South American estuarine areas, which covered a wide environmental spectrum because of their geomorphology and numerous human activities.
The 'drivers, pressures, state, impacts and responses' (DPSIR) framework was utilised to identify relationships between the causes and results of environmental pressures. Moreover, participatory methods were applied for interacting with stakeholders in order to establish scenarios and indexes for the undertaken analyses, which took into consideration spatial and temporal variability. Field data and modelling results were inserted into a spatial decision support system (SDSS) for evaluation of the alternative scenarios' performance.
A complete list of drivers was developed for each examined site and the resulting impacts were computed using catchment and groundwater models. In addition, emergency situations were identified and incorporated in the undertaken approach. The models were calibrated using historical field data sets, while additional sampling was employed for the enhancement of insufficient data series. Furthermore, suitable management responses were schematised based on the simulation outcomes.
Stakeholders were motivated to participate in the decision making process, so as to establish a collaboration framework at an international level. The project outcomes interested both scientific and water resources management communities, while the undertaken dissemination actions allowed for increased public awareness and participation. Finally, the publication of a book summarising ECOMANAGE outcomes was a noticeable activity, in excess of the initial project objectives.
