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Research
aimed at technological development
Firstly,
there are currently two successful projects
responding to the need to develop scientific
and technological tools supporting decision
making, and these have been identified
as essential for the implementation
of ICAM in the Balearic Islands; on
the one hand there is the Geographical
Information System (SIG), and on the
other, the proposed Coastal Technology
Platform.
The
coastal SIG in the Balearic Islands
will allow us to compile existing multidisciplinary
environmental information and make it
accessible via the Internet to both
experts and the general public, following
new European directives on access to
environmental information. So, a powerful
Geographical Database has been created
to store information referring to environmental,
oceanographic and socio-economic variables
relating to the coast, and these data
are principally generated by specific
UGIZC projects, but also by projects
from other sources (EU, Government of
the Balearic Islands, IMEDEA, and so
on). To ensure the quality of the database,
there is a quality control process and
norms that data must prior to their
incorporation in the coastal SIG. Nevertheless,
and following international standards,
the project has a metadata manager as
well as various cartographical servers
facilitating access to coastal data,
constituting an instrument supporting
decision-making. Specifically there
are ten cartographical services for
different areas, which are accessible
via Internet and correspond to the various
environmental areas proposed by the
European directive ‘INSPIRE’
(amongst others, Geographical Localisation,
Administrative Units, Hydrography, Oceanography,
Biodiversity, Land Surface, Natural
Resources, Transport, Equipment, Land
Legislation, Risks, Pollution, etc.)
and five cartographical services relating
to the subject areas of UGIZC (morpho-dynamic/coastal
variability, biodiversity, water quality/safety,
operational oceanography, socio-economics).
There is also a cartographical server
for each specific UGIZC project requiring
one. It is worth pointing out that the
project is under constant construction,
with data still being loaded, services
created and data used to create a scientific
Spatial Data Infrastructure for the
Balearic coastline, which in line with
various international initiatives will
allow open access to all environmental
information available in the Balearic
Islands.
Also,
in 2006 there was the creation of the
Coastal Technology Platform of the Balearic
Island (the result of more than fifteen
years of internationally recognised
research), a new infrastructure that,
through observation and predictive models,
should allow us to have reliable indicators
in almost real time, something vital
in approaching new quality research
directed at solving problems in society,
operational and predictive research,
as indicated in section 4. This proposed
‘Coastal Technology Platform of
the Balearic Islands’ (which was
included as a preliminary in the UGIZC
report in November 2005) was subsequently
included (11th January 2007) in the
R&D investment plan of the III Conferencia
de Presidentes, a meeting of leaders
from central and autonomous government
in Spain. Thus UGIZC places the Balearic
Islands on the map of major research
installations in Spain for the first
time, and represents a key scientific,
technological and business challenge
that will require deliberated design
and action. All of this allows us to
move towards management based on real
and reliable knowledge and guarantees
the quality of the coast and the safety
of maritime and leisure activities.
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Multidisciplinary
research
Regarding horizontal research projects,
the following are progressing at good
speed: detailed characterisation f the
coast; morpho-dynamic, ecological and
socio-economic characterisation of the
entire coast of the islands at 50m intervals;
definition of homogenous coastal units,
which will be key elements for study.
It
is also important to underline 2006
saw the start of an extremely important
horizontal research project relating
to the definition of indicators allowing
us to reliably measure the current state
of affairs and move towards true ICAM
of the various aforementioned homogenous
coastal units. These indicators respond
to the three general areas (environment,
economy and society) and, after an in-depth
analysis of the international context,
are being adapted to the particularities
of the Balearic Islands and have been
structured on two levels: a first level
featuring fifteen indicators that should
be considered as core, and a second
level of some thirty indicators with
which we can characterise existing sectoral
diversity. The scientific approach,
following international standards, is
being moulded through the formal introduction
into the project of key elements from
society and bodies and institutions
with experience in the area. The ultimate
aim of this is without doubt the formal
acceptance and adoption of these ICAM
indicators in the Balearic Islands and
their formalisation through legislative
initiatives in the Balearic Parliament,
bringing an end to the process begun
with quality research, specific proposals
based on knowledge and new technological
abilities, a search for consensus with
social agents and political figures,
a formal adoption of the proposal and
a legislative initiative passed in parliament
guaranteeing their implementation and
that they will be followed.
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Disciplinary
research
Relating to the specific projects
relating to scientific needs identified
as vital for the implementation of
ICAM, in 2006, in line with the agreement
between the CSIC and the Balearic
Government, gaps in existing knowledge
were identified and thirty-two specific
projects were begun to respond to
identified scientific objectives in
line with established international
priorities. These projects have also
identified social problems involved
and are being carried out in scientific
areas where there is demonstrable
experience and special importance
and/or the need to implement true
ICAM in the Balearic Islands. It is
important to remember the range of
areas these projects approach, from
technological development of new sampling
systems of variability in beaches
to revegetation of dunal areas, the
analysis of perception of coastal
quality by tourists and inhabitants
amongst many others, r the detailed
analysis of multiple and diverse legal
elements affecting coastal areas,
an area which leads to our offering,
also over the Internet, a tool to
consult the different laws affecting
coastal areas in the Balearic Islands.
In the beginning
of 2007 there will be a UGIZC workshop
presenting and debating the results
obtained and those currently being
worked on. It is clear that each of
the projects should fulfil scientific
goals (articles in quality scientific
journals and other important publications)
and also respond to knowledge-transfer
and dissemination objectives (posters,
non-specialist lectures, etc.).
Two specific projects
have already been finished. The first
is a territorial analysis of the coastline
of the Balearic Islands following
each of the Island Territorial Plans
in which it has been carried out,
in line with international initiatives,
a classificatory proposal which brings
together the degree of artificialisation,
pressures from development and the
level of protection. This project
has managed to establish just seven
categories, thus unifying the many
existing categories and allowing islands
to be compared in an international
framework. The second completed project
focuses on studying the Sant Jordi
storm channel in Pollença,
a study that concludes with specific
proposals and measures to improve
the environmental of both the storm
channel and the surrounding coastal
area.
With the aim of
furthering knowledge in the various
key elements in coastal areas and
their relationship and effects on
ecosystems, the various UGIZC initiatives
are being structured in the framework
of the sectors involved, which allows
a subsequent detailed analysis of
each of them. By way of an example,
the ICES considers the following sectors:
tourism and leisure, fisheries, transport/ports,
energy, development, uses of land.
It is important to remember, however,
that the ICAM approach necessarily
involves the integrated management
of all sectors involved.
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Transfer
of Knowledge
Finally,
we must underline the strong support
given throughout 2006 to knowledge transfer
(in a bi-directional sense, both from
experts to society and from society
to researchers) and dissemination of
the principles of sustainability and
ICAM. There have been informative seminars,
specific workshops, and the dissemination
of results from the UGIZC project at
a national (Barcelona, Canary Islands,
etc.) and international level (Aruba,
Malta, Norway, USA, etc.). The project
has also received coverage in the media
(radio, TV, daily press, informative
magazines, etc.), explaining the content
of the UGIZC project, initial results,
and so on. Also, there is a website
where the project is presented, along
with its objectives, structure, obtained
and expected results, and so on. It
is important to remember that the project
began mid-way through 2005 and that
in just eighteen months it has managed
to locate the Balearic Islands as an
international reference point in the
field of sustainable development and
ICAM, with members of the team being
explicitly invited to prestigious international
conferences.
In
the same line, we should point out the
efforts in 2006 to make the important
elements of Balearic society aware of
the principles of ICAM and sustainability
based on scientific progress. Outstanding
in this area are workshops and presentations
of the project held with the Círculo
de Economía business group (with
whom we have been collaborating since
2004), tourist boards, the Balearic
Economic and Social Council, and so
on. In 2006 UGIZC has also collaborated
with the Platja de Palma Hoteliers Association,
specifically as a moderator and leader
of the sustainability board, with the
participation of various agents and
sectors involved in the area. It is
undoubtedly an experience of utmost
interest that the project values highly,
and an initiative in which principles
of sustainability and ICAM could be
a referent.
