ABSTRACT
The concept of multi-use of the sea has gained popularity in recent years as a result of ocean space (coastal areas and regions with relatively small sea space in particular) becoming increasingly crowded due to the development of the maritime economy. Competing claims for space can be a source of conflict, however this may also lead to mutual benefits for different users when sustainable combinations are sought. Despite increasing European-wide efforts, on-the-ground knowledge and practice of multi-use are still limited. Therefore, with the aim of investigating opportunities for multi-use development in the European seas, 10 case studies were selected, involving different site-specific contexts. This study analyses the characteristics and development potential for ocean multi-use, integrating results from desk analysis and stakeholder perceptions from different sectors in each of the case study locations. Similarities and differences between various combinations of sea uses are also identified. The results show a high heterogeneity of multi-use opportunities between case studies, with a range of combinations identified. The investigated combinations of maritime uses share an overall balance between factors promoting (drivers) and hindering (barriers) multi-use development. Based on stakeholder opinions, expected benefits (added values) of multi-use implementation outweigh potential negative impacts. Management actions are also proposed to further exploit multi-use potential at a local, regional (sub-national) and national levels.
Subject(s)
Conservation of Natural Resources , Oceans and Seas , Europe , HumansABSTRACT
European seas are experiencing rapid development. The anthropogenic demand for marine resources and space exerts the need for novel concepts for sustainable resource exploitation and smart space allocation. Multi-Use (MU) is an emerging concept to overcome spatial claims and support Blue Growth, however its actual potentials and current status of implementation in different sea basins is to a large extent unexplored. An analytical framework using a mixed method approach is proposed for the identification and analysis of MU potentialities in eight EU countries of the Euro-Mediterranean sea basin. The paper addresses opportunities and challenges of ten existing and potential MU combinations driven by three maritime sectors: tourism, renewable energy and Oil & Gas industry. Opportunities and challenges for MU development were presented in terms of drivers, added values, barriers and impacts. Results show that highest potential for MU development are related to tourism-driven MU combinations (e.g. pescatourism), but also emerging MU potentials exist related to Floating Offshore Wind energy and aquaculture (Gulf of Lion) and the re-use of Oil & Gas decommissioned platforms (Northern-Central Adriatic Sea). Findings were discussed for their geospatial distribution and their policy, socio-economic, technical and environmental boundary conditions. Recommendations on actions to foster MU development in the Euro-Mediterranean sea space are provided.
ABSTRACT
DESYRE (DEcision Support sYstem for the REqualification of contaminated sites) is a GIS-based decision support system (DSS) specifically developed to address the integrated management and remediation of contaminated megasites (i.e., large contaminated areas or impacted areas characterized by multiple site owners and multiple stakeholders). In the DESYRE conceptual design and development the main aspects pertaining to a remediation process--analysis of social and economic benefits and constrains, site characterization, risk assessment, selection of best available technologies, creation of sets of technologies to be applied, analysis of the residual risk, and comparison of different remediation scenarios--were included. The DESYRE DSS is a GIS-based software composed of 6 interconnected modules. In the characterization module, chemical and hydrogeological data are organized in a relational database and contaminants' distributions are mapped by using geostatistic tools. The socioeconomic module addresses the socioeconomic constraints though a fuzzy logic analysis to select the best land use. The risk assessment module is divided into 2 phases. In the preremediation phase, an original procedure allows assessing and representing the spatial distribution of risks posed by contaminants in soil and groundwater, providing a risk-based zoning of the site. Then, in the technology assessment module, a selection of suitable technologies and creation of different technology sets, taking into account both technical requirements and site-specific features, are performed by experts supported by multicriteria decision analysis tools. In the postremediation risk assessment, a simulation of applied technologies provides residual risk maps with related uncertainty maps. Finally, in the decision module, alternative remediation scenarios are described by a set of indices and can be compared and ranked by interested stakeholders using multicriteria decision analysis methodologies. The paper highlights original procedural steps and functionalities of DESYRE nd analyzes its main points of strength and potentialities, as well as limits.
