Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Environmental Science and Technology Rhodes, Greece, 8 – 10 September 2011
DECIDING AND EVALUATING INTERVENTIONS ON COASTAL ZONES USING ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS M.P. PAPADOPOULOU1, and V.K. TSOUKALA2 1
School of Rural and Surveying Engineering National Technical University of Athens 2 School of Civil Engineering National Technical University of Athens 9 Iroon Polytechiou, University Campus Zografou 17533 e-mail:
[email protected] and
[email protected]
EXTENDED ABSTRACT The development of frameworks that are able to clarify multi-sectoral relationships and highlight the dynamic characteristics of a complex physical system such the coastal ones, is an important step to establish a common platform of communication between scientists from various disciplines and decision makers. The use of environmental indicators in these frameworks is fundamental in order to develop a qualitative and quantitative evaluation system. Management analyses based on environmental indicators concept have already been conducted in representative coastal areas with various physical and anthropogenic characteristics in Greece. In this paper, the authors will try first to determine and categorize the most representative environmental indicators that could describe the state of the coastline in Greece, and then define a correlation between indicators and impacts in order to propose specific interventions that will protect and improve the performance of a coastal ecosystem. Keywords: Environmental indicators, coastal regions, environmental management.
1.
INTRODUCTION
Coastal zones are very dynamic and rapidly developed areas along the Mediterranean coastline and elsewhere where various and many times conflicting anthropogenic activities are placed. The concept of Integrated Coastal Management Zone (ICMZ) that EU parliament and council introduced (2002/413/EC) is based on a holistic approach that promotes the sustainable development of coastal zones. The main challenge that scientists are facing in order to obtain an integrated coastal management for coastal regions is first to understand the complex relationships between social-economic activities/interests and the associated environmental issues (Mateous and Campuzano, 2008) and then to analyze and solve the corresponding environmental problems. The increasing demand for development in coastal regions leads to their degradation that besides the accumulative pollution and erosion have also multiple negative social and economic impacts. The most common problems that Greek coastal regions face are the increasing urbanization, the poorly infrastructure mainly in transportation, the non-rational development of tourism, the accelerated erosion phenomena, the marine pollution, and of course the degradation of coastal ecosystems. One of the primary goals of this paper is the categorization of the most representative environmental indicators that could be used to accurately describe the state of the Greek
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coastal regions that playing an important role in the development of Greece due to its high cultural, recreational, tourist and economic value. Also the various geomorphologic features and the presence of a variety of rare ecological species require the development of an integrated strategy focusing not only on the development and management, but also on the protection and restoration of these regions.
2.
THEORETICAL BAGROUND
The development of an integrated environmental policy for the management of coastal regions and in particular the choice of an appropriate method or tool is complicated due to a) the large number of available alternative methods and management tools, b) the advantages and disadvantages as far as the technical, economical, environmental characteristics of each method and c) the compatibility of each management method according to the characteristics of the area under consideration. Nowadays the main tools that are widely used are the environmental indicators, the geographical information systems (GIS) and the digital remote sensing. The use of environmental indicators is fundamental in order to develop a qualitative and quantitative system that may evaluate the performance of a physical system. Hammond et al. (1995) defined an indicator as “something that provides a clue to a matter of larger significance or makes perceptible a trend or phenomenon that is not immediately detectable”. Three are the basic functions of an environmental indicator: a) simplicity, b) quantification and c) communication (Aubry and Elliot, 2006). On the other hand, indicators should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound [SMART] (Schomaker, 1997). According to Niemi and McDonald (2004) the main goals of environmental indicators are first to identify the current state of the environment, then measure the trends and finally explain the causes of any changes in these conditions. The development of a representative set of environmental indicators requires understanding of the relationship between anthropogenic pressures and the corresponding ecological responses (Niemi et al., 2007). European Environmental Agency (EEA) proposed the use of a specific framework based on distinguished driving forces, pressures, states, impacts and responses to obtain an approach for the development of an integrated environmental assessment strategy (EEA, 1998). The application of this framework, known as DPSIR, allows the chosen indicators to enable feedback to decision makers: a) on environmental quality issues and b) on resulting impacts of the various political choices that have already made or they are going to make (Kristensen, 2004). It is obvious that EEA focuses on practical issues to develop policies. Coastal regions constitute complex ecosystems mainly due to marine biodiversity, sea and fresh water quality issues and of course the various competing human activities that are developed related to the consumption of natural resources. The causal chain for a coastal region that is described by the DPSIR framework is very complicated due to the dynamic behaviour and interactions between the physical and the anthorogenic parameters of this ecosystem. A conceptual DPSIR framework for assessing the sustainable development of a coastal region is shown in Figure 1.
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Pressures
Driving Forces Agriculture Tourism Aquaculture Households Transportation Land use
Emissions (air, water, soil) Resources use (land, water) Loads to coastal waters Fertilizers Wastewater/solid waste production Noise
State Fresh water quantity and quality Seawater quality Human health Biodiversity Coastline
Responses Water use restriction Waste water treatment Solid waste management Reduce fertilizer use in agriculture Use of renewable energy sources Bioclimatic design
Impacts Groundwater resources Ecological status Erosion Seawater intrusion Eutrophication Droughts Floods
Figure 1: A conceptual DPRIS framework for coastal regions management Human activities such as agriculture, transportation, tourism developed in coastal regions work as “driving forces” in order to cover human needs. These forces then exercise “pressures” on the environment due to resources consumption, emissions and waste production. As a result of these pressures, the “state” of the coastal environment is affected, meaning that parameters associated with the physical, chemical and biological conditions of the coastal ecosystem are changing. The changes in the state of the coastal environment may have various environmental and social-economical “impacts” on the function of the coastal system. Finally, the “response” of the decision maker is the result of unwanted impacts that need to be eliminated and may affect any part of the chain between driving forces and impacts.
3.
ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS CATEGORIES IN COASTAL REGIONS
To describe the state of an ecosystem, United Nations Organization has adopted a core list of environmental indicators related to natural disasters-environmental performance, air, land use, agriculture, forests and woodlands, coastal and marine resources, fresh water, biodiversity, energy and minerals, waste, health and environment (UNECA-UNSDUNEP, 2007). According to that categorization the priority areas of indicators for coastal and marine resources are the urbanization of coastal zones, coastal and marine pollution, coastal erosion/sedimentation, marine biodiversity, climate change and sea level rise.
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Table 1: Representative environmental indicators for coastal regions Physical Variable Air
Noise Soil
Biodiversity
Water
Landscape
Environmental Indicators NO2 CO2 SO2 O3 Days over the limits Lden Sources of noise Erosion Coastal Vulnerability Index-. CVI Heavy metals Concentration [Pb]/kgr Status Posidonia Diversity of benthic fauna Uniform benthic fauna Diversity of benthic flora Uniform benthic flora Endangered species Turbidity (TSS) FC/100ml DO Chlorophyll-a Solid waste Ripple Currents Pollution Building density (% coverage) Type of construction Distance from shore structures
Value Measurable Measurable Measurable Measurable Measurable Mathematical formula Measurable Measurable Mathematical formula Measurable Measurable Mathematical formula Mathematical formula Mathematical formula Mathematical formula Measurable Measurable Measurable Measurable Measurable Estimated Estimated Measurable Measurable Measurable Measurable Measurable
A series of environmental indicators was used to describe the current state of coastal regions in Greece then analyze the environmental problems that these regions facing and finally propose management solutions to achieve sustainable development for these environmental sensitive and economic important regions (Table 1). The coastal regions under consideration have different characteristics as far as its physical, economical and population aspects.
4.
RESULTS ANALYSIS FOR THREE COASTAL REGIONS IN GREECE
The analysis for the three different coastal regions under consideration was based not only in the above mentioned representative environmental indicators set but in some additional indicators considering the particular characteristics of each region. The main differentiation between the three areas of study was the use and the level of social economic development (overdeveloped, developed, and underdeveloped). The three coastal regions under study were a) the coastal zone of municipality of Glyfada (urban - overdeveloped), b) the coastal zone of Lavrio town (urban - developed) and the coastal region called “Makris Gialos” located in the Eastern part of Evia Island (rural –
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underdeveloped). The analysis was only focused on the assessment and evaluation of the natural environment and the degree of sustainability of each coastal region. In the overdeveloped coastal zone of Glyfada, the findings of the analysis showed that all the variables that compose the natural environment (water, air, soil, biodiversity and landscape) are affected and degraded but the overall state of the environment based on the environmental indicators analysis was classified as “good”. The relatively good overall picture of the coastal zone certainly requires actions that will improve it in a “very good” or even “excellent” state (Zervoudi, 2010). The developed urban coastal region of Lavrio town has received intense pressures from anthropogenic activities due to unsustainable management of natural resources, resulting in degradation of its natural environment. The analysis showed that almost all the physical variables (water, air, soil, biodiversity, landscape) have been affected and degraded and the irrational management of specific environmental resources has significantly affected the quality of others (i.e. mining fresh – marine water). The overall state of the environment based on the chosen methodology is classified as "moderate" approaching the "bad" confirming the serious environmental problems that this coastal region faces due to poor management (Anastasiadou, 2009). In the under developed coastal region of “Makris Gialos” changes are mainly observed in land uses beginning by the reconstruction of rural houses and the camping operation in an area adjacent to the coast. The natural environment was classified as “very good” although the sensible balance may be disturbed if the uncontrolled development continues (Giampouras, 2009). The coastal regions are very important for the economies of many coastal countries proofing that the rational and sustainable development of these regions are directly correlated to the state of the physical environment. The analysis showed that the best performance of environmental indicators occurred at under developed coastal areas; these findings are in accordance with the work of Araújod and Costa (2008). The selection process of the representative set of environmental indicators is based on individual criteria and unfortunately not on inter-relation through causality (Niemeijer and Groot, 2008). In this study, the main criterion for the selection and analysis of environmental indicators was the main environmental problems that these regions are facing over the years and the expected problems that these regions may have in the future due to the constant increase of pressures from the various anthropogenic activities (i.e. tourism, agriculture, constructions). The analysis focuses on the use of specific indicators to assess the environmental impacts of these pressures into the coastal system and goes a step further to propose specific actions to eliminate the negative impacts. The major constraints in the use of environmental indicators as decision making tool are: a) the availability of collected data in spatial and temporal dimensions, b) the uncertainty associated with these data and c) the representativeness of the selected indicators regarding the physical system under consideration.
5.
CONCLUSIONS
Recent studies have shown that the use of environmental indicators is a promising tool for analysts to determine the environmental status of a coastal region and to clearly
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communicate the necessary information on complex environmental problems to decision makers. This methodology brings into the table a quantitative dimension of system’s state that policy maker understand in order for them to draw reliable conclusions about the overall picture and the sustainability of the system in order to receive the appropriate actions.
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