Final Steering and Technical Committee Meeting of the Coastance Project

The Final Steering and Technical Committee Meeting of the Coastance Project took place on 26th March at “Kageles” Agrotouristic Center at Maroneia, Greece. Partners grasped the occasion to discuss the overall advancements and results of the project, not only from the financial and managerial point of view, but also in technical terms. In particular, the lead partner explained the contents to be provided for the final report. Each component leader presented the relevant deliverables and outputs as well as the experiences and know-how acquired during the implementation of the project and capitalisation activities.Together with Mr Spyros Arseniou, head of the European Programmes and International Affairs Office in REMTH, partners discussed about the Final Declaration of the project and how to put the basis to implement it in the REMTH region and in the other countries. A session of the meeting was also dedicated to the analysis of future initiatives like FACECOAST, the Bologna Charter, EURIOMCODE and BEACHMED-3. 

The international Conference of the Coastance project was held at the Conference Room of Rhodope Regional Unit on 27th March.

The Part A of the Conference was chaired by Mr Katsimigas, Executive Secretary of REMTH, who then gave the floor to Mr Christos Partsias, lead partner of the COASTANCE project. As regards the 3 Coastance project components: Mr Philippe Carbonnel (Département de l’Hérault) intervened on the component 3 “Coastal risks and development key drivers – new tools for erosion and submersion risk assessment and coastal future development scenarios identification”; Mr Roberto Montanari and Christian Marasmi (Region of Emilia-Romagna), head of component 4, talked about “Territorial action plans for coastal protection management”; and Ms Silvia Bellacicco (Lazio Region) and Paola La Valle (ISPRA) reported on component 5, i.e. on “Guidelines for environmental impact assessment of coastal defence programmes and interventions”.Among the other speakers, Professor Kotsovinos from Democritus University made a speech on “Coastal flooding phenomena in REMTH in relation to Climate Change”. Mr Theothoros Mouriadis, Deputy Mayor of Kavala, intervened on “Experiences of the Municipality of Kavala in addressing erosion”. The Deputy Mayor of Alexandroupolis, Mr Christos Gerakopoulos spoke about “Experiences of the Municipality of Alexandroupolis in addressing erosion”. Then an intervention on the “Practical integration in REMTH – Coastal integration plan” was made by Mr Athanasios Karamoschos (TRANSCOOP). Mr Michalis Aftias (YDRONOMI) explained the Kariani case study of Coastance project”; and finally Emmanouil Koutrakis (F.R.I.) reported on “Integrated coastal zone management related activities in the Region of East Macedonia and Thrace”. 

The Part B started after lunch and was chaired by Mr Paolo Lupino, Lazio Region. The session was focused on future initiatives.The chairman of the session reported on the future after Coastance and especially on “What’s next? The FACECOAST cluster”.Ms Phoebe Koundouri, from DIEES Athens University, intervened on “THESEUS-MAREMED synergies on coastal adaptation to climate change”. Ms Maria Laura Trifiletti (European Academy for education and social research) talked about “The clusters and the European Groupings for territorial cooperation”. Ms Georgia Karavaggeli (REMTH) focused on “The MED European project SHIFT for a sustainable coastal tourism”, and Mr Sylaios (Democritus University) on “the MARENOSTRUM project and potential synergies with Facecoast cluster”.The last speaker, Mr Luigi Cipriani (Region of Tuscany) closed the session reporting on “Coastal network of observatories according to RESMAR and FACECOAST involvement”. 

The third day was dedicated to the study visit.

DUNEA ACTIVITIES 

Under the scope of the project activities of the Croatian COASTANCE partner, Dubrovnik Neretva County Regional Development Agency DUNEA, in association with local high school from Korcula island, an educational lecture and eco-quiz for fifth grades has been held in the premises of the school.
The lecture was also followed by the eco initiative of the school to show the importance of keeping the coast clean and preserved.

EXPOBEACH - the Sea Expo , 4^th Edition 

Next 13 and 14 Apr. 2011 the Coastance project was presented at Expobeach by Mr Alexandre Richard, Département de l’Hérault. At its 4^th Edition, the Expo deals with environmental risks, and especially marine submersion and erosion. For further info : www.expobeach.fr 

7th COASTANCE MEETING IN DUBROVNIK 

The 7th Coastance Steering & Technical Committee meeting and the field trip to the Croatian coast were held last 9 and 10 June 2011 at hotel Argosy, in Dubrovnik (Croatia). Full Report.

Agenda - Pictures - PPTs

6th COASTANCE MEETING IN BOLOGNA 

On the 10 February, the Emilia-Romagna Region hosted the 6th Coastance Steering & Technical Committee at its regional offices in Bologna, Via della Fiera 8. In addition to the project financial and management aspects, the partners focused in particular on the issue of DREAL (Languedoc Roussillon) partner leaving the Coastance partnership, and its implications.

During the afternoon, 3 separate technical meetings were organised to discuss the project components C3, C4 and C5. Many technical experts (ISPRA; Ydronomi Consulting Engineers; EID Méditerranée; ARPA; University Pablo de Olavide) were present and made presentations on the state of the art of the activities. Each session ended up with an open debate among experts in order to promote dialogue and exchange. (PPTs available in the section DOWNLOAD – login required).

The 5th International Conference took place on 11 February and was opened by the Emilia-Romagna regional councilor, Ms Paola Gazzolo. After her, Mr Franco Farinelli (University of Bologna) made a general overview of “The Mediterranean and its models: the territory of globalisation”, before leaving the floor to the Coastance project’s technical experts and partners who presented the different project components. Mr Christos partsias (REMTH – lead partner) and Mr Roberto Montanari (Emilia-Romagna Region) outlined the Coastance project and activities. Then Mr Philippe Carbonnel (Dep. Hérault) and Mr Alexandre Richard together with Mr Hugues Heurtefuex and Mr Frédéric Bouchette (EID Méditerranée) talked about Coastance Component 3, coastal risks and key development drivers, with the contribution of Ms. Fátima Navas Concha and Ms. Rocío Carrero Gomez (University Pablo de Olavide, Seville). Coastance Component 4 and the littoral sedimentary cells management system implemented in Emilia-Romagna were presented by Mr Roberto Montanari together with Mr Christian Marasmi (Emilia-Romagna Region). After that, Ms Silvia Bellacicco (Lazio Region) and Ms Paola La Valle (ISPRA) explained Component 5 and the guidelines for the environmental impact assessment of coastal defence programmes and works.

Then, the debate moved to Coastance-related subjects such as the framework-project BEACHMED-3 on the integrated management of coastal sediments, presented by Mr Paolo Lupino (Lazio Region); and the new orientations in dredging and handling of regional coastal sediments as well as anticipations from the incoming act of the Emilia-Romagna Region, reported by Mr Andrea Peretti, Mr Carlo Albertazzi and Ms Carla Rita Ferrari (Emilia-Romagna Region).

On 12 February, partners made a field trip to the Emilia-Romagna coastal zone, visiting the coasts of Misano Adriatico, Bellaria, Igea Marina and Cesenatico.

Conference Agenda (ITA; ENG)

COASTANCE REPORT PHASE A COMPONENT C

The Coastance Report on phase A Component C "Coastal Risks: Submersion and Erosion" is now available online.

DUNEA regional decision-makers in coastal planning and management did a study visit to Greece, in the areas of Komotini, Kariani and Kavala, from 21st to 26th November (programme in Croatian). Pictures

TECHNICAL MEETING PAP/RAC - ISPRA

On the 19th November, DUNEA has organised in Dubrovnic a technical meeting between the PAP/RAC and the ISPRA consultants to discuss the outputs and results of Component 5 (Minutes of the meeting - LOGIN required).

5th COASTANCE MEETING IN CRETE 

The Coastance partners gathered for the 5th Coastance Meeting at the Capsis Astoria Hotel in Crete from 14th to 16th October.On the 14^th, there was the 5th Steering & Technical Committee meeting, opened by the new Project Coordinator, Mr Christos Partsias. During the morning, the lead partner presented the financial, technical and managerial state of art , and then the partners responsible for the technical Component 3, 4 and 5 – respectively Département de l’Hérault, Emilia-Romagna Region, and Lazio Region -, reported on the progress achieved. The communication plan was discussed during the afternoon as the last point on the agenda, before the bilateral discussions between the LP and each one of the project Partners about budget allocation and absorption rate by the end of 2010, and technical problems. 

The 4th International Conference was held on the second day and its title was “Coastal Erosion and Sand Deposit on the Coasts of Crete and in the Mediterranean Basin: Physical phenomena – Human Impact – Climate Change”. It was opened by the General Secretary of the Region of Crete, who then gave the floor to the presentations of the following technical experts: prof. Pavlos Loukakis  (Panteion University of Social and Political Science) “Coastal zone adjustments and protection’s measures through the procedures of spatial development: the case of Georgioupolis in Chania Prefecture”; Mr Nikolaos Kampanis (Institute of Applied and Computational Mathematics – Foundation for Research and Technology) “Coastal Observatory: an operational tool for protection from erosion and flooding”; Mr Nikolaos Kaligeris & Mr Nikolaos Maravelakis (Technical University of Crete) “Coastal erosion: examples in Western Crete”; Prof. Nikolaos Kotsovinos (Democritus University of Thrace) “Coastal erosion in Crete and Macedonia: Human and Climate impacts”; Mr Emmanuel Kladakis (Mayor of Viannos Municipality) “Dealing with coastal erosion and sand deposit in Keratokampos Heraklion Prefecture”; and Mr Cédric Ongena (EUDA) “How can we protect ourselves against sea level rise – North Sea situation”. The second part of the conference was then dedicated to actions and results of the 3 Coastance project components, respectively presented by Mr Philippe Carbonnel, Mr Alexandre Richard and Mr Rocio Carrero (Component 3); Mr Roberto Montanari (Component 4); and Ms Silvia Bellacicco and Ms Elena Pallottini (Component 5).  

On the third day, the partners participated in the technical field trip to Keratokampos, a coastal area in Southern Crete with severe erosion problems that were presented by the Mayor and the responsible engineers.

 Agenda

DUNEA has organising a series of seminars for regional institutions in Dubrovnik region on integrated coastal zone management and improved coastal planning. The first one was held in Dubrovnik on the 28 Oct. 2010, See the pictures - (Agenda and brochure: in Croatian) ; while the second Integrated coastal zone management seminar took place on 18th November (Agenda).

COAST DAY IN CROATIA

In the framework of COASTANCE activities, a Coast Day event organised by DUNEA was held on the 30th May in  Croatia. For more info, please download the agenda or the brochure (Croatian only).

4th COASTANCE MEETING IN SEVILLA 

The 4th Coastance Steering & Technical Committee meeting and the 3rd International Public Conference were held in Sevilla (Spain) respectively on the 10th and 11th June at the Consejeria de Medio Ambiente, Sundheim House. On the 12th June, a field trip to Natural Area Donana was organised for partners. (Read the full article)

Agenda.

Practical info (hotels; how to get there; public transports)

3rd COASTANCE STEERING AND TECHNICAL COMMITTEE MEETING AND 2nd PUBLIC CONFERENCE IN MONTPELLIER (FRANCE)

The 3rd Coastance Technical and Steering Committee Meeting, was held in Montpellier (France) on the 21st January 2010 at the Hotel du Département and was hosted by Département de l’Hérault,. Ms Monique Pétard, Deputy Chairwoman of the Department of Hérault in charge of the environment and the Agenda 21, opened the meeting and welcomed all the partners, underlining the importance of Coastance as well as of the previous European projects (Beachmed and Beachmed-e), then she gave the floor to the lead partner, REMTH, represented by Mr Angelos Antoniadis. During the first part of the morning, partners discussed about administrative and financial issues. Then, they all welcomed Mr Gianluca Ferreri, the JTS representative, who attended the meeting, answered the partners' questions and made a presentation concerning the Space MED programme. During the afternoon, Department of Hérault, Emilia-Romagna Region and Lazio Region respectively presented the advancements of Component 3, 4 and 5. Finally, the publicity and dissemination aspects of the programme were dealt with by the lead partner and the latest news concerning the Coastance website were presented by Ms Selene Pedetta Peccia and then discussed.

On the same day, at the end of the Technical and Steering Meeting, another meeting took place concerning the Beachmed.3 project proposal and the relative possible First General Agreement on its launching. All Coastance partners were present, as well as other actors interested in participating, i.e. Mr Rani Amir (Israel) and Mr Cedric Ongena (EUDA). During this session, Mr Andrea Belloni (BIC Lazio), an expert in European projects, presented the ENPI programme and the possible future opportunities in this field.

On Friday the 22^nd January, Department of Hérault organised the 2nd Coastance Public Conference at the Hérault General Council, Salon Jean Bène. Mr André Vezinhet, Chairman of Hérault General Council opened the conference by pronouncing the welcome speech.

In the first session, Ms Mauricette Steinfelder, Director of the Languedoc-Roussillon Regional Department for. the Environment, Planning and Housing, intervened by making a speech. Then, Ms Monique Pétard set out the local context and stressed the importance of the work carried out and talked about future objectives and needs. After that, Mr Andrea Belloni made a presentation about the ENPI programme. In the same session, Mr Angelos Antoniadis (Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace – Coastance lead partner) made a general presentation concerning the Coastance project, and Mr Alexandre Richard explained what lies ahead for the Golfe du Lion. Finally, Mr Paolo Lupino (Lazio Region) talked about beach nourishment works in Latium and about prospects in the Mediterranean Area (Beachmed-3 project proposal).

The second session was dedicated to the scientific speakers. Mr Didier Sauzade, Special Assistant for the Sea in the Plan Bleu organisation, made a presentation called "Outlook for sustainable development of coastal tourism in the Mediterranean" and Mr Rani Amir, Director of the marine and coastal environment – Environment Ministry (Israel), talked about coastal interventions in his country.

The afternoon was dedicated to the 3 Coastance project components.

As regards the status of Component 3, Mr Alexandre Richard (Department of Hérault) together with Ms Fatima Navas (Junta de Andalusia – University of Seville), Mr Michel Pieyre (Agenda 21 mission) and Mr Hugues Heurtefeux (Coastlne operational coordinator – EID Méditerranée) made some presentations concerning the impact of climate change in terms of coastal risks.

With respect to Component 4, Mr Roberto Montanari (Emilia-Romagna Region) together with Mr Mihalis Aftias (Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace) presented the creation of coastal action plans for improved management of coastal protection.

Finally, Ms Silvia Bellacicco (Lazio Region) presented the status of Component 5 and talked about a Guide to conducting of environmental impact studies.

On Saturday the 23rd January, Coastance partners participated to the excursion organised by the Department of Hérault to visit the Hérault Coast, and in particular the Petit Travers Barrier Beaches, from Maguelone to Frontignan, and from Sète to Marseillan.

 Press Review - Projets européens côtiers, le Département partenaire de Coastance - 21 Jan 2010

 Press Reviw -  Littoral héraultais: le Département mise sur le "Beachnourishment" - 18 Jan 2010

REPORT ON THE 1st COASTAL AND MARITIME MEDITERRANEAN CONFERENCE (HAMMAMET), 2nd-4th DECEMBER 2009

The first Coastal and Maritime Mediterranean Conference took place from the 2nd to the 4th December in Hammamet (Tunisia). The main topics of the conference were the sustainable management of coastal sediment processes, erosion and marine submersion risks and the enhancement of best environmental practices for coastal projects. These are all themes which COASTANCE project partners have been working on a lot for many years, mainly thanks to the Beachmed and Beachmed-e projects.

This conference – attended by the Département de l’Hérault, the DRE Languedoc-Roussillon and the EID Méditerranée – allowed COASTANCE project partners to reach the following goals:

Ø     Exchange ideas between European and Southern-Mediterranean specialists on the littoral management methods and tools that we try to promote thanks to Coastance, in order to protect our littorals. 

Ø     Collect best practices concerning maritime engineering from other countries,

Ø     Promote exchanges of experiences with the sea pole PACA, the co-organiser of this conference and a network promoting our European projects.

Ø     Meet potential partners, mainly the Agence de Protection et d’Aménagement du Littoral tunisien (APAL), in order to promote future European projects on the integrated coastal zones management in the Mediterranean.

COASTANCE NEWSLETTER

The first number of the Coastance Newsletter issued in November 2009 is now available to download (English and French Version).

New! Download the Newsletter in Italian!

 A COOPERATION BETWEEN COASTANCE AND OURCOAST - The COASTANCE project partners have been contacted by the Coastal & Marine Union (EUCC) to start a collaboration between the two European projects Coastance and Ourcoast. OURCOAST is a three-year project commissioned by the Directorate General (DG) Environment of the European Commission to support and ensure the exchange of experiences and best practices in coastal planning and management. Through OURCOAST, the European Commission aims to ensure that lessons learned from the coastal management experiences and practices will be shared and made accessible to those who are seeking sustainable solutions to their coastal management practices. OURCOAST will focus in particular on adaptation to risks and the impacts of climate change, information and communication systems, planning and land management instruments, and institutional coordination mechanisms.
One of the main outputs of this project is the creation of a multi-lingual searchable database of ICZM practices in the form of case studies. You will find more information at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ iczm/ourcoast.htm

Every three months, OURCOAST issues a newsletter called OURCOAST NEWS produced by the OURCOAST consortium and directed to coastal authorities, managers, decision-makers and other coastal stakeholders. The first newsletter has already been published, while the second one will be disseminated mid December.

A COOPERATION BETWEEN COASTANCE AND OURCOAST The COASTANCE project partners have been contacted by the Coastal & Marine Union (EUCC) to start a collaboration between the two European projects Coastance and Ourcoast.  (read more...)

A DAY FOR CARTOGRAPHIC SYSTEMS TO MANAGE COASTAL ZONES

coastal and maritime data: a common heritage, a capital to be shared, a challange for innovation in Europe

The Inter-Mediterranean Commission's maritime policy working group organised, in partnership with the CPMR, a meeting on coastal and maritime data on the 10th December 2009 in Brussels.

The aim of this meeting was to show the different Directorates-General of the Commission concerned by coastal management and maritime issues that Europe's maritime Regions have introduced mapping tools for use in relation to their coastal management policies. DG MARE, DG Environment, DG Research and the European Environment Agency attended this meeting. 

The Commission's services have little knowledge of the tools and experiences of the Mediterranean Regions, so this was an opportunity to talk about actions and projects.

For further information visit: http://www.crpm.org/en/index.php?act=6,1,2,167.

  COASTANCE STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING AND CONFERENCE IN GAETA  

The 2nd Coastance steering committee meeting took place at Villa Irlanda Hotel in Gaeta (Italy) on the 22nd October. During session 1, the project coordinator, Mr Angelos Antoniadis (Eastern Macedonia and Thrace) presented the project state of play and described the activities carried out and the tasks in progress. Then, Département de l'Hérault, Regione Emilia-Romagna and Regione Lazio respectively reported about Component 3, 4 and 5. Instead, session 2 was dedicated to calendar analysis, special activities coordination, contract progress and update concerning certification procedures.

On the 23rd October, the 1st Coastance Conference was held at the Palazzo della Curia in Gaeta (Italy) and gathered many important international representatives and experts. The Mayor of Gaeta, Mr Antonio Raimondi opened session 1, and welcome speeches were pronounced by Mr Raniero De Filippis (Regione Lazio, Direttore Dip. Territorio), Mr Michele Achilli (Fondazione Casa delle Regioni del Mediterraneo) and Ms Faten Ben Amor (Députée Présidente de la Commission des rélations internationals au conseil regional de Monastir, TN).

Session 2 was dedicated to Mediterranean Integrated and Shared Strategies for Adaptation to Climate Change. During this session, Mr Rani Amir (Ministry of the Environment, Marine and Coastal Environment Division, IL) presented the Israeli policy concerning climate change adaptation; Mr Cédric Ongena (European Dredging Association) gave his regards on behalf of the Association and talked about some major interventions in Northern Europe to tackle climate change; Ms Najat Chaouq (DRAPOR, Société Marocaine de Dragage des Ports, MO) reported about the dredging enterprises' role on the sustainable development littoral and finally Ms Josefina Moreno Bolarin (IMC Executive Secretary) explained the role of the ICM in the Mediterranean policies.

Session 3 – Project Activities in progress – was introduced by the project coordinator, Mr Angelos Antoniadis. Mr Philippe Carbonnel (Département de l'Hérault) presented Component 3 and in particular, Coastal Risks, Submersion and Erosion; Mr Joseph Vietri, Us Army Corps of Engineering also intervened; Mr Roberto Montanari (Regione Emilia-Romagna) presented Component 4 and in particular, territorial action plans for coastal protection management; and finally, Mr Pablo Balaguer-Huguet (Govern de les Illes Balears – ICTS-Ocean) made an intervention about the Balearic Islands.

After the break, Ms Silvia Bellacicco (Regione Lazio) presented Component 5 and in particular the Guidelines for environmental impact studies focused on coastal protection works and plans; Ms Corinna Artom (Regione Liguria) and Mr Luigi Enrico Cipriani (Regione Toscana) explained the environmental legal framework in Italy and reported about some coastal interventions.

All the Powerpoint presentation are available to download in the "Download" section.

Agenda

After the recent decision by the IMC to establish the Operational Secretariat in Rome, at the Foundation "Casa delle Regioni del Mediterraneo", the Plenary Assembly decided to welcome Lazio Region as a new member of the IMC Political Bureau, reaffirming the central role of Lazio Region in the process of defining a coordinated policy for the Mediterranean Regions. In order to highlight this role, Lazio Region was invited to actively take part to the CPMR General Assembly in Goteborg (30th September – 2nd October 2009) by making a specific intervention on coastal zones climate change adaptation strategies.

Moreover, during the Working Group "Maritime Policies", the European project MAREMED was also presented. In this project, Lazio Region is just the partner responsible for the activities dedicated to coastal zones climate change adaptation strategies.

Finally, during the working days, many interesting issues came out concerning development strategies for the Mediterranean basin, which can stimulate the present Regions, such as the dialogue with the representatives of DG MARE and the Union for the Mediterranean.