A DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM IN ICZM FOR PROTECTING THE ECOSYSTEMS: INTEGRATION WITH THE HABITAT DIRECTIVE
Leonardo Marotta, Entropia Snc, via Corridoni 3, I-62019, Recanati, leonardo.marotta@entropia-env.it
Luigi Ceccaroni, Departament de Llenguatges i Sistemes Inform?tics (LSI), Universitat Polit?cnica de Catalunya (UPC), Edif. Omega, C. Jordi Girona, 1-3, 08034 Barcelona, Spain; luigi@lsi.upc.edu
Gabriele Matteucci, Istituto di Ricerca Gruppo CSA SpA, gmatteucci@csaricerche.com
Paolo Rossini, Istituto di Ricerca Gruppo CSA SpA, prossini@csaricerche.com
Stefano Guerzoni, CNR-ISMAR, Castello 1364/A, Venezia (Italy), s.guerzoni@ismar.cnr.it

The integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) and Habitat directives have the common task, among others, to develop a strategy for the conservation of biodiversity and the protection of the ecosystems in coastal regions. Multiple criteria are needed for management purposes, given that this task entails the following aspects: investigation, assessment and comparison of a range of options for managing human use of coastal resources; collection of these options into feasible portfolios for regional scenarios; assessment and comparison of these scenarios in order to determine the most appropriate regional balance between conservation and other factors; establishment of a follow-up system (including monitoring) for ICZM; creation of an off-set system for biodiversity. The use of a coastal decision support system to assess the various scenarios, build appropriate ecosystem management plans, and carry out simulation analyses will help stakeholders to visualize the long-term outcomes of their decisions and help to build a consensus. Examples derived from coastal systems in the Adriatic Sea (Italy) are presented.

PLANCOAST PROJECT IN ROMANIA: EXTENDING COASTAL SPATIAL PLANNING TO THE MARINE ZONE

The aim of the paper is to present the Romanian PlanCoast experience and results so far and the present situation of spatial planning and ICZM in the Romanian Black Sea coastal and marine zone.

« Marine Spatial Planning » (MSP) : aid instrument for the concrete implementation of EU ICZM Recommendations and the EU Marine and Maritime policies.

Michael Assouline, Universite IUAV di Venezia, Facolte e Dipartimento di Pianificazione del Territorio, michael_assouline@yahoo.fr 

On 17 June 2008, Directive 2008/56/EC establishing a framework for community action in the field of marine environmental policy (the Marine Strategy Framework Directive) of the European Parliament and Council came into force. This Directive, legally binding Member States, established a framework for the development of national strategies for the protection of the marine environment. It was designed to improve the environmental status of marine environments (by 2020), to ensure their continued protection and preservation and to protect those environments against deterioration. Each Member State, in close cooperation with other interested Member States and third party countries present within a particular Marine Region, was asked to develop strategies for protecting their marine waters. The Marine Strategy Directive proposes a regulatory framework aimed at safeguarding the marine environment and reinforcing EU policies and regulations in force applicable also to land in coastal areas and thus serves as an important tool for the implementation of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) policies.