Table of Contents

1. EDITORIAL - SPICOSA Goes Global?
by Alice Newton, Chair person of Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone LOICZ, the coordinator of the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master in water and coastal management, and SPICOSA Academic Training (Work package 12) coordinator

The objectives of the SPICOSA project, to create a self-evolving, operational research approach framework for the assessment of policy options for the sustainable management of coastal zone systems, are highly relevant to LOICZ. LOICZ is the acronym for the Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone core project of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) and the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP). LOICZ aims to provide science that contributes towards understanding the Earth system in order to inform, educate and contribute to the sustainability of the world’s coastal zone.

SPICOSA is a European research initiative under the  6th Framework Programme and therefore naturally concentrates on European coastal systems and relevant policy, such as the Water Framework Directive and the ICZM recommendation for integrated coastal zone management. SPICOSA has made excellent progress based on 18 different Study Sites across Europe, each with their own identified ‘key issue’. SPICOSA is developing and testing "concepts and a tool box" for better integration of science and policy, as a key component to improve environmental sustainability in the coastal zone.

SPICOSA involves environmental, social, economic and land use sciences in 21 culturally different countries across Europe. and enables interdisciplinary and multinational research. European researchers collaborating in SPICOSA demonstrate that the SPICOSA tools are useful in  a great variety of coastal environments, from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic fjords of Norway.

Europe shares it's regional seas and coastlines with third countries, the S. coast of the Mediterranean, in the Western Balkans, around  the Black Sea and around  the Baltic. Issues such as sea level rise (SLR), invasive species, erosion and eutrophication are widespread. Temperate coastlines around the world are impacted by similar pressures as the coastlines of Europe, and the problems that local coastal managers face are sometimes global in scale.

So, is it now  time for SPICOSA to go global? As the chairperson of LOICZ, I would argue that not only is this timely, but indeed SPICOSA has a responsibility to demonstrate at a global scale the tools that have been developed in the project. I would also argue that it is our responsibility to share this knowledge and experience globally, also with non-Europeans.

In June 2009, LOICZ organized a workshop in Norway and invited several SPICOSA participants. The Heritage lectures are available online. It was exciting to see how SPICOSA ideas could be spread in discussion groups with N. American, S. American, African and Asian colleagues. One of the outcomes will be a special issue in Estuarine and Coastal Shelf Science including several papers with SPICOSA co-authors.

Capacity building and transforming SPICOSA tools into research and training products is an important task of Node 5 in SPICOSA. The educational and training products will be the legacy of SPICOSA and ensure that the knowledge generated in SPICOSA is passed on to young researchers and coastal managers. SPICOSA has already  been very active in "spreading the word" globally. Since 2004, even before the start day of the project, SPICOSA has used the Erasmus Mundus Master in Water and Coastal management as a vehicle for capacity building. SPICOSA has not only trained many European post-graduates but also many post-graduates from third  countries to make use of the SPICOSA concepts and tools. A recent KerCoast workshop in Algarve in September 2009 was attended not only by SPICOSA participants but by postgraduate students from Africa and the Caribbean. Several of these students are now preparing Master theses that test the applications of SPICOSA tools and the SAF, System Approach Framework in non-European catchments.

2. SPICOSA progress

SPICOSA improves online communication with website revamp

The www.spicosa.eu website has undergone a major revamp to ensure that project information and expected results receive a much improved online experience, with even better coverage of the major developments and news from across the various components.

The approach of SPICOSA and its results aims to contribute substantially to European research and society. The ‘systems thinking’ inherent in the System Approach Framework (SAF), and its practical application, will have a positive influence towards understanding the sustainability transition. The accumulative experience of all the SSAs and of the Work Packages will contribute to the larger, information base that will outlive the project. This new website will accommodate this and will constantly be updated, developed and completed.

Visitors to the refreshed website will experience a clearer, more intuitive site that offers easy access to basic information, key results, better insight in the work progress at the eighteen study sites and up-to-date SPICOSA news and events. New users will be able to access in-depth reports and documents, as well.

The new SPICOSA site has also incorporated some of the features that visitors loved, with live testimonies of partners, the e-newsletters and study sites individual pages – all easier to access as part of the redesign.

We hope this tool will be useful so please visit it now – www.spicosa.eu !

By Maria Ferreira, Communication and Dissemination (Work package 11 ) Coordinator, email: m.ferreira@eucc.net

SSA teams move closer to completion of SAF Steps

The SSA teams have recently come together in two Cluster workshops - in Copenhagen (13-14th October) and in Thessalonica (20-21st October) - following the last series of Cluster events earlier this year, in February. At these two workshops, the SSA teams focussed especially on economic and social aspects of the System Approach Framework (SAF) and the implementation of the Formulation and Appraisal Steps of the SAF. These have been excellent opportunities where the teams exchanged their experiences and methodological progress.

Cluster workshop team in Copenhagen

Some general conclusions from both events have been drawn: good progress has been made into the development of the Appraisal step. This has led, in some study sites to revisit and refine the previous step - Formulation. Most of the SSAs have developed a complete model combining the ecological and the economic models, and including elements of the social dimension. 'Governance' is in most cases inbuilt, through attention e.g. to the Water Framework Directive technical requirements, or e.g. to local authority planning and regulations. Furthermore, and as follow-up to these workshops, attention must be given to the role of the stakeholders groups involved and their relationships within the study sites, as well as their interactions with the time-scale of policy-making on the spatial scale of the study sites. The presentations made by each of the sites will be made available through the website section - Study Sites.

Cluster workshop team in Thessalonica

For more information about the Cluster workshops please contact the Node 3 (SSA teams) Coordinators: Bert van Eck, email: bert.vaneck@deltares.nl ; and/or Josianne Støttrup email: jgs@aqua.dtu.dk ; and/or Dolors Blasco email: blasco@icm.csic.es

SPICOSA present at EU event: Oceans of Tomorrow

Oceans of Tomorrow: the Tara Oceans Expedition and Star Projects in EU Marine Research, Barcelona 1-3 October
Researchers from across Europe and around the world were present as the European Commission and the 'Tara Oceans' project crossed paths in Barcelona early October 2009. The 'Oceans of Tomorrow' event was hosted by the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC) in Barcelona and showcased a wide range of EU-funded research projects (20 in total), including SPICOSA, which are already tackling key issues in the coastal, marine and maritime sectors. It was also a chance for key players to meet the exciting Tara Oceans expedition. The event gather about 90 participants and attracted journalists from all around Europe.

At this occasion, the SPICOSA project has been presented by Dolors Blasco (SPICOSA Node 3 Coordinator and SSA 12 Barcelona Coast team leader) and discussed with a lively audience.

A few words about the new Tara Oceans expedition – this mission gathers an international team of oceanographers, ecologists, biologists and physicists from various laboratories and is seafaring out on a three-year, round-the-world voyage, with the goal of analysing plankton ecosystems in relation to physicochemical conditions throughout the world’s oceans, assessing their adaptation to a rapidly changing earth system.

More information about the event available at: http://ec.europa.eu/research/transport/news/article_9686_en.html

SPICOSA LIVE

A new and quick way of learning about SPICOSA! Video (and audio) files, for a closer look at the project team, latest developments, and partner experiences, are available at the project website!

In this way, the SPICOSA team hopes to create a more personal interaction with the coastal stakeholder communities, as well as, among the project team. Recent online videos and interviews with Jean-Luc de Kok and Rémi Mongruel & José Antonio Pérez – all partners of the SPICOSA project talk about their ongoing working experiences. Furthermore, a video tutorial about the SPICOSA Decision Support Tool KerDST is also available here and on You Tube!

To view, listen and download at www.spicosa.eu/spicosa-live/

3. Announcements & Events

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Venice Platform seeks feedback

At a meeting in Brussels, 14 October 2009, representatives of Venice Platform members discussed the progress of the initiative. The Platform’s objectives are twofold:

The first objective is supported by a range of networking mechanisms and services including: Contact Database; Coastal Wiki; CoastWeb e-library; Event list; EUCC Newsletter; EUCC Marine Team; and the biennial Littoral Conference. In the absence of funding, a plan is needed to keep all this operational. All Platform members are invited to consider their role and their possible contributions: how can we share the responsibilities for the various elements of the work?
Albert Salman, Pierpaolo Campostrini, Job Dronkers and the Platform’s national representatives are expecting your feedback.

In a similar way member’s feedback is needed re: the second objective; excellent possibilities exist to get involved in the Maritime Policy, in the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and in defining research priorities in support of these policy agendas. The Venice Platform has explored the feasibility of an all-embracing Maritime Forum that brings stakeholder networks together with science networks. At a workshop on 19 May 2009 in Rome it was agreed to set up a “coordinating group”, based on five pillars: science, industry, environmental NGOs, regions and leisure users of the sea.

Also on 14 October, a Venice Platform delegation met with representatives of DG MARE on the follow-up to this workshop. The Venice Platform expressed its concerns but confirmed its commitment to establish a Maritime Forum. In December 2009 a meeting of network representatives will explore the feasibility of such a forum; there, the Venice Platform will be represented by Pierpaolo Campostrini.

By Albert Salman, Coastal & Marine Union (EUCC), email: a.salman@eucc.net

SPICOSA in EC Publication:

A new brochure A sea change for ocean management: A European strategy for marine and maritime research based on the European Commission’s Communication on Marine and Maritime Research, published in September 2008, explains the context behind its creation and some of the proposed actions and initiatives, including SPICOSA, that are developing and will be carried out in the coming years.

http://ec.europa.eu/research/transport/pdf/marine_maritime_en.pdf

List of upcoming events

4th European Conference on Coastal Lagoon Research, Research and Management for the Conservation of Coastal Lagoon Ecosystems, South - North comparisons – ECoCLR
Date: December 14th -18th, 2009, Montpellier, France
The Venice Lagoon, SSA team will participate with an oral presentation!
Website: www.ecolag.univ-montp2.fr

ICCCM’10 International Conference on Coastal Conservation and Management in the Atlantic and Mediterranean
Date: 11th – 17th April, Estoril, Cascais, Portugal
SPICOSA team members will potentially present and share their findings at this conference! Important dates: Pre-registration is open!
30th November 2009- Acceptance notification
15th January 2010 - End of reduced fee for registration
26th February 2010 - Submission of papers for publication in the Journal of Coastal Conservation, Planning and Management.
Please find more information at http://icccm.dcea.fct.unl.pt

European Maritime Day Stakeholder Conference
Date:19th – 21st May, Gijón, Spain
The SPICOSA team is planning to organize a workshop session on this occasion dedicated to ‘Sharing knowledge to implement the Water Framework Directive and the Marine Strategy Directive in coastal waters’ .
More information on this workshop will be provided in due time.
Participation in the conference is free of charge! More information available at: http://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/maritimeday/index_en.html

LITTORAL 2010 "Adapting to global change at the coast: Leadership, Innovation, and Investment"
Date: 21st – 23rd September, 2010, London, UK
SPICOSA partners will attend and disseminate experiences and scientific results on this occasion – it is a key opportunity to meet the teams!
Important dates:
Call for papers is open!
21st December 2009 – Abstract submission deadline
28th February 2010 - Acceptance notification
28th June 2010 - Submission of camera-ready papers and posters
More information at: www.coastnet.org.uk/Littoral2010

Pre-announcement: 2nd International Symposium on Integrated Coastal Zone Management
Date: 3rd – 7th July, 2011, Arendal, Norway
Hosted by The Institute Of Marine Research, Norway, SPICOSA partner!
Set this date on your diary – it will be another important event where the SPICOSA community will gather and share knowledge gained throughout the project!
More information available at: www.imr.no/iczm/

4. SPICOSA Study Sites

The Project is testing and improving its methodology, the System Approach Framework (SAF) at various sites in a limited, real-time configuration. We have chosen eighteen Study Site Applications (SSAs) all over Europe for this purpose. In each issue of this SPICOSA Newsletter, some of these sites are introduced.In this issue a closer look at Søndeledfjorden, Norway and Chalastra – Thermaikos Gulf, Greece!

Søndeledfjorden, Norway

The Søndeled fjord-system (Østerfjorden, Nordfjorden, Sørfjorden and Kranfjorden) is situated at the southern coast of Norway. There are fisheries of cod in the fjord and shallow areas with eel-grass are important nursery grounds. Some mussel plants are located in the fjord-system. The fjord is considered moderately eutrophicated due to input of nitrogen from local sources as well as long-distance transport with currents from the European continent.

The model for this study site has been recently completed. In the model the status of the local cod (Gadus morhua) population in the study area is the indicator of the status of the ecosystem. The modelled cod population is affected by top predators (birds and seals), change in available habitat (construction of 2nd homes), fishing (eel-fishers, commercial fishers, recreational fishers and tourist fishers), aquaculture and stock enhancement. These parameters that affect the cod population can be regulated by the user, and the economic output corresponding to the parameter settings is calculated.

The local cod population in the study area is modelled over a 1-50 year period. The annual population size (biomass and numbers) by age is affected by annual recruitment at 0-group stage (September every year) and mortality rates between year-classes. The model can be run with between one and 100 simulations over the 1-50 years and the results from each run are saved in a MS Excel sheet. For multiple simulation runs, an Excel macro will calculate average numbers by age with associated confidence intervals.

Local Cod regulation model

The demographic model projects the abundance of the coastal cod population in numbers by age (0 - 10 years age groups) forward in time under given environmental conditions specified by the user. The body length of the individual cod in each year-class for each year in the 1-50 years runs is drawn randomly from a normal distribution for each year-class estimated from empirical survey data, except for the 0-group where average length is used. The corresponding weights for each individual cod are calculated from an empirical length-weight relationship. The total weight of the population each year is simply obtained by summing the weight of all cod across age classes.

Several regulations and policy choices can influence the dynamics of the cod population: minimum size at catch, Marine protected areas, amount of bottom habitat marinas affected by construction, the number of predators (birds and mammals), and fishing effort of different stakeholders in the area. (The ecosystem model reflects the 2008 situation without any regulations).

The main aim of the economic model component is to estimate (net) local economic benefits from tourism in the Søndeledfjord area (set equal to Risør municipality in our case), as well as other major economic effects of policies influencing the cod stock and/or tourist demand. The economic benefits/costs related to tourism that we consider come from 1) expenditures from tourists visiting the area (except 2nd home building and maintenance), and multiplier effects of those expenditures, 2) the building and maintenance of 2nd homes + multiplier effects, 3) Changed value-added in the commercial fishery due to changes in the coastal cod stock, 4) Aquaculture production, including effect on wild cod stock (not ready yet), and 5) net local costs of coastal cod stock enhancement.

By Erlend Moksness (IMR, Norway) SSA 6 team, contact: moksness@imr.no

Chalastra – Thermaikos Gulf, Greece

The coastal area of Chalastra is located NW of the inner Thermaikos Gulf in Greece. At the NE side of the Gulf lays the city of Thessalonica and at the NW the estuaries of Axios-Loudias-Aliakmonas rivers. The land boundary of the system is occupied by agricultural land whereas the outfall of the Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) of the city of Thessalonica is discharging in a distance of 4.8 km from the area, 2.2 km from the coast. The inputs from the estuaries, the outputs of the WWTP and the agricultural run-offs affect the reference area depending on the circulation and the time of the year. In this area approximately 200 mussel farms are located, with a surface of 1,35 km2, operating at a minimum depth of 4 m and a maximum of 20 m.Mussel farming is an activity that has taken place in the area for more than 25 years, employing 25% of the local population. The average annual mussel production of the Chalastra area exceeds 12,000tn/yr, representing almost half the national production, most of it being exported to foreign markets. It should also be noted that the reference area is part of a broader protected area, under the Ramsar convention, where mussel farming, as a minimum intervening activity, is compatible with the current protection status.

Chalastra: the mussel farming area

Lately, for several reasons, there has been an important modification of the natural environment of Thermaikos Gulf. Combined with the mussel cultivation techniques and placing, there has been a decline in mussel production during the last ten years in terms of the total length of mussels and most importantly and rapidly, in terms of the total weight of production. This has had significant socio-economic impacts on the local population. Moreover, the mussel farmers face many administrative and governmental issues that significantly alter their socio-economical status. “Sustainable management of mussel culture at the area of Chalastra” in the selected Policy Issue because of this great importance of mussel farming activity. In this area, the mussel-farmers are a small but important group of stakeholders, facing many environmental and socio-economic pressures.

The SSA team is focusing on developing a management tool – following the SAF - that will take into consideration the environmental characteristics of the area and the technical and economic characteristics of every mussel farm. This is being done in order to identify impacts to the environmental and economic components both holistically and individually and then be able to assess the social variations.

By Zoi Konstatninou, Thermaikos Gulf (Greece) SSA Team, contact: zkon@civil.auth.gr

5. SPICOSA Education and Training Network

SETNET Latest News

SETNET is a platform for disseminating information, knowledge and experiences about systems approaches, specifically for ICZM students and coastal professionals in Europe.

Many activities have been developed as part of the SPICOSA education and training network – SETNET. The latest are now available online, including an overview of the recent SPICOSA training workshop in Faro, Portugal; insight on how to improve ICZM through the application of systems science thinking and approach; guidelines to assist in identifying an appropriate Champion to take forward the Systems Approach Framework (SAF) in ICZM; and information about the latest education and training opportunities.

Training workshop announcement: Improving ICZM Using a Systems Approach - a training workshop will be held on Tuesday 24th and Wednesday 25th November 2009 in Stockholm, Sweden.

For more information and the full SETNET newsletter please visit, www.spicosa.eu/setnet/ or email: reisj@cardiff.ac.uk (Jeanette Reis WP13 Professional Training leader).

COLOPHON

SPICOSA NEWS is a newsletter produced by the SPICOSA consortium. It targets professionals dealing in one way or another with coastal science, planning, and management and is to be published every four months. The next issue is due in Spring 2010.

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