Coastal zones are of strategic importance to all Europeans. They are a major source of food and raw materials, a vital link for transport and trade, the location of some of our most valuable habitats, the favored destination for our leisure time and home to a large percentage of our citizens. However, coastal zones are facing serious problems of habitat destruction, water contamination, coastal erosion and resource depletion and so, coastal zones suffer from serious socio-economic and cultural problems, such as weakening of the social fabric, marginalization, unemployment and destruction of property by erosion.

Like most of the European coasts, the coastlines of the Apulia and Western Greece regions are facing significant erosion, both due to natural causes, such as stormy winds, high waves and strong currents, as well as due to human-induced causes, such as urban expansion, touristic development and coastal infrastructures. Despite the signing of the “Protocol for the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) in the Mediterranean” in 2008, the impacts of erosion are still significant and adversely affect humans and ecosystems. Given the coast’s critical value and its potential, these problems must be addressed and the actions undertaken should be at European level since the majority of them have a European dimension.

Thanks to Triton, funded by Interreg V-A Greece-Italy, a model of Integrated Coastal Management Zone has been developed among the Regions of Apulia and Western Greece, to establish decision support tools for the protection of coastal areas and the amplification of the impacts of coastal erosion.

The culmination of the project is the final event that will take place virtually on July 2, 2020. “This event” as the Governor of Western Greece Mr. Nektarios Farmakis emphasizes, “will be an opportunity to present TRITON’s results to the personnel of the Local Government, scientists, active citizens and of course, the political staff of the local communities. The issues of coastal erosion and adaptation to climate change will be particularly relevant in the coming years, and so, Municipalities and Regions must be properly prepared.”

At the conference, presentations will be made by the project partners: University of Patras, Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC), Region of Puglia and European Group of Territorial Cooperation Efxini Poli.

Those who wish to see the program of the event and attend the conference may express their interest through the following link:
https://routelab.gr/?tribe_events=triton-final-event