CoastGIS’99: geomatics and coastal environment
Dans ces conclusions, on retrouve un grand nombre des constatations figurant dans des rapports antérieurs comme le programme de démonstration de l’Union européenne sur la gestion intégrée dans les zones côtières
(ICZM) et le projet Greenwich.
Introduction
The importance of the marine and coastal zone as a valuable resource
should not be underestimated. This is particularly true for the United
Kingdom, which, as an island nation, relies heavily on its coasts and
seas for both social and economic well being. It is rhe focus for a considerable amount of activity by a diverse range of users who impact not
only on the environment but also on each other. It is, therefore, vitally
important that it be managed in an effective and integrated fashion.
The most important component in order to achieve this is appropriate
and timely information on which to base management decisions.
Without this, the UK's ability to ensure sustainable developmenr, to
protect the environment, and ultimately maintain its role as a trading
nation will be impaired.
The need for change was identified by a recent workshop entitled 'Integrated mapping of the UK marine and coastal zone - the way forward’.
This aimed to explore what actions are required to ensure rhar users of
marine and coastal geographic information have access to the information needed in order to fulfil their responsibilities effectively. The
workshop was hosted by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and
Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) at their Lowestoft laboratory in June 1999.
As an Executive Agency of the UK Government’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF), UFFAS provides advice on fisheries
management and environmental protection, and undertakes appropriate
research in these areas. It is, therefore, both a user and producer of
marine and coastal zone data, and well placed to play a role in directing
the future of coastal and marine mapping m the UK. Further information can be found at the CEFAS Website at http://www.cefas.co.uk. A
report of the findings of the workshop is available from CEFAS (Franklin
& Hurrell, 1999).
The workshop identified key issues that were felt to be inhibiting the
provision of coastal and marine geographic information to those who
need it. In particular, ease of access to suitable information emerged as
a widespread problem which is of fundamental importance, and various
recommendations were made as to how this could be tackled. The
issues raised and the conclusions from the workshop are addressed in
greater detail as part of this paper.
One of the objectives of the workshop was to review the current provision for marine and coastal zone geographic information within the UK
by giving a brief outline of existing projects. The following is not an
exhaustive summary of these projects; rather it aims to give an overview
of projects that have been established on a national scale and have had a
widespread impact on the coastal and marine information community.
56
Dans ces conclusions, on retrouve un grand nombre des constatations figurant dans des rapports antérieurs comme le programme de démonstration de l’Union européenne sur la gestion intégrée dans les zones côtières
(ICZM) et le projet Greenwich.
Introduction
The importance of the marine and coastal zone as a valuable resource
should not be underestimated. This is particularly true for the United
Kingdom, which, as an island nation, relies heavily on its coasts and
seas for both social and economic well being. It is rhe focus for a considerable amount of activity by a diverse range of users who impact not
only on the environment but also on each other. It is, therefore, vitally
important that it be managed in an effective and integrated fashion.
The most important component in order to achieve this is appropriate
and timely information on which to base management decisions.
Without this, the UK's ability to ensure sustainable developmenr, to
protect the environment, and ultimately maintain its role as a trading
nation will be impaired.
The need for change was identified by a recent workshop entitled 'Integrated mapping of the UK marine and coastal zone - the way forward’.
This aimed to explore what actions are required to ensure rhar users of
marine and coastal geographic information have access to the information needed in order to fulfil their responsibilities effectively. The
workshop was hosted by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and
Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) at their Lowestoft laboratory in June 1999.
As an Executive Agency of the UK Government’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF), UFFAS provides advice on fisheries
management and environmental protection, and undertakes appropriate
research in these areas. It is, therefore, both a user and producer of
marine and coastal zone data, and well placed to play a role in directing
the future of coastal and marine mapping m the UK. Further information can be found at the CEFAS Website at http://www.cefas.co.uk. A
report of the findings of the workshop is available from CEFAS (Franklin
& Hurrell, 1999).
The workshop identified key issues that were felt to be inhibiting the
provision of coastal and marine geographic information to those who
need it. In particular, ease of access to suitable information emerged as
a widespread problem which is of fundamental importance, and various
recommendations were made as to how this could be tackled. The
issues raised and the conclusions from the workshop are addressed in
greater detail as part of this paper.
One of the objectives of the workshop was to review the current provision for marine and coastal zone geographic information within the UK
by giving a brief outline of existing projects. The following is not an
exhaustive summary of these projects; rather it aims to give an overview
of projects that have been established on a national scale and have had a
widespread impact on the coastal and marine information community.
56