The study in Chap. 2 found a general lack of awareness about the offshore
platform project in Liuqiu Island. The results highlight the concerns on environmental effects of the platform and the unknown effects on existing industries, such as
fishing and fishing processing. Moreover, there exist concerns from the respondents
about who will be responsible for the platform construction and operation and from
the residents about the possibility of the destruction of the platform by a storm wave.
The findings also suggest that current public relation activities of the project are not
proactive and point to the need to improve the involvement of local people and
existing industries before the project can be carried out. The findings further show
that cost and environment-related alternatives were factors that influenced to a high
degree the stated preferences. The presence of energy and leisure facilities affected
moderately the preference, and GDP effects and job creation were not deemed very
important factors when the preference was stated. Local residents preferred not to
install a platform and would rather focus on their traditional fishing ground, while
tourists prefer the status quo the most, they would support the installation of the
platform only if renewable energy and leisure facilities are provided.
Chapter 3 compares the participatory approaches employed at the TROPOS and
the MERMAID projects that studied the development of multiuse platforms. The
chapter describes the approaches and relates them to the objectives of participation
with the aim to assess if participation was valuable. In this chapter, there are useful
conclusions of participatory design, based on the findings of the two projects with
the aim to inform future design processes.
In the TROPOS study, the concepts of Leisure Island Concept off Gran Canaria
and the Green Blue Concept off Liuqiu Island Taiwan were used as examples. The
results from Gran Canaria showed that there are concerns besides a general high
acceptance of the Leisure Island among tourists as well as residents. Benefits for the
tourist sector which are predicted to result in an increase of income and generation of
jobs become confronted with various potential environmental impacts, in particular
the disruption of marine species and habitats. The results from Liuqiu Island Taiwan
also demonstrated a generally high acceptance of the Green and Blue platform
among residents and tourists, although most participants had been unaware of the
project. Despite the general acceptance of such a project, people also raised a number
of specific concerns. These concerns are predominantly related to environmental
impacts and unclear effects on local fishing and fish processing industries. Other
issues that challenged the acceptance of the project include uncertain environmental
impacts and adverse effects caused by the operation and construction of the platform.
Perceptions of negative impacts were balanced against potential benefits for tourism,
which is a crucial economic driver for Liuqiu Island.
The MERMAID project focused on four case study sites (North Sea, Mediterranean, Atlantic, Baltic) representative for European waters, each with local challenges. The results of the North Sea showed that the biggest challenge was to find
solutions that could be profitable for all stakeholders, including risks and extra
insurance costs. The results of the Mediterranean showed that a number of stakeholders initially opposed to the idea of including aquaculture farms in the multiuse
platforms, because they were afraid of competition with the already existing coastal
246
P. Koundouri and L. Papadaki
platform project in Liuqiu Island. The results highlight the concerns on environmental effects of the platform and the unknown effects on existing industries, such as
fishing and fishing processing. Moreover, there exist concerns from the respondents
about who will be responsible for the platform construction and operation and from
the residents about the possibility of the destruction of the platform by a storm wave.
The findings also suggest that current public relation activities of the project are not
proactive and point to the need to improve the involvement of local people and
existing industries before the project can be carried out. The findings further show
that cost and environment-related alternatives were factors that influenced to a high
degree the stated preferences. The presence of energy and leisure facilities affected
moderately the preference, and GDP effects and job creation were not deemed very
important factors when the preference was stated. Local residents preferred not to
install a platform and would rather focus on their traditional fishing ground, while
tourists prefer the status quo the most, they would support the installation of the
platform only if renewable energy and leisure facilities are provided.
Chapter 3 compares the participatory approaches employed at the TROPOS and
the MERMAID projects that studied the development of multiuse platforms. The
chapter describes the approaches and relates them to the objectives of participation
with the aim to assess if participation was valuable. In this chapter, there are useful
conclusions of participatory design, based on the findings of the two projects with
the aim to inform future design processes.
In the TROPOS study, the concepts of Leisure Island Concept off Gran Canaria
and the Green Blue Concept off Liuqiu Island Taiwan were used as examples. The
results from Gran Canaria showed that there are concerns besides a general high
acceptance of the Leisure Island among tourists as well as residents. Benefits for the
tourist sector which are predicted to result in an increase of income and generation of
jobs become confronted with various potential environmental impacts, in particular
the disruption of marine species and habitats. The results from Liuqiu Island Taiwan
also demonstrated a generally high acceptance of the Green and Blue platform
among residents and tourists, although most participants had been unaware of the
project. Despite the general acceptance of such a project, people also raised a number
of specific concerns. These concerns are predominantly related to environmental
impacts and unclear effects on local fishing and fish processing industries. Other
issues that challenged the acceptance of the project include uncertain environmental
impacts and adverse effects caused by the operation and construction of the platform.
Perceptions of negative impacts were balanced against potential benefits for tourism,
which is a crucial economic driver for Liuqiu Island.
The MERMAID project focused on four case study sites (North Sea, Mediterranean, Atlantic, Baltic) representative for European waters, each with local challenges. The results of the North Sea showed that the biggest challenge was to find
solutions that could be profitable for all stakeholders, including risks and extra
insurance costs. The results of the Mediterranean showed that a number of stakeholders initially opposed to the idea of including aquaculture farms in the multiuse
platforms, because they were afraid of competition with the already existing coastal
246
P. Koundouri and L. Papadaki