Development of a DSS for Thassos Island
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ideal tool for integrated coastal area management. ISDs are classified in three main
categories (Gouzee, 1996):
The driving force indicators (also mentioned as pressure indicators) refer to
human activity processes and patterns that impact on the state of sustainable
development. The use of these indicators can raise awareness and support for
coastal management action by improving communication and understanding
on coastal issues, resulting in eliminating the complexities involved
The state indicators illustrate the existing socioeconomic, environmental and
institutional condition of the site. State of the system information can
concentrate on key coastal characteristics
The response indicators reflect policy options and other responses to changes
in the state of sustainable development. It is recommended that these
indicators should be restricted to measures of policy, technical institutional or
management action, and avoid indicating changes or trends in driving forces
or state measurements which represent only feedback from response actions
The main feature of the approach described above is the use of ISDs for the
development and operation of a SDSS. The use of all three sets of indicators would
generate a spatial information system capable of supporting decision-making process
in three environmental management levels: pressure, state, and response. Since in most
cases there will be no solution optimising all the development criteria at the same time
the system would have the ability to handle multidimensional data in order the
environmental decision maker to find compromise or/and alternative solutions
(Paruccini et al., 1997).
Description of the Case Study
Thassos is one of the biggest Greek islands with an area that covers
it is
located seven miles south from the costs of East Macedonia region. Its maximum
width, east to west, is 22 km while its maximum height, north to south, is 26 km. The
total perimeter of the island is 100 km.
The capital of the island is the city of Thassos. Administratively Thassos
belongs to the prefecture of Kavala and consists of one municipality and nine
communities with a total of 38 settlements. The linking of the island with the
mainland is accomplished through regular services of car ferries.
The island is mountainous and can be divided into three geomorphologic
areas. The first includes the coasts and occupies little space, the second hilly area is
extended almost parallel to the first and is also relatively small. The third area consists
of massif rock and occupies most of the island.
The hydrogeologic conditions on the island depend on the composition and
the type of rock. The northeast sector of the island that is structured from marble
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