Resource Management in the Karstic Areas of the Coastal Regions of the Mediterranean.

• Austria
• Cyprus
• Egypt
• Greece
• Italy
• Jordan
• Lebanon
• Malta
• Morocco
• Palestine
• Syria
• Tunisia
• Turkey

The overall research objective was to devise a system that permits to assess the state of the different environmental resources, their importance and their vulnerability in 3 pilot areas around the Mediterranean.

IRMCo’s research focused on the Island of Gozo.

To start with, a detailed inventory of data requirements was drawn up that included water, soil, biodiversity, forestry, and the island’s karst heritage.  Data collected from bibliographic studies, aerial and field surveys were stored using the Integrated Land and Water Information System (ILWIS).  Using its GIS capabilities, new insight was gained about interdependencies between the various resources.

The important issue of land degradation was selected to demonstrate how to derive an environmental damage balance sheet applying concepts of risk assessment and natural resource economics. The approach combines the conventional source-pathway-target model for environmental management with the total economic value concept measured through so-called direct or indirect economic valuation techniques. The risk map together with the land-value map provide the reference maps needed for the calculation of environmental damage balance sheets. In an economic context, the directness of impact, the environmental resource interconnections and the damage to their regenerative capacity are therefore considered.

The ‘Schema d’Amenagement et de Gestion des Eaux’ (SAGE) developed in France in 1992, offers a new planning and management approach to water and its use, based on the concept of decentralisation.  Its innovative character lies with the emphasis on a process of extensive dialogue among legislators, planners and end users. IRMCo’s research explored how the SAGE methodology could possibly be extended to cater for the planning and management of all environmental resources, that is additionally including soil, forestry, biodiversity as well as by giving due importance to the special fragility associated to the karst.

The outcomes of the project were reported in a series of reports that included specific aspects of the research, including:

1. Surface Water Quality in the Gozo Study Area, Vegetation Monitoring to establish Pollution Indices
2. Validation and Assessment of Impact Scenarios
3. Optimum Response Strategy

IRMCo presented the outcomes of the ResManMed project at the International Symposium and Field Seminar on Present State and Future Trends of Karst Studies in Marmaris, Turkey during 17-26 September 2000 in 3 presentations:

1. A GIS based assessment of resources for the karst island of Gozo
2. Risk mapping and economic valuation methodologies to calculate environmental damage balance sheets for the Mediterranean karst island of Gozo
3. Development of an environmental resource planning and management scheme for coastal karst regions – Gozo case study