The Tordera Delta, a hotspot to storm impacts in the coast northwards ofBarcelona (NW Mediterranean)

The Catalan coast, as most of the developed Mediterranean coastal zone, can be characterized as a high-risk area to the impact of storms due to the large concentrationof values together with the dominance of eroding shorelines. In consequence, any long-term coastal management scheme must include a risk analysis to permitdecision makers to better allocate resources. This can be done in a nested approach in which hotspots are first identified along the coast at a regional scale andsecondly, they are further analysed to produce dedicated risk reduction strategies. In this work, we apply the methodology developed within the RISC-KIT project foridentifying and analysing coastal hotspots in the Catalan coast as a test for applying it to Mediterranean conditions. Obtained results show that this methodology isvery efficient in identifying hotspots of storm-induced flooding and erosion at a regional scale. The adoption of the response approach resulted in the direct assessmentof the hazards' probability distributions, which allowed for the selection of the severity of the hotspots to be identified. When a given coastal stretch behaves as ahotspot for both hazards, it is identified as a very highly-sensitive area to storm impacts. In the study area, the Tordera Delta possesses this condition of very high“hotspotness.” This has been demonstrated by the large and frequent damages suffered by the site during the past decades. The paper analyses different aspects related to the risk management of this area, including stakeholder actions

Water Quality

Turkey's present population exceeds 80 million. It has increased six-fold in the last 90 years. Her per capita Gross National Income (GNI) increased more than 25 times in the last 50 years. The associated expansion in production and consumption causes serious pressures on resources and the environment. Based on the latest available, and to some extent reliable data, the present situation of water quality of inland and coastal waters (river, lake, groundwater and marine pollution) in Turkey is discussed in this chapter. The wastewater management schemes and efforts to improve the situation using available treatment and disposal technologies are summarized

Coastal and marine tourism: A challenging factor in Marine Spatial Planning

Coastal and marine space is "home" to a constantly growing number of human activities and facilities, the most important of which are those related to coastal and marine tourism. Being one of the largest segments of the maritime economic sectors, as well as the largest component of the tourism industry, coastal and marine tourism often raise controversy regarding the environmental impacts and the compatibilities with other human activities.Marine Spatial Planning (MSP), is considered to be a promising procedure in tackling developmental and management issues related to the oceans and seas, and thus issues related to coastal and marine tourism. Indeed the present paper argues over the significant role of MSP in organizing and planning coastal and marine tourism activities and especially in ensuring: a) good environmental conditions for the tourism industry to prosper, b) quality of seascapes and coastal landscapes and other resources of importance to tourism, c) adaptation to climate change effects, d) spatial regulations so that coastal and marine space is not overwhelmed by tourism facilities and activities and e) wise allocation of human uses in the coastal zone so as to avoid conflicts and create synergies among sectors. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd