Prema implementaciji novog integrisanog marinskog zakonodavstva Evropske Unije u Grčkoj: sprovođenje strategije ‘blue growth’ vezane za gajenje morskih riba u cilju održivog razvoja ostrva

Trenutna ekonomska situacija traži od Evropske Unije da brzo i efikasno nađe način da oporavi svoju privredu oslanjajući se na mudar, održiv i inkluzivni razvoj. Razvoj integrisanog pristupa primorskim pitanjima doprinosi jačanju Evropskog kapaciteta za povećanjem odrzivog korišćenja morske privrede. Ovaj pristup istovremeno garantuje bezbednost ljudi i zdravlje morskih ekosistema, s obzirom da je njihova zaštita važna za odrzivi razvoj i prosperitet. Nova strategija Grčkih ostrva – pod nazivom Integrisan Zakonodavstvo Ostrva - u potpunosti uključuje principe Integrisanog maritimnog zakonodavstva Evropske Unije, naročito njegovu ‘Blue Growth’ strategija koja se bavi razvojem kroz seriju marinskih aktivnosti i oslanja se na tri ideje: ‘Kvalitetna’ ostrva, ‘Zelena’ ostrva i ostrva gde svi imaju ‘Jednake mogućnosti’. Da bismo sproveli ovaj zakon moraju se razviti praktično primenljivi modeli, smernice i analitički okvir koji će pomoći donosiocima odluka i administrativnom osoblju da razlikuju postojeće aktivnosti, naročito na ostrvima. Oni ce takođe pomoći da se ograničeni finansijski resursi na pravi način usmere ka projektima ili regionima od kojih se očekuje najveća dobit. Metod opisan u ovom radu dozvoljava da izvršimo procenu nivoa održivosti u regionu ostrva i uticaj vodećih aktivnosti u ovoj oblasti, naročito kada je reč o gajenju morskih riba. Jedan deo ovog istraživanja koristi Delfi Metod da bi naveo faktore koji utiču na gajenje morskih riba, i pokazatelje za merenje tih faktora. Za potrebe razvijenog metoda (koji je baziran na zahtevu za zaštitu podataka programa za životnu sredinu UN-a) evaluacija aktivnosti zasnovana je na dva koraka: i) učinkovitost po jedinici proizvodnje, koja je vezana za dodatnu vrednost, radna mesta stvorena u toj oblasti, korisćenje vode, korisćenje energije, stvaranje otpada, i, ii) raspon ispitivanih ljudskih aktivnosti u poređenju sa nosivim kapacitetom odredjene oblasti. U ovom metodu održivi razvoj se tumači kao kontinuirani process koji istovremeno vodi do poboljšanja ekonomskih i društvenih uslova, kao i zaštite životne sredine koje su lokalna društva usvojila. Ocenjivanjem doprinosa svake ljudske aktivnosti, mozemo da predložimo odgovarajuće mere za određenu oblast i ispitamo mogućnost stvaranja novih farmi, ili širenje postojećih. Ovaj metod takođe može da se iskoristi da bi se utvrdile lokacije koje nisu odgovarajuće za projekte za razvoj akvakulture

From Insularity to Islandness: The use of place branding to achieve sustainable island tourism

This paper aims to outline the role that place branding plays in shaping a new framework for sustainable island tourism. Islandness, as a contemporary context, underlines that islands share a set of unique features and they need to be studied on their own terms; they combine elements of urban and rural regions at the same time. Place branding is evolving as a crucial element for differentiated marketing that conditionally can also form an alternative tool to achieve sustainability for island regions. Therefore, policy makers need to examine tourism policies for island regions through the lenses of Nissology. It is commonly accepted that globalisation has intensified the competition between countries, cities and regions to attract investment, high quality human capital, various potential audiences and visitors. Several factors play a significant role in shaping the context in which places develop nowadays: climate change, new technologies, tourism pressures are just a few to highlight from the public discussion and academic debates. A growing number of researchers argue that place branding could be the strategic planning procedure needed, able to achieve multifaceted sustainability of an island destination. One very important issue raised often by both academics and practitioners is the role of stakeholders and local governance in such strategic processes like sustainable tourism development of a destination. The literature review, in this paper, explores why islandness and place branding have become significant for islands’ sustainable tourism development. Therefore, building on existing cross-discipline theoretical foundations, the present paper aims to (a) highlight the link between islandness and contemporary place branding, (b) emphasise the need to establish the term ‘island branding’, and (c) suggest a potential framework deriving from this linkage as a proper solution for contributing to the next era of sustainable tourism development for island regions

Women's Cooperatives and their Contribution to the Local Development of the North Aegean Region, Greece

In the last twenty years Greece has witnessed the emergence and establishment of women’s cooperatives, a form of productive agricultural cooperatives. This paper explores their importance and their contribution to local development. Evidence is presented for an island region, the North Aegean. Personal interviews, using structured questionnaires, were conducted with the chairwomen of all the region’s cooperatives in order to obtain an insight into their structure and dynamics. According to the findings of this study, women’s cooperatives are characterized by substantial potential on the one hand and by serious drawbacks on the other. The economic performance of the cooperatives is satisfactory, while the use of local resources and ‘know how’ contribute to the development of the region. Interpersonal problems, the inability of the cooperatives’ members to fully understand their new role as businesswomen and the small participation of rural women are the cooperatives’ major problems. The future of the women’s cooperatives is still unclear despite their 20 years of existence.women’s cooperatives, North Aegean, local development, Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Accessibility of Peripheral Regions: Evidence from Aegean Islands (Greece)

Islands, especially smaller ones, are characterized by discontinuity of space and are considered as some of the least accessible areas. In this paper, we seek to shed light on the accessibility problems that islands face from the point of view of island residents. This shift in emphasis considers additional aspects to accessibility that include the availability of connections to access services required to cover the needs of island residents and the different destinations where these may be available, and the time that one may have to spend to get to these destinations in order to use these services. An alternative measure of accessibility is proposed, based on the time required to travel; this is then applied to three different Greek islands in the Aegean Sea. The accessibility of the residents of these islands to selected services is compared with that of settlements in continental Greece of similar population and distance to the capital Athens. The findings clearly demonstrate the adversities that island residents have to face, especially for smaller islands, where accessing selected services may require as many as four destinations, with virtual distances 4 to 6 times longer than ‘real distances’

The ESPON 2013 programme : the development of the islands – European islands and cohesion policy (EUROISLANDS)

The report was accepted by the ESPON Monitoring Committee as it demonstrates interesting outputs and observations on the situation and development of the European islands. The report raises awareness of the specificities and diversity of this specific type of territories and takes into consideration the current policy debate related to European Cohesion Policy. The revised version of the Final Report has been considered meeting the minimum demands in contractual terms. However, some case studies raised comments from individual stakeholders involved. Some improvements requested were not implemented to their entire satisfaction as part of the revision of the Final Report. It was felt that the case studies could have been better used and integrated in the analysis, making the report richer, more precise and evidence based, enhancing its narrative.peer-reviewe

Evaluating the Impact of Agritourism on Local Development in Small Islands

Tourism is an activity encompassing economy, society and nature. Besides mass tourism, many different forms of tourism activities and products have developed and are gaining ground in terms of demand. Debates on the definition of such typically small scale activities have brought forward a number of different types, including ‘agrotourism’, ‘agritourism’ and ‘rural tourism’. This paper contributes to the conceptual analysis of agritourism with a focus on its effects on local development. After a brief historical sketch of agritourism development, the effects on local development found in the literature are presented. Then, a typology of different forms of agritourism is discussed, including aspects of supply and demand, the scale of operation of the enterprises and networks of enterprises related to agritourism. Finally, we explore the case of small islands, a special type of space, and their local development with these types of ‘alternative’ tourism activities alongside ‘conventional’ tourism. The conceptual framework that results suggests the need for a case and area specific mapping of type, scale and network of enterprises in order to determine impacts and provide important information for managing and planning agritourism, especially on islands

A Policy Tool for Island Transport Cost Inequality: Exploration of the Application of the Transport Equivalent Threshold on Greek Islands

Many islands face accessibility problems that burden both the cost and the time of sea transport. In Greece, with more than 100 inhabited islands, the Transport Equivalent Threshold (TET) was recently introduced to support passengers (subsidizing ticket costs) and businesses (subsidizing transportation costs). The purpose of this study is to explore: (a) the spatial distribution of beneficiaries of TET; (b) the quantities, value and features of the freight transported to and from the islands; (c) to map the geography of the beneficiaries in relation to island size and location. Results reveal the unequal economies of Greek islands, and inter-island competition as well as the high disparities policy tools for businesses have to operate within. Moreover, the importance of radial transport links with the metropolitan area of Athens and the dependence of all islands on imports is highlighted. They also indicate the relative importance of geography in the magnitude and frequency of transport for goods and passengers among the Ionian and Aegean Seas, but also within the different clusters of the Aegean. The TET approach is one of the possible approaches that can and have been used to face transport and travel issues that people and businesses on islands face

Visitors’ perceptions on the management of an important nesting site for loggerhead sea turtle (<i>Caretta caretta</i> L.): the case of Rethymno coastal area in Greece

Tourism has important impacts, both positive and negative, on the management of coastal areas with high biodiversity value. It is therefore important to investigate visitors’ perceptions concerning environmental policy alternatives for these areas along with the factors influencing these perceptions. The present paper aims to investigate visitors’ perceptions of an important nesting ground for loggerhead sea turtles located in a highly touristic area of Greece (Rethymno, Crete) registered in the Natura 2000 network. The paper focuses on the level of environmental awareness of visitors and their perceptions of two proposed policy instruments which will secure funding for the improvement of the environmental management of the area: an entrance fee to the beach and a tax to be levied on local accommodation costs. The influence of social and institutional trust on these perceptions is also explored. According to the results of the study, awareness of the existence of the Natura 2000 site was low. Furthermore, the accommodation tax was regarded as a more effective policy when compared to the entrance fee. Average Willingness to Pay (WTP) was also explored for the two policies, estimated at €1.13 for the daily accommodation tax and €1.59 for the entrance fee. The influence of social and institutional trust had a significant influence both on the perceived level of effectiveness of the proposed policies and the stated Willingness to Pay. The study concludes that the accommodation tax would be a more appropriate policy for the management of Rethymno beach taking into consideration visitors’ perceptions and the current level of trust