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Definition of Homogeneous Environmental Management Units for the Catalan Coast

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Abstract

Geographical areas constitute the basic implementation locus for integrated coastal zone management strategies and activities. Because the definition of territorial planning objectives may be affected by socioeconomic and environmental characteristics, one of the main steps in the process involves dividing the coast into homogeneous environmental management units (HEMUs). This article presents a general and simple method for regionalizing the landside of a coastal zone into HEMUs and illustrates it through application to the Catalan coast. Socioeconomic and natural (biophysical) subsystems were selected as the most appropriate dimensions of the regionalization process. Dimensions were described using 11 spatial themes, which were managed in a geographic information system environment that proved to be an adequate tool for the purpose. A final coastal zone map of four classes of HEMUs connected to local administrative units was obtained, and because it reflects the current natural and socioeconomic dynamics, it can be considered as an initial step in the planning process for the Catalan coast. Although the proposed method was developed based on the characteristics of the Catalan coast, it is general enough to be adapted and applied to most developed or developing coastal areas.

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Acknowledgments

This work has been carried out within the framework of the Mevaplaya project (REN2003-09029-C03-01/MAR), which is funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science. The first author was supported by a doctoral grant from the National Science and Technology Council of México (CONACyT) and the second author by the University Research Promotion Award for Young Researchers of the Government of Catalonia. The authors wish to thank the organizations and institutions that supplied the data used in this work. Special thanks are due to Albert Ferré (Universitat de Barcelona), Ramón Jordana (Departament de Agricultura, Ramaderia i Pesca, Generalitat de Catalunya), Marta Manzanera (Agència Catalana de l’Aigua), and Xavier Martí (Departament de Medi Ambient i Habitatge, Generalitat de Catalunya). We are also grateful to Modest Fluvià (Universitat de Girona) for his help in defining the economic dimension. We thank Y. Henocque and two other anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions on the original manuscript.

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  1. Laboratori d’Enginyeria Marítima, ETSECCPB, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, C/ Jordi Girona, 1-3, Mòdul D-1, 08034, Barcelona, Spain

    Jorge Brenner & José A. Jimenez

  2. Centre d’Estudis Avançats de Blanes, CSIC, Carrer d’Accés a la Cala Sant Francesc, 14, 17300, Blanes, Spain

    Rafael Sardá

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  1. Jorge Brenner
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Correspondence to Jorge Brenner.

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Brenner, J., Jimenez, J.A. & Sardá, R. Definition of Homogeneous Environmental Management Units for the Catalan Coast. Environmental Management 38, 993–1005 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-005-0210-6

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