Session 54 - Environmental planning, management and policies

The marine area of the Inner Ionian Sea and the Corinthian Gulf was studied in terms of MSP in the framework of the SUPREME EU project, which was undertaken by the Ministry for the Environment and Energy, with the collaboration of NTUA, UTh and NKUA.
Key task of the project was all countries participating in the project (Italy, Greece, Croatia, Slovenia) to perform analysis and maritime spatial planning at the national level.
The lessons learnt from this project, and especially from the study of the Inner Ionian Sea-Corinthian Gulf, showed that, in order to perform efficient MSP, Greece should advance: the engagement of the maritime regime and stakeholders in governance schemes, the wise managment of the geo-spatial data, the consideration of the transboundary nature of the sea and of the land-sea interactions.

Session: 54, Room: F, at Sat, 09/07/2019 - 15:45 to 16:00
Oral presentation in Environmental planning, management and policies

African drylands are a key source forage for pastoral livestock herds. However, land degradation and recurrent droughts have resulted to shrinkage of natural grazing pastures. This poses the greatest challenge to livestock production in African drylands. Combining innovative sustainable land management practices notably rainwater harvesting from roads and grass seeding using native grasses have been identified as a viable option for increased pasture production and rehabilitation of degraded pasturelands. Morpho-ecological characteristics of indigenous grasses Cenchrus ciliaris L. (African foxtail grass), Eragrostis superba Peyr. (Maasai love grass) and Enteropogon macrostachyus (Hochst. Ex A. Rich.) Monro ex Benth. (Wild rye grass) were planted to determine the suitability of rainwater harvesting from roads using trenches for pasture establishment and rehabilitation in a semi-arid landscape in Africa. Plant densities (plants m-2), plant frequency (%) and biomass yields (DM g m-2) significantly declined (P ˂0.05) with distance away from the water trenches (0 m, 5 m and 10 m). In conclusion, harvesting and diverting runoff from roads into trenches prolong soil moisture availability to enhance indigenous pasture production and rehabilitation of degraded grazing lands in African dryland environments.

Session: 54, Room: F, at Sat, 09/07/2019 - 16:12 to 16:15
Flash presentation in Environmental planning, management and policies

The combination of two or more forms of Renewable Energy Sources at the same spatial scale is a highly promising sector, resulting in an increase in the number of installations of hybrid RES systems. In Greece, where abundant resources such as wind and sun are available, the combination of these two renewable forms of energy can contribute to reducing dependence on conventional energy resources, as in hybrid power systems the weakness of a source is offset by the forces of the other. The purpose of this paper is the development of a methodology for selecting suitable sites for the installation of Hybrid Wind and Solar Energy Systems (HWSES) using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The implementation focuses on the island of Andros, Greece, and the proposed methodology includes the exclusion of areas defined by the Greek legislation and the international experience for both forms of energy. The site selection corresponds to a multi-dimensional process, which includes multiple criteria such as wind speed, solar radiation, distance from settlements, technical infrastructure, environmental and cultural interest and slope. Finally, the areas occupied by wind and solar farms in different licensing stages are excluded from the areas that are available for HWSES siting.

Session: 54, Room: F, at Sat, 09/07/2019 - 15:15 to 15:30
Oral presentation in Environmental planning, management and policies

Malaria is one of the major causes of mortality in the world today. Sub-Saharan African countries suffer most acutely from outbreaks of the disease and some 90% of cases of death (hundreds of thousands of people each year) occur in this region. High intensity rainfall is a central parameter leading to severe outbreaks of the disease, which typically lag the rain event by several weeks. However, current rainfall monitoring tools deployed in Africa do not provide sufficient response due to very limited spread in the continent.
During the last dozen years, the ability to monitor rain using microwave communication networks has been demonstrated. However, the tens of research papers published thus far have shown the contribution of the method mainly for hydro-meteorological needs.
This note points to the potential of microwave communication networks for providing rainfall information critically required to predict malaria outbreaks and to support planning of preventive measures.

Session: 54, Room: F, at Sat, 09/07/2019 - 15:30 to 15:45
Oral presentation in Environmental planning, management and policies

Ofire+ is a commercial human-centralized early warning system which aims in supporting managers on making informed decisions about proper management of human and material resources and the available response time towards threats from sub-urban wildland fires. The system consists of an administrator application as well as a user mobile application providing a direct communication channel between the two. The impact of the system is that it bridges the gap between informed decisions and coordinated actions by incorporating scientific and timely operational data which are transformed into critical information. Ofire+ aligns with current EU priorities and can help in reducing societies’ vulnerability and strengthening resilience, mitigating negative effects on economic activities, rationalizing insurance risk-based premiums and compensations, invigorating individual action, lessening governmental financial exposures and even in shaping concrete EU wildland fire safety policies. Furthermore, the implemented methodology is based on open satellite data which makes the system versatile and scalable. Ofire+ is currently in operational implementation in the Municipality of Dimos Thermis (administrator appl.) and is scheduled to be completed by the end of summer 2019.

Session: 54, Room: F, at Sat, 09/07/2019 - 16:09 to 16:12
Flash presentation in Environmental planning, management and policies

Wind power is one of the most environmentally friendly Renewable Energy Sources, as well as one of the rapidly growing and economically viable forms of renewable energy. Today's wind turbines can be considered as a mature and cost-effective technology with reasonable efficiency rates and high reliability. The aim of this paper is to identify the appropriate areas for onshore wind farm siting, considering the restrictions imposed by the national (Greek) institutional framework for wind farm siting (Special Framework for Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development for renewable energy sources / SFSPSD-RES) as well as several exclusion criteria found in the international literature. Wind velocity, slope, distances from specific areas (e.g. protected areas, settlements, monasteries, surface waters, mines) as well as from specific infrastructures (e.g. road network, electricity grid, antennas) are considered as exclusion criteria used in defining sustainable sites for wind farm deployment. The proposed methodology is applied in the Municipality of Aristotle in Chalkidiki – Greece and the main tool used in the analysis is Geographic Information System. The ownership status as well as the energy carrying capacity of the selected sites are further investigated.

Session: 54, Room: F, at Sat, 09/07/2019 - 15:00 to 15:15
Oral presentation in Environmental planning, management and policies

Waste Management strategies as a result of the production and consumption line (not cycle) are on the top of the global challenges, within the framework of the seventeen United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Based on the World Bank projections, the global waste generation levels have been increasing in a steady rate from 1.3 billion tonnes per year in 2012, to 2.2 billion tonnes per year by 2025. This represents a significant increase in per capita waste generation rates, from 1.2 to 1.42 kg per person of which <5% is managed sustainably. This paper aims to provide a holistic approach for the role of volunteers in providing means and strategies against the illegal solid waste disposal and highlighting a series of steps for their application towards impactful campaigns. The latest approaches of volunteerism towards waste management in regards to quantifying the economic, social and environmental value of a strategy are presented and discussed.

Session: 54, Room: F, at Sat, 09/07/2019 - 16:06 to 16:09
Flash presentation in Environmental planning, management and policies

This paper studies the way in which modern land-forest map design contributes to the protection of urban forests generally and the Seich Sou urban forest of Thessaloniki in particular. We also examine the role of cadastre and forest maps in protecting urban forests from abuses such as pressure for housing, which are particularly acute due to their proximity to urban centers. Particular emphasis is given to the Seich Sou urban forest, which provides important protection from erosion and pollution to the city of Thessaloniki. Thessaloniki is characterized by a low proportion of green areas per inhabitant and a high pollution burden. The history of the forest, its ownership status, its legal framework of protection, the problems it faces, as well as the role of the cadastre and forest maps in their resolution are presented. Finally, we conclude by proposing ways of strengthening the protective framework governing Seich Sou, as well as the urban forests of the country in general. The rational management of urban forests via the development of good forest policy with tools such as cadastre and forest maps can be the key to protecting urban forests effectively and exploiting their multiple benefits in perpetuity.

Session: 54, Room: F, at Sat, 09/07/2019 - 16:03 to 16:06
Flash presentation in Environmental planning, management and policies

Wildfires continue to form a major disturbance factor in Mediterranean ecosystems, often associated with significant loss of properties and human lives. Fast detection and suppression within the first minutes after ignition constitute one of the pillars for successful wildfire management and prevention of its catastrophic consequences. The current study aims to develop a Fire Ignition Probability Index (IPI) which will be integrated in an automatic fire detection system composed by optical and thermal land cameras and UAV. The IPI index will be calculated based on the pyric history, the anthropogenic influence and the simulated fire behavior in a study areas in Southern Greece. The pyric history will be represented by point data and through a Kernel Density Estimation will calculate a risk factor. The anthropogenic influence will be estimated based on an inverse relationship with the Euclidean distance from roads and settlements. Finally, fire behavior will be calculated using fire simulation models and data on fuel properties, estimated using state of the art remote sensing methods and field data. The integration of the IPI in the automatic fire detection system is expected to form a significant contribution to its improved accuracy.

Session: 54, Room: F, at Sat, 09/07/2019 - 16:00 to 16:03
Flash presentation in Environmental planning, management and policies