ESaTDOR - European Seas and Territorial Development, Opportunities and Risks

Main research areas

• Investigation of current uses of Europe’s seas through mapping current sea use patterns, typologies, dynamics and inter-linkages.
• Identification of patterns of sea use and of types of coastal regions: investigating the present state of European sea areas, identifying potential areas of conflict between the use of sea areas and their deterioration, distinguishing different types of coastal regions, studying employment patterns in sea areas and evaluating the present state of maritime clusters.
• Analysis and identification of development opportunities in the respective areas, also taking into account issues regarding sustainability and climate change.
• Analysis of the relationship between terrestrial and maritime planning seeking optimal practices for maritime governance

Main results envisaged

• Data input to the ESPON database
• Indicators offering information on coastal areas and their development opportunities, socio-economic situation as well as level of competitiveness.
• Typologies of different patterns of sea use and of coastal areas classified by territorial evidence based characteristics, strengths, weaknesses, potentials and challenges.
• European maps revealing the present state of sea use displaying existing and potential environmental threats, different coastal areas and the current territorial state of their development as well as the territorial potentials and challenges of different European seas and coastal areas.