cei·mar

español

Management of the Sea

The third area of specialization covers all aspects of the management of the sea, divided into various sub-areas, each of them of great importance.

- Management of Coastal Areas. The coast is of strategic importance for its related territory. It is a home for citizens, an important source of natural resources, a vital link in the chain of transport and commerce, the location of both valuable habitats and locations for leisure activities. Coastal areas are faced with problems related to the destruction of habitat, water pollution, erosion and resource depletion.

- Anthropogenic Impacts and Environmental Protection. Coastal areas are especially vulnerable to pollution and to the effects of global climate change. One of the biggest human impacts on marine ecosystems takes the form of discharges of both substances and energies. Determining the effects of pollution on the dynamics, structures and stability of aquatic ecosystems is a necessary first step towards effectively managing these discharges. It is not possible to study global climate change without studying its effects on the sea. The connection between the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea constitutes a huge laboratory for the study of this phenomenon.

- Conservation of Species and Habitats. The coastal and maritime area in the south of the Iberian Peninsula have many areas that are protected for their scenic value, their ecological richness and importance or their singular cultural or historic value. Worthy of particular note are Doñana and the natural parks of Cabo de Gata-Nijar in Almería, El Estrecho, Bahía de Cádiz and La Breña y Marismas in Barbate. Also, in the south of Portugal there is the Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina.

- Natural Risk and Coastal Vulnerability. The largest and most spectacular natural disasters that occur in coastal regions are storms, floods, earthquakes and tsunamis. In this area work must be done to make these risks more predictable and so both reduce the economic consequences and loss of human lives.

- Shipping and Marine Transport. Shipping has evolved, improving its methods and navigation systems with new materials for the construction of ships, navigation simulators, new telecommunications systems etc. This is a field of study that is in constant evolution and is highly developed.

- Maritime Policy. The European Union developed its Integrated Maritime Plan (IMP) in 2006. The action plans arising from it produced three instruments which will be the object of development in the coming decade: "maritime vigilance", "the maritime spatial planning" and a "data and information system".