HISPARES

Title: Spatial planning in archipelago waters by high spatial resolution remote sensing

Summary: Better spatial planning is needed to reduce further deterioration of ecological conditions of the Baltic Sea. Special attention has to be paid to the most vulnerable coastal and archipelago areas. Lack of scientifically sound background information and/or the high cost of getting the information are limiting the effectiveness of spatial planning in coastal waters.

HISPARES combines knowledge of high spatial resolution remote sensing, marine benthic biology/ecology, GIS (Geographic Information System) and spatial modelling into a map-based tool that allows making spatial planning decisions in shallow coastal water areas, based on scientifically sound data. The partners test their methods and the map-based tool in the most sensitive archipelago areas in Estonia and Sweden covering Natura2000 areas, fish spawning sites and locations with ongoing or planned human activities. The results from the test sites are made publicly available through a GIS-server to demonstrate the usefulness of the map-based tool in national environmental monitoring programmes, assessing environmental impact of human activities and increasing navigation safety in shallow archipelago areas.

For more information, please visit EurOcean Knowledge Gate.