DITTY Development of an information technology tool for the management of Southern European lagoons under the influence of river-basin runoff
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Start Date:           Duration:          Project Type: Network
Contract Number: 
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Topics: 
Water resources and their management -->Water resources and their management Overview
Project objectives: 
As a consequence of their location between land and the open sea,   
coastal lagoons receive fresh water, rich in organic and mineral nutrients   
derived from urban, agricultural and/or industrial effluents and domestic   
sewages. The DITTY project has produced and tested in 5 locations a   
prototype of a Decision Support System (DSS) for the management of   
coastal lagoons. It contains a database with historical data (with the   
possibility to incorporate new data), a geographical information system   
(GIS) with tools for data analysis and a knowledge base, created from   
extracting information of scenario analysis and the mathematical models   
(coupled river-basin-coastal lagoon) plus benchmarking exercises   
developed within the project. Several models were developed and   
implemented (qualitative loop analysis and networks, LOICZ-BM,   
integrated 3D biogeochemical and ecological models, watershed models)   
and used to set-up an integrated modelling framework as a scientific tool   
to support the lagoon management. An important effort was devoted to   
integrate the different qualitative and quantitative tools within a   
socio-economic context.
Project Summary: 
Scenarios analyses along with the economic analyses are providing useful   
insights for the Authorities in charge of the management of the lagoons.   
The DSS (Decision Support System), developed and implemented in close   
cooperation with the end-users and stakeholders, demonstrated the   
contribution of such a tool for management purposes. The analysis of   
scenarios emphasised the importance of an integrated analysis of the   
main economic and environmental options in the context of policy-target   
scenarios aiming at optimising the biological resource exploitation. This   
approach was first developed through close interactions with   
policy-makers and end-users and then implemented in each country. The   
feedback obtained encouraged a closer integration among institutions and   
end-users.
Achieved Objectives: 
The exploitation of project results has already been started to help the   
creation of networks of people working on Southern European lagoons.   
Five national networks have been created (PlaNet in Portugal, Red   
Marismas in Spain, Network on Transitional Waters in France, Lagunet in   
Italy and ElNet in Greece), taking into account environmental and   
socio-economic issues within the Integrated Coastal Zone Management   
context. An international network (NetSEAL) has also been proposed by   
the project, as a federation of the national initiatives.More recently, the   
creation of the Baltic Lagoon Network (BALOON) has been stimulated by   
the DITTY project which also contributed to the first phase of the   
implementation plan of the Coastal Module of the Global Terrestrial   
Observing System (C-GTOS) of FAO.   
  
A CD-ROM on the project, its objectives, results and outcomes has been   
prepared and the DSS description for the use by coastal lagoon managers   
and decision makers will be made available in 3 languages via the project web site.
Product Descriptions:
Additional Information:
Project Resources:
Weblink:
http://dittyproject.org
Funding Programme(s): 
EC Framework Programme 5
Link to Organisations:
Submitted by: EUGRIS Team Professor Paul Bardos  Who does what?  26/01/2007 17:02:00