Coastal and shallow-water monitoring through innovative low-cost technologies for blue growth in the Mediterranean

Coastal tourism, a pillar of Blue Growth, is negatively affected by climate change in the Mediterranean and in other European coasts. Therefore, proper and sustainable management of the coasts is imperative. Although there are methods and mathematical models widely used to calculate the rates of shoreline changes, the reliability of their estimations depends directly from the amount and quality of the primary data which often have lower-than-required accuracy. For safeguarding blue growth and further developing tourism, innovative monitoring tools which use new methods and technologies for improving the quality and accuracy of the available geo-information providing thus high quality measurements of the shoreline positions are needed.

Phase 1 of COMPI aimed to assess the feasibility of an innovative service on integrated coastal monitoring, with the use of low-cost autonomous observational technologies, These technologies allow the estimation of the future coastline displacements and the evolution of the shoreline. In this way the project contributes to the development of the Blue Growth Strategy.

Within Phase 1, a thorough market assessment took place together with  a feasibility study, made by PLSurveryors, on the commercialization of CoMPi  . The factors affecting the pricing of the service and the profitability for the company were examined. A business plan serving as a roadmap of how the envisaged service was created and developed was drafted in Phase 2 for its full commercialization.

The feasibility study removed any bottlenecks in the ability of PLSurveyors to increase profitability through innovation and enlarge its clientele. Users  of the service could be policy makers that need to  develop tailor-made climate adaptation policies, or alternatively private owners of tourist infrastructures, banks and insurance companies that shall be able to outline the threats on the coastal area and therefore calculate the potential risks of future tourism investments. Considering the future coastline displacements and the evolution of the shoreline, this service could provide solutions concerning the coastal zone planning and management.

Project partners 

Lamprou D Petrelis N GP