August, the holiday month, is now here. While on the other side of the pond people fret about the long holidays Europeans enjoy, we don't seem to be getting enough of them. There are many great places to spend your holiday, but the beach remains an all-time favourite and we want it to be enjoyable, clean and in a nice environment. That's where the issue of integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) comes in. With increasing urbanisation and most important cities being located on the coast, the subject of ICZM will become even more important in the future. There are international ICZM protocols already in place (such as for the Mediterranean) and it's no coincidence that a few years ago, the first project between ESA and the World Bank focussed on vulnerability of coastal cities in Northern Africa to climate change. Geospatial technology is an important element of ICZM. The European research projects PEGASO and Medina (expect an editorial on what's behind acronyms for European projects soon) already give an overview of indicators for ICZM for the Mediterranean (and the Black Sea) that need to be assessed and monitored, many with the help of geospatial technology. Expect this geospatial sector to grow, with emphasis on risk management, ecosystems, infrastructure, people, and of course tourism!
