SI 56
1233 - 1236
ICS2009 (Proceedings)
Portugal
ISSN 0749-0258
ABSTRACT
KALLIOLA, R. and LAURILA, L., 2009. Contributing coastal zone management by GIS analyses the case of
Finnish marine coast. Journal of Coastal Research, SI 56 (Proceedings of the 10th International Coastal
Symposium), 1233 1236. Lisbon, Portugal, ISSN 0749-0258.
Coastal zone management requires reliable and tangible spatial information as basis. The marine coast of most of
Finland is especially fragmented due to the curved shoreline and the presence of wide archipelago belts with tens
of thousands of islands of variable sizes. We present here how GIS analysis can be used to produce such spatial
data sets that have direct use value for the coastal stakeholders, planners and decision-makers. Tailored products
applying the existing data resources as basis enable the making of holistic regional models and also allow the
zooming in when details of individual shores should be seen. In this presentation we focus particularly on the
modelling of the neighbour influences of buildings (summer cottages) and other anthropogenic structures in the
coastal zone, as these are in the front of the shore development often inducing disagreements among the different
stakeholder groups in the coastal areas. We have developed a unique GIS based work chain to produce data on
shore occupation on a regular basis. This methodology helps the coastal managers to see what is happening over
the times at wide spatial extensions. We furthermore reinforce the potential of online map and other information
services in the internet, contributing the dissemination of coastal information for anyone interested.
ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS: Coastal zone, shore development, Baltic Sea, map server
INTRODUCTION
Responsible coastal planning should apply information about the
physical environment and the diverse use practices and
development pressures in the local level. Integrated Coastal Zone
Management (ICZM) is an example of a process that should deal
with the physical environment and human activities in this
manner. In this process, reliable geographical data are
indispensable to assess the influence areas and impacts of the
diverse coastal activities.
In those coastal areas where the shoreline is particularly long
and curved it is challenging to determine precisely the degree and
locations of human activities in the coastal zone. Spatial analysis
should be applied to assess in these areas the spatial patterns of
shore occupation and development. In the department of
Geography of the University of Turku, we have been developing
such analyses for the conditions of the Finnish marine coast from
since the 1980s (Gran et al. 1999, Laurila and Kalliola 2008a).
Our earlier analyses of the land use patterns in the coastal zone
were mainly based on visual map surveys and subjective
interpretations. This work was laborious to practice and moreover,
not easy to replicate equally by another person. Repetitive surveys
are however needed for the monitoring of changes taking place in
the shore environment in a reliable manner. For this, spatial
modelling techniques have now been developed. Whilst the
technical details of these developments have already been reported
elsewhere (Laurila & Kalliola 2007), the present paper describes
DISCUSSION
The benefits of using GIS in coastal planning are obvious for
many different perspectives. Among them is the analytical
approach that was exemplified by the present case study. Our
research revealed how a relatively simple analytical procedure,
when applied equally over a wide geographical area, produces
unique data for the coastal planners. In the later use of the
produced data further GIS operations could be easily incorporated
to link these results with other data sources that describe the
physical and cultural environs of the coastal region (see e.g.
Tolvanen & Suominen 2005, Ekebom & Erkkil 2003).
Another obvious benefit of use of GIS is in the possibility to
make the entire data analysis chain transparent and thus also
replicable. This notion takes the coastal GIS analyses further into
the arena of environmental information infrastructures about the
coastal environments (Laihonen et al, 2003, Tolvanen & Kalliola
2008). An example of the diversity of the potential uses of coastal
spatial data is the integration of our shore development data into
the SW Finnish spatial data portal Lounaispaikka (Figure 5).
CONCLUSION
The study of coastal development along the Finnish marine
coast revealed the high potential of GIS analyses in coastal
inventories, management and planning. By making the data widely
available through the internet the dialogue between the different
coastal stakeholder groups can be reinforced by shared
information resources.
LITERATURE CITED
EKEBOM, J. and ERKKIL, A., 2003. Using aerial photography
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GRAN, O.; ROTO, M. & LAURILA, L., 1995. Environment
and land use in the shore zone of the coast of Finland.
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KALLIOLA, R.; TOIVONEN, T.; MIYAKAWA, V. and
MAVILA, M., 2008. Open access to information bridges
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LAIHONEN, P.; RNK, M; TOLVANEN, H. and KALLIOLA,
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We thank Harri Tolvanen, Tapio Suominen and other members
of the UTU coastal geography group for valuable collaboration
and discussions.