IMCORE project

This article briefly describes the Interreg 4B IMCORE project. This information is taken from the IMCORE project website. Most of this information can also be downloaded as a pdf.

Introduction

Figure: The IMCORE and Interreg 4B logo.

IMCORE stands for Innovative Management for Europe’s Changing Coastal Resource. Funded under the Interreg IVB programme (Interreg IVB website), the €6m IMCORE project will be led by the Coastal & Marine Resources Centre in University College Cork until its end in 2011.

Why are we doing it?

A PRESSING ISSUE: How can the coastal areas of North West Europe best be adapted to climate change?

We need to increase our capacity to respond to the [[Ecological, Social and Economic impacts of climate]] on the viability of coastal sectors such as fisheries and aquaculture, ports and shipping, marine recreation, and the defence of coastal communities from flooding and erosion. To date, most attention has been focused on predicting the types and rates of change likely to occur but what is needed now is a method to identify the adaptation measures that need to be applied to coastal use and management. This project aims to address this by developing a methodology and templates to aid Coastal Managers across NW Europe in developing the required adaptive strategies.

A CLEAR OBJECTIVE: Innovative management to adapt coastal areas to Climate Change The IMCORE partnership will promote a trans‐national, innovative and sustainable approach to reducing the Ecological, Social and Economic impacts of climate change on the coastal resources of North West Europe.

What is IMCORE about?

A UNIQUE PARTNERSHIP: EXPERT COUPLETS of researchers and policy – makers will test innovative ways to address coastal climate change to see what works best Because of the innovative approach of this project, scientists and practitioners involved in coastal management from Ireland, the UK, France, Belgium and the Netherlands will be working together as expert couplets. This is how local government authorities and research groups will work together to identify the key processes that lead to the socio‐economic consequences of climate change of their local area, supported by a network of trans‐national cooperation. Ways to address these consequences will be tested in real projects.

LOOKING FORWARD IN A DIFFERENT WAY: Visualising and developing management strategies to adapt to climate change While couplets are developing various activities at a local level, a variety of innovative approaches, methods and tools will be researched, identified and developed by partners to demonstrate how they can be effective and useful to coastal managers and decision makers who need to visualise the future and plan how to respond to the changes happening on their coasts. For this purpose, adaptive management strategies will be developed, implemented and evaluated at each of the 9 couplet locations (see the section: WHERE IS IT HAPPENING).

LEARNING TO ADAPT TO CLIMATE CHANGE: The multiplying and long lasting effect of IMCORE Coastal managers and policy makers from across NW Europe will be mentored and assisted to plan responses to climate change scenarios through training of trainers and a multimedia online learning tool. This will include a variety of tested and evaluated tools, methods and approaches, examples of adaptive management strategies and guidelines. The regional viability of our coastal communities and sectors will be improved by developing common decision support tools and techniques for future planning.

Who is it for?

European decision makers and coordination bodies: There are benefits to be gained from adopting innovative approaches to the management of climate change impacts in the coastal zone that which should be encouraged in future European policy and practice.

National level decision makers: The good practice of the local Expert Couplet approach demonstrated through the projects activities, can be applied in other parts of the country to deliver capacity for adapting to the challenges of climate change at the coast; and specific actions need to be put in place to protect the socio‐economic vulnerability of coastal resources. Sub national and local stakeholders: We need to take action to address the future implications of climate change on our local coastal resources by implementing strategies for adaptive management.

How will we do it?

The methodology is organised according to five work packages (WPs) with various key tangible outputs:

WP1 ‐ Innovative approaches to coastal management

KEY OUTPUT: Coastal Management Comparator Data Base Tool will be developed to improve the capacity of decision makers concerned with coastal issues to quickly and easily compare and contrast their situations with respect to other management approaches in the NW Europe region.

WP2 ‐ Identification of drivers for climate change and related issues

KEY OUTPUT: Training Material on the Identification of Coastal Climate Change Drivers and Issues will be made available to build capacity for developing adaptive management strategies, by illustrating the historical context, drivers, and issues arising from climate change in the coastal zone of NW Europe, including case study material from each of the Expert Couplet locations.

WP3 ‐ Future scenario building

KEY OUTPUT: Demonstration Technologies for the Visualisation of Coastal Futures covering three technological approaches; Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Web Based Virtual Reality, and a Customised Simulator will be developed to demonstrate potential aids to adaptive management in response to climate change impacts in the coastal zone.

WP4 ‐ Learning to adapt

KEY OUTPUT: Nine Local Adaptive Management Strategies will be produced to outline climate change scenarios and optional responses for each coastal location. At the local level they will enhance the robustness of long‐term investments, improve societal awareness of and preparedness for responding to climate change in the coastal zone, and increase the adaptability of vulnerable coastal activities. At the NW Europe level they will provide examples of best practice in adaptive management to coastal managers and decision makers.

WP5 ‐ Influencing change

KEY OUTPUT: Multimedia Distance Learning Tool will be developed to fill an information gap that currently exists in Europe by providing a comprehensive resource to help coastal managers to plan for climate change impacts in their coastal areas. This final project output will integrate and promote the products developed (e.g. coastal comparator database) and the lessons learned (e.g. in adaptive management and expert couplet working) from IMCORE. The development of the tools and adaptive management strategies will be undertaken in consultation with end‐users at all of the nine pilot sites. This exchange of experience, technical know‐how and research ideas should ensure that the strategies and tools will be successfully incorporated into future routine coastal management practice. European policy and practice.

Where is it happening?

At each expert couplet location there are outstanding issues or priorities that need to be addressed:

Cork	Maritime heritage, coastal conservation.
Donegal	Marine spatial planning
Durham	Integration of decision making across sectors, marine spatial planning, regional working
Aberdeen	Coastal regeneration
Cardiff	Renewable energy generation
East England	Public participation & socio economic indicators
Belgium	Marine & coastal planning
Gulf of Morbhian	Marine and coastal biodiversity
Sefton	Local Information Systems, coastal conservation

Figure: The expert couplets of IMCORE.

Who is IMCORE?

1. Coastal & Marine Resources Centre, University College Cork, Ireland
2. CoastNet, UK. Regional partners of CoastNet are: East of England Government Office, East England Development Agency, Open University and Brightlinsea Harbour Commissioners
3. Centre for Coastal & Marine Research, University of Ulster, Coleraine, Northern Ireland.
4. Donegal County Council, Ireland
5. Aberdeen Institute for Coastal Science and Management, Aberdeen University, Scotland.
6. Cork County Council, Ireland
7. Marine & Coastal Research Group, Cardiff University, Wales
8. EUCC ‐ The Coastal Union, Netherlands
9. Maritime Institute, University of Gent, Belgium
10. Envision Ltd., England
11. Centre for Maritime Law and Economy, University of Western Brittany, France
12. Sefton Council, England
13. Durham Council, England
14. MDK Coastal Division, Belgium
15. SIAGM – Intermunicipal Syndicate for Planning in the Gulf of Morbhian, France
16. Aberdeen City Council, Scotland.
17. National Maritime College Ireland, Ireland

Contact IMCORE

You can find further information about the project and all partner contact details on the IMCORE project website.

The main author of this article is Kreiken, Wouter Please note that others may also have edited the contents of this article. Citation: Kreiken, Wouter (2008): IMCORE project. Available from http://www.coastalwiki.org/wiki/IMCORE_project [accessed on 27-11-2024] For other articles by this author see Category:Articles by Kreiken, Wouter For an overview of contributions by this author see Special:Contributions/Wouter Kreiken