Coastal Engineering, Marine Dynamics, Blue Growth

SeaClear 2.0 attempts to use robots to combat one of the world’s most serious environmental issues: marine litter. The new EU-funded initiative will deploy a fleet of smart robots to identify and remove marine debris. The system employs a combination of aerial drones, underwater rovers, autonomous surface ships, and custom-built robotic grippers to do this. Using artificial intelligence, robots can autonomously identify, locate, and collect litter on their own. 

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 This project aims to build on the success of ISOTECH’s previous BeMed initiative, “Cruise Ships against Plastic Pollution in the Mediterranean“, and continue the momentum and enthusiasm that it has created, by establishing “The Plastic Free Shipping Core Group”, which will work towards the annual evaluation of the Action Plan’s achievement and the setting of detailed action plans for the following years. The Cypriot Deputy Ministry of Shipping’s support for this initiative will ensure its success.

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The Sea level rise scenarios among Mediterranean coasts 2 builds on the success of the SAVEMEDCOASTS project.  The project focuses on prevention priority and aims to respond to the need to protect people and assets from natural disasters linked to sea level rise and climate change impacts in the most exposed river deltas and lagoons of the Mediterranean Region.  The objectives of the project are to:

• Support civil society at different levels and with different tools and methods, to produce exhaustive risk assessments for different periods;
• Improve governance and raising community awareness towards the impacts of sea level rise and related hazard;
• Foster cooperation among science, affected communities and civil protection organisations within and between targeted Mediterranean areas.

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Aims to reduce plastic waste and specifically single-use plastics generated on cruise ships operating in the Mediterranean and promote effective waste management practices on cruise ships and at port reception facilities.

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SAVEMEDCOASTS is a DG ECHO funded project that focuses on prevention priority and aims to respond to the need to protect people and assets from natural disasters linked to sea level rise and climate change impacts in Mediterranean coastal areas

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ActionMed is a DG Environment funded project that aims to support the development of regional action plans and best practices for the Marine Stategy Framework Directive’s integrated monitoring programmes.

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 Integrated Regional monitoring Implementation Strategy in the South European Seas (IRIS-SES) is a DG ENV pilot project which aims to support management of human activities and their effects in EU waters by providing tools for integrated MSFD and other environmental legislation in selected regions and based on existing sampling across various disciplines. Read more here.

Upgrade of Larnaka Marina berthing facilities” (10/2011 – 12/2011):  Tender design for the replacement of old concrete decks with floating structures, for 100 berth places, funded by Cyprus Tourism Organisation.

Reforming of the coastal zone in front of Afrodite Hills Golf Resort, Cyprus (1/2012 – 4/2012) The study implements the use of soft coastal structures  for combating coastal erosion and for the creation of swimming facilities in the coastal area in front of the Afrodite Hills Golf Resort, near the Rock of Afrodite- Cyprus

Extension  of the deck of Limassol Harbour by 500 meters. The deck will serve container ships up to 7^th generation. Environmental Impact Study undertaken by ISOTECH Ltd. The project was awarded to the TRITON-PLANET Consortium. Funding by Cyprus Ports Authority. May 2010 – Jan 2011

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 The increasing intensity of human activities along our coastline (viz. the development of ports and harbours, coastal protection, land reclamation, tourism and sand/gravel extraction) has a severe impact on coastal communities and natural habitats. The EC has adopted a renewed EU Sustainable Development Strategy. It aims at bringing about a high level of environmental protection, social equity and cohesion, economic prosperity and active promotion of sustainable development worldwide. There are multiple inter-linkages between the key challenges. The key objective of SUSTAIN is to have in place, at the end of three years, a fully implementable policy  tool, applicable for all 22 coastal states of the EU, which will ensure that the integrated management of coastal issues will be sustainable. The partnership consists of 12 partners including 8 Authorities (4 regional & 4 local). These are Pan European covering the N. Atlantic Seaboard (4), the S Atlantic Seaboard (2), The Mediterranean (5) and the Baltic (1). Coordinator: EUCC, The Coastal and Marine Union, The Netherlands. ISOTECH ltd participate in SUSTAIN as external expert on behalf of Cyprus participation/ Kouklia Community.

ISOTECH Ltd provides coastal engineering expertise to the above project. Xenia I. Loizidou, member of the Board of Directors of ISOTECH, participates in the team of experts that have been awarded the EU DG Environment ICZM Tender 2008 on National and thematic experts, under the project title: Exchange of experiences and comparative analyses for integrated coastal zone management . Project acronym: OURCOAST. The leading partners are ARCADIS Consortium.

The project will provide the Commission with external Europe wide expertise in order to satisfy the following objectives:

1. To identify ICZM and marine planning practices and implementation tools in EU coastal member states and provide structured summary information of each case;
2. Based on the compilation of practices and tools, to support the formulation of comparative analysis, and guidance for future ICZM and marine planning projects;
3. To provide comments and revise draft and final documents for the formulation of recommendations to support the implementation and a possible review of the EU ICZM Recommendation and/or to underpin the further development of EU Maritime Policy
4. To support the organisation of European multi-lingual dissemination to coastal authorities, stakeholders
5. The external expertise is required to establish a Europe wide data and information collection programme of existing experiences in the field of integrated and sustainable coastal planning and management. The involvement of key national/regional experts aims towards the establishment of a network of excellence of ICZM of experts.

For more information: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/iczm/ourcoast.htm

Funding: Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation, project number: ΑΕΙ/ΕΝΕΡΓ/0308(ΒΙΕ), Dec 2009- Mar. 2012. Aim (1) to exploit water waves near coastal areas of Cyprus in order to optimize, based on environmental impact assessment, established water-related ongoing projects at the shores (water desalination plants and coastal breakwaters), therefore promoting a cleaner and more cost-effective water-resource management; (2) to design and manufacture a wave energy converter to use for off-shore and on-shore based on integrated optimization of mechanical and hydrodynamic specifications, end-use purpose and environmental impact assessment issues.

A Coordination Action co-funded by the 6th EU Framework Programme.
Major partners: National Institute of Coastal and Marine Management (RIKZ)-The Netherlands, Danish Hydraulic Institute, Centre of Maritime Studies- France, GKSS- Institute of Coastal Research- Germany, University of Bologna- Italy, University College Cork- Irland, University of Cantabria- Spain, Lund University- Sweeden, University of Plymouth- United Kingdom, Aristoteleion University of Thessaloniki- Greece. For more information www.encora.org

Funded under the 6th Framework Programme, priority 6.3: global change and ecosystems (specific support action, contract no: 515234).
The proposal outlines collaboration and clustering schemes involving environmental, economic and scientific organisations in Mediterranean, Black Sea and other EU nations, in order to create synergies in networking and exchanges at several levels, addressing for the first time the system of interconnected basins as one, based on the integration of, both horizontally and vertically, natural scientists and economists. Coordinator: The Hellenic National Centre for Marine Research (NCMR). Partners: 8 organisations from Central and Eastern Mediterranean countries, 7 from Black Sea countries, 1 from Turkey (spanning in both seas) and 8 from other E.U. member-states not bordering either of the two seas, 6 Institutes from associated candidate countries to the E.U. (i.e. organizations from Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey), 1 from Cyprus, 3 from the Newly Independent States (NIS) one scientific group from Israel, another from the United States of America (University of Rhode Island) and 2 Institutions from International Organisations (UNEP/MAP and BSC). More information: www.iason.org

Coordinator for the EUROSION pilot application in Eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus together with TRITON Consultants (Cyprus) Ltd.

Project financed by DG Environment. Major Partners: EUCC (European Union for Coastal Conservation) and RIKZ (National Institute for Coastal and Marine Management, Netherlands). More information on www.eurosion.org

A study dealing with the reforming of existing structures in front of the ALMYRA 5-star hotel in Paphos, aiming at improving the quality of the coast by making it more natural and thus environmental friendly through the application of soft engineering methods and structures. Private funding.

ENCORA is a European network built on National Coastal Networks and on Thematic Networks. 13 European Countries have already set up their national networks and participate in ENCORA. ISOTECH LTD Environmental Consultants- Researchers participate in the platform through HeNCoRe, the national network of Greece. www.encora.org

ISOTECH Ltd is a member of the network.

The major aims of the Network are the promotion of coastal research in Greece, the implementation of Integrate Coastal Zone Management.

HeNCoRe participates actively to the 6th European Framework Program for Research, as a branch of the European Network of Coastal Research (ENCoRe). Coordinator: Aristoteleion University of Thessaloniki, Department of Civil Engineering. www.hencore.gr

ISOTECH ltd contributed as Consultant Coastal Engineers for the Town Planning Study, undertaken by the Town Planning Studies Office “POLITIA”, financed by the Municipality of Paphos, Cyprus

ISOTECH participated as partner. Partners from Greece: WWF Hellas, University of Thessaloniki. Partners from Cyprus: Coastal Unit – Public Works Department, ECOGNOSIA (NGO). Project financed by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, within the framework of the European programme DAC.