Contributions to the Coastal Management: a Case of Integration in the Uruguayan Coast

Virginia Fernandez (1,2), Yuri Resnichenko (1)

(1) Faculty of Science, Montevideo (UY)
(2) University of Girona (ES)

The uruguayan coast of the Rio de la Plata is the area of the country which endures the most pressure from a socio-demographic and economical point of view, resulting in its natural resources damage. Ecoplata is an interinstitutional program and its main objective is to support the integrated management of the coastal zone through research and methodology developments which will permit to strengthen the local communities and governmental institutions involved, without losing sight of an interdisciplinary approach.

Within its objectives it is considered the implementation of a geographic information system which will back up the work of the different components of the program. In this article there is a description of the work done by people working at the Geographic Department at the Sciences Faculty assisting a group of researchers coming from social sciences and natural sciences devoted to develop standards for land planning and policies development.

Several data sources were used as well as shared opinions and categories of analysis with the aim of integrate the information resulting in a useful tool for the different sector of the society. Here are exposed the scopes, limitations and present status of this process.