Applying GIS to coastal management in Cork Harbour: The Corepoint experience

Katherine Kopke

CMRC, University College Cork (IE)

Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) supports coastal management and planning decisions based on sound scientific research. To facilitate the ICZM process, scientists, planners and policymakers need to work together. COREPOINT (Coastal Research and Policy Integration), an Interreg IIIB project, is promoting this approach at local, national and regional levels.

This presentation will concentrate on the local approach as adopted in Cork Harbour where an “Expert Couplet” has been established between the Coastal and Marine Resources Centre (CMRC) and the Policy and Planning Unit of Cork County Council. Issues of coastal management around Cork Harbour result from multiple utilisation of this large, natural deep-water harbour. As well as being a busy port, it includes several urban centres, chemical and pharmaceutical plants, agricultural land, protected habitats and centres of water based recreation.

Working together has meant that research is focused on subjects relevant to planning issues, such as recreational carrying capacity of the harbour, coastal Brownfield sites and the potential impacts of coastal flooding around the harbour. GIS has been an invaluable tool and examples of its application in Cork Harbour will be described as part of this presentation.