ABSTRACT

The international concern for coastal conservation is continuously rising, especially after the extensive involvement of the sustainable development principle in the environmental policy. This chapter discusses some ideas about the structure of a database aiming at the monitoring and the estimation of land use changes in the Hellenic coastal area. The attempts have been concentrated rather in tracking out an appropriate framework, which could identify the most represented variables and the most useful data sources, than in a detailed description of the database. In spite of the long coastline and the maritime character of the Greeks, there is no specific legislation or integrated policy for the Hellenic coastline. The territory of the Hellenic municipalities or communities can be applied as smallest unit area. The proposed smallest unit area refers completely to the terrestrial part of a coastal area, but it does not mean that the maritime part is absent.