I have a multidisciplinary background including maritime and marine socioeconomics, planning, management, and policy analysis. My research interests include sustainable blue economy assessment and integration, maritime spatial planning processes and decision-making approaches, coastal zone management and ecosystem-based management, and ocean governance for the achievement of sustainable blue growth at local, national, and sea basin scales. I have many years of experience in leading and collaborating in various scientific projects that examine and integrate interactions and interlinkages between marine nature conservation goals and marine socioeconomic development goals (especially focusing on sectors such as marine and offshore renewable energy, fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, ports and shipping, oil and gas exploitation, and underwater cultural heritage). In this framework I have focused in developing and applying a variety of methodologies for collection and generation of both quantitative and qualitative data and information, as well as for their analysis, namely by developing and applying sustainability assessment indicators and criteria, sustainable blue growth scenarios, spatial decision making and trade-off analysis approaches and modelling, with special focus on integrating fairness and equity decision rules etc.
PA1 - Planning and managing sea uses at the regional level
The project's goal is to develop, test and suggest ways of assessing the contribution of traditional ocean based economic sectors to Sustainable Blue Growth (SBG) at country and sea basin level and hence its ability to ensure the balance between economic growth, maintenance and enhancement of healthy marine ecosystems and human wellbeing, in a fair and equitable manner. Part of such an assessment will also be the role of collaborative or competitive interactions among various actors (state and non-state, direct and indirect) involved in the examined sector, and how they may affect progress towards SBG. Considering the need for implementing EUs Green Deal, various Sea Basins and Energy Strategies, the focus will be given to the Offshore Oil and Gas Sector (OOGS) in the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of island countries in different marine geographical areas. The specific sector is selected as it remains an important provider of energy, and has been in the spotlight during the energy crisis. Hence it is important to examine the potential of blueing this sector and finding ways for turning it to a facilitator towards energy transition efforts regionally and beyond. This would be beneficial especially for island countries that are more in need of energy independence and need to consider all potential energy resources within their Blue Economy sustainable development goals, as well as because the exploitation of their EEZ affects regional and transboundary SBG.
sustainable blue growth, maritime spatial planning, fairness and equity, energy transition, multi-actor interactions, sea basin level, marine ecosystems, human well being, ocean governance, trade-off analysis