Metabolism of Cities
  • About

    About Us

    • Our Story
    • Mission & Values
    • Team
    • Task Forces
    • Services

    Connect With Us

    • ContributeJoin Us
    • Subscribe
    • Contact Us
  • Community

    Research

    • Projects
    • Theses
    • ContributeAdd Research
    • People

    Updates

    • Events
    • News
  • Resources

    Getting Started

    • About Urban Metabolism
    • Starter Kit

    Multimedia

    • Photos
    • Videos

    Publications

    • Library
    • Journals
    • ContributeAdd Publication

    Data

    • Datasets
    • Data Visualisations

    Tools

    • Online Material Flow Analysis Tool (OMAT)
    • MOOC
  • Cities

    MultipliCity - Data Portals

    • Introduction
    • Video
    • Add DataContribute
    • Data Collection Events
    • Development Roadmap
    • Datasets

    Existing Data Portals

    • Prototype: Cape Town, South Africa
    • Prototype: The Hague, Netherlands
    • Prototype: Beijing, China
    • Overview page

    Upcoming Data Portals

    • Apeldoorn, Netherlands Coming soon
    • Bødo, Norway Coming soon
    • Brussels, Belgium Coming soon
    • Høje Taastrup, Denmark Coming soon
    • Mikkeli, Finland Coming soon
    • Porto, Portugal Coming soon
    • Sevilla, Spain Coming soon
    • Toronto, Canada Coming soon
    • Your city?
    • Orange Theme
    • Blue Theme
    • Metabolism of Cities
    • Metabolism of Islands

Publications

  1. Resources
  2. Publications
  3. Publication #814

Bibtex

@article{reference_tag,
  author = "Fischer-Kowalski, Marina; Xenidis, Lazaros ; Singh, Simron Jit; Pallua, Irene",
  title = "Transforming the Greek Island of Samothraki into a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve: An Experience in Transdisciplinarity",
  year = 2011,url = "https://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/oekom/gaia/2011/00000020/00000003/art00009",
  abstract = "This research explored the feasibility of transforming the island of Samothraki, Greece, into a UNESCO biosphere reserve. The goal was to assess whether this would help to foster a sustainable socio-economic development and to preserve the unique natural and cultural heritage of the island. In recent years the number of seasonal residents and tourists on the island has been growing substantially, and so, too, have the demands upon facili ties and infrastructures. The number of livestock, primarily goats and sheep, has increased exponentially, enhanced by the agricultu ral policies of the EU. Overgrazing, in combination with the steepness of terrain, has led to severe soil erosion, even within the existing Natura 2000 conserva tion area. Such conditions made it apparent that a new develop ment model was needed, and an initiative was started to create a biosphere reserve. In a transdisciplinary process, the scientists gradually transferred ownership of this vision to local stakeholders. A biophysical and socio-economic assess ment showed that a biosphere reserve would be appropriate and be welcomed by the majority of stakeholders. The community council recently endorsed an application to UNESCO.",
  doi = "10.14512/gaia.20.3.9",
}

RIS

TY  - JOUR
T1 - Transforming the Greek Island of Samothraki into a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve: An Experience in Transdisciplinarity
AU - Fischer-Kowalski, Marina; Xenidis, Lazaros ; Singh, Simron Jit; Pallua, Irene
Y1 - 2011
UR - https://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/oekom/gaia/2011/00000020/00000003/art00009
DO - 10.14512/gaia.20.3.9
N2 - This research explored the feasibility of transforming the island of Samothraki, Greece, into a UNESCO biosphere reserve. The goal was to assess whether this would help to foster a sustainable socio-economic development and to preserve the unique natural and cultural heritage of the island. In recent years the number of seasonal residents and tourists on the island has been growing substantially, and so, too, have the demands upon facili ties and infrastructures. The number of livestock, primarily goats and sheep, has increased exponentially, enhanced by the agricultu ral policies of the EU. Overgrazing, in combination with the steepness of terrain, has led to severe soil erosion, even within the existing Natura 2000 conserva tion area. Such conditions made it apparent that a new develop ment model was needed, and an initiative was started to create a biosphere reserve. In a transdisciplinary process, the scientists gradually transferred ownership of this vision to local stakeholders. A biophysical and socio-economic assess ment showed that a biosphere reserve would be appropriate and be welcomed by the majority of stakeholders. The community council recently endorsed an application to UNESCO.
ER - 

Journal Article

2011

Author(s)

  • Irene Pallua
  • Lazaros Xenidis
  • Marina Fischer-Kowalski
  • Simron J. Singh

Reference

  • Bibtex
  • RIS
  • RefWorks

Search

  • Google Scholar
  • Google

More options

Add a publication

Report error

Transforming the Greek Island of Samothraki into a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve: An Experience in Transdisciplinarity

This research explored the feasibility of transforming the island of Samothraki, Greece, into a UNESCO biosphere reserve. The goal was to assess whether this would help to foster a sustainable socio-economic development and to preserve the unique natural and cultural heritage of the island. In recent years the number of seasonal residents and tourists on the island has been growing substantially, and so, too, have the demands upon facili ties and infrastructures. The number of livestock, primarily goats and sheep, has increased exponentially, enhanced by the agricultu ral policies of the EU. Overgrazing, in combination with the steepness of terrain, has led to severe soil erosion, even within the existing Natura 2000 conserva tion area. Such conditions made it apparent that a new develop ment model was needed, and an initiative was started to create a biosphere reserve. In a transdisciplinary process, the scientists gradually transferred ownership of this vision to local stakeholders. A biophysical and socio-economic assess ment showed that a biosphere reserve would be appropriate and be welcomed by the majority of stakeholders. The community council recently endorsed an application to UNESCO.

Tags

  • Island
  • Sub-national
  • Tourism

More information

10.14512/gaia.20.3.9

Website

  • Literature
  • Publications
  • Journals
  • Events
  • Publishers

Latest news

Urban metabolism seminar in Brussels - update
Sept. 20, 2019

Read more

Do you have data on resource flows?

Share data

We can use your help

Join us

Upcoming event

W12 Congress: First International Meeting of Cities Facing a “Day Zero” Water Scenario
Cape Town, South Africa
Jan 27, 2020 - Jan 31, 2020

View event

Metabolism of Cities

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.

Our source code is available on
Gitlab

Contact us

Follow Us

Metabolism of Islands

Visit our twin site:
Metabolism of Islands