Between protection and land development: evaluation of a strategy

The Region Administration of Sardinia (Italy) with the collaboration of the research group of the University of Cagliari to which the authors belong is developing the Regional Tourist Port Network Plan to make the Island's entire coastline navigable and safe for nautical tourism. The initiative follows the 2010 Feasibility study on the Island's network of tourist ports to improving the tourism infrastructure and encouraging the local economy. This Plan includes the construction of new port facilities, with a focus on the coastal slopes most exposed to adverse weather and sea conditions. From this perspective, this study has evaluated the landscape and environmental impacts of the proposed interventions in the Plan within the framework of the Strategic Environmental Assessment process. The assessment process has considered the most sensitive environmental and contextual factors that may be affected by the potential infrastructural constructions. In particular, the study has developed an assessment model to identify the optimal location for the regional tourist port, considering its development prospects. The evaluation model is crucial for identifying the area’s most susceptible to transformation because it considers environmental and landscape aspects in relation to land use and possible developments. The level of transformation is defined based on territorial and spatial elements, taking into account their level of protection and the potential impact of new infrastructures. The methodology integrates protection strategies and spatial development strategies using three assessment classes that determine the degree of transformability of a given stretch of coastline based on the scenarios defined in the Plan. Transformation class and level are defined based on territorial, point, and areal elements, their level of protection, and potential impact factors of new infrastructure.