Showing papers by "Marina Neophytou published in 2023"

Building Island Communities of Practice for Achieving Local Sustainable Cultural Tourism Objectives

Abstract: The prevalence of a series of megatrends and challenges such as climate change, overtourism and health crisis, have demonstrated even more the necessity to shift from the current mass and overcrowded, spatially concentrated tourism models to less crowded, more spatially dispersed, and secure environments. This tendency pushed island destinations to rethink their tourism profiles. Nonetheless, the majority of island communities depend on tourism for their economic well-being, which requires rethinking the highly appreciated island tourism destinations’ strategies towards more sustainable models. According to European policies and academics, alternative forms of tourism, such as cultural tourism, seem to be the solution for achieving this objective, also by including participatory practises in local communities. Starting from these considerations, this work presents the ongoing ISL project (Forming interdisciplinary Island Communities of Practice operating for sustainable cultural tourIsm models). This paper describes a general overview of the ISL Project which purpose is to offer innovative high quality participatory tools to (i) promote awareness and mobilise local communities and stakeholders on their cultural identity, cultural awareness and their social and historical heritage and (ii) support social and territorial cohesion of island communities at a local and trans-island/transnational level by promoting participatory cultural tourism schemes.

The challenge of adopting mitigation and adaptation measures for the impacts of sand and dust storms in Eastern Mediterranean Region: a critical review

Abstract: Abstract Sand and dust storms (SDS) are a major disruptor in both the source areas where they occur and at distant locations. This critical review aims to address the question of whether mitigation and adaptation measures have been or can be implemented and what is the optimal scale of their implementation to negate the impacts of SDS in Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR)? Measures which differ in approach are also assessed by recording their successes, failures, and future challenges. We conclude that developing and implementing appropriate mitigation or adaptation measures for SDS at the local level is feasible but, at a wider scale, is a new challenge. This challenge is even more complex in areas like the EMR and the SDS sources affecting it, as it is a crossroad of air masses originating from three major SDS areas, which exhibit economic, political, and social diversity. This review also aims to identify successful mitigation strategies that have been used for similar environmental issues and to draw attention to the lack of adaptation measures in the region. This critical synthesis will serve as a guide for public stakeholders considering measures to mitigate or adapt to SDS based on their effectiveness and the area of implementation.