The Copernicus Land Coastal Zones User Consultation meeting is promoted by the European Environment Agency (EEA) to discuss and present the outcomes of the Coastal Zone hotspot thematic mapping launched in 2019.

The workshop held on 3rd of October 2019 in Brussels is for any stakeholders in Coastal Zones as well as people with an interest in the data provided by this new product. The event aims to gather feedback & input from potential users.

Coastal Zone hotspot thematic mapping

In 2019 the EEA launched the implementation of a new thematic hotspot product to monitor landscape dynamics in coastal zones. The new products will cover all European coastal territory to an inland depth of 10 km with a total area of approximately 730,000 km². The products will have a minimum mapping unit of 0.5 ha and record around 60 LC/LU classes.

Thematic hotspot mapping activities within the CLMS aim, complementary to generic wall-to-wall mapping, to provide specific and detailed land cover / land use (LC/LU) information to address environmental challenges and issues.

The initial production of the CoastalZone hotspot thematic mapping will consist of:

• a LC/LU status layer for 2012
• a LC/LU change layer between 2012 and 2018
• and a LC/LU status layer for 2018

As with the other thematic hotspot products, the Coastal Zones product will provide change/status every 6 years. The release of the Coastal Zones products is expected to begin by the end of 2020.

Due to the complexity of interests, directives and natural dynamics in the coastal zones, the EEA has planned the present activity to be implemented in close contact with the national stakeholders over the entire project duration. An online platform provides national stakeholders the opportunity to participate in preliminary surveys and contribute with their feedback in the preparatory activities.

An industrial consortium of European Earth Observation (EO) service providers led by Planetek Italia will work for the European Environment Agency (EEA) to implement the new product.

Read more about this activity