Software for the calculation of carrying capacity, ecological footprint and carbon footprint of a protected area
PROFILE
Name: Department of Production and Management Engineering of the Democritus University of Thrace
The Department of Production and Management Engineering aims to cultivate and promote the science of Production and Management Engineering. In particular, the PM&D Department fulfills its mission by teaching, researching and applying systematic ways of improving productivity (increasing the quality and quantity of production while reducing available resources) and training qualified engineers capable of studing, researching and practicing by designing the structure and operation of modern technological and administrative systems. The graduate engineer of the PM&D Department can staff departments of organization, administration, planning and business planning of various enterprises. It can also develop critical skills needed to organize human, material and financial resources.
Website: https://pme.duth.gr/
The BIO2CARE project “Strengthening Protected Areas Management Capacity through an Innovative Sustainability Methodology” implemented under the Interreg Greece-Bulgaria 2014-2020 Program, aims to improve the administrative capacity of Protected Areas Management Authorities in benefit of biodiversity and local societies.
The main action of BIO2CARE is to develop an innovative integrated decision support system, which will be a valuable tool for capturing and understanding anthropogenic activities that exert pressure on protected areas, and for quantifying their impacts on biodiversity (for example, measurement of ecological, carbon and water footprint). This tool, combined with the installation and operation of high-tech flora, fauna and illegal activity monitoring systems, will help to curb environmental pressures in protected areas, improve our knowledge and ultimately improve their environmental status.
In this context, GET has undertaken the implementation of a software for the calculation of several holistic environmental sustainability indicators applied in protected areas like the carrying capacity, the ecological footprint and the carbon footprint. The web tool implements the methodology of the BIO2CARE project. The registered users, in a user-friendly UI, provide the necessary inputs for the calculations and the results are instantly presented in the application. The tool supports multiple users and multiple scenarios and thus it is a valuable tool for the integrated monitoring and study of the protected areas, supporting the decision-making of the Managing Authorities.
