The GEO4COAST project involves leading companies in the European commercial sectors to jointly develop a first-of-its-kind product in order to efficiently monitor all coastal areas of the European islands. The use of land-observation in decision-making is essential for the planning of sustainable tourism in the small islands.

GEO4COAST Develop a coastal tourism services platform that covers water and coast monitoring with validated products derived from terrestrial observation, taking into account the idiosyncrasy of the southern European islands with different characteristics Oceanographic and environmental pressures, such as the Canary Islands (Spain) and Madeira (Portugal).

The main objectives of GEO4COAST are:

1. To improve the sustainability of tourism in the management of coastal tourist assets and the planning and adaptation to coastal change.

2. To sustain tourism under a changing climate in the assessment and preparation for climate change and its impact on coastal areas.

3. Balancing the relationship between tourism-ecosystem-economy to improve relations with the environment and use information to resolve conflicts.

4. Increase resistance due to the use of observations to support the development of coastal policies, to mitigate environmental impacts and to address coastal hazards.

The high value of the solution provided by GEO4COAST is an integration of remote sensing technologies, radars and buoys to enable on-site measurements to provide more accurate data. The selection and integration of these elements will be carried out by the experts in this area such as Oceomic (a company located in the technological park of Fuerteventura), the University of Madeira, the HCMR Institute of Oceanography and the Ocean Observatory of Madeira.

The prototype of the GEO4COAST platform based on the innovations developed will be tested and evaluated in Fuerteventura. The technological park of Fuerteventura will assume the leadership of the pilot of the platform. 

The Fuerteventura Technology Park combines the R & D capabilities needed for technology transfer and access to local public administrations, being the strategic actor established by the Agency for Research, Innovation and Society of The information of the Government of the Canary Islands (ASICII) and the Cabildo of Fuerteventura.

The GEO4COAST platform will also involve public organizations and emergency services in the project activities to assess the results of GEO4COAST and put them into practice.