European topic centre - university of malaga
Meet our team members

Emanuele Mancosu
Data manager and GIS specialist
emanuele.mancosu@uma.es
+34 951 952 908
Strong interests and curiosity about environment subjects and informatics technology. The academic career was orientated in natural science finished in 2004 with highest honors with particular attention on geographic information system, where was realized as final work a digital map about different levels of vegetation of a WWF Natural Park, close to Cagliari. A long experience of life in South America and a shorter one in Lapland allows increasing social skills and knowledge of foreign languages as Spanish and English, practice with computer science and computer technician, strong contacts with people and with the nature. In 2007 improve his studies with a master degree in SIG in the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB).
This studies allow to increase and to broaden the knowledge about GIS, in specifics, how to create and edit a Map in digital format, how to design, create and maintain a database, how to do spatial analysis, bases of programming with Visual Basic, JavaScript languages, create and manage a Web Server. Moreover a final work with three months practices in UAB to develop a prototype of a Geoportal to store, manage and publish the metadata of the center with the software GeoNetwork opensource.
From February 2009 he is working in the ETC (before in UAB and currently in UMA) covering tasks as jointly responsible for the system administrations’ tasks, responsible for the management of the Reference Data maintaining a inventory and checking the quality of the information on topological and geometrical aspects. Support for GIS tasks and land use scenarios in different ETC/SIA projects. He is also responsible of hardware maintenance in the center.
Related projects
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Journal Articles

Lehmann, A.; Giuliania, G.; Mancosu, E.; Abbaspour, K. C.; Sözen, S.; Gorgan, D.; Beel, A.; Ray, N.
Filling the gap between Earth observation and policy making in the Black Sea catchment with enviroGRIDS Journal Article
In: Environmental Science & Policy, vol. 46, pp. 1-12, 2015.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Climate Change, Geotechnology, Pressures
@article{Lehmann2015,
title = {Filling the gap between Earth observation and policy making in the Black Sea catchment with enviroGRIDS},
author = {A. Lehmann and G. Giuliania and E. Mancosu and K. C. Abbaspour and S. Sözen and D. Gorgan and A. Beel and N. Ray},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1462901114000525},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2014.02.005},
year = {2015},
date = {2015-02-01},
journal = {Environmental Science & Policy},
volume = {46},
pages = {1-12},
abstract = {The environmental status of the Black Sea is obviously closely related to its catchment. Being a closed sea, this large water body drains an area of more than 2 million km2, encompassing 23 countries inhabited by more than 180 million people. The main environmental issues faced by the Black Sea catchment are the same as elsewhere in Europe. These problems are exacerbated by global changes with drastic changes predicted in temperature and precipitation by the end of the century, as well as land use and demographic changes. These environmental problems are taking place in a complex geopolitical situation. In this particular context, data sharing is essential to inform managers and policy-makers about the state of the environment, which will ultimately influence the state of the Black Sea itself. The enviroGRIDS project was set up in order to promote international data sharing initiatives such as the Global Earth Observation System of Systems and the European INSPIRE directive. The enviroGRIDS project was successful in reaching the following objectives: (a) performing a gap analysis on existing Earth observations systems in the region; (b) developing regional capacities at institutional, infrastructure and human resource levels; (c) creating regional scenarios to set the scene for plausible climatic, demographic and land use futures; (d) building the first hydrological model for the entire Black Sea catchment; (e) developing the Black Sea Catchment Observation System based on interoperability standards and Grid computing technologies; (f) showcasing data sharing in several case studies, addressing important environmental issues while building a network of people with improved capacity on data sharing principles. These relative successes should not, however, hide the difficulties in making the necessary Earth observation data available to scientists, decision makers and the public, as the mind-sets at all levels are changing slowly. Controlling the access to data is still perceived by many as a necessity to guarantee the power of the state on society and as a way to preserve its security. The need to develop national spatial data infrastructures (SDI) is very important to convince all ministries and data owner that publically funded data should be made publically available. The progress in the implementation of SDI seems more limited by political agendas than by technology. It is clear, however, that implementation of the INSPIRE directive in Europe is a prerequisite for the success of many other environmental policies (e.g. Water Framework Directive; Marine Strategy Framework Directive; Biodiversity strategy 2020).},
keywords = {Climate Change, Geotechnology, Pressures},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}

Mancosu, E.; Gago-Silva, A.; Barbosa, A.; de Bono, A.; Ivanov, E.; Lehmann, A.; Fons, J.
Future land-use change scenarios for the Black Sea catchment Journal Article
In: Environmental Science & Policy, vol. 46, pp. 26-36, 2015.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Climate Change, Geotechnology, Land and soil, Pressures
@article{Mancosu2015,
title = {Future land-use change scenarios for the Black Sea catchment},
author = {E. Mancosu and A. Gago-Silva and A. Barbosa and A. de Bono and E. Ivanov and A. Lehmann and J. Fons},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1462901114000550},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2014.02.008},
year = {2015},
date = {2015-02-01},
journal = {Environmental Science & Policy},
volume = {46},
pages = {26-36},
abstract = {Plausible future scenarios have been created for the Black Sea catchment, focussing on spatially explicit alternatives for land-use changes. Four qualitative storylines (HOT, ALONE, COOP and COOL) were first developed, based on interpretation of the respective global scenarios (A1, A2, B1 and B2) produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Quantitative statistical downscaling techniques were then used to disaggregate the outputs of global scenarios at a regional level. The resulting land-use maps were spatially allocated at 1 km resolution in the Metronamica model, using a set of factors related to the identified drivers of change. The land-use change model was calibrated on historical trends of land-cover change (MODIS 2001 and 2008) translated into spatial allocation rules, and future land-use projections (IMAGE, 2001) were adopted. Suitability and constraint maps and population trends were used to regulate the modelling process. The calibrated model was validated by statistical procedures, visual evaluation and stakeholder involvement in order to ensure its plausibility and accuracy. This methodology bridged the gap between the global and regional scales. Four simulated future states were produced for the main land-use classes–forest, grassland, cropland and built-up areas, as well as scrublands, crops/natural vegetation and barren land–for 2025 and 2050. The results suggest that the features highlighted in these scenarios are guided by global trends, such as population rise and decreasing agriculture, but with different growth rates and a variety of spatial patterns, with regional variations resulting from local backgrounds and policy objectives. This study aims to provide future land-use data as a potential geographical tool to assist policy makers in addressing environmental emergencies such as water stress and pollution. In particular, the exploration of plausible futures can support future assessments to comply with the EU Water Framework Directive and Integrated Coastal Zone Management policies around the Black Sea.},
keywords = {Climate Change, Geotechnology, Land and soil, Pressures},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}

Boosting Climate Resilience: Wetland4Change Project Advances Flood Management Solutions for Mediterranean Coastal Zones
The Mediterranean coastal zone´s combination of multiple severe climate hazards – rising temperatures, water scarcity, sea-level rise, and extreme weather events – makes it a hotspot for highly interconnected climate risks for the ecosystems and societies. Recent catastrophic floods in ...
RESTORE4Cs 1st Policy Brief: How can coastal wetlands help achieve EU climate goals?
The first RESTORE4Cs Policy Brief of RESTORE4Cs, “How can coastal wetlands help achieve EU climate goals?“, highlights the importance of European coastal wetlands for reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions. The key messages of the first RESTORE4Cs Policy Brief include: Coastal wetlands are important natural carbon stores, ...
Mapping the Impact of Blue Tourism in the Mediterranean
The IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation with the support of ETC-UMA in the framework of the Blue Tourism Initiative, has released a comprehensive report entitled “Mapping the Impact of Blue Tourism in the Mediterranean: Vulnerability Assessment of Coastal and Marine ...
StrategyMedFor Presented at Annual Medforval Meeting 2024
StrategyMedFor was prominently featured at the Annual Medforval Meeting 2024, held from June 5-7 in Fontecchio, Italy. The event brought together 25 practitioners from national parks and natural reserves across 9 Mediterranean countries, providing a valuable platform for StrategyMedFor to ...
Celebrating leadership in environmental management: an interview with Dania Abdul Malak
From designing integrated ecosystem assessments in Europe and the Mediterranean to transforming outcomes into evidence-based recommendations for regional stakeholders, the European Topic Centre on Spatial Analysis and Synthesis (ETC-UMA) stands as a flagship for territorial cooperation. At the forefront of ...
Save the date! Unlocking solutions for coastal conservation in Europe
How can coastal wetlands respond to major European Union objectives such as climate neutrality, biodiversity protection, and pollution reduction? What key role do coastal wetlands play in achieving EU commitments for climate mitigation and biodiversity conservation? The European Topic Centre ...
Towards a Strategy for the Sustainable Management of Mediterranean Forests (StrategyMedFor)
The StrategyMedFor project, co-financed by the Interreg Euro-MED programme, was launched at the University of Malaga during a two day meeting that took place on March 18 and 19, 2024. The European Topic Centre on Spatial Analysis and Synthesis (ETC-UMA), ...
Collaborative science for forests by ETC-UMA showcased in Slovenia during the COP23
As UNEP MAP partner organization, ETC-UMA recently engaged in the organization of a session with Mediterranean institutions under the topic of climate change, entitled: From COASTAL to FOREST ecosystems: Mediterranean Nature-based Solutions to tackle climate change and ensure the Resilience ...
Tools for conserving the Spanish coast
On the initiative of the Instituto Universitario Hábitat Territorio y Digitalización (iHTD) of the University of Malaga, around 70 representatives of Spanish public administrations, researchers, architecture and environmental science players and civil society signed up to the second debate on ...
GreenEye System: a cloud-based system to monitor wetlands in Andalusia
Developed in the frame of the LifeWatch INDALO project cofinanced by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for the study of biodiversity and global change in Andalucia, GreenEye System, this new cloud-based monitoring system, provides useful tools for wetlands’ assessment, ...
Looking back and forth to Mediterranean Forests
Timely published to enrich the knowledge available to fight fires and climate change challenges after an extremely hot summer, the proceedings of the Seventh Mediterranean Forest Week “Forest and Ecosystem Restoration for the next Mediterranean Generations” held from 21 to ...
More space for innovative Mediterranean forest data partnerships
The report entitled A knowledge baseline on Mediterranean forests supported by innovation launched in July by ETC-UMA provides a highlight of what Mediterranean countries and institutions are doing to integrate new digital, satellite and Artificial Intelligence technologies into forest monitoring ...
The Earth from Space shown by ETC-UMA at FANTEC 2023
Students from 80 centers from all over Andalusia came together on Friday 19 May 2023 at the High School of Industrial Engineering of the University of Malaga to participate, one more year, in the Andalusian Technology Fair 2023. Antonio Sanchez ...
ETC-UMA launches new technologies applied to ecosystem knowledge
Built on the Google Earth Engine cloud computing platform, the new wetland monitoring system based on remote sensing data, developed by ETC-UMA and presented in April 2023 at the National Centre for Environmental Education (CENEAM by its acronym in Spanish) ...