European Topic Centre on Urban, Land and Soil Systems (ETC/ULS)
Supporting urban, land and soil assessments on a European Scale to create seamless European wide information
Project summary
The ETC on Urban, Land and Soil Systems (ETC/ULS) is an international consortium working with the European Environment Agency (EEA) under a framework partnership agreement for the period 2019-2021. It supports the EEA in monitoring urban development in Europe, creating and managing seamless European-wide spatial reference data and developing and analysing various land and ecosystem-related indicators. ETC/ULS is a key player in different sectoral policies such as the EU Biodiversity Strategy, and the EU Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe among others.
The ETC/ULS is a follow-up of the European Topic Centres on Land Use and Spatial Information (LUSI) and Spatial Analysis and Information (SIA), which the University of Málaga joined in 2011.
Our role
Our team leads and participates in several key activities of the ETC/ULS, providing technical and thematic expertise, particularly related to:
- Development of the Integrated Data Platform.
- Support to the EEA ecosystem accounting with land, water and nutrient accounts.
- Participation in the European ecosystem assessments in the context of the Working Group on Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystem and their Services, with specific focus on wetland and forest ecosystems.
- Coordination of forest indicator development and forest assessments.
- Development of assessments of soil conditions.
Main outputs
Technical reports
Ivits et al. (2020). ETC/ULS Report 02/2020
Maes et al. (2020). Publications Office of the European Union
Gregor, M; Löhnertz, M; Schröder, C; Aksoy, E; Prokop, G; Louwagie, G (2018). ETC/ULS Report 02/2018
Scientific publications
Aksoy, E; Louwagie, G; Gardi, C; Gregor, M; Schröder, C; Löhnertz, M (2017)
Aksoy, E; Gregor, M; Schröder, C; Löhnertz, M; Louwagie, G. (2017)
Spatial data
Geospatial data catalogue of the European Enviroment Agency
More about it
Emanuele Mancosu
Data managementemanuele.mancosu@uma.es
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 GIS...
Dania Abdul Malak
Wetland policy related inquiriesdaniaabdulmalak@uma.es
Dania Abdul Malak is a senior environmental researcher and Director of the European Topic Centre at the University of Malaga (ETC-UMA). She has over 15 years’ experience in environmental assessment and management...
Our partners
European Environment Agency
ETC-UMA Advances Mediterranean Ecosystem Restoration at COP24 Through Coastal, Marine, Forest and Wetland Action
As climate pressures intensify across the Mediterranean, the need for coordinated action to conserve and restore ecosystems across the spectrum has never been more urgent. Wetlands, forests, coastal or marine ecosystems host habitats that strengthen the region’s adaptability and resilience, ...
Insights from the RESTORE4Cs Autumn School 2025: Bridging Science and Policy for an Enhanced Resilience of Coastal Wetlands
From 3 to 6 November 2025, experts, researchers, students as well as practitioners and decision makers from across Europe and beyond gathered at the ETC-UMA premises in Málaga, Spain, for the RESTORE4Cs Autumn School 2025: “Modelling, Policy and Practice for ...
RESTORE4Cs 2nd Policy Brief: Unlocking Potential of Coastal Wetlands in Europe: Integration into National Restoration Plans
The second RESTORE4Cs Policy Brief of RESTORE4Cs, “Unlocking Potential of Coastal Wetlands in Europe: Integration into National Restoration Plans“, highlights the critical role of National Restoration Plans (NRPs) under the EU Nature Restoration Regulation in enhancing the restoration and resilience of coastal wetlands. The brief outlines how ...
Back in Lebanon with BioConnect: Witnessing nature protection and socioecological resilience in action
As part of ETC-UMA’s role as the external evaluator for the EU-funded BioConnect project, the Centre’s Director, Dania Abdul Malak, carried out a site visit to Lebanon from July 8 to 12 to assess the project’s progress in its third ...
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, ...