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11 th International Symposium for GIS and Computer Cartography for Coastal Zones ManagementDiscussion and conclusionsThis paper has reported on the results of what we believe is the first international survey exploring the use of GISand geospatial technologies in support of coastal zones management activities. Respondents to the survey came froma large number of countries and from a mix of sectors, disciplines and organization sizes. Results indicate that alarge majority of organizations operating in coastal zones use geospatial technologies in the context of their work.While GIS are the geospatial tool the most broadly used on a daily basis, being considered as a key tool within theorganization, most professionals use a broad range of geospatial technologies on a regular basis, including satelliteimagery, aerial photos, GPS-enabled mobile devices, maps and nautical charts. If the use of aerial photographs,surveying tools, and maps and nautical charts was thought to remain the same in the future, the use of GIS, satelliteimagery and GPS-enabled mobile devices is believed to increase. Most respondents are open to the use of VGI inthe context of their work but shared a number of concerns about the quality of the data as well as possible liabilityand copyright issues.While it is a well-know fact that GIS and geospatial technologies are useful tools in support of coastal zonesmanagement, no study have attempted to quantify the amount of users, the reasons for not using those tools and thenature and trends in the use of those technologies. This study provides a first estimation of the use of GIS and geospatialtechnologies in the context of coastal zones management. It aimed at answering basic questions and more indepthfollow-up surveys could help better understand a number of aspects, such as the use of geospatial tools inspecific sectors, the level of training and expertise in GISciences of coastal zones professionals or the needs in termsof new technologies and methods. The methods used to reach the possible participants (i.e., online survey in Englishlanguage) has likely biased the results by putting a stronger emphasis on professionals from developed countries andmore effort could be made in the future in order to reach coastal zones professionals from developing countries bytrying to reach other professional networks and possibly offer the survey in different languages.Generally, the study confirmed the belief that GIS and geospatial tools are broadly used in coastal zones management,showing here again that location and geography matters when it comes to the management of complexenvironments.AcknowledgmentsWe acknowledge all of the participants that have contributed to the online survey. Thanks are also due to RogerLonghorn for having provided feedback on the survey design, to Craig Brown, Norma Serra and Yassine Lassouedfor having tested preliminary versions of the online survey and to Cassandra Lee for having provided feedback onthe manuscript. We also thank the Canadian Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) for havingcovered part of the costs related to this study.ReferencesAlder, J. (2007), Coastal planning and management, 2 nd edition, Taylor and Francis, UK, 400p.Bartlett, D. and J. Smith (2004), GIS for Coastal Zone Management, CRC Press, Boca Raton, USA, 344p.Cicin-Sain, B. and S. Belfiore (2005), “Linking marine protected areas to integrated coastal and ocean management: a review oftheory and practice”. Ocean and Coastal Management, 48:847–868.Croke, B.F.W., J.L. Ticehurst, R.A. Letcher, J.P. North, L.T.H. Newham, and A.J. Jakeman (2007), “Integrated assessment ofwater resources-Australian experiences”. Water Resources Management, 21:351–373.De Freitas, D.M., D. King, and A. Cottrell (2011), “Fits and misfits of linked public participation and spatial information in waterquality management on the Greater Barrier Reef coast (Australia)”. Journal of Coastal Conservation, Advance online publication,DOI 10.1007/s11852-011-0167-y.Goodchild, M.F. (2007), “Citizens as sensors: the world of volunteered geography”. GeoJournal, 69(4):211–221.Green, D.R. (ed.) (2010), Coastal and Marine Geospatial Technologies, Springer, 451p.McCall, M.K. and P.A. Minang (2005), “Assessing participatory GIS for community-based natural resource management: claimingcommunity forests in Cameroon”. Geographical Journal, 171(4):340–356.103