Mediterranean ecosystems are in the spotlight of tourism activities, with the local populations trying to make the most of them, while in parallel, the stress signs, such as habitat and biodiversity degradation, increased pollution, or beach erosion, have begun to emerge. Furthermore, this combination of exotic and delicate qualities accompanied by excessive tourist flows leads to the imperative need for sustainable tourism development studies in these areas. In the current study, aiming to develop a new holistic framework for assessing Carrying Capacity in sensitive coastal ecosystems, a combined methodology was created and tested in Balos Lagoon, a Natura 2000 area in Western Crete. The method encompasses calculating different Carrying Capacity indicators, environmental quality measurements, visitors’ perceptions identification, and finally, a multicriteria analysis to capture the stakeholders’ and local community’s viewpoints. The combined methodologies identified vital issues, including overcrowding—Effective Carrying Capacity is exceeded by 1000 people per day during the peak season—tar residue pollution, microplastics, insufficient road infrastructure and excessive car numbers exceeding capacity. Stakeholder involvement was pivotal, prioritizing twelve proposed actions to address those issues. Notably, “frequent beach clean-ups,” targeting visual impacts, emerged as the most critical action, while parking reallocation and setting a maximum daily ferry limit were also highly ranked, promising solutions to alleviate overcrowding issues. The paper offers valuable insights for future research, emphasizing the need for continuous environmental monitoring, implementation of high-priority measures, and economic valuation of natural capital. Ultimately, this research contributes to the literature by presenting a pioneering methodology for holistic assessment and sustainable tourism development in Mediterranean sensitive coastal ecosystems.

The continued technical and economic development of offshore wind farms needs to match their sustainable siting transparently and fairly. Aiming to assess existing methodologies widely used in the field of OWFs spatial planning, as well as to identify the proposed enhancements for the improvement of such methods, this study examines 80 peer-reviewed papers over the past eight years. The analysis encompasses articles from 34 scientific journals, with a notable concentration in the journals Renewable Energy, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, and Energies, and it sheds light on geographical distribution, journal classification, funding sources, and the various methodological approaches. Most of the studies were conducted in Turkey, China, and Greece; half of the surveyed papers utilize multi-criteria decision-making approaches, predominantly addressing bottom-fixed technologies for offshore wind farms, which currently dominate the field. The 80 papers are categorized into five methodological domains: Marine Spatial Planning, Feasibility Analysis, Probabilistic Methods, Meteorological Data, and Multi-Criteria Decision Making. One hundred and seventy criteria were identified and condensed into a final set of 41 critical criteria. This article provided an overview of the site selection process and the most crucial findings and recommendations.

The speedy increase in wind parks has brought to light a plethora of conflicts. Despite their benefits, there are more than a few who are opposed. The goal of this research is to study and evaluate the causes, so that such a project can take place in conditions of cooperation, mutual interest and profit for society and investors. The method chosen was a survey with approximately 600 responses in Attica, continental Greece and the islands. The data collected were analysed via SPSS on three levels: (i) descriptive statistics, (ii) binomial logistic regression to model the attitude towards wind farms, and (iii) factor analysis to identify latent factors that influence people’s thoughts. The results show that the NIMBY effect has no significant influence on the acceptance of the project, contrary to expectations. Moreover, the acceptance of a project does not seem to be a class issue, as the analysis showed that attitude is independent of income. The frequency and logistic analysis showed as the main determinants of the public attitude: (i) in a positive way, open and continuous briefing during all the construction stages and minimisation of greenhouse gases emissions (i) in a negative way, the impact on flora and fauna and the lack of trust in the investors.

Sensitive ecosystems play a major role in the future of the environment, economy, and society, as they affect and mitigate natural hazards, provide food, energy, and medicinal resources, and job opportunities, as well as cultural and recreational services. Meanwhile, the rapidly growing nature-based tourism sector is applying unsustainable pressures on such ecosystems, prioritizing the assessment of their sustainability, i.e., environmental, economic, and social functionality. To ensure long-term development and conservation, benefits from the natural capital must be valued and included in its management plan. The travel cost method (TCM), although heavily exploited in research, exhibits application challenges and methodological weaknesses. This paper seeks to comprehensively present the most recent applications of TCM, focusing on aquatic ecosystems that serve as tourist destinations, whereupon research gaps are identified, ultimately providing insights for future directions in the field. Quantifying the economic worth of sensitive ecosystems is a prerequisite to address issues, such as overexploitation, pollution, and climate change, so these problems can be alleviated in the long-run. In parallel, the critical long-term double effect of fair entrance fees is recognized, which not only motivate visitation by securing accessibility but also guarantee adequate financial resources to protect and maintain the ecosystems’ integrity.