Programa de Cooperación Territorial del Sudoeste Europeo 2007-2013. March-October 2014. SUD’EAU 2/SOE3/P2/549’5
Researchers: J. Catalan, Ll. Camarero, J. Palmer, F. Bartumeus (CREAF, CEAB-CSIC)
The project has two components. It firstly involves cataloguing the natural water-related areas of interest in the town of Vielha, compile relevant information and select the most suitable places to be included in own-designed natural paths. The second component is the design of a smartphone App that will serve all this information to the general public and natural areas ‘visitors. The App will guide visitors along the natural routes and manage user’s information.
The aim of the project is to take advantage of the new technologies and the popularization of mobile devices in order to replace more traditional means to equip trails in natural areas (signs, posters, etc.). Removing physical signs reduces landscape impacts and needs for periodic maintenance. Moreover, physical signalling is very limited in terms of providing and updating information. App derived-information can be constantly updated, delivered in an interactive and scalable way to better meet the requirements and user preferences, and have multimedia contents that enhance the user experience and give the possibility to offer adapted material for people with sensory disabilities. Finally, communication can be established in both directions, ie. users can receive but also send and share information across their devices. This can be exploited to encourage citizen participation from simple questionnaires to data collection, such as naturalistic observations or environmental alerts of risks or problems.