Protection and Restoration of the Environment XI

“Protection and Restoration of the Environment” is a well-known series of international conferences, organized jointly by one American and one GreekUniversity every two years.It started in 1992, inThessaloniki, Greece.In 2012, the eleventh Conference of the series has taken place in Thessaloniki again, marking its twentieth anniversary.It was organized by: a) the StevensCenter for Environmental Engineering of the Stevens Institute of Technology, USA and b) the Division of Hydraulics and Environmental Engineering, and the Environment Council of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece.

Thessaloniki is an inspiring place for an environmental conference: It is a large city, facing many environmental problems, but, at the same time, it is situated in the middle of an area of undisputable beauty (including Chalkidiki and MountOlympus), which exhibits the environmental quality that we have to preserve for future generations.

Moreover, Thessaloniki is located in a rather small distance from Stagira, the birthplace of Aristotle, andfrom Mount Athos. Aristotle contributed decisively to the formation of scientific thought, while Mount Athos represents the spirit and the moral discipline, which are indispensable for protection and restoration of the environment.

The conference was timely, too. In the middle of a financial crisis, it served as a reminder that protection of the environment is not a luxury, that could be temporarily disregarded, but a basic prerequisite for a viable future.

Participation has been very encouraging. Almost 300 papers have been presented, orally or as posters, covering a wide range of topics, and reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of environmental challenges. Theyhave been classified in the following sessions:

Water resources management

Water resources contamination control

Wastewater treatment and management

Natural treatment systems

Water treatment

Transport and fate of pollutants in the environment-mathematical and numerical modelling

Protection and restoration of coastal zone and open sea waters

Environmental fluid mechanics

Environmental Informatics

Air quality and contamination control (including indoor air pollution)

Forest management

Solid waste management

Environmental geotechnology

Renewable energy sources

Protection and restoration of ecosystems

Soil pollution

Ecotoxicology

Environmental health

Environmental impact assessment and risk analysis

Global environmental changes

Sustainable development

Sustainable architecture and planning

Sustainable landscape architecture, management and restoration

Environmental economics

Environmental law and policy

Environmental education

Cultural and social issues

The conference hosted also two special sessions:

The first, on sediment transport, was organized by professors P. Scarlatos and C. Koutitas in memoriam of prof. V. Dermissis, who passed away a year ago.

The second, organized by prof. N. Oikonomou, had the following title: “Improving resource efficiency and sustainable use of various wastes - the Life+ Roadtire project”

The conference chairmen would like to thank:

The authors of the papers, for contributing and sharing their own expertise.

The members of the organizing and the scientific committee, for their eager help.

The reviewers, for ensuring high scientific standards for the presentations.

The sponsors of the conference for their financial support.

All conference participants, for their active involvement in the exchange of knowledge, which is the essence of a conference.

K.L. Katsifarakis

N. Theodossiou

C. Christodoulatos

A. Koutsospyros

Z. Mallios