The importance of studying coastal areas is justified by their resources, ecosystem services, and key role played in socio-economic development. Coastal landscapes are subject to increasing demands and pressures, requiring in-depth analyses for finding appropriate tools or policies for a sustainable landscape management. The present study addresses this issue globally, based on case studies from three continents: Romania (Europe), Algeria (Africa), and Vietnam (Asia), focusing on the anthropogenic pressure resulting from land use/land cover change or urban sprawl, taking into account the role of socioeconomic and political factors. The methodology consisted of producing maps and computing and analyzing indicators, correlating geospatial and socio-economic data in a synergistic manner to explore the changes of landscapes, and identify the specific driving forces. The findings show that the pressure of urbanization and tourism on coastal areas increased, while the drivers and impacts vary. Urbanization is due to derogatory planning in Romania and Algeria, and different national and local goals in Vietnam. The two drivers determine local exemptions from the national regulations, made for profit. In addition to the need for developing and enforcing policies for stopping the degradation and restoring the ecosystems, the findings underline the importance of international cooperation in policy development.

The coastal and marine area is one of an endlessly increasing number of human activities and provisions, the most significant of which are those associated with tourism. With the start of the MARSPLAN BS-II project in 2019, the planning of public participation actions of stakeholders to identify areas and important features for each maritime activity to develop and implement MSP has started. This study, using an appropriate exploratory approach, namely Grounded Theory, aims to assess stakeholders' perceptions of the environmental impact of tourism in the Romanian Black Sea coastal area to identify potential barriers that may arise from the perspective of implementing the Black Sea MSP. Even if the impact of tourism on the environment cannot be studied in-depth and fully proven, it is obvious, through our results, that tourism should fully enjoy the management and planning efforts.

In this article, the authors' intention, in the context of developing the maritime spatial planning plan (MSP) of Romania, is to make an analysis of the regulations aimed at developing coastal tourism in the Romanian Black Sea area from the perspective of stakeholders. The objectives of this article are to detect the impact in which the lack of control exerts on some activities specific to the coastal area as well as possible similarities / differences regarding the perception of stakeholders according to all the variables analyzed. To achieve the research objectives, we conducted a questionnaire on tourism activity in the Black Sea coastal area which was addressed to stakeholders, entities directly interested and involved in activities carried out in this space. To write this article, we used the Principal Components Analysis (PCA) method, an exploratory, descriptive method. This approach is made from the perspective of completing the study on the integrated and updated analysis of conflicts/synergies of maritime and environmental uses carried out within the MARSPLAN BS-II project in which the authors are involved. The processing of data resulting from the stakeholder consultation process led to the identification of possible problems concerning the application of the relevant legislative framework for the development of the Black Sea maritime space in Romania. The results of the analysis of this article may be the starting point for further detailed research.

The purpose of this paper is the analysis of the business environment in the coastal area of Tulcea county, by administrative-territorial units, with the help of a synthetic indicator to appreciate the economic-financial performance, the profit rate. The analysis was performed for year 2018, the economic phenomena and processes being captured at the spatial level. The results obtained from this work support the strategy for the rehabilitation of the coastal zone in order to increase the economic performances by adopting policies corresponding to the new realities.

Undoubtedly, given the extraordinary potential of the coastal area, insufficiently exploited so far, the field of tourist services must be included with priority in Romania's development strategies. In the context of the development of the Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP), the paper aims to provide signals on the quality of services in the tourism sector and their impact on the environment and related activities with the effort of the parties interested in coastal development. The research, based on a questionnaire addressed to stakeholders, grouped in public and private entities, uses descriptive, exploratory analysis methods and outlines several aspects regarding coastal tourism. The authors consider that these results should be extremely relevant for policymakers and stakeholders, especially as they are the ones who will bear the consequences of the land-sea interaction to promote sustainable tourism development in the context of maritime spatial planning. The most important stakeholder in our research comes from the public sector and is represented by the local public administration. It has the task of getting involved in the economic development of the coastal area, having at hand the multiple possibilities to manage this approach. The obtained results revealed a series of problems related to the quality of services, maintenance, and development of infrastructure and promotion, marketing, all these being recognized as "weaknesses" by most of the interviewed entities. The research results add value to the integrated and updated analysis of conflicts/synergies of maritime and environmental use, carried out within the MARSPLAN BS-II project in which the authors are involved.