The importance of science for environmental work on the coast and the sea – experience gained from the SUCOZOMA programme

Research on sustainable management of the coastal zone is motivated by the fierce competition for natural resources between different categories of users along the coast. Knowledge-based management will be able to base its decision-making on information representing the complex nature of the coast. The research carried out in the research programme Sustainable Coastal Zone Management (SUCOZOMA) has been focused on the production of results and knowledge of a transdisciplinary character, reflecting the interaction between different activities and the human pressures it creates on the natural resources in the coastal zone. In the research programme it has been concluded that the integration between sectors also must include integrated management of resources in the outer archipelago and the open sea. The state of the coastal environment is affected by up-stream disturbances, as well as activities at sea. Integration in both directions is a necessary precondition for sustainable management. Research has shown that local influence promotes legitimacy in the exercise of management. Local actors may be increasingly involved in fishery as well as water quality management. However expert skills and specialised competence is rarely available at the local level. Therefore a strategy for sustainable coastal management must develop mechanisms for efficient exchange, dissemination and utilisation of knowledge. In 2000 SUCOZOMA was evaluated by an international scientific panel. An additional evaluation included the usability of the research results. Generally, the evaluation of the panel was very positive. Their recommendation to the research foundation MISTRA was to continue in a second phase of SUCOZOMA research, which started in 2001. Key-words coastal zone, integrated management; coastal research; integrated coastal zone management (ICZM); MISTRA