Mapping and Evaluating Marine Protected Areas and Ecosystem Services: A Transdisciplinary Delphi Forecasting Process Framework

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are an important tool for management and conservation and play an increasingly recognised role in societal and human well-being. However, the assessment of MPAs often lacks a simultaneous consideration of ecological and socio-economic outcomes, and this can lead to misconceptions on the effectiveness of MPAs. In this perspective, we present a transdisciplinary approach based on the Delphi method for mapping and evaluating Marine Protected Areas for their ability to protect biodiversity while providing Ecosystem Services (ES) and related human well-being benefits - i.e., the ecosystem outputs from which people benefit. We highlight the need to include the human dimensions of marine protection in such assessments, given that the effectiveness of MPAs over time is conditional on the social, cultural and institutional contexts in which MPAs evolve. Our approach supports Ecosystem-Based Management and highlights the importance of MPAs in achieving restoration, conservation, and sustainable development objectives in relation to EU Directives such as the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive (MSPD), and the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP)

On outdoor recreation in Swedish coastal and marine areas

This paper is about outdoor recreation in Swedish coastal and marine areas and is part of a larger PHD project study of Kosterhavet National Park (KNP) - the most recently introduced national park in Sweden. Characteristic for KNP is that about 98 % of the park area consists of marine and coastal environments unique not only to the West Coast of Sweden, but also on a national and even international level. It is Sweden’s first national park with a distinct marine focus and is one of the few marine national parks in Scandinavia, one other being the Norwegian twin National Park ‘Ytre Hvaler’, located just on the other side of the border next to KNP. Both national parks are praised for their stunning marine scenery and unique biophysical world. For this reason both national parks receive a great number of visitors each year, with numbers spiking during the summer months, where the small islands and coastal communities in the national parks receive thousands of day trippers, second homers and recreationists. They all seek the beautiful nature scenery and the tranquility of the marine landscapes and for some visitors the parks also offer new and adventurous activities such as diving, snorkeling and kayaking. For this reason, outdoor recreation (through various activities) is an important, but also dominating factor, in the two national parks, which at times clashes with the also important aspects of protecting and conserving the unique nature and landscapes. However well visited the two national parks are, studies of outdoor recreation in marine and coastal areas are very few, at least in a Swedish research context. Most studies on outdoor recreation in Sweden tend to focus more on inland, or terrestrial, nature areas such as the Swedish mountains (fjällen) or the Swedish forests. As a result, not much knowledge about outdoor recreation in Swedish marine and coastal areas is available: for instance what people do in marine and coastal landscapes, where they do it and why they do it, and how this all relate to the landscape use, are important questions we simply do not much about. For this reason, my PHD project will try and remediate this situation by contributing with new knowledge of outdoor recreation in Swedish marine and coastal areas - with KNP as my case study example. My research goals or aims in the project are threefold: 1) I want to investigate what coastal landscapes/areas people use/prefer and how their activities and recreational experiences relate to different landscapes in the national park 2) I will test and develop new, qualitative and quantitative monitoring methods and techniques to study outdoor recreation in coastal/marine areas. 3) I will discuss existing zoning strategies as well as further needs for zoning, including an analysis and discussion of zoning models as possible useful tools for management In order to investigate all this, however, it is important first take one step back and get acquainted with what there already is to know about outdoor recreation in Swedish marine and coastal areas. The aim of this paper is therefore to investigate various official formulations, views and contributions on outdoor recreation in marine and coastal areas (e.g. political statements, research). As such, this paper will not only be an informative part of my PHD research, but it will also bring some much needed light to a research field that has been overlooked, or even neglected, at least in a Swedish research context

Understanding recreational landscapes. Developing a knowledge base on outdoor recreation monitoring in Swedish coastal and marine areas.

This PhD thesis concerns the role and importance of outdoor recreation monitoring in the management of coastal and marine areas in Sweden – a topic that in spite its importance has eluded attention, both in research circles and in area management. To address this situation, the objective of the thesis is to develop a knowledge base on outdoor recreation monitoring in coastal and marine areas, with special attention given to current research knowledge on the topic as well as monitoring practices and needs on a management level. This requires both a theoretical and methodological anchoring of the work with outdoor recreation monitoring, which in the thesis is done by giving attention to central geographic landscape theory as well as an applied research approach. The theoretical contribution in the thesis involves a broader perspective on outdoor recreation monitoring, which is needed in order to work professionally with outdoor recreation in the management of coastal and marine areas. Specifically, this means looking into the importance of monitoring not only environmental processes, but also human relations and experiences in coastal and marine areas. To better understand this, an integrated landscape understanding grounded within a combination of geographic landscape theory and a Nordic landscape perspective is introduced with a specific emphasis on the importance of actively monitoring not only with material, but particularly also immaterial landscape qualities in recreational area contexts. The methodological contribution in the thesis involves exploration of important challenges, needs and improvements in the work with outdoor recreation monitoring in coastal and marine areas. Three quantitative methods (i.e. a questionnaire survey, an interview survey and a combination of on-site and roaming observations) and a qualitative method (i.e. a picture based study) are applied and evaluated in a coastal and marine area context. The thesis reveals important challenges in obtaining representativity of monitoring results in coastal and marine areas due their open landscape character, weather conditions as well as high levels of user dispersion. The thesis therefore suggests that more attention is given to the importance of data triangulation as well as knowledge about limitations of each applied monitoring method. In terms of important needs, the thesis emphasizes the importance of monitoring experience qualities in coastal and marine areas. The thesis therefore suggests the introduction of ‘visitor produced pictures’ as a method strategy to effectively obtain this knowledge. Finally, the thesis also discusses and suggests the development of new monitoring methods and strategies based on new technology in order to effectively acquire user information in coastal and marine areas (e.g. online media platforms, smartphone detection and drone technology). The introduction of new technology is interesting as it not only offers new options to address identified monitoring challenges and needs, but also presents new opportunities in terms of developing efficient methods for monitoring outdoor recreation in coastal and marine areas

Outdoorification of sports and recreation : a leisure transformation under the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden

Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, most European countries imposed lockdowns, whereas Sweden introduced soft restrictions. Sports and physical activity could continue if conducted 'safely' and outdoor activities were even promoted if restrictions on the number of participants were not violated. The aim of this article is to demonstrate how the pandemic led to transitions and transformations of typical indoor sports activities to the outdoors and to outdoor recreation, or what we call an outdoorification process of sports and recreation, and how the changes were perceived by the population. Sweden is used as a case study. The inquiry is based on three studies involving more than 100 semi-structured interviews, two national questionnaire surveys and a regional-based PPGIS study. Based on the results, we argue that the outdoorification process is likely to influence how sport and recreation is understood and practiced also in the years after the pandemic

11 turismeforskere: Stop uddannelsesfjendsk retorik – turismen har brug for viden

Det seneste år er flere turismeuddannelser enten lukket, under nedlukning eller kraftigt beskåret. Dansk Erhverv bedyrer, at der ikke er brug for sådanne uddannelser. Men turismen har brug for viden – nu og i fremtiden, mener 11 undervisere og forskere inden for turisme i denne kronik

Integrert kystsoneforvaltning. Planfaglege, samfunnsvitskapelege og juridiske perspektiv.

Denne boka er eit resultat av eit fireårig tverrfagleg forskingsprosjekt, PlanCoast, finansiert av Norges Forskningsråd. Ein raud tråd i prosjektet har vore konseptet om ei integrert kystsoneforvaltning gjennom kommunal og regional planlegging etter plan- og bygningslova og forvaltning etter sektorlovverket. Forventninga om å sjå sjø- og landområde i samanheng på tvers av kommune- og sektorgrenser er også sentral i boka. Felles for alle artiklane i boka er at dei tek opp og diskuterer dagsaktuelle fenomen i den norske kystsona. Boka inneheld både planfaglege, samfunnsfaglege og juridiske fagartiklar. Enkelte artiklar er skrivne i samarbeid mellom forfattarar med ståstad i ulike fag for å sikre tverrfaglege tilnærmingar. Boka inneheld også artiklar frå fagpersonar i forvaltninga som dagleg handterer problemstillingar om bruk og vern av sjø. Eit gjennomgåande trekk i boka er korleis planlegging etter plan- og bygningslova fungerer som integrerande reiskap i kystsona, i samspel med sektorlovverket, og kva forfattarane meiner er dei viktigaste utfordringane for å oppnå ei slik meir integrert forvaltning av kystsona i åra som kjem. Boka er redigert av Knut Bjørn Stokke, førsteamanuensis ved Fakultet for landskap og samfunn, Norges miljø- og biovitenskapelige universitet (NMBU) og prosjektleiar i PLANCOAST Katrine Broch Hauge, førsteamanuensis ved Nordisk institutt for sjørett, Universitetet i Oslo