Hanö Bight, situated on the south-east coast of Sweden, has, since the 1980s, been subject to two national investigations regarding the situation with water pollution. The first one was reported in 1989 and some recommended... [ view full abstract ]
Hanö Bight, situated on the south-east coast of Sweden, has, since the 1980s, been subject to two national investigations regarding the situation with water pollution. The first one was reported in 1989 and some recommended measures were taken then. However, the health status of the Bight started to get worse again and in 2012 the problem went up to the national level for the second time. The lack of national and regional resources to conduct holistic investigations and the lack of funding to take preventative measures, leaves the area in limbo, both regarding the knowledge of the problem and the status of the Bight. This situation has triggered local conflicts and divisions between public authorities, private companies and locals. Several stakeholders want to engage by contributing with resources, knowledge and manpower, but they are lacking a collaborative platform. There is a need for a holistic action plan, gathering all relevant stakeholders and results from both up-stream, land and sea investigations, identifying and harmonizing resources and ideas, as well as combining problems with solutions and business opportunities.
In response to the inability of top-down management to achieve local implementation of sustainable development in many parts of the world, community-based integrated coastal management has emerged as a popular governance tool. One governance structure frequently mentioned in research as one of the more successful community-based models of ecosystem management was founded in the early 1990s in Canada and goes under the name of the Atlantic Coastal Action Program (ACAP). In this program, coalitions of local stakeholders in coastal ecosystems across Atlantic Canada, have taken the lead in the planning and management activities in their area. ACAP has achieved shared priority setting and program delivery that both prevent and remediate environmental problems. The program puts strong emphasis on knowledge generation about local ecosystems, including science, and capacity-building among the partners which empowered local actions.
This story is the beginning of a Transatlantic Community Platform. This presentation will share experiences from the first two years of building up a community-based management platform in Sweden, by using the ACAP model from Canada. This is the story about several coastal communities in the south of Sweden, and on the other side, the work of ACAP, and the two nation’s collaborative research project to create a platform between communities – building a bridge across the Atlantic Ocean in order to share knowledge and experience and inspire local action.
Ecosystem: Coastal , Ecosystem: Marine , Resources: Water , Big Issues: Pollution , Solutions: Governance/Management
