Hvorfor og hvordan endres Kyst-Norge. Hva mener fagfolk?

Coastal environments are under pressure worldwide. The challenges of environmental degradation, increasing resource exploitation, and population growth are being exacerbated by climate change. Coastal zone management has emerged during the last few decades as an attempt to integrate different user interests and policy levels in order to reduce conflict levels and promote more sustainable development trends. However, coastal zone management requires understanding and consensus among stakeholders of the problems, the tasks to be solved and the drivers of change in order to be effective. We surveyed a sample of Norwegian coastal experts, i.e. professionals in management and research who work actively with different topics related to social, economic and environmental issues linked to the coastal zone in northern Norway. Based on 35 potential drivers of change covering biological and physical factors, science and technology, society and economy, and political and institutional aspects, the respondents were asked to assess 1) the impacts on society and the environment in northern Coastal Norway, 2) the extent to which these factors were adequately recognized in policies and plans related to the coastal zone, and 3) at what geographic level this was most pertinent. This was followed by open-ended questions about the required management priorities in order to support future sustainable development. The broad picture is that coastal experts perceive most biological physical drivers as negative influences on society and the environment, while technology and knowledge are judged as positive drivers. A majority perceive that social and economic drivers of change have no or slightly negative effects on the developments in the coastal zone. We link our discussion to the key challenges in ongoing coastal zone management processes in Norway; regional and inter-municipal plans, inadequate local participation, the need for a broader knowledge base, the fragmented nature of the planning system, and the lack of inter-sectorial coordination. Coastal zone management, experts, drivers of change, northern Norway