Coastal Harmony
Coastal Harmony will investigate how land use planning, water management, and nature conservation work together to protect the coastal ecosystem—especially at a time when the aquaculture industry is growing rapidly. The project will assess how well current policies and management practices are coordinated, and identify obstacles that make it difficult to protect the coastal environment.
- Project period
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- Funders
- The Norwegian Research Council
- Research section
- Water and society
- Contact persons
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Froukje Maria Platjouw
Frode Sundnes
Gunnar Sander
Saskia Trubbach
About the project
Norwayʼs coastline provides vital ecosystem services such as food, carbon storage, and recreation, but faces growing pressure from human activity. Coastal governance is sector-based, yet planning instruments aim to promote a more integrated approach balancing use and conservation. Cross-sectoral tools - such as coastal zone planning, water management, and nature conservation - operate under different legal frameworks and authorities. Although they intersect with sectoral policies, they remain marked by divergent goals, methods, and institutional responsibilities, leading to incoherence in coastal management.
Water management does not assess the full coastal ecosystem - key species like kelp forests, seabirds, and local fish stocks are excluded. A water body may be deemed “ecologically good” under the Water Regulation even when essential species are in decline. Marine protected areas are often weakly regulated and adapted to existing uses, while many identified as worthy of protection remain unprotected. Spatial planning varies across municipalities, and unclear roles and poor-quality impact assessments often limit environmental consideration.
Coastal Harmony is a four-year research project examining how governance systems for spatial planning, water management, and nature conservation interact in coastal areas, and are affected by, and respond to a growing aquaculture industry. The goal is to identify barriers and opportunities for better coordination and integration and to develop recommendations for more coherent coastal governance.
The project combines law, social and political science, environmental history, and dialogue with relevant actors. Two case areas will be studied in depth, involving municipalities, counties, and national agencies. Coastal Harmony supports global goals such as the UN biodiversity agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals, contributing to better coastal protection for current and future generations.
Who is behind it?
The project runs for four years and is led by the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA). You can see who is involved fra NIVA on the top of this page.
Partners include OsloMet – NIBR and Nofima:
Gro Sandkjær Hanssen - OsloMet
Marthe Indset - OsloMet
Eirik Mikkelsen - Nofima
Ingrid Kvalvik - Nofima
Coastal Harmony builds on experiences from European research projects (including the Horizon Europe-funded CrossGov project, where a Policy Coherence Handbook was developed) and combines law, social science, environmental history, and dialogue with local actors.
