27 June 2018

Assessment of the Nordic coastal ecosystems now published

Coastal biodiversity

This month, the Nordic Council of Ministers published an assessment of the Nordic coastal ecosystems. The preparation of the IPBES-like report involved valuable contributions from Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate. Key conclusions from the study are that the Nordic coastal region has many natural assets and provide numerous ecosystem services, but the region is under pressure.

The newly published report describes the status and trends of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the Nordic region. Together with a Summary for Policymakers, it was launched at the IPBES-meeting back in March 2018 in Medellin, Columbia.

The focus of the report is drivers and pressures affecting biodiversity and ecosystem, interactions and effects on people and society, and options for governance. The main report consists of two volumes, Vol. 1: The general overview, and Vol. 2: The geographical case studies. In addition to the two parts, Professor Neil D. Burgess from Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, University of Copenhagen, has been responsible for the completion of a Summary for Policymakers.

CMEC responsible for case study of the Sound

Ten geographical areas have been selected as focal points in the Nordic countries, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, and the autonomous areas of Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland. They stretch from freshwater areas to ecosystems in the Atlantic Ocean, and from urbanised areas with heavy pressures on the environment, e.g. the Sound (Øresund), to sparsely populated areas, like Greenland. Anders Højgård Petersen, senior advisor at Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, is the first author of the sixth case study, The Sound: Biodiversity and ecosystem services in densely populated and heavily exploited area.

Altogether, the report highlights environmental differences and similarities in the Nordic coastal areas, like the inhabitants´ relation to nature and the environment, as well as similarities in social and policy instruments between the Nordic countries. It shows that Nordic cooperation is of great importance for sustainable coastal management and should be strengthened in future work.

Download the reports on the Nordic Council of Minister's website:

What does IPBES-like mean?

This study has been inspired by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services, IPBES. It is structured as closely as possible to the framework for the regional assessments currently being finalized within IPBES.

Contact

Senior advisor Anders Højgård Petersen
Phone: (+45) 22 81 82 01