From traditional resource use to modern industrial production: holistic management in Western Norway

Norway's west coast is one of the most resource-rich parts of the country, with a versatile economy linked to fisheries, aquaculture, agriculture, tourism, hydropower and the petroleum industry. This resource-based economy is changing in step with the changing dynamics of our natural resource use in these social-ecological systems. This has led to a need for an increased understanding of the connections between land use, environmental quality, climate change, ecosystem services and biological diversity in order to counter negative consequences at local and regional scales. Steering research and action towards new solutions via a holistic approach is a necessary step in sustainable development. This approach also reflects the UN's 2030 Agenda and the work done nationally and internationally with the sustainability goals. By choosing Nordhordland, consisting of 9 municipalities, which in 2019 was designated as Norway's very first biosphere reserve under UNESCO's "Man and the Biosphere" programme, we have used the land use and natural resource use gradient from open ocean and coast in the west to the mountains in the east to shed light on the following issues and development processes: 1) TradMod has involved people in Nordhordland by means of dialogue meetings and interviews, in order to survey knowledge and perceptions of ecosystems and ecosystem services (ES) in the biosphere area. A total of 433 people responded to our ES survey. It turns out that the value of recreation is definitely what most people are concerned about. In second place comes the value of biological diversity. Several of the natural assets appear together in "bundles". This applies, for example, to agriculture and cultural heritage. By actively involving various players in the region, we have co-produced new knowledge that will form the basis for good knowledge-based management. PhD candidate Jarrod Cusens lead this work in collaboration with postdoc Alicia Barraclough and PI Inger Måren. Cusens successfully defended his PhD-degree in Apr 2023. We have published 4 peer-reviewed papers on this part of the project, held information days and written popular scientific summaries of these findings. 2) Through experiments and surveys, we have generated new biological insights into change processes in semi-natural landscapes/cultural landscapes. We have analyzed how grazing livestock function as "landscape engineers", given the importance of this management regime in historical and ecological perspective in this region. We investigated the effects of sheep, goat and cow grazing in fjord areas with regard to plant diversity, insect diversity, soil chemistry and carbon storage. During the last 4 years, we have established a large-scale experiment in which we separate different effects of fertilization and grazing. PhD candidate on the TradMod project Morgane Kerdoncuff leads this work in collaboration with Dr. Eycott. All data collection has been completed in the large survey including 45 localities. After 4 years, we have collected data from this large-scale experiment where the effect of grazing appears to completely override the effect of fertilization from sheep faeces, despite the fact that the experiment is established in nutrient-poor coastal heathlands. Two papers are published, and 2 manuscripts are soon to be completed based on this material. We have also provided all farmers we have worked with with individual feedback on results from their farms. 3) Nordhordland UNESCO Biosphere Reserve has prepared its first strategy document through a series of input meetings with a range of private and public actors in the region, and we have followed this process closely. This is process is crucial for further collaboration and research in the region. We have also had interviews and discussions with diverse actors who work closely with land management, such as spatial planners in the municipalities, farmers and farmers' organisations. This has led to a better understanding and interpretation of the data in this project and we have had the opportunity to communicate results back to the local planners, especially the ES survey and the map layers of this. 4) We have developed a platform for communication and knowledge sharing in collaboration with Region Nordhordland, who is responsible for dealing with communication. They have prepared a very user-friendly website and have also prepared a communication plan for social media. With this, we hope to increase the visibility of Nordhordland UNESCO Biosphere regionally and nationally. This work also involves a strong focus on sustainable development and the SDGs, and we will provide concrete tips and examples of how actors in the region can contribute towards the sustainability agenda. By shedding light on these processes, we contribute new knowledge and to strategic discussions between academia, industry, politicians and citizens.

The TradMod project has tracked the formation of Nordhordland UNESCO Biosphere Area from its designation in 2019 up till today. We have gathered data on the social-ecological system of Nordhordland, both biophysical and biocultural. We have mapped ecosystem services (or nature's contributions to people) by inviting visitors and inhabitants to partake in a participatory GIS-study, covering the whole bisophere. We have also carried out surveys and experiments to enhance our knowledge on how different types of livestock act as landscape engineers in this region. In addition to the scientific outputs in the form of several peer-reviewed papers, we have also contributed extensively to local, national and international debates (see project results) on sustainable land use, natural resource management, youth participation, sustainable agricultural development and local engagement. The transdisciplinary team that has contributed to this work has made significant contributions to the establishment and foundation building of Norway's very first UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. We have generated actionable knowledge for local sustainable development that will keep generating new knowledge beyond the end-point of this project.

Environmental and societal changes are drivers of land-use change, and land-use in turn affects natural resources, cultural environments and social development, creating complex and constantly changing interactions. TRADMOD meets societal challenges related to sustainable development and contributes to green development by providing multi-faceted knowledge of the region's social-ecological systems. By choosing Nordhordland - proposed as Norway's first Biosphere Area under UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere (MAB) programme - to study the major challenges in converting to greener development and wealth creation, we draw on the University of Bergen's competence on coastal areas and semi-natural landscapes, and from UNESCO's and partners' insights into sustainable futures. This region, situated close to the major city of Bergen, has large-scale development of industrial-, residential- and commercial infrastructure. Yet the need for green development is hampered by the rapid loss of traditional knowledge. Our cultural heritage wanes under the influence of the global information culture. TRADMOD will address this paradox by involving the people of Nordhordland, young and old, to map traditional knowledge and perceptions of ecosystems and ecosystem services and their will to care for and develop their rural, peri-urban and urban environments. Through experiments, we will generate biological insights into processes of change in semi-natural or 'domesticated' ecosystems to evaluate how livestock can act as landscape engineers, given the importance of this management regime over time. Our methods and results will be of high international relevance to other regions experiencing similar processes of change and transformation. We will work closely with stakeholders to analyse innovation mechanisms and involve them in citizen science. Results will be shared widely through our knowledge-sharing platform, and by developing and strengthening collaboration within the region.