MARine Ecosystem Accounting for integrated coastal planning in the Oslofjord

The Oslofjord is facing historic deterioration of ecosystem condition. At the same time, the fjord is experiencing high population growth and increased use of the fjord and coastline. There is a growing conflict of interests between coastal development and nature conservation. To facilitate sustainable ecosystem-based management of the Oslofjord, MAREA aims to evaluate how ecosystem accounting methods can provide decision-support to the different planning levels in the contested, complex and dynamic coastal-marine ecosystems of the Oslofjord. Through a collaborative project between NIVA, NINA, NMBU, SSB, planners at municipal, watershed, county and government level, MAREA will support Norway’s first government coordinated Integrated Plan for the Oslofjord (IPO). Our societal aim is to use the ecosystem accounting approach to catalyse a ‘turning of the tide’ of historic deterioration of the Oslofjord, restoring the flow of its ecosystem services to society and the economy. Main activities: ? MAREA will demonstrate how biophysical indicators and monetary values of ES can be used for differentiated and targeted decision-support for different coastal-marine planning layers. ? MAREA will also demonstrate trade-offs between coastal ecosystem services, including behavioral change in recreational fisheries. ? MAREA will test how ecosystem service trade-offs can be quantified, and communicated for the main planning concerns in the Oslofjord – eutrophication, blue forest loss and fish stock decline, recreation access limitation and shoreline property densification.

The overall aim of MAREA is to evaluate how ecosystem accounting methods can provide decision-support to the different planning levels in the contested, complex and dynamic coastal-marine ecosystems of the Oslofjord. Through a collaborative project with planners at municipal, watershed, county and government level, MAREA will partner with and directly support Norway’s first government coordinated Integrated Plan for the Oslofjord (IPO). Our societal aim is to use the ecosystem accounting approach to catalyse a ‘turning of the tide’ of historic deterioration of the Oslofjord, restoring the flow of its ecosystem services to society and the economy (/ma'?e.a/ (sp. noun); «tide», «flow» (eng.)). MAREA addresses MARINFORSK thematic areas of the “Ecosystem services” and “Marine and coastal zone management”. Ecosystem accounting’s emphasis on spatial mapping of ecosystem services (ES) is novel for Norwegian nature planning and management requiring documentation of its usefulness for decisive purposes. MAREA will demonstrate how biophysical indicators and monetary values of ES can be used for differentiated and targeted decision-support for different coastal-marine planning layers. MAREA will also demonstrate trade-offs between coastal ecosystem services, including behavioral change in recreational fisheries. Ecosystem mapping, modeling and accounting face greater challenges in marine than terrestrial and freshwater systems because of greater fragmentation of information. This makes uncertainty greater and trend detection and policy impact prediction of ecosystem service values more difficult. MAREA will test how ecosystem service trade-offs can be quantified, and scientific confidence communicated, for the main planning concerns in the Oslofjord – water pollution, benthic habitat loss and fish stock decline, recreation access limitation and shoreline property densification.