BONUS BALTCOAST - A Systems Approach Framework for Coastal Research and Management in the Baltic

The BONUS BALTCOAST project was developed to overcome the lack of a holistic approach for coastal research and management, which integrates different human activities with ecosystems capacity and environmental forcing. BONUS BALTCOAST had the ultimate objective of developing a coherent and systematic management approach that encompasses multiple impacts in a spatially heterogeneous context, by using Systems Approach Framework (SAF) as a tool to be applied through case studies that reflect current regional management challenges and develop a generic tool for integrated system assessment, which provides a guided and stepwise approach and allows to shorten the time from the identification of an issue to the implementation of a solution. 

Major objectives of BONUS BALTCOAST were: 

1. to further-develop a Systems Approach Framework (SAF) for science and policy integration in the coastal zone into an applicable, user-friendly tool with high practical relevance that allows users to manage with multiple, complex, and diverse issues in the coastal zone and integration of spatial information and concern;
2. to tackle major thematic coastal issues that require a comprehensive interdisciplinary approach, in a manner that is structured, transparent and provides a framework to deal with complex issues and applicable for evaluating solutions with end-users;
3. to further-develop and apply an indicator-based concept that allows users to measure the sustainability and the success of SAF, ICZM and MSP, as well as a concept to integrate the SAF into existing policy frameworks (e.g. EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, EU Integrated Maritime Policy, EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), Water Framework Directive (WFD), Natura 2000 as well as the Baltic Sea Action Plan);
4. to carry out intensive SAF training and education for academics and professionals in order to increase the capacity to deal with complex coastal issues in a systematic way;
5. to strengthen and link existing Baltic ICM activities and initiatives into a lasting Baltic coastal management competence network.

Project partners

• Leibniz-Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde, Germany
• Technical University of Denmark, National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Denmark
• Klaipeda University, Lithuania
• Tallinn University, Institute of Ecology, Estonia
• University of Latvia, Latvia
• Institute of Hydro-Engineering of Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland
• Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden

Sub-contractors

The Coastal Union Germany (EUCC-D)