Coast4Us

Marine and coastal areas, face similar environmental and spatial planning challenges in the Baltic Sea Region. The increasing demands of exploiting these areas are creating potential conflicts with other interest such as preservation of natural resources and ecosystem services. It is essential that different values and interests are recognized in the marine and coastal plans to reach long term sustainable development in the Baltic Sea Region.

The idea of this project is to develop a holistic and inclusive approach in to the planning process, through involving stakeholders of different interests and together create sustainable marine and coastal zone plans. New methods and strategies will be developed and evaluated to visualize different values and interests and to improve local participation in order to make them more efficient and sustainable.

The main outputs from the project will be sustainable marine and coastal spatial plans for pilot areas in Åland, Latvia, Sweden and Estonia, and new tools and management strategies, guidelines and better cooperation between stakeholders regarding spatial planning. Important outputs are also innovative technical tools, such as GIS tools, web-based platforms, web and mobile applications, developed to support a transparent and inclusive planning process. In addition, these plans could lead to the creation of new jobs. ​Coast4us will exchange experience and knowledge with current and earlier projects, and ensure that new tools and management strategies developed in this project are transferred to other areas in the Baltic Sea Region.

The joint planning and management activities in the project will result in holistic, sustainable and locally adapted plans in the eight pilot areas. The results will contribute to the result indicator of improved management for a large coverage of Baltic Sea coastline. 

Sustainable plans will be developed through three parts:

1. Mapping and preparation for planning process: mapping and assessment of values (e.g. ecological, cultural and social) as well as present use of resources and local demands for economic development will be performed. Planning tools (e.g. GIS, planning IT tool, LEA and Smart City Planning) will be developed in order to facilitate the planning process. Meeting points, both physical and web-based, will be established as planning laboratories including the developed planning tools. Education material for the different tools and for sustainable development planning will also be prepared to suit our stakeholders, e.g. general public, planners and politicians.
2. Planning process and development of sustainable plans: A new planning approach will be developed, implemented and evaluated during the project. The process will include mobilization, education and activation of stakeholders of different interests and levels. An important step of the new process will be to put great emphasis on balancing different values and interests, and make the plans sustainable, viable and locally accepted. 
3. Evaluation and dissemination: Tools, participatory processes and the holistic plans will be evaluated and improved during the project time. Best practices will be summarized in handbooks and incorporated in methodological guidelines, for sustainable development planning at local level, and disseminated to stakeholders to make the project results long-term sustainable.

All three parts of the project will contribute to the result indicator by delivering sustainable and holistic marine and coastal plans in the participating countries.

Project Partners

• Länsstyrelsen Östergötland

• Hela Sverige ska leva Östergötland

• Coompanion Östergötland

• Valdemarsviks kommun

• Norrköpings kommun

• Linköpings universitet

• Aspöja Fastigheter AB

• Ålands landskapsregering

• Kökar kommun

• Latvijas Republikas Vides aizsardzības un reģionālās attīstības ministrija

• Carnikavas novada dome

• Saulkrastu novada dome

• Salacgrīvas novada dome

• Rīgas Tehniskā Universitāte

• Tallinna Tehnikaülikool

• Saaremaa vald