Prøveforelesning og disputas - MSc in Environmental and Marine Biology Emma Salminen

Later, at 12.15 she will defend her thesis entitled: "A large-scale public participation GIS for mapping community concerns about coastal development in northern Norway"

Head of Department Vidar Sørum at AMB will lead the disputation.

Popular Science Summary
The northern Norwegian coastline is undergoing significant transformations due to "blue growth", a concept promoting the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic development (European Commission, 2012). Activities such as aquaculture, tourism, renewable energy, and biotechnology offer economic opportunities for municipalities facing population decline and financial challenges. However, these developments have raised concerns among coastal residents about environmental and social impacts, cultural changes, and conflicts over space. Traditional coastal zone planning often incorporates community input late in the process, after substantial investments have been made, which can exacerbate tensions and exclude diverse voices, particularly the so-called "silent majority".

To address these challenges, this study developed an online Public Participation Geographic Information System (PPGIS) platform to engage coastal communities in mapping areas of personal importance by identifying the values associated with these locations, and concerns about coastal development. The motivation behind this initiative was to examine how the knowledge from diverse participants in coastal communities collected on such platforms could inform decision makers and planners about space and resource-related conflicts due to blue growth. One of the primary challenges in integrating PPGIS data into planning processes is ensuring the recruitment of a diverse participant pool that represents various societal segments. The online format expands the accessibility, enabling participation from underrepresented groups, remote communities, and individuals preferring anonymity.

A large-scale PPGIS initiative was conducted across 81 municipalities in northern Norway, involving 1,547 participants who mapped 17,229 points. The study revealed that aquaculture and tourism are the primary sources of concern, accounting for 30% and 14% of all mapped concerns, respectively. Aquaculture was mapped particularly in areas where traditional fishing and harvesting were identified as important values for local communities. Tourism-related concerns were associated with scenic areas. In a subregion of the study area, concerns about aquaculture and tourism were concentrated within 3 km of existing fish farming and tourism zones. These findings highlight the spatial conflicts between coastal communities and expanding blue growth sectors. The results underscore the importance of integrating community values and concerns into the early stages of coastal zone planning to foster sustainable and inclusive development.

Evaluation Committee

• Professor Christopher Monz, Utah State University, USA (1. opponent)
• Senior researcher Dr Ingunn Tombre, NINA (2. opponent)
• Associate Professor Keshav Prasad Paudel, Norwegian College of Fishery Science (internal member and leader of the committee)

Supervisors

• Professor Vera Hausner, AMB
• Senior researcher Dr Per Fauchald, NINA

Streaming

Both the trial lecture and defense and will be streamed and recorded:

• Trial lecture
• Defense

Thesis

 The thesis is available through Nasjonalt vitenarkiv