The SUCOZOMA program: results and challenges

The research program Sustainable Coastal Zone Management (SUCOZOMA), which was started in 1996 by the Swedish Foundation of Strategic Environmental Research, was motivated by the recognition of increasingly severe global, regional and national coastal problems. The program approached the complex issues of coastal eutrophication, fishing practices, and overexploited coastal resources, with a concerted effort involving multidisciplinarity, stakeholder cooperation, and a focus on the problems perceived as most serious by the public and decision-makers. As the program was concluded in 2004 it had resulted in the completion or near-completion of 22 doctoral dissertations and approximately one hundred publications. More than 40 scientists were involved in the program. Göteborg University was the host university, but important research teams have also been located at Stockholm University, the Beijer Institute, and the Kristineberg Marine Research Station of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and within the National Board of Fisheries. During the program, networks of stakeholders were established and SUCOZOMA had contributed to numerous political and administrative processes relevant for integrated coastal zone management (ICZM). SUCOZOMA program results can be grouped into different categories. Many of the projects in the two phases of the program produced results which can be defined as technical or practical and available for direct implementation in, e.g. mussel cultivation, restoration and safeguarding of spawning areas, seal-safe fishing gear or sustainable fishing of underexploited species. Other results can be characterized as policy oriented, and the impact of these can only be fairly evaluated as new policies are put into effect. SUCOZOMA resulted in important new knowledge regarding coastal science and management, but also concerning the organization required to conduct an end-user oriented multidisciplinary program effectively.