Integrated Coastal Zone Management on the Swedish island Gotland : An analysis of current management and ways forward

Sammanfattning: The coast of Sweden’s largest island, Gotland, is a place of conflicting interests. There is both the desire to preserve nature values and to develop the island’s tourism industry and rural areas. The planning and management of the coast are vital and faces the challenge of balancing these interests. In this study, personnel from the municipality and the county administrative board were interviewed in order to describe the status of the coastal zone management on Gotland. The results show that the shore protection and the comprehensive plan are important tools in the management of the coast. Rural areas that can be developed (LIS-areas) are identified by the municipality with regard to the tourism industry as well as ecological sustainability. However, further coastal zone management is not established, and there is a lack of tools to help management, such as integrated coastal zone management (ICZM). Furthermore, the newly proposed shore protection legislation causes uncertainty for the future of the coast. This study finds that there are, however, parts of ICZM in the planning, such as collaboration and long-term planning. However, areas such as knowledge on the coast and clear guidelines for who is responsible can be developed by implementing ICZM. ICZM is perceived as a potentially valuable tool for the coastal zone on Gotland and as a sustainable way to continue to find a balance between these conflicting interests.