A workshop on coastal areas in the Barents Region was held in Murmansk, Russia, in June, 2016. The workshop produced thematic maps on valuable coastal areas, as well as planned and protected coastal areas. The workshop also resulted in recommendations for developing the coastal protected areas networks.

In addition to the expert conclusions on valuable coastal areas in the Barents Region several maps were produced, and a brochure summarizing the main results has now been published.

Photo Jan Ekebom

The presentations of the workshop were published on the web earlier.

The main conclusions of the workshop were:

• The network of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Barents Region needs to be strengthened to achieve the CBD Aichi Biodiversity Targets.
• More detailed and unified data is needed for marine management planning. This covers the information on the status and changes in habitat and species as well as knowledge on human impact on the coastal areas.
• The impact of climate change and other human activities need to be considered in the development of the MPA network.
• Stakeholder engagement and cross-border co-operation needs to be improved.