Selection of case studies

An effective approach to the topic investigated in this project requires an attentive selection of cases that reflects:

•  the rich diversity in the current and expected environmental challenges;
• the variety of existing institutional settings and governance schemes;
•  and the territorial socio-economic fabric with its cultural embedding. Each of these three components will bring unique challenges to the ambition of transformative change and has guided the case selection.

1. Environmental issues

First, the cases have been selected to represent a diversity of environmental issues. The available information on the major issues across the biodiversity-water-climate nexus highlights how several regions in Europe will be affected by severe environmental challenges. The project will address these challenges and focus on the geographical areas where these challenges are expected to be more intense:

• Storm surge, flooding, erosion and rising temperature in closed seas (e.g. Mediterranean Sea) threateningcoastal settlements and tourist and agricultural sectors, while also contributing to the introduction of alien species;
• Increase in pluvial flood and severe windstorms along coastal areas located in northern open seas (e.g. North Sea) resulting in changes in agricultural productions and nutrient loadings, as well as unbalanced decline andmigrations of some plant or bird species;
• Loss of low-lying lands due to sea level rise and decreased water quality from salinisation in small and isolated islands characterised by limited resources and geographic dispersion (e.g. Canary Islands and the Reunion), affecting sectors depending on coastal systems such as tourism, fisheries and agriculture.

2. Governance contexts

Second, within these geographical areas, the cases have been selected to represent a diversity of governance contexts. From a constitutional angle, the cases selected cover different arrangements of the state, ranging from federal to unitary states, which is expected to impact the current institutional setting for the management of marine and coastal areas and on the co-creation of new solutions.

3. Actors

Third, the preference in the case selection has gone to territories with a clear presence of a network of actors committing to improve marine governance, willing to participate in the policy dialogues foreseen by BGG, and helping to generate evidence of how institutional changes can be brought about.

Therefore, seven case studies have been selected.