Fredrikstad Conference

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Environment and development
in coastal regions and in small islands

UNESCO CONFERENCE ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF COASTAL RESOURCES IN THE NORDIC AND BALTIC COUNTRIES (Fredrikstad, Norway May 6-8, 1999)

Executive Summary

The participants at the above-mentioned Conference,

Recognizing that sustainable coastal management has scientific-technical, socio-cultural and communication-education dimensions;

Futher recognizing the fundamental importance of the Fredrikstad Declaration that underlines the need to enhance local community action for sustainable development;

Have agreed to set up a Nordic-Baltic Network on Sustainable Coastal Development having the following aims:

to pursue reflection on, and initiate intersectoral Nordic-Baltic projects of common interest on topics such as sustainable tourism and coastal human settlement development, coastal natural and cultural heritage, capacity building, local development of former restricted (military) areas etc.;
to elaborate and document wise practices for environmentally sustainable, socially equitable, culturally appropriate and economically sound development in coastal areas;
to establish mutually beneficial links with other regional networks on UNESCO’s Coastal Regions and Small Islands (CSI) platform, such as the Mediterranean network for " Small Historic Coastal Cities ";
to provide input to the Nordic-Baltic National Commissions for UNESCO for their development of UNESCO coastal projects in the region, as well as for their interactions with Nordic bilateral co-operation organizations to increase synergies among overseas coastal management and development programmes ;
to convene annual workshops to coordinate and facilitate actions taken in pursuit of the above.

Have decided :

to seek priority support for intersectoral follow up action including from the UNESCO Participation Programme ;
to establish an Executive Committee entrusted with the preparation of detailed proposals for the Network, for discussion and decision during the annual workshops ;
to entrust the UNESCO Chair on Sustainable Coastal Development at the University of Riga, Latvia, with the development, as soon as possible, of an electronic discussion facility for the Network ;
to organise the first annual workshop in Riga in the year 2000 focussing on training and education, with successive meetings to be held in different countries of the Nordic-Baltic region.

Recommend to the Norwegian National Commission for UNESCO:

to communicate the present Executive Summary as soon as possible to the other National Commissions for UNESCO in the Nordic-Baltic region ;
to finalize as soon as possible the summary report of the Fredrikstad Conference, and distribute it to the participants and to the National Commissions for UNESCO of the Nordic-Baltic countries;
to consider the preparation of a brochure on the Nordic-Baltic Network and the seeking of UNESCO Participation Programme Support for its preparation, printing and dissemination.

Recommend to the Nordic and Baltic National Commissions for UNESCO:

to stress at the World Conference on Science in Budapest, June 1999, the need to:

enhance the role of local communities in sustainable coastal development, through active participation, shared responsablility, collective decision-making and integration of local and scientific knowledge and know-how ;

reinforce intersectoral approaches in research, education and training on coastal and small-islands issues;

to give high priority to coastal projects when submitting proposals to UNESCO’s Participation Programme for the 2000-2001 biennium;

to seek support from the UNESCO Participation Programme for the organisation of the annual Nordic-Baltic Region Network meetings focussing on specific coastal issues and for intersessional projects at the local, national and (sub) regional level.

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