Environment in Focus Vol 1.

considered to be low (Figure 6). The experts consider commercial fishing to be providing significant (good) social and economic benefits to the region.

For recreational fishing, the experts considered the environmental pressure to be moderate (good) overall, with the worst 10 per cent of areas impacted

by fishing experiencing high pressure (very poor) and the best areas experiencing moderate pressure (good). The trend in this pressure has been steady over the past five years and there is moderate confidence in this assessment. The experts consider recreational fishing to be providing significant benefits (good) to the region, which are believed to have been increasing over the past five years. There is a high degree of confidence in the score and trend for social and economic benefits (Figure 6). For commercial shipping, the experts considered the environmental pressure to be moderate (good) overall. The trend in this pressure has been steady over the past five years and there is high confidence in this assessment. The experts consider commercial shipping to be providing the region with high benefits (very good), which are believed to have been increasing during the past five years. There is a high degree of confidence in the score and trend for social and economic benefits (Figure 6). For recreational boating, the experts considered the environmental pressure to be moderate (good) overall. The trend in this pressure has been steady over the past five years and there is moderate confidence in this assessment. Recreational boating is considered by the experts to be providing the region with high benefits (very good), which are believed to have been steady over the past five years (attributed mainly to recreational boat harbours). There is a low degree of confidence in the score and trend for social and economic benefits (Figure 6). For tourism, the experts considered the environmental pressure to be moderate (good) overall, with the worst 10 per cent of areas impacted by tourism experiencing moderate pressure (poor) and the best areas experiencing low pressure (very good). The trend in this pressure has been steady over the past five years for most areas but increasing (declining

Figure 6: Screen shot from the SOME web-based software (appendix 1), showing a list of some human pres- sures and social and economic benefits known to occur in the Raet Park region, identified prior to the work- shop, with scores assigned during the workshop to the extent of the pressure (white boxes), trend (arrows or horizontal line) and confidence estimates (coloured squares); figure produced using GRID-Arendal’s web-based system (appendix 1). The pressure scores should be interpreted in relation to the grading statements listed in Table 6 (appendix 2) and the social-economic scores with reference to Table 7 (appendix 2). In some cases, the experts did not provide condition scores for the best or worst 10 per cent due to insufficient data.

17 STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE RAET NATIONAL MARINE PARK (SOUTHERN NORWAY)