CINTERA is designed to improve knowledge of ecosystem response to eutrophication and management of eutrophication in different marine fjord ecosystems and zones in Norway and Chile. The outcome of the field studies will be the determination of the most pronounced chemical and bioindicators of eutrophication in different conditions; this knowledge will give us the ability to improve monitoring activities in the future for early detection and management of the eutrophication problem.
CINTERA seeks to develop indicators for safe levels of nutrient and organic matter loads that are systemic-sensitive, useful for managers, and designed to prevent ecological and socio economic impact from increasing aquaculture activities in the Norwegian coastal system.
However, both eutrophication and its management measures occur within Socio-Ecological Systems (SES). This project will therefore also examine the socio-economic aspects of eutrophication brought on by aquaculture by examining the adaptive capacity of given communities to aquaculture /eutrophication, particularly the level of social conflict that may be associated with it. Consilience, the linking together and centering of principles and knowledge from different disciplines and sectors, is the foundation of the CINTERA project and signifies its cross-ecosystem comparison and cross-disciplinary character: at its heart is the close cooperation among natural and social scientists in three countries – Norway, Chile, and the United States.
