2026-10-06T12:39:39Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/33497254 2026-10-05T09:21:18Z category_26932 category_26941 category_26947 category_26950 item_type_3 month_year_10_2026

Swedish and Danish MPAs: activity regulation and <i>MPA Guide</i> Levels of Protection Barbara Horta e Costa (22998220) Ines Sousa (22998337) Conservation and biodiversity Environmental management Natural resource management Wildlife and habitat management marine protected areas Sweden Denmark MPA guide Levels of protection marine conservation fisheries fisheries management activity regulation conservation effectiveness Scandinavia Baltic Sea North Sea Skagerrak Kattegat Natura 2000 30x30 target EU Biodiversity Strategy Nature Restoration Regulation <p dir="ltr">This dataset provides a comprehensive spatial inventory of marine protected areas (MPAs) in Swedish and Danish marine waters, classified according to <i>The MPA Guide</i> Levels of Protection framework. It consolidates spatial boundaries, regulatory information, and activity-based assessments, refining previous EU-wide assessments with updated spatial and regulatory data and country-specific expert knowledge.</p><p dir="ltr">The dataset includes georeferenced polygon layers representing MPAs and zones, together with a comprehensive attribute table describing designation type, allowed and prohibited human activities, potential fishing activity occurrence, and the resulting protection level for each site. Levels of Protection were assigned following <i>The MPA Guide</i> decision-tree framework, considering the most impactful activities present across the assessed activity categories. Fisheries assessments incorporated national regulations, gear operability constraints and country-specific expert knowledge, while other activities were assessed using available European and regional spatial datasets and regulatory information. Local experts also provided spatial information, including additional polygons for recently designated MPAs and selected activity layers, and contributed to joint decisions on assessment assumptions. Assumptions regarding the potential impacts of activities, including their scale, are documented in the accompanying metadata.</p><p dir="ltr">Files are provided in standard, open formats to facilitate reuse in GIS software, spatial analyses, and integration with international data platforms. The data are suitable for applications such as marine spatial planning, assessments of MPA effectiveness, policy monitoring, and comparative analyses across regions.</p><p dir="ltr">This dataset was developed within the Horizon Europe MARHAB project as part of an assessment of MPA protection across Scandinavia and complements the Norwegian MPA dataset: <i>Norwegian MPAs: activity regulation and MPA Guide Levels of Protection</i> (<a href="https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.31057699" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.31057699</a>), associated with Horta e Costa et al. (2026), <i>Data on Marine Protection Levels in Norwegian MPAs: A National Application of The MPA Guide</i>, Data in Brief, 67, 113034 (<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2026.113034" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2026.113034</a>). Together, these datasets provide comparable information on MPA regulations and Levels of Protection across Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Future updates or refinements will be versioned within this repository.</p> 2026-10-05T09:21:18Z Dataset Dataset 10.6084/m9.figshare.33497254.v2 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Swedish_and_Danish_MPAs_activity_regulation_and_i_MPA_Guide_i_Levels_of_Protection/33497254 CC BY 4.0