Norsk institutt for naturforskning (NINA)
Last updated on November 04, 2025.
Foto: Jørn Fremstad, 2020
The landscapes in which we live consist of a mix of different land-use types such as urban settlements, agriculture, forests as well as natural (protected) areas. Landscapes change continuously, shaped by our activities as well as natural processes.
Human activities and natural processes may affect the benefits we gain from nature, such as berry-picking, outdoor recreation, or flood protection. To ensure that we can keep on benefiting from nature surrounding us, it is important to understand how and where people actually benefit from nature.
In the international research project PAREUS we want to model a network of areas that on one hand protect biodiversity while at the same time accounting for different human activities such as recreation, agriculture or water flow control. This will help to fulfill the 30x30 target at a regional scale.
The central hypothesis of PAREUS is that biodiversity targets and land degradation neutrality can only be achieved both effectively and equitably through a combination of land sparing and land sharing approaches. While areas of land sparing represent classical protected areas (PA), land sharing approaches built on the concept of other effective area-based conservation measures (OECM). This hypothesis will be addressed through the following research questions:
With your specific local knowledge, you can help us to understand where in the different regions of Trøndelag you and other people benefit from nature in different ways.
The study will use a participatory mapping approach. Thus, you will be asked to delineate specific areas that you know of with benefits to you or others. Based on your and other participants’ answers, a map will be computed indicating important areas for nature benefits in the coastal, inland and mountain landscapes of Trøndelag.
We are going to ask to delineate benefit areas for 10 different nature benefits. But don’t worry if you don’t know areas for all of them, you can indicate this as well.
To get started, click on one of the three landscapes of Trøndelag you feel most familiar with in the map below and open the link. You are welcome to come back and map further landscapes if you have wish so.
In case of any technical issues or study related question please contact: Technical support