About

The Compendium for Coast and Sea is an initiative of the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ). The mission, goals and end products are guided by an expert group with members from the research community, government and civil society organisations. The expert group is supported by the Compendium secretariat (VLIZ) for the daily tasks and collaborates intensively with the VLIZ Scientific Board, a network of coauthors and reviewers and international experts for the realisation of the Compendium.

The disclosure of scientifically-underpinned and up-to-date information in order to respond to societal questions and challenges is of the greatest importance in the marine and maritime field. In this context, an integrated approach is necessary which addresses environmental and ecological research, as well as socio-cultural, economic and institutional aspects of the marine system. Although such information is partially available, it is generally highly fragmented, sector-specific or poorly accessible. The Compendium for Coast and Sea aims at aggregating the disperse information and data from the Flemish and Belgian marine and maritime research community and experts. In line with the Open Access policy, the cited references are made publicly available as much as possible by means of the Integrated Marine Information System (IMIS) of VLIZ. The texts of the Compendium are available in English and Dutch.

The Compendium focuses on the Belgian part of the North Sea (BNS), the adjacent estuaries and the coastal area. The integrated and multidisciplinary character of the Compendium aims to increase the communication within the broad network of marine scientists and experts (from industry, policy, etc.) who are professionally involved with the coast and the sea. Furthermore, it increases the visibility and accessibility of marine research.

The following publications are disclosed in an interactive way on this website:

• Indicator Report Marine Research and Innovation 2018 (Pirlet et al. 2018)
• Knowledge Guide Coast and Sea 2018 (Devriese et al. 2018)
• Expert Guide Marine Research 2018 (Mees et al. 2018)
• Catalogue Marine Research Infrastructure (Dauwe et al. 2018)
• Marine Policy - Policy instruments and legislation 2018 (Verleye et al. 2018)

For a brief description of the Compendium for Coast and Sea, click here.