This essay discusses the Laholm’s bay and its eutrofication problems. The question of issue is: Have the efforts to limit the eutrofication in the Laholm’s bay been effective? What is the local actor’s opinion whether the measures have been effective or not? What efforts have been made to prevent the leakage of nutrients from fields and forestland? The Laholm's bay is located in the south part of the Swedish west coast. The problem was noticed in the 1960´s by local fishermen that experienced a lack of catch. Attention was drawn to the problem and it turned out that the bay was experiencing oxygen depletion The Laholm’s bay drainage basin is drained by five streams: Lagan, Nissan, Fylleån, Genevadsån and Stensån. The Laholm’s bay is especially sensitive to eutrofication because of its shallowness and has a medium depth of only 15 meters. In this bay nitrogen is the limiting nutrient. There are several sources for nitrogen and agricultural land as well as woodlands are the main cause. Interviews has been with wide range of persons to get a grip of what have been done and what is left to do in the area. The interviews have been divided between municipalities, county administration, the Federation of Swedish Farmers, scientist and farmers. The farmers along with the whole agriculture industry in the Laholm’s bay have put a lot of effort to reduce the nutrients leakage. The efforts have not given any clear results and the nitrogen levels are still the same. Data from small forest rivers and small rivers in agriculture land are showing a much more clear result. Agriculture land is in these measurements showing a slightly decrease in nitrogen levels. Forrest rivers are on the other hand showing an increase. It can be concluded that the efforts to reduce the eutrofication have been partly effective. Stronger regulations for all nutrients leakage source are necessary if eutrofication problems are going to show any significant improvement. It’s important to keep in mind that it’s a slow process that involves that efforts are made in several countries.

The following study investigates how a sand dune system in the central part of Laholm Bay (Laholmsbukten) in Halland County, Sweden, has evolved over the time period 1947 to 2014. Effort was made to contribute to improved knowledge of how geomorphological variations and anthropogenic activity in the area have been influenced by each other over time. The study is aiming to provide an improved science basis for further development of coastal management in the area. Initial focus points were to investigate the correlation over time between changes in dune system morphology, vegetation distribution and anthropogenic influence. Furthermore connections were made as to how climate has influenced the development and how climate change during the 21st century might affect the area. Methods used during the course of this study entailed fieldwork and remote sensing of aerial photographs. Changes in dune system dynamics, land cover and human impact on the area over time were analyzed. The result demonstrates that the area has undergone dynamic changes, affected by climatological aspects, human activities as well as vegetation changes. Decreasing topographic variations in the southern part of the dune system compared to the north is identified to be dependent on variations in soil fractions. This combined with the identified changes in vegetation distribution over time has an affect on erosion and deposition processes within the area. Future climate change during this century may further increase the dynamic behavior of the dune system, an important aspect to consider within local coastal management. / Följande studie utreder hur ett sanddynsområde i de centrala delarna av Laholmsbukten i Hallands län utvecklats under tidsperioden 1947-2014. Syftet var att skapa en uppdaterad kunskapsbild av områdets geomorfologiska utveckling och hur den antropogena aktiviteten i området har påverkat denna, för att, om möjligt bidra med underlag till en utveckling av förvaltningsarbetet i kustområdet. Fokus låg på att utreda sambanden mellan förändringar av landskapets morfologi, vegetationens utbredning och antropogen påverkan. Vidare undersöks hur klimatet under tidsperioden kan ha bidragit till den geomorfologiska utvecklingen och hur området kan komma att förändras fram till sekelskiftet år 2100. Arbetet innefattade fältarbete och fjärranalys av flygbilder. Faktorer såsom dynsystemets dynamik, areella förändringar i marktäcke och mänsklig påverkan på området analyserades. Resultatet påvisar att sanddynsområdet genomgått dynamiska förändringar över tid som kan antas bero på klimatologiska aspekter i kombination med mänsklig aktivitet och vegetationsförändringar. Dynområdets minskande relief i nord-sydlig riktning och variationer i dynkantens förskjutning över tid är beroende av det dynbildande materialets sammansättning. I kombination med identifierade variationer i vegetationens utbredning påverkar detta erosions- och ackumulationsförutsättningarna i området. Klimatförändringar under detta sekel kan komma att påverka de faktorer som reglerar dynsystemets uppbyggnad vilket kan öka dynamiken i systemet ytterligare. En aspekt som är viktig att ta hänsyn till i förvaltningen av dynområdet.

Some of the sand dune areas in the bay of Laholm have a protection value from a European perspective. The head questions for this study were: In what way does a beach have value for the people who live nearby? What activities are being practiced in the bay of Laholm during the different seasons? A didactic reflection follows in relation to the courses Geography 1 and 2 in the Swedish upper secondary school. The theoretical framework was Haggett (1983). He talks about the beach as a metaphor for the world. The chosen method was a sound-recorded and transcribed interviews with anonymous adults, who live near the beach in the Bay of Laholm. The result demonstrates how the beach was valuable for all the respondents in different ways. The categories for question one were: Optimism, conflict of interests, disharmony, freedom and beach relation. The result also showed how different activities were taking place at the beach both during the bathing season and off season. The categories for question two were: Movement, location, obstacle, entertainment and recovery. Is there any connection between the fact that the respondents live close to the beach and how they value the beach? If the beach is associated with negativity, does it affect the chosen activity? In Geography 1 and 2, the beach could be a theme to work with in several central contents. Haggett’s metaphor is also a suitable foundation. The hidden curriculum is important in this context - what values is created by the chosen content? In Geography 1 and 2, the teaching should be based not only on the central content, but also with the abilities and the knowledge requirements. Future research could investigate how valuable the beach is for people who live further away and what kind of activities there are at other beaches in Sweden.