Barriers and enablers of green development: the example of blue economy sectors in coastal communities of the Wadden Sea region

1 Introduction

Due to the strong interlinkage of societies, economies, and natural systems, ecosystem degradation can have severe impacts on human activities, as they often depend on natural resources and support provided by ecosystems (Fischer et al., 2015). The European Commission (2017), United Nations Department of Economic Social Affairs (2014), and The World Bank (2017) elaborated how this holds true in the coastal and marine context for activities of the so-called blue economy, encompassing ocean-based sectoral activities such as shipping, fishery and aquaculture, tourism and energy generation. The blue economy depends on functioning coastal and marine ecosystems: the provision of fish and seafood are fundamental for the fishing sector, the provision of raw material provides the basis for oil and gas extraction, and cultural and recreational benefits of coastal regions foster tourism. However, the expansion of ocean-based economic activities is contributing to observable trends in ecosystem degradation (European Commission, 2017). The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) found that human use of marine and coastal ecosystems is the second highest driver of degradation. Globally, land use change causes the highest impacts on ecosystems, while fishing as a single sector is found to be responsible for the highest impact on marine ecosystems (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, 2019). At the same time, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that loss of species range shift and loss of habitat poses increasingly high risks to fisheries in European coastal regions (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2023). There is an evident conflict between the increasing dependency of social systems on ecosystem goods and services, for example fish and seafood to meet global dietary needs of a growing population (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2016), and the reduction of ecosystems' capacities to provide these goods and services. This highlights the reciprocity of functioning ecosystems and human wellbeing (Duarte et al., 2020). Consequently, human (economic) activities impact natural systems which, in turn, have consequences for connected social systems (Groeneveld et al., 2018). As argued by Northrop et al. (2020), a transformational shift is needed to acknowledge the relevance of ocean values for activities of the blue economy and to address unsustainable economic development that further threatens these values, and, in turn, economic welfare and human wellbeing.

The transition to a more sustainable and climate-resilient development pathway, in the coastal context and beyond, requires a shift of focus toward ensuring the functioning of ecosystems and the continued provision of ecosystem services and resources (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2025b) and a low-carbon, socially inclusive and resource-efficient future (United Nations Enrivonment Programme, 2018), as set out in the concepts of green growth, green economy and sustainable development. Such development could be framed as “green development,” in reference to the conceptualization of “green recovery” as done by Hartmann et al. (2025). In this sense, green development has been defined as “strategies and measures that facilitate long-term transformative change toward sustainability, biodiversity protection, resilience and climate neutrality.” Further, the elements of Hartmann et al.'s green recovery framework could be applied in the context of green development, which comprise the four pillars of climate action, environmental, social and economic development, in reference to the three dimensions of sustainability. Adopting this definition and framing of green development is beneficial, as it provides an analytical frame to assess whether existing policies and strategies to turn the tide on climate change impacts and the unsustainable use of coastal regions qualify as green development, i.e., whether they contribute to sustainability, biodiversity protection, resilience and climate neutrality.

However, while examining how policies and strategies align with the framework can be an important step to inform policymaking on how to design a holistic green development, the effective implementation of measures to foster green development require additional attention. According to the IPCC, realizing ambitions for climate resilience and greenhouse gas reduction as part of green development on a global scale largely depends on how coastal communities provide the required enabling conditions. These communities are at the forefront of climate change mitigation and adaptation (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2022). Such enabling conditions can be regional, national or international policies and frameworks, technical innovations, increasing investments, or capacity building. At the same time, the barriers to green development mentioned above hinder progress in promoting sustainable use of ocean and coasts and protecting vital ecosystems. Without strengthening and institutionalizing enabling factors and overcoming existing barriers, and promoting strategies to spur climate action, social inclusivity, sustainable economic activities and ecosystem and biodiversity conservation are at risk of remaining ineffective.

Against this background, this paper examines barriers and enablers of green development to coastal communities and their blue economy based on the example of the German Wadden Sea region. The specific objectives of this paper are (i) to identify barriers of and enablers for green development of coastal communities and the blue economy, (ii) to map these barriers and enablers against the green recovery/green development framework to understand where key opportunities and key gaps are, and (iii) to formulate strategies to harness enablers and overcome strategies for effective green development.

2 Methods and materials

The paper adopts an exploratory, qualitative, cross-sectional approach, building on policies and strategic political documents analysis and an expert engagement process. The spatial context of the study is the German Wadden Sea region. The research questions were addressed through (i) identifying barriers and enablers of green development through literature review and expert engagement; (ii) clustering these factors against the green recovery/green development framework to highlight key opportunities and gaps; and (iii) developing strategies to harness enablers and overcome barriers in a stakeholder workshop.

2.1 Case study area

The Wadden Sea is the largest intertidal flat system in the world, stretching for over 500 km along the coasts of the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. The Wadden Sea region covers an area of approximately 14,700 km², including the intertidal flat system itself, parts of the mainland as well as its barrier island system, which is composed of 25 inhabited islands and several small, vegetated islands (Common Wadden Sea Secretariat, 2017; Kabat et al., 2012). In Germany, the Wadden Sea borders three federal states, Lower-Saxony, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. In Lower-Saxony alone, approximately one million people live behind the dikes along the Wadden Sea (Nationalpark Wattenmeer, 2023), mostly in medium or small-sized urban areas (see Figure 1). The Wadden Sea is characterized by its ecological importance for biodiversity and migratory birds, for which it is one of the most important areas in the world (Common Wadden Sea Secretariat, 2021), and its socioeconomic importance for human activities. It is a protected conservation area under the Natura 2000 network of the European Union (EU) (European Environment Agency, 2020) and as German National Park under the federal nature conservation acts of the states (Wadden Sea Board, 2021). In 2009, the Wadden Sea was inscribed as World Heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (Common Wadden Sea Secretariat, 2017).

Tourism at the coastline and on the islands of the Wadden Sea is a major economic pillar for this region, accounting for about 58 % of the total tourism earnings in Germany (Bjarnason et al., 2017), with most of the tourists coming due to the region's unique nature (Nationalpark Niedersächsisches Wattenmeer, 2017). Further, highly frequented shipping lanes in the estuaries of Ems, Jade and Weser contribute to the strength of the shipping sector in the region (Biosphärenreservat Schleswig-Holsteinisches Wattenmeer und Halligen, 2014). The Wadden Sea is not only considered an important ecological entity, but as one that also provides livelihoods for many people working in sectors depending on the ecosystem, such as fishery, tourism or coastal protection (Schleswig-Holstein Ministerium für Energiewende, Landwirtschaft, Umwelt und ländliche Räume, 2015). Figures from the German federal government (Deutsche Bundesregierung, 2021) and the European Commission (2021) demonstrate the performance of the German blue economy, which generates a gross value added (GVA) of more than 40 billion euros.

Despite their contribution to economic welfare, activities of the blue economy sectors energy, fishing, shipping, and tourism must be considered as major pressures affecting the biodiverse ecosystem. In addition, climate change and increased frequency and magnitude of extreme events are projected to challenge the intactness of the Wadden Sea (Busch and Bostelmann, 2020; Oost et al., 2017; Philippart et al., 2017). These processes cause loss of species and habitat, loss of biodiversity, carbon sequestration and storage capacity reduction and a homogenization of the Wadden Sea's food web, which already negatively affects both the ecological as well as the dependent socioeconomic system (Busch and Bostelmann, 2020; Lotze et al., 2005).

Strategies as the Single Integrated Management Plan (SIMP) or the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM), which was implemented to conserve ecologically intact coastal areas while allowing for economic development (Umweltbundesamt, 2012), can be considered as key management means to conserve the Wadden Sea and the ecosystem's sustained functioning and integrity.

2.2 Analysis of green development policy and strategic documents

One methodological component of this study was the analysis of policies and strategic political documents relevant for green development of the local communities and within the selected blue economy sectors energy, fishery, shipping and ports, and tourism, which have been identified as the most important socio-economic factors in the region (Common Wadden Sea Secretariat, 2024). The purpose of this analysis was not to perform a systematic policy review, but rather to understand the political context in which green development is pursued and how this context enables or hinders respective actions, identifying key barriers and enablers.

Policies and strategic documents play a critical role in this context by setting goals and defining regulatory frameworks for sustainability, climate action, and nature conservation. A review of relevant policy strategies and frameworks was carried out at the EU, national, federal state, and municipal levels. While not exhaustive on all existing laws and regulations, it provides an overview of the general policy context in which the barriers and enablers identified are embedded. This approach complements work by Clelland et al. (2026), which maps policies supporting green recovery in multiple coastal regions. Unlike that study, our analysis focuses specifically on the Wadden Sea and the identification of barriers and enablers across blue economy sectors, linking them to actionable strategies for promoting green development.

More than 150 documents in German and English language were identified through searches on Google, Google Scholar and institutional websites. Search terms used in this process included elements of green development, such as “sustainability,” “climate change mitigation,” “climate change adaptation,” or “green development” and synonyms of the targeted documents, “policy,” “strategy,” “plan,” or “document.” Sustainability and climate change mitigation and adaptation were selected as search terms as entities in Germany have to report on these matters, increasing the probability of yielding relevant documents. Additionally, the name of a specific entity to focus the search on was added to the search string. These either were the names of the sectors or referred to a specific spatial level of policy making, namely “European Union” at multilateral level, “Germany” at national level, “Lower-Saxony” and “Schleswig-Holstein” at federal state level, and various names of municipalities and communes at regional and local level. The search was further expanded by searching for documents directly linked to the green development framework adopted from Hartmann et al. (2025), for example those pertinent to biodiversity conservation or green finance.

After their identification, the documents were screened to assess their relevance for the study. This process consisted of two main steps. In an initial screening, documents were assessed to determine whether they fit the scope of the analysis based on predefined inclusion criteria, which were document type and thematic relevance. Documents were deemed relevant and included in the analysis when they defined specific goals, strategies, and tangible measures to promote green development. This applies to regulations, agreements, strategic documents, and also some funding tools. Excluded were documents such as position papers, summaries of existing relevant documents, outdated material, or documents that do not propose actual measures or measures not relevant for the thematic scope of the relevant sectors or green development. A documentation of mentioned policies can be found in Supplementary material S1. In a second step, a full-text review was carried out to assess the substantive value of each document.

The relevant documents were subsequently reviewed following a qualitative analysis approach (Cho and Lee, 2014; Kühlmeyer et al., 2020). In the scope of this analysis, the elements of the green recovery framework by Hartmann et al. (2025) were applied as deductive codes. Supplementary material S4-2 in Hartmann et al. (2025) provides clear definition of the elements, reducing subjectivity in code application. The authors also discuss these elements, which should not be understood as universally agreed objectives, but rather as contested political and institutional constructs that may prioritize certain sustainability dimensions over others depending on the specific context and actors involved. When processing the findings of the coding for the manuscript development, all authors independently reviewed the assignment of the codes, therefore reducing potential researcher bias. Through this coding, the measures proposed by the reviewed documents were assigned to the respective framework element. This served the purpose of identifying strategies and measures set out in the documents that directly address elements of green development, as for example policy documents proposing concrete measures that specifically target clean energy or research and development. This allowed for drawing conclusions on whether and how the reviewed documents provide a frame and therefore act as enablers, or potentially barriers, of green development.

2.3 Expert engagement

For this study, 35 experts from local authorities of coastal communities, representatives of nature protection agencies, and representatives of the blue economy sectors energy, fishery, shipping and ports, and tourism of the Wadden Sea region were consulted. Nature conservation was considered a crucial aspect to elaborate on in this study, given the outstanding importance of the Wadden Sea ecosystem for the whole region. The study focused on officials from Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein, with particular attention to representatives engaged in sustainability and climate-related issues or working at the environment–economy interface. Accordingly, representatives from federal state ministries, chambers of commerce, businesses of the blue economy, tourism agencies and nature conservation associations were contacted. The selection criteria for interviewees where hence the regional scope and the thematic focus on blue economy and sustainability. Regarding local authorities, all municipalities with direct coastal access to the Wadden Sea across the two federal states were identified and contacted. An effort was made to involve an equal number of experts from each sector by specifically approaching underrepresented groups; however, due to limited availability, this balance could not always be fully achieved. Information on experts engaged in this study can be found in Supplementary material S2. The expert's engagement served the purpose of identifying barriers and enablers of green development in their respective context and adding this empirical data to the findings of the policy document analysis. It was conducted in a formative, three-step process grounded in a qualitative, semi-structured approach. First, 10 officers of local authorities were invited to interviews in the scope of a survey that was conducted on post-pandemic green recovery (Vicarelli et al., 2024). For these interviews, the focus of recovery was redirected toward green development, allowing the discussions to center on long-term strategies beyond the immediate pandemic context. The interviews were guided by two overarching questions:

• What are enabling factors of green development of the Wadden Sea region?
• What are barriers to green development of the Wadden Sea region?

The results of the green development policy and strategic documents fed into the interviews by inquiring the experts to expand on barriers and enablers on policy level and in reference to specific documents.

The second step in the expert engagement process was the identification of relevant representatives of nature protection and the aforementioned blue economy sectors to consult. Additional interviews with these 25 experts were conducted in a similar way to the previous interviews. The interviews were conducted in an online format between March 2024 and November 2024.

Identifying strategies and removing barriers to green development of coastal communities and their blue economy at the German Wadden Sea coast requires a clear understanding of areas of conflict, as well as overlaps and opportunities for cooperation between sectors. To obtain this understanding, the third and last step in the engagement following the individual interviews was a concluding online expert workshop with 10 representatives from different sectors. This workshop, which was conducted using a qualitative, semi-structured, formative approach to explore expert knowledge and contextual insights. For this purpose, the workshop was designed in three stages: first, the stakeholders were asked to validate the findings on enabling factors and barriers identified in the interviews. Second, stakeholders were invited to enhance these findings by providing additional perspectives, such as on conflicts between specific sectors, or examples of concrete policy instruments for green development. Third, strategies to overcome the identified barriers were developed and discussed with the stakeholders.

The workshop generated discussions on barriers and enablers between experts and hence enabled capturing different perspectives and explanations for certain views of experts from the different contexts (Nyumba et al., 2017). As in the policies and strategic political document analysis, the results of the interviews were evaluated through a qualitative content analysis. The experts' statements were coded based on the use of deductive codes (Kühlmeyer et al., 2020; Nyumba et al., 2017) using Hartmann et al.'s framework as sub-elements. The applied codes are “work with nature,” “climate-resilient infrastructure,” “decarbonization,” “clean energy,” “inclusion,” “good governance,” research and development,” “green finance,” “green jobs,” “biodiversity neutral,” “biodiversity conservation,” and “biodiversity enhancement.”

In a subsequent step, the findings from the literature review and interviews were analyzed using an inductive coding approach in Excel to identify clusters of enablers and barriers. First, each finding was reviewed and classified according to whether it supported green development (enabler) or hindered it (barrier). For example, the limited market for environmentally friendly energy solutions was classified as a barrier because it constrains the green development of the energy sector. Next, all identified enablers and barriers were compared to detect recurring themes, shared characteristics, and underlying causes. During this process, inductive codes were developed directly from the data rather than being predefined. For instance, the example above was coded under themes such as “lack of incentives” and “insufficient financial instruments.” The coding process was conducted in Excel by grouping findings with similar characteristics and assigning them common labels. In a final step, related codes were consolidated into broader clusters of enablers and barriers that reflected common patterns across different elements of green development (see Tables 1, 2). This clustering process was done as part of a transnational comparative study investigating barriers and enablers to green recovery and development in Scotland, Costa Rica, the US and Germany.

Table 1. Barriers and enablers of green development in the Wadden Sea region clustered in categories mapped against the elements of the framework developed by Hartmann et al. (2025).

WN, work with nature; CRI, climate resilient infrastructure; DC, decarbonization; CE, clean energy; IN, inclusion; GG, good governance; R&D, research and development; GF, green finance; GJ, green jobs; BN, biodiversity neutral; BC, biodiversity conservation; BE, biodiversity enhancement.

The column colors correspond with the framework of Hartmann et al. (2025).

Table 2. Barriers and enablers of green development in the Wadden Sea region clustered in categories, affected blue economy sectors and source, mapped against the elements of the framework developed by Hartmann et al. (2025).

3 Results

3.1 Identified barriers of and enablers for green development of coastal communities and the blue economy

The findings from the policy document analysis and the expert engagement allow for drawing conclusions on prevailing barriers and enablers specific to each blue economy sector as well as in the context of local communities and nature conservation. The most important factors are described in the following section. It should be noted that, across sectors, barriers and enablers for green development are often difficult to disentangle, as many factors are closely interlinked. Policies that provide the framework for green development can function as both barriers and enablers, depending on the context or sector. For example, experts highlighted climate change impacts as simultaneously driving green development while also posing significant risks.

3.1.1 Energy

Barriers to green development in the context of the energy sector mainly evolve around competing sectoral interests between the expansion of renewable energy infrastructure for climate change mitigation and the need for nature conservation. Beyond that, experts from both the energy and nature conservation sectors raised concerns that the current offshore wind expansion targets are unrealistic to meet in an environmentally sound way. Same holds true for the targets set out in the National Hydrogen Strategy (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie, 2020). Experts cautioned that such targets are set out without considering feasibility; in case of the National Hydrogen Strategy, for example, goals are defined without detailing where the freshwater resources required to produce hydrogen are to be extracted from.

Further, experts criticize immature environmental regulations and high costs for environmentally friendly technologies, which are further hindered by limited market incentives for specialized solutions in Germany. One example is the lack of innovative approaches for environmentally-friendly cable installation systems required to fulfill the defined targets, which is further detailed on in the description of barriers to nature conservation.

Nevertheless, the potential for green development within the energy sector include (i) the transformative capacity of renewable energies, (ii) the potential of the coastal location of the Wadden Sea area, that offers for the discussed offshore wind and hydrogen production, (iii) a generally positive attitude of the population toward renewable energies, and (iv) the support of legal frameworks toward renewable energy production.

The plentitude of the support of renewable energy through legal frameworks is observable in many supranational, national, and federal strategies and laws. On EU-level, the energy sector is one key component of the European Green Deal (EGD), presented by the European Commission in 2019 (European Commission: Directorate-General for Communication, 2023) as the most recent foundation for Europe's transition to its goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2050. It's supported by the EU's Renewable Energy Directive [Directive (EU) 2023/2413 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 October 2023 amending Directive (EU) 2018/2001, Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 and Directive 98/70/EC as regards the promotion of energy from renewable sources, and repealing Council Directive (EU) 2015/652. European Union, 2023], which sets an overall renewable energy target of at least 42.5% binding at EU level by 2030, even aiming for 45%. Additionally and in response to the challenges and energy market disruptions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the European Commission launched the REPowerEU Plan in 2022 to reduce reliance on Russian fossil fuel imports and to diversify energy supplies and producing clean energy (European Commission, 2022).

On national level, the Federal Cabinet adopted the updated National Energy and Climate Plan in 2024 for Germany to meet the national and EU climate targets and to meet the milestones set (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz, 2024a), while the Renewable Energy Sources Act (Gesetz für den Ausbau Erneuerbarer Energien. Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie, 2014) creates the necessary framework conditions. Offshore wind energy is an essential building block for meeting these targets successfully. The amendment to the Offshore Wind Energy Act (Windenergie-auf-See Gesetz. Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie, 2017) lays the foundations for the expansion of offshore wind energy in Germany. At the core of the package lies the principle that the use of renewable energy is of overriding public interest and serves the protection of public security. This priority sets a strong legal foundation for development, especially in areas where they may conflict with other interests, such as other sectors in the region.

The federal states play a key role in the expansion of renewable energies. Both states developed respective frameworks with concrete measure of the states to achieve the country's climate protection goals. Regarding Hydrogen production, the Federal Government developed a National Hydrogen Strategy (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie, 2020) and on federal level, the Hydrogen Strategy of Northern Germany (norddeutschewasserstoffstrategie, 2025) strives for the establishment of a green hydrogen economy in Germany by 2035.

To fully contextualize the current development of the energy sector it should be added that external factors are an important factor shaping current pathways, with a highly important one being the Russo–Ukrainian war and the subsequent acceleration of clean energy expansion to become independent of Russian gas imports.

3.1.2 Fisheries

A key barrier to green development in the Wadden Sea is the controversial compatibility of the commercial use of marine space and its protection. Balancing economic activities, such as fishing, with the conservation of sensitive ecosystems creates ongoing conflicts and limits the scope for sustainable practices. Furthermore, experts from the fishing sector highlight a poor underlying economic situation as key barriers to long-term green development of the sector. High fuel costs, a permanent state of crisis and uncertain policies, exacerbated by the pandemic, and the upheaval caused by the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU (BREXIT) require reactive rather than proactive management. Additionally, experts reported that the fisheries sector also faces notable social barriers, including an aging workforce and a lack of young fishermen. Especially the few younger fishermen were reported to lack capital and financial support to modernize vessels with less carbon-intensive fuels to reduce emissions. In general, experts reported that there is a lack of operational fuel alternatives that can be implemented at large scale to reduce emissions within the existing fleet of the fisheries sector. From a political perspective, experts criticized the absence of national fishery policies that foster green development while considering the situation and needs of the domestic fisheries sector. This is due to the fact that fisheries are a mandate of the European level. On this level, one strategic document was particularly discussed by the involved experts. The Action Plan for protecting and restoring marine ecosystems for sustainable and resilient fisheries (European Commission, 2023), although regarded by nature conservation agencies as a potentially valuable policy instrument, was met with considerable skepticism from the fisheries sector. While the plan does not carry direct legal authority, its introduction has had significant implications for the industry. Key criticisms include a lack of differentiation between fisheries enterprises of varying sizes and organizational structures, as it disproportionately burdens small-scale fisheries at the EU level, failing to consider how environmental impacts differ depending on the size and type of fishery. The lack of consideration for regional differences in trawling practices and fears of a diesel phase-out have created uncertainty which make it difficult for small-scale fisheries to attract investment and, in some cases, lead to business closures.

While fishery experts criticized the adopted Action Plan for protecting and restoring marine ecosystems for sustainable and resilient fisheries, as explained above, nature conservation experts considered it as an enabler for sustainable fishery that sets path for making fishery practices more environmentally friendly. This is also supported by the fact that the plan is aligned with the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the commitment of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Convention of Biological Diversity at its fifteenth session in 2022 to protect 30% of EU seas (Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, 2022). The plan sets out key objectives, including bringing and maintaining fish stocks to sustainable levels, reducing the impact of fishing on the seabed, and minimizing fisheries' impacts on sensitive species. Given the conflicting views, however, the role of such a strategic document has to be carefully reflected on and cannot be classified as enabler for green development without discussing above-described impacts on the fisheries sector.

As a response to the land use conflict between offshore wind energy development and traditional fishing activities, the German Offshore Wind Energy Act (p.58, Windenergie-auf-See Gesetz. Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie, 2017) stipulates that funds linked to the expansion of offshore wind energy are to be used for the modernization of the fisheries sector. The initial draft proposed earmarking 10% of the proceeds for marine nature conservation and an additional 10% for fisheries. However, when the law was adopted by the Bundestag in summer 2022, both allocations were reduced to 5% (Bundesministerium der Justiz und für Verbraucherschutz, 2024; p.58). Furthermore, following fiscal constraints and a widespread farmer protests against the reduction of diesel subsidies, this trend intensified specifically for tenders in 2023: the shares designated to the marine nature conservation dropped to 3% and even only 1% for the fisheries sector and 5.875% as a transformation component to the federal budget (Bundesministerium der Justiz und für Verbraucherschutz, 2024; Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands—Landtagsfraktion Schleswig-Holstein, 2024). This development underscores the ongoing difficulty of reconciling the competing interests of renewable energy expansion, environmental protection, and the economic viability of traditional sectors such as fisheries. Nevertheless, it should be acknowledged that budget is still made available for modernization of the fishery sector. While the described setbacks are to be understood as a barrier to long-term funding for sustainable development, the inscription of the fiscal support of fisheries from the revenue is a model that could benefit other sectors, if implemented without such constraints.

Beyond the context of laws and regulations, experts highlight enablers for green development of the fishery sector, such as rapprochement and openness for dialogue between fisheries and conservation associations despite lasting conflicts of interests. Although the use and protection of marine space can be controversial and sometimes conflicting, coastal seas are highly productive, enabling sustainable action, as seen in local fisheries run by intergenerational family farms that exemplify sustainability in practice.

3.1.3 Shipping and ports

Experts representing the shipping and port sectors identified slow technical progress, high levels of bureaucracy and both overregulation in some areas and inconsistent regulation in others as barriers to green development. The risk of overregulation for the sake of climate action and nature conservation restricts the sectors' ability to act and to successfully compete in a global level playing field. Simultaneously, inconsistent regulation and weak enforcement of international treaties for environmental protection persists, with economic interests often prioritized over social and environmental concerns.

Interviewed experts reported that therefore, regulations are often not perceived as incentives but as additional financial and bureaucratic burdens for shipping companies and ports. Further, while experts note that many technologies like alternative propulsion fuels have advanced significantly in recent years, this technical progress is still considered slow. Implementing and mainstreaming recent innovation (such as engines that work with new fuels) requires adjustment of whole fleets, which takes time and adequate regulations. In addition, sustainability and profitability needs to be balanced by the shipping sector to remain competitive in the global market.

Nevertheless, the importance of the ecosystem for the long-term survival of the shipping sector is widely recognized, and political will supports green development, with key enablers including incentive systems for adopting alternative energies. This includes the extension of emissions trading to the sector and the FuelEU Maritime Initiative, which is part of the EU's Fit for 55 packages under the European Green Deal, and aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships and promote the use of renewable, low-carbon fuels and clean technologies for ships, with the FuelEU Maritime Regulation to be fully applied from 2025 on [Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/192 of 9 September 2024 on procedures for the accreditation of verifiers pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2023/1805 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the use of renewable and low-carbon fuels in maritime transport, and amending Directive 2009/16/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council. European Union, 2025].

Politically, on a national level, the Maritime Agenda 2025 sets national goals for sustainable ocean use, environmental protection, and enhancing Germany's global competitiveness in maritime technology, production, and logistics, together with the National Port Strategy for Sea and Inland Ports, which was published in 2024 (Bundesministerium für Digitales und Verkehr, 2024). In May 2024, the Federal Transport Ministry also gave the starting signal for the development of the national action plan for climate-friendly shipping (Bundesministerium für Digitales und Verkehr and Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz, 2024) and Lower Saxony introduced a Sustainability Strategy for ports (Niedersachsen Ports, 2023).

3.1.4 Tourism

A key barrier to green development in tourism is the inherent land-use conflict between protecting the natural environment and providing tourist access while avoiding the risk of over-tourism or unsustainable tourism. While experts observe increasing guest demand for sustainable and eco-friendly tourism they also note that guests often fail to meet these expectations when it comes to their own behavior, for example by littering beaches or entering protected areas. Many tourism providers adopt greener practices, but small and medium-sized businesses face challenges navigating the large volume of sustainability information and the bureaucratic effort required for subsidy applications. Although regional associations offer guidance, a formal oversight or controlling body for green development in the tourism sector is largely absent. This lack of coordination is compounded by an industry-wide labor shortage. Even where regional initiatives exist, such as certification schemes for sustainable tourism providers, businesses, particularly smaller ones, often must prioritize economic survival over sustainability efforts. Also, “every day” challenges, such as shortage of personnel in the tourism sector, undermine progress toward green development. Without personnel, green development cannot be planned for or implemented.

On the other hand, the Wadden Sea's distinctive natural landscape underpins sustainable coastal tourism, attracting visitors for its environmental value, which the tourism sector aims to preserve. Sustainability is incorporated as a guiding principle in the tourism strategies and all political levels, also due to the increasing demand for corresponding offers from tourists. On EU-level, the Transition Pathway for Tourism, presented by the European Commission in 2022, outlines a plan to achieve green and digital transitions and long-term resilience of the tourism sector (European Commission: Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, 2022). Germany presented an updated National Tourism Strategy in 2024 (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz, 2024b), which aims to safeguard the success of Germany as a tourist destination on a long-term basis. Schleswig-Holstein also adopted a tourism strategy on a federal state level in 2022 (Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Verkehr, Arbeit, Technologie und Tourismus, 2022), while Lower-Saxony is currently in the development process. Financial support through these policies, such as subsidies, support energy efficiency and long-term sustainability. According to experts, many businesses recognize the need for long-term sustainability and are intrinsically motivated to implement respective measures, such as investing in renewable energies or banning single-use plastic, recognizing that protecting the Wadden Sea's uniqueness is key to the sector's long-term viability.

Two additional enabling factors emerged as particularly significant throughout the case study, illustrating how negative interruptions can act as catalysts for positive development. First, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated innovation, especially through increased digitization. Second, rising public awareness of the impacts of climate change has strengthened demand for sustainable practices and solutions within the tourism sector.

3.1.5 Local communities

While many policies and strategies relevant to green development are formulated at the EU or national level, their implementation and impact are ultimately experienced at the local and municipal level. Local communities are directly affected by these overarching frameworks, as they must translate broad objectives into concrete measures that align with regional circumstances, resources, and capacities. However, experts representing local authorities reported that boundary conditions and the concrete implementation of political goals are often not yet clearly defined, and priorities such as coastal protection are sometimes overlooked. Experts also mentioned an unclear distribution of responsibilities between districts and municipalities. Furthermore, challenges persist in adequately promoting and implementing green development due to limited human and financial resources. Local authorities often lack the personnel capacity to identify relevant funding opportunities and support the application process, which includes a high level of bureaucracy. Limited financial resources also result in challenges in creating and maintaining climate/sustainability officer positions that are crucial to drive the planning and implementation of relevant measures in local authorities. Funding for advisory support or project implementation is often short-term, externally dependent, and uncoordinated, disproportionately affecting small municipalities, where weak economic conditions and tight budgets make it difficult to balance green development with competing “everyday” priorities such as childcare and disaster management. Lastly, local authorities sometimes lack of know-how and financial resources to implement concrete measures that contribute to green development. One expert highlighted difficulties to establish renewable energy systems within a landscape shaped by protected areas.

While implementation of measures for green development may pose challenges for local authorities, it is important to acknowledge the numerous ambitious initiatives and policies of intergovernmental organizations that provide enabling opportunities for local governments to access support for green development.

These include, on EU-level, the European Green Deal (EGD), with key legal elements such as the European Climate Law [Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 2021 establishing the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending Regulations (EC) No 401/2009 and (EU) 2018/1999 (“European Climate Law”). European Union, 2021b], as well as funding instruments such as the Recovery and Resilience Facility [Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 February 2021 establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility. European Union, 2021c], and a Just Transition Fund [Regulation (EU) 2021/1056 establishing the Just Transition Fund. European Union, 2021a], which collectively promote climate neutrality, green transformation, and regional equity.

Much of Germany's policy response has been closely tied to the European Union's strategic direction. The German Recovery and Resilience Plan, for example, was developed to access EU funding through the Recovery and Resilience Facility and demonstrates how European frameworks have shaped national policy priorities (Clelland et al., 2026). At national level, these frameworks encompass the Recovery and Resilience Plan (Deutscher Aufbau- und Resilienzplan) (Deutscher Bundestag, 2021), Germanys' Sustainability Strategy (Deutsche Nachhaltigkeitsstragie, Deutsche Bundesregierung, 2025) and Climate Change Adaptation Strategy (Deutsche Anpassungsstrategie, Deutsche Bundesregierung, 2008) and a Climate and Transformation fund (Klima- und Transformationsfonds, Deutscher Bundestag, 2023). At federal level, both federal states have their own Sustainability and Adaptation Strategies (Nachhaltigkeitsstrategien und Anpassungsstrategien von Schleswig-Holstein und Niedersachsen, Landesregierung Schleswig-Holstein, 2004; Ministerium für Energiewende, Landwirtschaft, Umwelt, Natur und Digitalisierung des Landes Schleswig-Holstein, 2017; Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Umwelt, Energie, Bauen und Klimaschutz, 2020; 2022b), which are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the Agenda 2030. Lower-Saxony additionally enacted a Climate Protection Law (Niedersächsisches Gesetz zur Förderung des Klimaschutzes und zur Minderung der Folgen des Klimawandels. Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Umwelt, Energie und Klimaschutz, 2022), while Schleswig-Holstein adopted the Energy Transition and Climate Protection Law (Gesetz über die Energiewende, den Klimaschutz und die Anpassung an die Folgen des Klimawandels. Ministerium für Energiewende, Klimaschutz, Umwelt und Natur des Landes Schleswig-Holstein, 2025). These federal strategies are further elaborations of the overarching national strategies with more defined concrete measures of the states for achieving the country's goals. Due to the countries federal system, same holds true for the municipalities in both states: they, too, commission own municipal sustainability and climate mitigation or adaptation strategies aligned with those at the national and federal level. To fulfill commitments under these frameworks, authorities have the capacity to create positions for sustainability and climate management, supporting work toward green development.

Apart from the support of these political frameworks, other enablers reported by experts include cooperation between politics, administration and civil society to promote green development and to resolve conflicts, as well as an increasing awareness of stakeholders at local and regional levels to foster green development. The increasingly tangible impacts of climate change and extreme events highlight the need to act and increase efforts around climate action and nature protection. On a slightly different note, experts also criticize the current focus on technical solutions for coastal protection. While the Wadden Sea presents ample opportunities for Nature-based Solutions (NbS), for example for adaptation to sea-level rise, relevant regulations are outdated and insufficient.

3.1.6 Nature conservation

According to experts representing nature conservation associations, climate change, including extreme events and sea level rise, poses a significant challenge to nature conservation in the Wadden Sea region. Next to a general lack of funding, specifically nature-friendly systems in climate change adaptation and mitigation are perceived mainly regarding their high costs and lack of incentives for development. Generally, the consideration of nature conservation as a separate sector in maritime spatial planning instead of being foundational is a prime barrier to green development of the Wadden Sea region. Also, national strategies often prioritize climate protection over nature conservation and environmental protection. While conservation groups support climate action, their push for stronger environmental safeguards is frequently seen as obstructive by economic stakeholders, hindering dialogue and the development of integrated strategies.

Policies and strategic documents acting as enablers for green development by promoting nature conservation include, on EU-level, the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 (European Commission: Directorate-General for Environment, 2021) and the legally binding Nature Restoration Law, which came into force in 2024 (European Commission: Directorate-General for Environment, 2022). These are complemented by longstanding frameworks such as the Habitats Directive, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, and the Birds Directive, all of which contribute to the protection and restoration of biodiversity across the EU (Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora. European Union, 1992; Directive 2008/56/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 establishing a framework for community action in the field of marine environmental policy. European Union, 2008; Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds. European Union, 2009).

At national level, the National Biodiversity Strategy from 2024 (Nationale Strategie zur Biologischen Vielfalt 2030, Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Klimaschutz, Naturschutz und nukleare Sicherheit, 2024) implements the global goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity and the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030. Additionally, there is an Action Program for Natural Climate Protection (Aktionsprogramm natürlicher Klimaschutz, Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, nukleare Sicherheit und Verbraucherschutz, 2023), a National Strategy for Integrated Coastal Zone Management (Integriertes Küstenzonenmanagement, Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit, 2006) and specifically for the case study area, a Single Integrated Management Plan for ONE Wadden Sea World Heritage Site (Common Wadden Sea Secretariat, 2023). At federal level, these strategies translate into the Biodiversity Strategy of Schleswig-Holstein (Landesregierung Schleswig-Holstein, 2021), the Nature Protection Strategy of Lower Saxony (Niedersachsens Naturschutzstrategie Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Umwelt, Energie und Klimaschutz, 2017), and the Framework agreement “Lower Saxony Way” (Der Niedersächsische Weg, Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Umwelt, Energie, Bauen und Klimaschutz, 2022a).

Experts representing nature conservation report that, from a nature conservation perspective, key enablers for green development include the unique value of the Wadden Sea, which is widely recognized by society and businesses, often leading to voluntary conservation efforts. Further, multiple pertinent regulations at national and EU regulations already protect the Wadden Sea ecosystem area, and broader legal frameworks such as the 2024 EU Nature Restoration Law can further help align conservation with economic use. Experts also welcomed the 2024 EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which obliges companies to report on environmental and social impacts.

Other enabling factors highlighted by experts include the setting of ambitious wind energy expansion targets, which are seen as crucial in addressing climate change, despite their conflicting interest with nature conservation, and the presence of a strong research infrastructure that supports sustainability initiatives. Finally, the ongoing climate crisis and the degraded state of the environment make the need for green development increasingly urgent and evident.

3.2 Contextualization of green development efforts

While the institutional framework to drive the European Union, Germany, its federal states and municipalities toward green development is extensive and constantly evolving, climate change mitigation or adaptation may not have been the only driver of accelerating the development of identified strategies and laws. The COVID-19 pandemic unlocked a potential for a focus on recovery and innovation, and the energy market disruptions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been a driving factor behind institutional change to diversify energy supplies (Maliszewska-Nienartowicz, 2024). Another relevant contextual factor are the political circumstances at the time in Germany, where for the first time, a coalition of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Free Democratic Party (FDP), and Alliance 90/The Greens (Die Grünen) had been formed in 2021. The coalition government already promised in its coalition agreement to bring new momentum to the energy transition (Schill et al., 2024) and key ministries such as the Ministry for Economy & Climate had been held by Alliance 90/The Greens (Die Grünen), a political party with roots in environmental activism with ecological responsibility as one of their core values. This prioritization in combination with the mentioned contemporary global political events might have been one key component driving decisions with climate change adaptation and mitigation at core, such as an energy diversification toward renewable energy. However, many of these initiatives have also been subject to controversy, both within the three-party coalition and in broader society, particularly where environmental objectives at the macro level conflicted with social or economic concerns at macro, meso, or micro levels. This conflict of interest is evident throughout the analysis of institutional frameworks and their classification as barriers or enablers, highlighting that green development in the region does not necessarily benefit all sectors equally, calling into question a uniform understanding and prioritization of green development. Moreover, discrepancies between governance levels can create additional challenges, for example when EU-level directives are difficult to translate into locally appropriate actions at the municipal level. As such, the same institutional structures may function simultaneously as both barriers and enablers, depending on the specific context.

4 Discussion

The barriers and enablers identified across all sectors were grouped into key clusters which will be discussed in the context of the framework elements proposed by Hartmann et al. (2025) in the following (see Tables 1, 2). This serves to understand which elements of green development are most limited by the prevalent barriers, as well as which ones are leverage points to foster greener, more sustainable and resilient development pathways. Table 1 presents a summary and visual overview of the identified key barriers and enablers assessed against the green development components, while Table 2 presents a more detailed overview, including the corresponding sectors, green development components, and sources.

4.1 Mapping barriers against the elements of green development

The identified clusters of barriers to green development in the German Wadden Sea Region are existence of conflicting priorities, coordination challenges, issues with data and information, lack of adequate laws and regulations, lack of incentives and financial instruments, lack of financial and human resources, lack of innovative approaches, and others that are not fitting under one of these clusters. One of the most prevalent clusters of barriers is existence of conflicting priorities, reflects structural tension between sectoral development pathways in the Wadden sea region, particularly land and sea-use conflicts between energy expansion, fishery and tourism activities, and nature conservation.

These conflicts highlight the trade-offs inherent in green development processes, particularly between competing environmental, economic, and social objectives, such as good governance, inclusion, biodiversity neutral, and biodiversity conservation. Rather than affecting framework elements in isolation, they illustrate how progress in one domain can generate constraints or adverse effects in another. The expansion of wind energy, to take the most prominent example, enhances decarbonization and clean energy, therefore two elements of the framework. However, this poses a conflict of interests and unequal prioritization of broader environmental goals. Authors such as Galparsoro et al. (2022) assess the ecological impacts of offshore wind farms, highlighting how affect ecosystem structure, functions, process, as well as fish, mammal and bird behavior and abundance. Such conflicts of interests are often related to a governance constraints that impede the balancing of interests, such as lack of capacity of mandate of the concerned local governments (Koelman et al., 2025). It might also imply that inclusion has failed, in terms of bringing together different stakeholders to jointly formulate goals which include considerations of acting in a way that causes to harm to the environment. This underscores the negative impacts that climate policy can have on biodiversity (Wüstemann et al., 2017) and points to a systemic issue in environmental governance, where independent development of climate and biodiversity policies by separate institutions generate governance trade-offs not only in the Germany but across European and global contexts (Silva et al., 2025). In the case study area, this dynamic is exemplified in the beforementioned legal prioritization of renewable energy as an overriding public interest, which provides a strong legal foundation for offshore wind expansion even in areas where it conflicts other environmental or sectoral interests.

Another main cluster of barriers is the lack of adequate laws and regulations, a theme that extends across all sectors. This points to fragmented and sometimes contradictory regulatory frameworks across governance levels and policy domains, which can result in both overregulation in some areas and regulatorygaps in others (see Section 3). In practice, this creates uncertainty for implementation, delays planning processes, and reduces the ability of actors to invest in long-term sustainability transitions in all aspects of green development, may it be for climate action, biodiversity goals or social and economic aspirations. These challenges are not only observed locally but have also been recognized in broader policy debates, where improving regulation and reducing bureaucratic complexity have long been a focus in Germany (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2025a). Governance that effectively addresses regulation constraints and that steers the way to more action is considered vital for green coastal development and more resilient and sustainable future pathways (Eichhorn et al., 2021; Lombard et al., 2023; Northrop et al., 2020). Closely linked to this is the cluster lack of incentives and financial instruments, which are often inscribed in laws and regulations. Without stable and predictable financial mechanisms, many sustainability measures, such as the transition to alternative fuels in fisheries and shipping, remain economically unviable. This indicates that regulatory shortcomings are not only administrative in nature but also shape the financial feasibility of green transition, linking this aspect also to (European Central Bank, 2025; Nuta et al., 2025).

These financial constraints are closely connected to the barrier cluster of limited financial and human resources. Matters related to the framework elements green finance, along with green jobs and good governance, are influenced by the barriers of the lack of financial and human resources cluster. Especially limited personnel capacity and lack of know-how impedes the planning and implementation of green development measures. For this reason, funding mechanisms need to support the creation of job positions responsible for managing matters of climate, environment, resilience and sustainability, and this often needs to be backed up by good governance. The lack of institutionalizing green finance results in, for instance, projects where green development are often short-term and cannot be sustained in the future, and people with the relevant know-how are leaving businesses and local authorities when their funding ends (Northrop et al., 2020). This requires a more forward-looking approach, ensuring that such management positions are secured. Doing so would further support the alleviation of the issues with data and information barrier cluster. Knowing where to access data to inform green development and which information is relevant requires technical knowledge and capacities (Koelman, 2025). And lastly, barriers creating the cluster coordination challenges could be resolved through more personnel and know how, for example through navigating through administrative processes or to steer green development in the tourism sector of a region.

The barriers of the lack of innovation cluster were particularly discussed in the context of the energy and shipping sectors, where the need for new technologies that are more environmentally friendly is visible. Missing or inadequate regulations and incentives, the lack of demand to create a market or slow progress in upscaling newly developed solutions hinder progress toward decarbonization through alternative fuels and the adoption of less intrusive, biodiversity neutral cable installation practices. Research and development, underpinned by sufficient funding are of critical importance here, as demonstrated by several authors from the research and policy arenas calling for upscaling innovation (International Chamber of Shipping, 2021; Li and Hu, 2024; Mission Innovation, 2021).

As apparent from Tables 1, 2, most barriers can be attributed to the clusters existence of coordination challenges, lack of adequate laws and regulations, and lack of financial and human resources. These themes were frequently addressed by the interviewed experts and seem thus to be of high significance for the case study region.

4.2 Mapping enablers against the elements of green development

The identified clusters of barriers to green development in the German Wadden Sea Region are strong political leadership, engagement with stakeholders, awareness raising activities and developments, availability of laws and regulations, development and availability of incentives and financial instruments, availability of financial and human resources, fostering innovation, and others.

Looking more closely at these clusters reveals partial correspondence between barriers and enablers. While inadequate laws and regulations are identified as a key barrier, the presence of supportive policy documents and initiatives indicates that regulatory frameworks vary in their effectiveness across governance levels and policy domains. This suggests how different institutional conditions can either constrain or enable implementation capacity within the same governance system. Therefore, the mapping on enablers against the elements of green development reflects to a large extent what is described above.

Availability of laws and regulations, development and availability of incentives and financial instruments, availability of financial and human resources, and fostering innovation reflect enabling conditions that emerge within the same governance system that also produces the identified barriers, providing insights on positive examples and key opportunities for green development (Lombard et al., 2023; Mission Innovation, 2021; Northrop et al., 2020).

For all sectors, as well as for local communities and nature conservation, laws and regulations that promote more sustainable and resilient future pathways exist, demonstrating how good governance can contribute to green development. The specific examples are detailed in the presentation of results (Section 3).

Many laws and regulations come with incentives and financing schemes that can be leveraged for planning and implementation of concrete measures, or separate programs (such as the German Climate-and Transformation Fonds) exist. This ties good governance with the green finance element.

Where financial and human resources are available, the creation and maintenance of climate and sustainability manager positions, for example in local authorities or the tourism sectors, is seen as beneficial by the interviewed experts. It shows how green jobs can effectively be used to support the implementation of green development measures on the ground. Several experts called for better funding for local authorities and federal states to scale up actions for green development, and also to sustain funding of climate manager positions that are crucial to ensure that authorities can continue to work on and promote the issues of sustainability, climate action and nature conservation. This is supported by a study on the impact and funding needs for climate action managers conducted by Kenkmann et al. (2021).

Also, when good governance and green finance actively promote the element research and development through fostering innovation, progress toward more sustainable solutions can be witnessed. The case study region demonstrates a strong presence of research infrastructure that supports sustainability initiatives, particularly related to nature protection. This includes institutions such as the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the GEOMAR Center for Ocean Research, as well as the Thünen Research Institutes for Biodiversity and for fish ecology. Their presence can contribute to all elements of green development, for example when such projects investigate how to bring together environmental protection and economic activities (such as fishery) in the protected Wadden Sea ecosystem. In this context, experts also urged for cooperation with the private sector, specifically to promote innovations for cost-effective environmentally friendly systems.

Three clusters that were identified go beyond those enablers already discussed, including strong political leadership. Institutions, parties, or stakeholders showing the will to drive change is often the first step toward more sustainable and resilient pathways, or it can boost existing efforts.

Engagement with stakeholders is another crucial cluster of enablers, reflecting strongly on the inclusion element of green development. Dialogue and cooperation between stakeholders is of utmost importance to address some of the barriers identified above, especially conflicting priorities (Axon et al., 2017). The example of openness for more dialogue between nature conservation stakeholders and representatives of the fisheries sector show that despite diverging interests, actors can come together and work on solutions that balance interests and needs together. Without such approaches, each sector implements own strategies that might put others at disadvantage, which further fuels conflicts and limits opportunities for developing holistic strategies that integrate solutions. Dialogue, however, is not only needed between sectors, but also policy-makers must ensure that sectoral representatives, as well as representatives of local communities and nature conservation are included in decision-making processes. Germany has also recognized the need for such inclusive and coordinated approaches and has implemented institutional mechanisms to support them. The State Secretaries' Committee for Sustainable Development, along with related working groups, aims to strengthen policy coherence and involve civil society in decision-making processes (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2024). This could help to avoid inadequate target setting, as seen in the example of the offshore wind energy expansion goals of the German government. Here, inclusion and good governance come together. Above examples also show the relevance of the green development element biodiversity neutral, as engagement with stakeholders can ensure that economic activities can be coordinated to be more environmentally friendly.

One cluster that is very particular to the Wadden Sea region is awareness raising activities and developments. Given its status as national park and UNESCO World Heritage, the Wadden Sea is perceived as highly valuable already since a long time. However, recent developments further demonstrate the benefits the ecosystem provides, and how it is vulnerable to changing conditions. Climate change and its impacts are becoming increasingly visible (Oost et al., 2017), and related information campaigns can particularly enhance the understanding of tourists coming to that region what is happening and why conservation measures are important (Meschini et al., 2021; Wang et al., 2022). Experts reported that this increased the acceptance of visitors for beach closures to protect breeding grounds of migratory bird species. Utilizing the popularity of the region as tourism site to further inform visitors, but also local residents and other economic sectors can help to conserve it in the long-term. This would support specifically the environmental elements of green development, which are biodiversity neutral, biodiversity conservation and, ultimately, biodiversity enhancement.

Mapping the identified barriers and enablers against the green development elements shows that social elements—good governance, inclusion, research and development—, as well as economic elements—green finance and green jobs—are key leverage points to overcome barriers. The principle of economic activities being at least biodiversity neutral is essential for green development, but the preceding analysis shows that more efforts are needed to achieve this. Biodiversity conservation and biodiversity enhancement are even more vital to keep the ecological integrity of the Wadden Sea region intact, but given the prevalent conflicts of priorities and interests these green development elements are not yet strongly supported. The elements decarbonization and energy, reflecting on the mitigation aspect of green development, are embodied through many examples from the energy and shipping sector and therefore quite prominent in the discussion. What remains unexplored is how policies and strategies of coastal communities and the Blue Economy link to the adaptation-centered elements climate resilient infrastructure and work with nature. These were only touched upon by experts, stating that the current focus is on technical solutions for coastal protection and regulations for nature-based solutions are outdated and insufficient. Since particularly coastal protection will become increasingly important with more frequent and severe extreme events and rising sea level at the Wadden Sea coast, the potential to work with nature has to be leveraged.

While the green development framework proposed by Hartmann et al. (2025) proved to be useful for organizing identified barriers and enablers, it was employed as one analytical lens among several rather than as a confirmatory model. The mapping exercise was not intended to validate findings through the framework itself, but rather to illustrate the framework's applicability in structuring and interpreting empirical observations. To reduce the risk of circular reasoning and confirmation bias, findings were triangulated with evidence derived from the policy document analysis presented above, as well as with insights from the broader literature reviewed in this study.

4.3 Strategies to overcome barriers to green development

To address the identified barriers, the expert workshop generated a set of targeted strategies that directly respond to the most persistent constraints identified in the analysis. Rather than representing a uniform set of solutions, they reveal underlying tensions between long-term sustainability objectives and short-term sectoral and institutional constraints in the German Wadden Sea region.

Many of the strategies proposed during the expert engagement directly address a specific barrier or build on existing enabler. They can further be attributed to the elements of green development. The proposed strategies are closely linked to the identified barrier clusters and reflect leverage points where institutional, financial, and governance constraints can be addressed. Through their connection to the framework categories, they are grouped according to the practical entry points they target within the governance system. The following provides a summary of potential strategies to promote green development of local communities and the Blue Economy in the German Wadden Sea region.

• Increasing political prioritization of sustainability objectives such as climate action and nature conservation through strong political leadership (good governance).
• Increase planning authority of local authorities and policy leadership at municipal level to enable the implementation of intended green development measures in a more targeted manner, including through strengthening formal systems of municipal climate governance and sustained funding (Kenkmann et al., 2021; Rogers et al., 2024). This can help removing coordination challenges between different administrative levels. However, it should be mentioned that this was partly countered by representatives from other sectors, who argued that it would be better to work on overarching targets at higher levels, while allowing for some flexibility at regional and local levels. This was described as necessary to serve justice to the global scale of the problem (good governance).
• Policy goals and targets should be developed through early-stage and structured stakeholder engagement to better reflect sectoral feasibility and reduce conflicts between climate, biodiversity, and economic objectives. This could help prevent misalignment between policy ambition and lead to the formulation of political goals and targets that can be achieved realistically and in an environmentally friendly manner to resolve and avoid the existence of conflicting interests and a lack of adequate laws and regulations, building on an inclusive engagement with stakeholders (good governance, inclusion). The work of Kusters et al. (2025) exemplifies how research can inform spatial conflict resolution to ensure marine spatial plans accommodate offshore wind energy expansion and nature conservation.
• National and federal state policymakers should strengthen the development and availability of incentives and financial instruments that help fostering innovation (good governance, research and development, green finance).
• Enhance funding for local authorities and federal states to scale up actions for green development, and sustain funding of climate manager positions that are necessary to ensure that authorities can continue to work on and promote the issues of sustainability, climate action and nature conservation. With that, the lack of financial and human resources can be addressed (good governance, green finance, green jobs).
• Ensure that climate action and nature conservation are integrated and not prioritized over one to reduce the existence of conflicting interests. This can be achieved through engagement with stakeholders in a solution-oriented dialogue and openness to compromise from all parties (good governance, inclusion, biodiversity neutral, decarbonization, clean energy). However, this also reflects a governance context in which decarbonization objectives are more strongly embedded in legal and policy frameworks than broader environmental protection goals, influencing how trade-offs are resolved in practice.
• Move away from viewing nature conservation as a stand-alone sector to avoid existence of conflicting interests, but promote awareness raising activities and developments to demonstrate the importance of nature for all economic activities (biodiversity neutral, biodiversity conservation, biodiversity enhancement).
• Highlight the role of the Wadden Sea region and its unique ecosystem in enabling Nature-based Solutions and harness this potential, also for coastal protection, through awareness raising activities and developments and through addressing the lack of adequate laws and regulations (Lombard et al., 2023; Mission Innovation, 2021; Northrop et al., 2020) (good governance, work with nature, climate resilient infrastructure).

The latter two points are examples how the environmental (biodiversity neutral, biodiversity conservation, biodiversity enhancement) and adaptation-related (work with nature, climate resilient infrastructure) elements can be entry points for strategies to foster green development. However, above bullets are only indicative and require further explanation to provide guidance.

To move away from viewing nature conservation as a stand-alone sector in conflict with other interests, it should be understood as a fundamental basis for all sectors. This can be achieved through adopting an ecosystem-based approach. In their Integrated Management Plan for ONE Wadden Sea World Heritage (SIMP), the Wadden Sea Secretariat clarifies its recognition of a need of effective management of the Wadden Sea to assure nature conservation and an ecosystem approach which integrates management of existing protected areas with other key activities affecting the area (Common Wadden Sea Secretariat, 2023). Its implementation is supported by instruments such as management plans and legal frameworks for multiple-use coastal marine protected areas. Following an ecosystem-based approach in managing the conservation and use of the Wadden Sea region further links to biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning (BISP), which is “a systematic, holistic and inclusive approach to spatial planning, that integrates terrestrial, freshwater, and marine realms, identifying the spatial actions necessary to address the drivers of biodiversity loss” (Grantham et al., 2024; United Nations Development Programme, 2022). BISP drives planning processes that address biodiversity and loss and that balances trade-off with other objectives, which reflects on the biodiversity neutral element of the framework, as well as on the other elements of the environment pillar. At the same time, BISP guides action for land and sea uses, therefore navigating between different sectoral interest through good governance and inclusion. This is also achieved through making planning processes participatory to overcome siloed approaches and to balance interests and needs and the perspectives of all relevant stakeholders carefully.

As pointed out, advocating for nature and biodiversity in planning processes, highlighting the role of the Wadden Sea region and its unique ecosystem in enabling Nature-based Solutions is of high importance. NbS are “actions aimed at protecting, conserving, restoring, and sustainably managing natural or modified terrestrial, freshwater, coastal, and marine ecosystems, which address social, economic and environmental challenges effectively and adaptively, while simultaneously providing human wellbeing, ecosystem services, resilience and biodiversity benefits” [United Nations Environment Assembly of the United Nations Environment Programme, 2022]. They are described as an umbrella concept encompassing several ecosystem-related approaches, all of which address societal challenges (Walz et al., 2021). This includes, for example, Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) and Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-DRR). EbA utilizes ecosystem services to develop and implement measures that contribute to the mitigation of and adaptation to climate change (Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, 2009). Important ecosystem services to consider here are carbon storage and sequestration by the intertidal ecosystems of the Wadden Sea, including saltmarshes and seagrass. Eco-DRR builds on the capability of ecosystems to reduce disaster risk, which is promoted by actions as ecosystem conservation or restoration (Estrella and Saalismaa, 2013). Sudmeier-Rieux et al. (2021) provided scientific evidence for Eco-DRR, noting that particularly regulating services as erosion control and moderation of extreme events are crucial to reduce risk in coastal settings. These approaches are crucial examples how the potential of nature can be harnessed to drive green development that benefits environment and society. The preceding analysis showed that the green development element work with nature is not much in focus yet, which is a gap that can be addressed through the strategies laid out. This can help to further advance green development in the Wadden Sea region.

The socio-economic benefits of ecosystem-based approaches are particularly relevant in the Wadden Sea, where the blue economy plays a major role. Acknowledging the interlinkages of ocean-based activities and the natural ecosystem with its services in the blue economy concept (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2016) can promote a better understanding of the value of marine ecosystems, the integration into decision-making and an application of an ecosystem approach for a sustainable management of ocean resources (European Commission, 2021; United Nations Department of Economic Social Affairs, 2014). A perspective that incorporates the protection of ecosystems is likely to gain even more relevance in the future, as blue economic sectors as well as socioeconomic development depend on the provision of ecosystem services, which are however challenged by adverse effects of climate change and human use. Changes in environmental conditions erode ecosystems' capacities to provide these services, which impacts the global blue economy both directly and indirectly, and losing them could have severe impacts not only on the blue economy but also on social systems depending on it as a base of living (European Commission, 2021).

Acknowledging this, the German Federal Government expressed the challenge to achieve or sustain a good condition of marine ecosystems to ensure the long-term usability of their goods and services for present and future generations (Deutsche Bundesregierung, 2021) and as part of this effort, Germany launched the Federal Action Plan on Nature-based Solutions for Climate and Biodiversity (Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, nukleare Sicherheit und Verbraucherschutz, 2023) in June 2023 to protect, strengthen and restore ecosystems. This growing policy attention to ecosystem-based approaches highlights a critical shift toward more integrated strategies for climate adaptation and biodiversity conservation. As environmental pressures continue to mount, such approaches will be key to aligning human development with the ecological foundations it depends on, marking an essential step toward long-term sustainability.

4.4 Limitations of the study

This study did not apply a formal weighting or quantification exercise to rank barriers and enablers according to their relative importance. Instead, the analysis followed a qualitative and inductive approach aimed at identifying recurring patterns across the literature and expert interviews. The prominence of certain clusters therefore reflects the frequency with which they emerged in the collected data and the emphasis placed on them by participating stakeholders. However, because the study relied on a relatively small sample of 35 experts, the findings should not be interpreted as statistically representative or fully generalizable. Consequently, while the clustering highlights dominant themes and commonly perceived challenges, it does not imply that all barriers are equally important, nor does it provide a quantified ranking of their relative significance.

Further, the analysis did not integrate quantitative spatial, ecological, or economic datasets, such as marine spatial planning conflicts, biodiversity indicators, or sector-specific economic performance data. While this limits the ability to empirically assess the magnitude of identified conflicts or environmental impacts, methodological triangulation was achieved through the combination of policy document analysis, expert interviews, and multi-stakeholder workshop validation across governance levels and sectors. Future research could build on these findings by integrating spatial and quantitative datasets to further assess sectoral trade-offs and environmental outcomes.

5 Conclusion

This study examined barriers and enablers to green development in the German Wadden Sea region and mapped them against the elements of green development to identify gaps and opportunities.

First, the analysis revealed that the most significant barriers are conflicting priorities between sectoral interests (e.g., offshore energy expansion vs. nature conservation), lack of adequate laws and regulations, and lack of financial and human resources. Additional challenges include coordination challenges, lack of incentives and financial instruments, and lack of innovation. These barriers undermine good governance, inclusion, and biodiversity objectives, while also constraining progress on climate-resilient infrastructure and nature-based solutions.

Second, mapping these barriers and enablers against the elements of green development shows that social and economic elements, particularly good governance, green finance, and green jobs, are critical leverage points. While decarbonization and clean energy are well supported through ambitious targets and legal frameworks, environmental elements, such as biodiversity conservation and enhancement, remain under prioritized. Adaptation-related elements, notably “work with nature,” are scarcely addressed, despite their relevance for coastal protection. Conversely, strong political leadership, engagement with stakeholders, and awareness raising developments and activities emerged as key enablers, alongside with the availability of laws and regulations, the development and availability of incentives and financial instruments, and efforts for fostering innovation. These factors demonstrate that opportunities for integrated, biodiversity-inclusive strategies exist but require scaling and better coordination.

Third, strategies to harness enablers and overcome barriers should focus on:

• Strengthening governance through realistic, inclusive target-setting and improved regulatory coherence.
• Expanding financial instruments and sustaining funding for climate and sustainability positions at local level.
• Promoting stakeholder dialogue to reconcile competing interests and integrate nature conservation as a cross-cutting principle.
• Accelerating innovation for environmentally friendly technologies and mainstreaming nature-based solutions for climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction.

Overall, advancing green development in the Wadden Sea region demands an integrated approach that aligns climate action, biodiversity protection, and socio-economic resilience. Leveraging existing enablers while addressing governance, financing, and capacity gaps will be essential to ensure that blue economy activities contribute to long-term sustainability and climate neutrality.

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Supplementary material

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/focsu.2026.1800081/full#supplementary-material

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Footnotes

Edited by: Tomaso Fortibuoni, Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA), Italy

Reviewed by: Lydia Papadaki, Athena Research Center, Greece

Yann Emmanuel Miassi, Laval University, Canada