MAGMA GEOPARK AS

Their core work

Magma Geopark is a UNESCO-designated geopark in southwest Norway that uses geological and cultural heritage as a driver for rural economic development. Their core work involves community engagement, landscape stewardship, and linking heritage assets to practical outcomes like tourism, food production, and local resilience. In EU research projects they contribute on-the-ground expertise as a living case study for heritage-led rural regeneration and as a pilot site for participatory planning tools and local adaptation strategies. They bridge scientific frameworks with real territorial communities, giving researchers access to place-based knowledge and local institutional networks.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their first project (RURITAGE, 2018) centred on heritage as a strategic asset — using cultural identity, pilgrimage routes, and landscape to regenerate rural economies. By 2020 the focus shifted toward adaptation and governance under global change: ArcticHubs introduced participatory GIS, foresight tools, indigenous culture, and the specific pressures of fish farming, mining, and forestry in high-latitude landscapes. The shift is from "heritage as development driver" toward "community tools for navigating global pressures on rural and Arctic territories" — a broadening from culture-led regeneration to multi-sector resilience planning.

They are moving from cultural heritage programming toward participatory governance and foresight for communities under environmental and economic stress, making them increasingly relevant for projects on climate adaptation, indigenous rights, and northern land-use governance.

How they like to work

Magma Geopark operates exclusively as a project partner — never as coordinator — which is typical for a small territorial organisation whose main contribution is site access, community networks, and place-based knowledge rather than project management capacity. Both projects placed them inside large international consortia (59 unique partners across 23 countries), suggesting they are comfortable working as one of many case-study sites in a multi-partner architecture. For a potential collaborator, this means they are low-maintenance partners who deliver territory-specific input rather than taking on cross-project coordination tasks.

Despite having only two projects, Magma Geopark has connected with 59 distinct partners across 23 countries — an unusually wide network for an organisation of this size, reflecting the large consortium structure of both Horizon 2020 projects they joined. Their international exposure spans Europe and likely extends to Arctic-region nations given ArcticHubs' scope.

What sets them apart

Magma Geopark is one of very few UNESCO geoparks to have participated in multiple H2020 projects, giving them credibility as a tested pilot site where heritage, ecology, and community coexist. Their location in Norway's southwest, a region shaped by geology, fishing, and offshore industry, makes them a credible representative of the overlap between natural resource landscapes and cultural heritage territories. For a consortium that needs a real-territory anchor in Northern Europe — particularly one with indigenous culture, resource industries, and rural governance challenges — they offer something that a consultancy or university cannot replicate.

Highlights from their portfolio

• RURITAGE
  The flagship project and largest funding award (€453,375), where Magma Geopark served as a Systemic Innovation Area — one of a select set of European rural territories used as live laboratories for heritage-driven development models.
• ArcticHubs
  A thematic leap into global-change adaptation for Arctic and sub-Arctic communities, demonstrating the organisation's ability to contribute to high-latitude sustainability research beyond its heritage-tourism core.