Background: The marine natural environment is under high pressure. Not only are marine resources as flora and fauna intensively used (with consequent decrease of stocks) but in recent times, the seas have become the next frontier of a specific type of anthropization (i.e. the conversion of open space by human action) that of energy infrastructure. While this is a current process and, within the European Union, only recently policy actions have been taken in order facilitate a more coherent coordination of interventions (Marine Strategy), little research has been done about formal and informal institutional arrangements already existing between the many stakeholders who have specific stakes in the Adriatic Sea.

The North Adriatic Sea is an area characterised by a history of (between state) conflicts and tensions that impacted on the development of collaborative arrangement for the management of the marine environment. Of interest to this research, therefore, was to map out formal and informal institutional arrangements currently in place between stakeholders from Italy, Slovenia and Croatia - countries with coastal access to the North Adriatic Sea. Also, of an interest was to understand if, and how, participatory practices are being used in relation to decision-making and management of the marine natural environment ( in particular siting of an energy infrastructure).

Methods:  In this case study we used interviews, archive material, policy documents and other secondary data (statistics, official documents) for the analysis.

Findings: The preliminary analysis of our data suggests that the North Adriatic Sea is a highly politicized area over which different stakeholders advance claims but engage in little, or no cooperation. Marine resources appear to be under high pressure and in the following months we will continue the exploration into the institutional arrangements.