The prerequisite for the existence of communities in the Westfjords has always been resources taken from the sea and the possibility of seaborne travel. Geographical conditions have made the Westfjords community unique and have restricted other land uses and opportunities for self-reliance and economic development. It is the opinion of the Association of Municipalities of the Westfjords that it is important for Westfjords municipalities, with great vested interests in the coast, to take a lead in this area. By doing so, their interests; on behalf of society, the environment and the economy; will best be safeguarded. The municipalities of the Westfjords have many common interests in the arena of planning. Broadly speaking, they also have very similar future outlooks – as can be seen in their new land use master plans. This united outlook needs to be better elaborated, defined and presented, however. The benefits of this project are manifold.

The project will, among other things:

• Enable the region's municipalities to build up the region with united goals that build on the region's strengths and unique features. 
• Support the sustainable use of coastal resources where varied economic activities and uses can thrive without major conflicts of interest and without damaging the region's nature. 
• Improve co-operation between concerned parties in the project, including agencies and stakeholders. 
• Increase environmental awareness among residents and visitors. 
• Support innovation in the area of environmental and resource management. 
• Boost the University Centre of the Westfjords and the work and development going on there with the participation of teachers and students in real-life projects and increased partnership with professionals, especially from the local region. 
• Provide impetus for municipalities and the government to properly plan coastal regions in all of Iceland. This will be helpful during the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive, among other things.

The utilisation plan is intended to harmonise all the different coastal uses and provide a better overview than is available today. With a clearer vision for the future, it is possible to avoid conflicts of interest and make it easier to discover new opportunities and push innovation. It is important to think long-term, as uncertainty over the future could lead to the exact opposite; i.e. deterioration. The utilisation plan will, in both the short- and long-term, serve to strengthen the region's uniqueness, residents sense of community and opportunities for co-operation between businesses and residents with the goal of mutual prosperity. With a long-term utilisation plan, the region's competitiveness would be improved; as would its attractiveness to investors. This is especially true in the fishing and tourism sectors. The utilisation plan could very well serve to increase the market value of goods and services from the region and therefore mean increased economic reward. The project will create a large pool of knowledge which, in the long run, will also be useful to other regions and the national government in any future re-evaluation of coastal use, planning and licensing.

The project involves innovations to identify how best to carry out a plan or design in coastal areas with special emphasis on the participation of stakeholders. This is pioneering work which has never before been carried out for large areas in Iceland. Authorities in several places overseas, including Norway and Scotland, have formally assessed long-term coastal usage with good results, whether on the local or regional level. The experiences of these countries will be referenced closely in the work ahead here. Increased knowledge and specialisation on the use of coastal resources will be good for Teiknistofan Eik and the University Centre of the Westfjords as they strive to become leading experts in the field. In this regard one can point to links with the Master's programme in Coastal and Marine Management and wider orchestration of ideas on the promotion of research and education in the fields of environmental and resource management, fisheries and aquaculture under the name "University of the Sea".

The work put into developing a utilisation plan for Arnarfjörður will lay the foundation for a similar plan for the whole Westfjords region, which should be worked on afterwards.