The Sven Lovén Centre

The Sven Lovén Centre for Marine Sciences is the marine infrastructure organisation of the University of Gothenburg. It is located on Tjärnö island, about 2 hours drive by car from Gothenburg. Founded in 1963, it is still the largest marine science centre nowadays and it has been the biggest national park with a marine focus in Sweden since 2009. Due to its unique geological features, there are approximately 6 000 marine species of which more than 200 do not exist elsewhere in Sweden. Currently, there are 60 personnel working in the Centre of which 40 are scientists. The Centre has attracted many international scientists to go there for short-term or long-term research. The marine science courses from both the University of Gothenburg and Stockholm University take students to Tjärnö every year. Some 90 000 tourists visit Sven Lovén Centre per year. One questioned how could this beautiful national park be preserved when it is so popular among visitors. There is no better answer than having both the protection and local development go hand-in-hand.