Status and Priority Capacity Needs for Local Compliance and Community-Supported Enforcement of Marine Resource Rules and Regulations in the Coral Triangle Region

Combating illegal and destructive resource exploitation in the Coral Triangle is central to ensuring the long-term effective management of fisheries, marine protected areas, and climate change adaptation efforts. This article presents results of an investigation of the perceived level of local compliance and enforcement with marine resource rules and regulations and evaluates the effectiveness or potential for community-supported enforcement efforts in the Coral Triangle region. The findings are consistent with those of the literature on compliance and enforcement that any compliance and enforcement system must not only use deterrence, but also be perceived by fishers as being legitimate, fair, accountable and equitable and the need for developing a personal morality and a social environment that supports compliance. There is an opportunity to strategically build on shared value and cultural norms that can promote collaborative fisheries management as a mechanism to increase compliance through non-coercive efforts. Strengthening the long-term capacity for consistent delivery of local support to marine management and enforcement will increase local compliance rates through time.     

Reframing Engagement Methods for Climate Change Adaptation

Climate change poses known and unknown risks for coastal communities and also challenges for university faculty and local government staff who communicate about cli- mate sciences. Conceived as a way to move beyond traditional models of science communication, this project involved public and private decision makers in specific at-risk communities in Oregon (U.S. Pacific coast) and Maine (Atlantic coast). Both state projects sought to move behavior toward decisive action that results in coastal communities that are more resilient to climate variability at all scales. To promote engagement between project staffs and publics, a dialogic model of communication was advanced, beginning with interviews and focus groups that in turn shaped further engagement through workshops and targeted video products. This means of communication led to a deeper understanding of participants’ knowledge, beliefs, perceptions, values, and barriers to action related to climate change and its effects. Coinciding with this, project participant evaluations in both Oregon and Maine indicate that the workshops and videos were successful at informing them on this complex issue; and in both states, project participation led to action outcomes. We believe that applied elsewhere our multifaceted and adaptive approach will garner similar results, provided sufficient dedicated staffing and attention to methods.     

The Causal Effects of Place Attachment and Tourism Development on Coastal Residents' Environmentally Responsible Behavior

Coastal areas are generally known as high-usage areas for residential, recreational, and tourism purposes. Coastal residents, as well as local visitors, therefore, can play an important role in protecting coastal resources. The purpose of this study was to identify important factors that could promote residents' environmentally responsible behavior (ERB). The two concepts, place attachment and attitudes toward tourism development (ATTD), were included to verify causal relationships of ERB. For data analysis, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) were conducted. Study results showed that place identity fully mediated the relationship between place dependence and ERB. With respect to the two dimensions of ATTD, there was a positive relationship between perceived benefits and ERB, while perceived concerns mediated this relationship. To promote ERB, the study emphasized the importance of developing place identity by providing diverse economical, socio-cultural, and recreational coastal benefits. In addition, involving those residents, who are positively and negatively impacted by tourism development, in the process of sustainable tourism development will develop more effective sustainable development strategies by reflecting local residents' opinions and preferences.     

Port Decision Maker Perceptions on the Effectiveness of Climate Adaptation Actions

Effective adaptation to climate change impacts is rapidly becoming an important research topic. Hitherto, the perceptions and attitudes of stakeholders on climate adaptation actions are under researched, partly due to the emphasis on physical and engineering aspects during the adaptation planning process. Building on such considerations, the paper explores the perceptions of port decision makers on the effectiveness of climate adaptation actions. The findings suggest that while port decision makers are aware of potential climate change impacts and feel that more adaptation actions should be undertaken, they are skeptical about their effectiveness and value. This is complemented by a regional analysis on the results, suggesting that more tailor-made adaptation measures suited to local circumstances should be developed. The study illustrates the complexity of climate adaptation planning and of involving port decision makers under the current planning paradigm.     

Assessment of Vulnerability and Integrated Management of Coastal Dunes in Veracruz,Mexico

Dune systems are essential to the ecological balance and sediment inputs of coastal environments and they provide numerous environmental services; however, their existence is threatened by natural and human stressors that contribute to their degradation. Future impacts are expected to be greater because of global climate change in association with further rises in sea level. Beaches and dune systems occupy large areas along the coastline of the state of Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico. The aim of this study is to establish the intrinsic vulnerability of nine dune fields in Veracruz to current and future impacts and to assess their integrated management status. These dune–beach systems are more vulnerable to the effects of economic activities and land use change than to those induced by natural forces. Results show that six of these dune systems have medium vulnerability and an ecological conservation policy should be adopted; the other three, with high or very high vulnerability, are candidates for a restoration policy.     

Adaptation Pathways in Coastal Case Studies: Lessons Learned and Future Directions

Climate change adaptation presents a difficult challenge for coastal towns around the world, forcing local governments to plan for sea level rise in a contentious decision-making space. The concept of “adaptation pathways,” a diagnostic and analytical tool to assist in adaptive planning and decision-making, is gaining traction as a way of framing and informing climate adaptation. It provides decisionmakers a way to acknowledge the inter-temporal complexities and uncertainties associated with the novel dynamics of climate change and a mechanism to manage these challenges in the local context. In 2012, the Australian Government funded an 18-month program to provide decisionmakers in the coastal zone an opportunity to test the utility of the adaptation pathways concept for coastal climate adaptation. Using a selection of completed projects as case studies, we performed a document analysis to better understand the learnings from the projects. The main themes surrounded: (1) the utility of the adaptation pathway framework in developing options, (2) decision-making rationale and criteria, and (3) stakeholder participation in pathway development. A project participant survey was developed to further understand these themes. Our analysis reveals that “adaptation pathways” was generally framed narrowly and conservatively to emphasize extant economic, administrative and legal considerations over community, participatory, or exploratory ones. Although some case study projects were able to reach a point in the pathway discussion to actively involve stakeholders in their decision-making process, many case studies continued to build technical data as a method for defending policies and actions. These results indicate that coastal adaptation can take-up adaptation pathways as a useful concept for decision-making and planning; however, many councils may still require assistance in stakeholder communication processes in order to develop sociallyacceptable plans that take into account the full range of values affecting local coastal environments.     

A Review of Beach Bye-Law Usage in Supporting Coastal Management in Ireland

Coastal areas are commonly the focus of a range of human activities and uses. Beaches are one example of multi-use coastal environments, accommodating activities linked to leisure and recreation, amenity, conservation and business, often simultaneously. Ireland is no different in this regard, as its beach resources provide a range of goods and services of societal value. Ireland has 16 coastal counties and their associated local authorities have a beach management remit, a role that can present a number of challenges. The use of beach bye-laws is one option to support management of beach environments by local authorities. Local authority personnel tasked with beach management from each coastal local authority were surveyed to assess the actual and potential role of beach bye-laws in contributing to more effective management of beach environments and to broader coastal management. Usage of beach bye-laws varied across local authority areas and evidence suggested that the efficacy, use, and implementation of beach bye-laws differed from county to county. Beach bye-laws offer potential but interaction with other initiatives as part of a wider program for coastal management may yield improved results.     

Spatial and Temporal Modeling of Beach Use: A Case Study of East Anglia,UK

As tourists are sensitive to weather conditions and changes to the environments they visit, it is likely that climate change will affect coastal recreation in the future. To understand these impacts, it is first important to quantify how visitor numbers are associated with beach characteristics and weather patterns. Using the East Anglian coastline, UK, as a case study, information on the spatial distribution of visitors recorded from aircraft flights is combined with beach characteristic data in a Geographical Information System. In addition, surveys are undertaken at two beaches to assess temporal variations in visitation. The study finds a diverse range of characteristics are associated with visitor numbers. These findings are evaluated alongside the anticipated effects of climate change and management policies. Although it is predicted that warmer weather will increase visitor numbers overall, sea-level rise may reduce numbers at wide sandy beaches, which are currently most preferred by tourists.     

Climate Change and Coastal Management Decisions: Insights from Christchurch Bay,UK

The integration of climate change adaptation considerations into management of the coast poses major challenges for decision makers. This article reports on a case study undertaken in Christchurch Bay, UK, examining local capacity for strategic response to climate risks, with a particular focus on issues surrounding coastal defense. Drawing primarily on qualitative research with local and regional stakeholders, the analysis identifies fundamental disjunctures between generic concerns over climate change and the adaptive capacity of local management institutions. Closely linked with issues of scale, the problems highlighted here are likely to have broad and continuing relevance for future coastal management elsewhere.     

Do Marine Protected Areas Affect Human Nutrition and Health? A Comparison between Villages in Roviana,Solomon Islands

The implementation of marine protected areas (MPAs) for fisheries management has increased recently due to the perceived role of MPAs in conserving biodiversity, increasing fish stocks, and enhancing the food security of coastal communities. However, it is unclear whether MPAs may restrict the availability of marine resources and decrease overall food security and the health of the people. In the Roviana Lagoon of the Solomon Islands, we conducted cross-comparisons of villages with MPAs and a village without an MPA to assess whether MPAs influenced local perceptions of governance, environmental change, livelihood strategies, and actual human nutrition and health. Results showed that residents of villages with effective MPAs had higher energy and protein intake than those who had no MPA or an ineffective MPA. We conclude that “no-take” marine reserves do not have adverse effects and that when MPAs are effectively sustained they may enhance local nutrition and health.     

Climate Change and Tourist Comfort on Europe's Beaches in Summer: A Reassessment

Major impacts of climate change have been projected for tourism in Europe. Typically, these projections took general tourism activities such as sight-seeing and their climate requirements as their point of reference. The purpose of this study is to reassess the impact of climate change, by looking specifically at beach tourism in summer, a crucial market segment in Europe and more specifically in the Mediterranean. As beach tourism requires relatively high temperatures, relatively modest shifts in attractiveness are found. With respect to climate, the Mediterranean is likely to remain Europe's prime region for summer-time beach tourism for at least the next 50 years. Coastal managers in Mediterranean destinations are advised to focus some of their attention on other climate change impacts such as sea-level rise or water availability, and include environmental quality and diversification of activities in their deliberations. In non-Mediterranean regions, a promising strategy may be to focus on short- and medium-distance visitors who can take advantage of the new opportunities for beach tourism, and to explore the merits of seasonal climate forecasting.     

Possible effects of climate change on the spread of invasive marine species and implications for maritime industries

Global climate change stands to have major implications for maritime industries, including fisheries and aquaculture, recreation and tourism, and shipping and ports. Amongst these implications are the possible effects of climate change on the dispersal and distribution of marine species, as environmental conditions in the world’s seas and oceans change with climate change. This paper explores, in an introductory manner only, the potential impacts of climate change on marine bio-invasions, the possible effect of these impacts on maritime industries, and the possible implications for the way that we manage these industries, including ship’s ballast water and sediments and hull fouling, to prevent and reduce marine bio-invasions. The paper presents the case for the inclusion of this topic on the programme of 1st International Conference on the Impacts of Climate Change on Maritime Industries (ICCMI 2008), planned to be held in Malmö, Sweden in June 2008, where international experts in the science of climate change and marine bio-invasions might present more detailed scientific and technical papers on the issue.     

Institutional and Conceptual Barriers to Climate Change Adaptation for Coastal Cultural Heritage

Climate change is increasing the speed at which tangible coastal cultural heritage is changing in character or being lost through weathering, erosion, and inundation. Damages to coastal archeological sites, loss of access to historical sites, and the alteration of cultural landscapes will force changes in the way researchers can study sites, tourists can enjoy places, and descendant communities who have lived in particular areas for time immemorial, and local community members can utilize and relate to landscapes. In the USA, the National Park Service is a primary coastal cultural resource management organization. The National Park Service has been working on climate change adaptation for cultural resources for over a decade; however, there are few examples of parks in which long range climate change adaptation plans for cultural resources have been implemented. Building from 20 semi-structured interviews with cultural resource managers in three parks, we found that institutional structures within the National Park Service, as well as historical conceptual framings specific to the research, recreational, and interpretive values of cultural resources act as barriers to managers’ ability to design and implement climate change adaptation plans. Institutional barriers managers discussed include the dependence of climate change adaptation decisions partnership projects and the leveraging of budgetary and staff resources within NPS that may affect climate change adaptation capacity. We found that park managers often saw impacts in parks that may be associated with climate change, but found it difficult to separate normal maintenance from climate change affected deterioration, which may lead to status quo management actions rather than revised planning for a changing future regime. Conceptual barriers managers discussed revealed a conflict between preservation needs of research versus interpretive uses and while NPS guidance recommends prioritization of cultural resources for preservation at the park level, regional managers were more focused on this topic than park managers. As NPS moves forward with climate change adaptation planning, opportunities to develop and improve cultural resource preservation with new technologies, improved prioritization schemes, and include public input in resource preservation may help coastal managers overcome these barriers.     

Testing the Effects of Constraints on Climate Change–Friendly Behavior among Groups of Australian Residents

This study explores the relationship between Australian's attitudes toward climate change impacts on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and environmentally responsible behavior (ERB). We hypothesize that general attitudes toward climate change, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control predict intended and reported behavior, and that attitude negatively influences constraints on adopting ERB. The moderating effect of residential condition (urban vs. rural contexts) was tested across these hypothesized relationships. We randomly selected 200 individuals from eight regions: Five within 50 km of the GBR Coastline and three from the Statistical Metropolitan Areas in Australia. We yielded 1,623 surveys by telephone interviews. Findings confirm our hypotheses and suggest the most important predictor of intentions is perceived behavioral control. The two groups of respondents (urban vs. rural) illustrate different relationships. This study offers insight on how managers of the GBR can effectively shape residents' behavioral tendencies that minimize human impacts on the natural environment.     

桥梁通航孔船舶通行能力研究

跨海大桥的建设有利于促进两岸及其周边地区发展，进一步提升城市竞争力，对于整个地区的经济、社会发展都具有深远的、重大的战略意义。然而，大桥的建设改变了当地的船舶通航环境，通航孔宽度影响船舶自由航行。因此，有必要对桥区水域船舶通行能力进行研究。基于航海操纵模拟器，模拟船舶紧急制动距离，运用排队论的相关理论，分析大桥通航孔船舶通行能力，为建立桥区通航管理规则，合理规划过桥等待锚地提供参考，以利于保障桥区水域船舶航行安全。     

Warming Seas in the Coral Triangle: Coral Reef Vulnerability and Management Implications

The highest diversity coral reefs in the world, located in the Coral Triangle, are threatened by a variety of local stresses including pollution, overfishing, and destructive fishing in addition to climate change impacts, such as increasing sea surface temperatures (SSTs), and ocean acidification. As climate change impacts increase, coral reef vulnerability at the ecoregional scale will have an increasingly important influence on conservation management decisions. This project provides the first detailed assessment of past and future climatic stress, thermal variability, and anthropogenic impacts in the Coral Triangle at the ecoregional level, thus incorporating both local (e.g., pollution, development, and overfishing) and global threats (increasing SSTs). The development of marine protected area (MPA) networks across the Coral Triangle is critical for the region to address these threats. Specific management recommendations are defined for MPA networks based on the levels of vulnerability to thermal and local stress. For example, coral reef regions with potentially low vulnerability to thermal stress may be priorities for establishment of MPA networks, whereas high vulnerability regions may require selection and design principles aimed at building resilience to climate change. The identification of climate and other human threats to coral reef systems and ecoregions can help conservation practitioners prioritize management responses to address these threats and identify gaps in MPA networks or other management mechanisms (e.g., integrated coastal management).     

Analysis of Ocean-Space and Sea-Level Rise Policy in Two Coastal Cities

Global sea-level rise (SLR) is among the most alarming aspects of anthropogenic climate change. The human impacts of SLR are experienced unequally between and within municipalities. Existing research has identified social variables that predict municipal adoption of adaptive SLR policy, but this work does not account for the locally specific social factors that shape particular policies to fit particular cases. This study describes social conceptions of the ocean and SLR policy for two coastal cities in western Washington: Aberdeen and Bainbridge Island. Examining conceptions of marine spaces provides insight into the complex process by which local physical and socio-demographic characteristics shape local policy. The study uses a grounded theoretical approach to content analyses, resulting in localized typologies of marine spaces as well as SLR policy profiles for each case. Results indicate that municipalities vary by both social conception of the ocean and SLR policy form. These findings elaborate upon the relationship between socioeconomic conditions and municipal climate change policy adoption, suggesting that in local media and policy discourse, the absence of relevant resources is related to adversarial conceptions of local marine spaces, while abundance of relevant resources is associated with a conception of marine spaces as natural resources.     

‘Only work and sleep’: seafarers’ perceptions of job demands of short sea cargo shipping lines and their effects on work and life on board

Previous research on job demands in seafaring has focused on the effects of workload and circadian disturbance on seafarers’ health and fatigue. Taking a more comprehensive approach, this study identifies job demands of short sea cargo shipping lines and explores their effects on work and life on board. Data came from 54 interviews with officers and crew on five cargo ships. Findings revealed job demands related to characteristics of the schedule, ports, and sea voyages; these were not only associated with workload and circadian disturbance, but also with the difficulty of the work, the ability to plan ahead, and intrusions from third parties. Job demands affected outcomes through two interconnected processes. First, job demands had direct and indirect effects on fatigue and the working climate on board. Second, potential positive effects of job demands (i.e. interesting work and pay) were related to motivation and, together with a good working climate, could reduce turnover. Connecting the two processes, a good working climate was pivotal in counteracting negative emotions and supporting motivation and collaboration. In this way, it functioned as a key resource. External constraints could either buffer or reinforce these effects.     

The relationship between maritime education and employer trust: the structural equation modelling (SEM) perspective

The research is aimed to identify factors in the maritime education and training (MET) system and its relationship on maritime labour employers’ (MLEs) trust based on current practice in Malaysia. A questionnaire survey was used, and the respondents were the participants of a related conference in Malaysia. The structural equation modelling technique was used to explain the relationships in the stipulated research model. The test of structural model confirms that the model is adequate in explaining the MLEs’ trust. The results reveal that the perceived MET institutions’ efficiency has significant direct effects on the MLEs’ trust and the perceived seafarers’ competency. In addition, the perceived implementation of International Convention was found to significantly affect the seafarers’ competency. However, the perceived seafarers’ competency was not found to directly affect the MLEs’ trust. This study suggests that the MLEs’ trust is an important indicator and feedback on it can be used to further enhance the current MET system and its policies. Thus, one of the strategies is to develop a policy in order to achieve an effective maritime education and training. This is to support the maritime communities in progressing towards a more sustainable development in the MET in the context of enhancing the maritime safety.     

Towards port infrastructure adaptation: a global port climate risk analysis

In this paper, a new concept of “port climate risk exposure function along the sea–land boundary axis” is introduced as a critical component towards port adaptation. This concept derived from a global survey which was conducted over 29 countries to assess perceived climate risks to port infrastructure from relevant experts. The methodology used 48 climate scenarios developed based on existing data. Ultimately, this paper serves as a global climate risk indicator to guide further adaptive initiatives in ports.