Interorganizational Considerations in Coastal Management: The 1976 California Legislative Experience

Abstract

Among coastal management programs, most states have found the question of appropriate administrative structure difficult to cope with. The dilemma of decision trade‐offs caused by the dual governmental needs of “efficiency”; and “representation”; has led to some alternative patterns of administration. For complex issues that transcend local boundaries, the choice between trade‐offs means adopting either (a) some form of consolidated bureaucracy or (b) some system of concurrent jurisdictions. Both alternatives have their inherent benefits and disadvantages but, considering the degree of environmental complexity and array of competing interests involved in coastal resource use, the most appropriate administrative form would seem to be concurrent control, as interagency reciprocal review promotes thoroughness and broad representation. Affected both by swings in political climate and by traditional reform politics, the case of California legislation represents a conscious deliberation over administrative alternatives. After experimenting with concurrent control under Proposition 20, California reversed its legislation in 1976 by mandating the consolidation of coastal management authority into existing bureaucratic line organizations and a reduction of the coastal agency after 1979 to a planning and advisory body.     

Theme Issue 30(2): "Economics of Marine Protected Areas"

Most Florida manatees depend on localized warm-water refuges in the southern two-thirds of Florida to survive winter; about 60% use outfalls from 10 power plants, whereas 15% use 4 natural warm-water springs. Future availability of these refuges is in doubt; most of these power plants may be retired within the next 20 years and groundwater withdrawals for human use threaten natural springs. This article examines possible effects on manatees from losing major warm-water refuges and alternative management actions. Because of manatee site-fidelity patterns, plant retirements may increase cold-stress-related deaths and significantly decrease manatee abundance. A forward-looking management strategy is urgently needed before decisions are made to retire plants now used by large numbers of manatees. Possible management alternatives include: gradually weaning manatees off plant outfalls, maintaining the flow of springs now used by manatees, enhancing access to suitable warm-water springs now little used or unused by manatees, constructing new non-industry dependent warm-water refuges, and creating new thermal basins to retain warm-water pockets able to support overwintering manatees.     

Implementation Challenges for Quota Set-Asides: Policy Analysis to Inform Fisheries Management Decision-Making

Abstract

The implementation of catch share programs can have socio-economic and ecological benefits, yet may also change the distribution of those benefits within a fishery or across communities. Quota set-asides can mitigate the impacts of these changes. During the implementation of the West Coast groundfish trawl catch share program, 10% of the quota was set aside to be used toward five goals in the Adaptive Management Program (AMP). This quota was to serve as an insurance policy during the substantial changes that were expected to occur under the new management regime. However, this program has not yet been fully developed, in part due to delayed decision-making and the controversial nature of allocating quota. Here, we examine and score six policy options for the AMP against four criteria: effectiveness, flexibility, political viability, and implementability. While each of the options has strengths and weaknesses, those that ranked highly include allocating quota pounds (QP) via the status quo and via auction. Our results highlight the drawbacks of delaying contentious decisions, where uncertainty for participants can constrain operational decisions and subsequent economic gains. We demonstrate the utility of this decision-making framework for evaluating tradeoffs between alternatives, especially for a program with multiple, competing objectives.     

Local environmental management—can it work? A case study of the Virginia Wetlands Act

Abstract

The Virginia Wetlands Act of 1972 provides the localities of Tidewater Virginia an opportunity to participate in the management of the state's coastal wetlands resources. This study attempts to analyze the effectiveness of this legislation and to examine the implications of a local management scheme for coastal resource management on a broader scale. Criteria are also established that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of such a law. When examined in the light of these criteria, the Virginia Wetlands Act emerges, for the most part, as an effective piece of environmental quality legislation that has had a significant impact on wetlands destruction in the state of Virginia. During the two‐year period following the passage of the Act, wetlands losses through the permitting process showed an 18‐fold decrease from previous estimates. The Wetlands Act appears to have been generally accepted by the public and has resulted in consistently uniform decisions, which have reduced wetlands losses without unduly restricting the necessary and legitimate development of the state's wetlands.     

Sewering the coast: Bane or blessing to marine water quality

Abstract

local wastewater management policies can be important tools for protecting marine water quality when coordinated with sound land use and environmental planning. that relationship is examined through a review of the point and nonpoint source pollution issues associated with centralized versus decentralized wastewater management approaches, sewerage extension and plant expansion effects, and sewerage management practices. we use information provided by 161 local jurisdictions in coastal regions of the southeastern united states and various secondary regions of the southeastern united states and various secondary sources. the article concludes with a discussion of policy implications and recommendations to improve the coordination of local sewerage extension/expansion practices and land use planning.     

Information Management in Beach Planning

Abstract

This article concerns optimizing the use of environmental information for creative planning. It arose from a detailed study of the status and management of the coastal dunes of New South Wales, Australia, and discusses the way in which ideas for optimizing the management process were developed, and applied to three beach environments on the coast of New South Wales, Australia.

The problem of coastal beach/dune management may be thought of as being similar to a production function in which the inputs are the land resource, the skills and knowledge of managers, finance, and materiel. The outcomes are in the form of experiences, or opportunities for experiences, either passive or active, either consumption values or option values, desired by the coastal user population (which includes the resource managers themselves). The resource manager's task is to manipulate the “production function”; in order that the outputs will best mesh with the expectations of the user population and with the capability of the land resource to deliver on a sustained basis. An aim of the project was to develop a method for the specification of different possible outputs from the production function, in different beach/dune environments, and that could be used to assist in the preparation of advice on appropriate recreational development, allowing decisions to be based on both environmental data and information on the expectations, activities, and amenity preferences of beach users.     

Urban sports anglers and Lake Michigan fishery policies

Abstract

Over the past few years an unusually intense struggle over the future of the Lake Michigan fishery has occurred in the coastal communities of Racine and Kenosha. This struggle has engaged participants on the local, state, and national levels in the debate over the fishery as it is potentially impacted by the presence of environmental toxins, the rising cost of fish stocking and management, and conflicting user group demands. We describe three cases where urban sports anglers, with the assistance of university based social scientists, participated in state and city public policy decisions. After discussing this research and its policy implications, we propose a general public participation paradigm termed the Reciprocal Development Model.     

Impact of coastal construction on coral reefs in the U.S.‐affiliated pacific Islands

Abstract

During the past century, traditional ownership, control, and use of coral reef habitats in the U.S.‐affiliated islands in the Pacific have declined, exposing them to increased construction for plantation, transportation, military, urban, aquaculture, fisheries, mineral, and resort development. Dredging, filling, and other construction in coral reef and related ecosystems are expected to continue at high levels. Collectively, these activities have resulted in major adverse ecological impacts, many of which can be avoided or reduced to minor levels. Improvements in the design, siting, and construction of coastal projects can be accomplished by early integration of environmental objectives. Ecological baseline surveys; environmental impact assessments; regulatory conditions; guidelines and standards during construction; monitoring of construction; post‐construction evaluation; and long‐range research, planning, and management are among the most useful of the environmental tools to describe reefs and to identify measures to reduce or avoid adverse impacts on coral reefs.     

Integrated Coastal Management in Philippine Local Governance: Evolution and Benefits

In 1991 the Philippine government shifted many coastal management responsibilities to local governments and fostered increased local participation in the management of coastal resources. In their delivery of integrated coastal management (ICM) as a basic service, many local governments have achieved increasing public awareness of coastal resource management (CRM) issues. Continuing challenges are financial sustainability, inadequate capacities, weak law enforcement, and lack of integrated and collaborative efforts. To address these challenges, a CRM certification system was developed to improve strategies and promote incentives for local governments to support ICM. This system is being applied by an increasing number of local governments to guide the development and implementation of ICM in their jurisdiction. The CRM benchmarks required for a local government to achieve the first level of certification are: budget allocated, CRM related organizations formed and active, CRM plan developed and adopted, shoreline management initiated and two or more best practices implemented. Implementation is providing tangible benefits to communities through enhanced fisheries production associated with MPAs, revenues from user fees and enhanced community pride through learning exchanges and involvement in decisions, among others.     

Eilat: Multiple conflicts in an inherently uncertain environment

Abstract

Ports are often at the center of conflicts regarding the use of coastal areas and their management. Yet, it is often impossible to forecast the future development patterns of a port due to its dependence on shifting international relations and markets. Such inherent uncertainty complicates the management of coastal areas affected by the port. This article looks at how such a case is being addressed in Eilat, Israel's Red Sea port.

The development of Eilat's port has been a function of the changing geopolitical situation in the Middle East. At the same time it is in the center of a number of local conflicts involving the management and planning of Israel's Red Sea coast. Evaluation of the two alternatives proposed to address these conflicts is hampered by the inherent uncertainty regarding the port's growth patterns. The use of robust evaluation techniques is suggested as one way to address inherent uncertainties.     

An alternative perspective on common property resource allocation decisions in the coastal zone

Abstract

This article argues that using the public sector and the private market in the historically delineated and traditional ways offers only the bluntest of tools with which to approach the complex problem of coastal zone management. It therefore seeks to provide a basis for reformulating our understanding of sectoral responsibility with regard to resources management. First, it conceptually analyzes the relative strengths and weaknesses of the two sectors. Second, it examines three examples of coastal resources management—beaches and shorelands, artificial reefs, and coastal wetlands—in analyzing the complexities of the coastal management challenge and the limitations of our current approaches. Finally, we provide an alternative perspective on how these common property resource allocation decisions can be made.     

Planning for resilient coastal communities: Lessons from ecological systems theory

Abstract

One of the least understood aspects of coastal zone utilization is how communities respond and adapt to changes occurring in the marine environment and to changes which transform the socioeconomic, political, and administrative environment of the coastal zone. In Atlantic Canada, it is estimated that there are some 1,300 “fishing communities,”; yet these communities vary considerably in terms of population size, proximity to urban centers, and dependence upon the local resource base to provide employment opportunities and alternatives. Although numerous government planning documents have purported to support “community revitalization”; and “self‐sufficiency/self‐reliance,”; few inquiries have been directed toward ascertaining how communities have maintained resiliency in the face of unexpected and sudden shock, or have adapted to more gradual change. This essay argues that human communities and ecological systems may have similar attributes, and that appropriate resource development and management planning should take account of these traits as well as the sustaining structural support mechanisms.     

Ecological and economic principles in park planning: The Assateague national seashore model

Abstract

The National Park Service is required by law to conserve nationally significant resources for public benefit. Susceptibility to local short‐term economic pressures and a lack of understanding of resource dynamics can jeopardize mandate compliance. Assateague National Seashore is an example of a dynamic barrier island where early understanding of ecologic factors should have preceded its establishment and must precede its management and development. Research conducted on a similar system has demonstrated the dramatic environmental impacts and high maintenance costs associated with an inappropriate recreation management scheme. Alternatives are available which minimize resource degradation and maintenance costs without restricting visitation. To better ensure incorporation of long‐run ecologic and economic criteria into the decision‐making process, a proposal is put forward which recognizes the need for an expanded research effort and close adherence to early planning steps.     

Israel's coastal program: Resource protection through management of land use

Abstract

Presently, much of Israel's 190‐kilometer‐long Mediterranean coast is either unoccupied, devoted to unsuitable uses, or is in use by activities which have no special need to be near the water's edge. This has resulted from years of lack of appreciation by policy‐makers of the coast as a valuable resource, of national development policies that directed attention to other regions, and of the relatively limited demand for coastal recreation.

In the last decade the importance of these factors has diminished. In turn, there is now mounting pressure for the development of coastal land. Increasingly, rising standards of living with a greater demand for recreational facilities, the growth of tourism as a major industry, and demands of the environmental lobby for conservation of part of the coastal land are factors bound to cause intensive change along the coast and to affect the quality of its resources. These trends have brought about public intervention in deciding the future of the coast. This paper reviews and analyzes Israel's coastal policy and its resource management programs, and also discusses the potential challenges to their full implementation.

Three types of programs were suggested as the main management tools: a coastal research and development effort, national coastal land use planning and pollution prevention, and monitoring and control programs. Major objectives of the programs were to be achieved through land use controls. Consequently, an important role is given in the development and implementation of the coastal program to agencies responsible for the management of physical land use planning and development.

Successful implementation of the management program, however, will depend on the ability of its administrators to coordinate the actions of many interests, on success in changing attitudes among decision‐makers as to the value of the coast, and on widening support for coastal resource conservation among a presently uninvolved public.     

Port e-Transformation,customer satisfaction and competitiveness

ABSTRACT

e-Transformation in container ports means port organization-wide innovative transformation encompassing internal and external value chains based on information and communication technology. There is a considerable theoretical literature on the impact of e-Transformation on business performance, but there is very little empirical study on its effectiveness in ports. The objective of this paper is to empirically investigate how e-Transformation in container port management can influence customer satisfaction and port competitiveness. The findings reveal that e-Transformation in container ports can affect customer satisfaction and port competitiveness through e-Workplace, customer relationship management and security, implying that container ports should make every effort to focus on e-transformation in these critical areas. Due to limited empirical studies in this area, the findings have provided an empirical support for the importance of e-Transformation in container terminal management and shed more light on how e-Transformation can affect customer satisfaction and port competitiveness.     

Cooperative tourism and the coastal zone

Abstract

Most tourist development takes place in the coastal zone. Concentrated tourist use continues in spite of opposition by groups who feel that any tourism, especially international, threatens both the natural environment and local values. Although shorelines and “coastscapes”; belong to all, decisions regarding them are made by relatively few. The number of community organizations involved in coastal zone management decisions varies from almost none in some Third World countries to dozens in places like Hawaii or California. Constructive use of coastal zones requires an understanding of the interactions between biophysical and social systems. Planning tourism in this context requires that all groups with an interest in the coastal zone join in a new “cooperative tourism”; in which all contribute to decisions and face ultimate responsibilities.     

Assessment of coastal zone issues in the Republic of Korea

Abstract

The physical characteristics of Korea have had a profound impact on the uses of the coastal zone that have, in turn, been determined by and reinforced the nation's economic development strategy. While coastal zone management in many developed economies is more heavily oriented toward environmental protection and the resolution of user conflicts, policies for coastal zone management in Korea have emphasized the role of coastal space and other resources for economic development and industrial needs. Increasing demand for land reclamation to provide ever‐increasing industrial sites and human settlements, traditional and future needs of the fishery, and concern for the environment have led to a vast array of competition and, finally, often to conflicts. The basic pattern of coastal zone use in Korea has changed from the linear expansion of coastal zone to integrated coastal uses. An increased number of critical coastal zone issues and interactions was reflected in the creation of new governance that dealt with coastal zone resources and environment.     

Dynamics of Integrated Coastal Management: PEMSEA's Experience

The ultimate goal of integrated coastal management (ICM) is to improve the quality of life of coastal inhabitants through achieving the sustainable development objectives. Achieving this goal, however, is often hindered by policy and financial and capacity barriers. This article discusses the role of the interaction between the dynamic forces and essential elements of ICM to address the environmental and management issues at the local level. The experience of Xiamen Municipality, People's Republic of China, is highlighted to showcase how it transformed from an environmentally degraded municipality into a modern, urban garden city in a span of just more than a decade. The socioeconomic and ecological benefits of ICM in Xiamen are obvious, measurable, and well-appreciated by both the government and the citizenry. Useful lessons have also been drawn from several ICM initiatives in East Asia in relation to strengthening coastal management. The key ones are briefly discussed.     

American Samoa: Establishing a coastal area management model for developing countries

Abstract

Debate over the appropriateness of U.S. approaches to coastal management procedures for developing countries has increased over the past few years. The coastal management program which was developed for American Samoa offers the opportunity to test the utility of the U.S. approach to CZM for developing nations.

American Samoa represents a blend of traditional and new cultures and thus may be a microcosm of developing countries. American Samoa's development of a CZM plan is examined with emphasis on similarities and differences with U.S. experience. A culture‐oriented framework is presented which can shape programs appropriate to developing countries. Finally, a process and a set of guidelines provide an outline for those attempting the difficult task of applying U.S. environmental planning and management to other countries.