Integrated coastal water monitoring

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are important took for environmental monitoring and management. However, their limitations in dealing with complex, dynamic, and mission‐critical situations call for alternative approaches. Integrating GIS with dynamic simulation models offers one such solution. Numerical models that simulate physical, chemical, and biological processes greatly increase our understanding of the environment. Many of these models use refined forecast information to accurately predict processes that help in monitoring and managing the environment. Integrating these models with GIS offers new functionalities. The present research couples the MIKE21 comprehensive modeling system for two‐dimensional free surface flows with the spatial analysis strengths of the ArcView GIS. The southern coastal water system of Singapore serves as the study area. The aim is to develop a comprehensive software system that provides support for both environmental managers and land‐use planners in making their decisions.     

Developing the Vision: Managing the Coastal Zone of Magnesia through Information and Consent

The ICZM project of Magnesia in Greece, funded under the EU LIFE Programme, has provided a first chance for experimentation on procedures for integrated coastal planning at the local level. In a country where the mechanisms and the procedures of planning have failed repetitively and been replaced by market mechanisms, the main objective was to set the appropriate conditions for sustainable coastal management. A first intervention was the creation of a strong database, a Geographical Information System (GIS), which aimed at the improvement of decision making. The second intervention was the experimentation with consultation and participation pro cedures. At the end of this project we have the information tools that are necessary for the management of Magnesia's coastal zone and are wiser about consultation and participation procedures.     

Management Cybernetics: A New Institutional Framework for Coastal Management

This article analyzes institutional arrangements for the delivery of coastal programs through a new way of thinking about their evolution and structure. The notion of three distinct "dimensions" describing the phases in the evolution of institutional arrangements is introduced. The notion of dimensions is developed from conceptualizing about how institutional arrangements are diagrammed. This allows the visualization of how individual institutions and key stakeholders relate to each other in the delivery of coastal programs, how effective these relationships are, and how their relationships could be redesigned. "Dimensional thinking" enables the re-examination of existing institutional design of coastal programs and how these can evolve to meet the challenges of the new millennium. It is concluded that institutional arrangements have grown from a single dimensional view, where institutions (mainly governmental) delivered programs in isolation, through to the present second dimension where agency programs are managed through coordinating bodies and through coastal management plans. It is argued that a third dimension of institutional arrangements, one that recognizes and embraces the rapid pace of change in this century, will be needed that is aligned by themes rather than by organizational structure. To illustrate a third dimension a visualization tool is developed drawing from management cybernetics. It recognizes the increasing importance of formal and informal networks in relation to traditional modernist hierarchical management by recognizing multiple stakeholders (government at all levels, industry, advocacy groups, conservation interests, and the broader community) and their degree of mutual dependence. Dimensional thinking has the potential to institutionalize the interaction between these multiple stakeholders to ensure the effective delivery of coastal programs in the new millennium. A single answer to what the third dimension of coastal management program evolution should include is not presented. Rather, an approach is presented that allows coastal managers to move forward in the debate on redesigning coastal programs to meet today's complex suite of issues, values, and interests. An experimental case study from Western Australia is used to illustrate the potential application of the dimensional thinking to coastal management institutional design in that State's coastal program.     

Service-oriented computing and model-driven development as enablers of port information systems: an integrated view

Port information management is considered a critical instrument towards enabling international transport and trade; thus, various forms of Port Information Systems (PORTIS) have been developed today, namely Port Community Systems, Terminal Operating Systems and Single Window systems. In Europe, the nautical information system SafeSeaNet is viewed as an important e-infrastructure. PORTIS systems are expected to evolve into next-generation technological platforms in order to offer a fully integrated digital environment to a multitude of maritime business actors and public authorities towards more efficient, safe and environment-aware transport and trade infrastructures and services. We propose service-oriented computing and model-driven development techniques as a robust PORTIS modelling and development approach. We present a reference model of PORTIS and a particular enabling methodological and technological framework. The proposed approach has been tested in a maritime single-window case.     

Can Coastal Management Programs Protect and Promote Water-Dependent Uses?

Anecdotal evidence indicates that commercial and recreational water-dependent uses have been under development pressure in recent years, and in some cases have been converted to other uses. The conversion of water-dependent uses, which range from commercial shipyards to recreational marinas, may have many public costs, including the loss of access to public trust waters, the loss of jobs and associated economic activity, and the loss of traditional working waterfronts. This two-part study investigated the role of five coastal management programs in the northeastern United States in managing, monitoring, and protecting water-dependent uses. First, coastal managers in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey were interviewed to assess the conversion problem. Second, in collaboration with New York City-based Regional Plan Association, follow-up interviews were conducted with coastal managers and local planners in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey to gain greater insight into the role of coastal management programs and local governments in managing and promoting water-dependent uses. This article presents select findings from this study and discusses recommendations for improving the capacity of coastal management programs and local governments to manage water-dependent uses for the benefit of the public.     

Perceptions of the performance of state coastal zone management programs in the United States. II. Regional and state comparisons

A mail survey of coastal user groups, academics, and state coastal zone management program managers was conducted to determine the perceptions of the performance of state coastal zone management programs relative to the protection of coastal resources, the management of coastal development, the improvement of public access, and the management of coastal hazards. Information on the perceived importance of the selected issues to each of the 24 states being studied was also solicited. Findings on the perceptions of various categories of interest groups, academics, and program managers with respect to the overall performance of state coastal zone management programs in the four issue areas were presented in an earlier article, “Perceptions of the Performance of State Coastal Zone Management Programs in the United States”; (Knecht et al., 1996). The present article draws on a subset of these data—the responses from the coastal user groups and the academics—and presents the findings at the regional and individual state level. In terms of perceived performance of state coastal zone management programs on a regional basis relative to the selected issue areas, the highest rating went to the Great Lakes region for its management of public access. However, the North Atlantic region received the highest performance rating for the three other issue areas: protection of coastal resources, management of coastal development, and management of coastal hazards. Looking at state performance with regard to the coastal issues judged to be of most importance to the states—the protection of coastal resources and the management of coastal development—respondents indicated that states should improve their performance in both areas, with the greatest need related to the management of coastal development. Overall, the states of the North Atlantic, Great Lakes, and South Atlantic regions were perceived to be performing somewhat better relative to the four issue areas than the states in the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico regions. While the data do not shed light on the reasons for these regional differences, we suggest that, in the case of the Pacific region at least, the differences could be associated with higher expectations among the resident population with regard to environmental quality in general and coastal management in particular.     

A Tool for Coastal Setbacks Demarcation over Rough,Impermeable Shores: The Test Case of Kavala Coastline (Northern Greece)

Although setback zones and lines are considered as a powerful coastal zone management tool ensuring public access, protecting the coastal ecosystem and minimizing natural hazards over developments, the lack of a solid and objective Mediterranean methodological framework for coastal setbacks demarcation appears profound. Especially for countries like Greece, this deficiency leads to long legal disputes encouraging illegal construction on the coastline. In this article a methodology on coastal setbacks demarcation over rocky, impermeable shores is proposed, followed, and implemented along a Greek shoreline, serving as a pilot case study. The methodology is consistent with the requirements of the integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) Protocol and the Greek legislation (L. 2971/2001), aiming to determine the “highest winter waterline,” accounting for the tidal and storm surge effects, the sea-level rise due to climate change impact, the extreme offshore wind and wave analysis, and the maximum potential wave run-up. Such a tool may bridge the gap between legislative provisions and actual ICZM Protocol implementation improving regional coastal management and planning.     

Exploring Participants' Views of Participatory Coastal and Marine Resource Management Processes

It is generally accepted that stakeholders, including resource users, scientists, conservationists, government and nongovernment organizations, and the general public, can contribute positively to management processes and may even benefit from such processes. However, we continue to struggle with how to design processes that effectively involve these stakeholders. To illuminate potential improvements to traditional processes, this study examines participants’ perceptions of coastal and marine resource management processes. Through semi-structured interviews, respondents describe how they feel about various elements of participatory processes. Responses offer insight into the multiple dimensions of participatory process elements described in the literature, such as influence on decisions, exchange of information, access to the process, transparent decision making, and others. Responses also identify additional elements that have received limited attention in the public-participation literature: hosting meetings at various scales, recognizing differences within interest groups, and considering the context of a process. Results from this study will help to inform the design of participatory coastal and marine resource management processes.     

Improving the State of Coastal Areas in the Asia-Pacific Region

Stresses impacting the coastal zone in the Asia-Pacific region are briefly reviewed under the headings of sustainable coastal activities, coastal ecosystem management, community/resource interactions, coastal resource economics and sustainability, coastal area planning, and integrated coastal policies. Recent contributions on mitigation of these stresses are introduced, with emphasis on the Coastal Zone Asia-Pacific Conference, held in Bangkok, May 2002, where various innovative approaches to research, education, information sharing, and coastal policies aiming at improving the state of the coastal areas were presented. These include the roles of community in integrated coastal management; tools and planning for management of coastal areas; education program and capacity building; and the establishments of national and regional frameworks for integrated coastal management. As appropriate information and its transfer are critical to these processes, an analysis is presented of the content of the database on coastal projects in the region, highlighting areas of research interests, funding sources, and achievements. Another database on coastal ecosystems, currently under development, is presented as an example of the type of resource that can be expected to help advance our knowledge and ability to improve the management of coastal areas. Overall, these tools should allow us, given the political will, to improve the state of coastal areas.     

Providing Public Access to the Shore: The Role of Coastal Zone Management Programs

In many coastal states and territories, coastal zone management (CZM) programs have been the prime catalyst in leveraging public access initiatives among state and federal agencies, public organizations, and the private sector. A wide range of tools are used, including acquisition, regulations, technical assistance, and public education. The diversity of approaches is illustrated through a variety of case examples. Although hard numbers for measuring outcomes were not uniformly available, between 1985 and 1988, when federal and state CZM funding dedicated to public access was tracked, $141.5 million (unadjusted 1988 dollars) were spent on 455 public access-related projects. A policy shift occurred in the 1990s away from reliance on acquisition and regulation as the most effective means of providing access and toward technical assistance and public outreach-a response to the overall decrease in funds available for access. CZM programs have been able to balance the contradictory goals of the federal Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (CZMA), such as protecting coastal resources while providing for increased public access to those resources. It is recommended that CZM programs conduct assessments to determine the kind of access needed in the future and where it should be located. And, due to the creativity and innovation that states and territory coastal programs use to achieve access, it is recommended that a national clearinghouse be established for documenting and sharing information on innovative tools and programs.     

Classification of Beach Erosion Vulnerability on the Yucatan Coast

Beach erosion can have important socioeconomic and environmental consequences, particularly in tropical regions where tourism is a significant source of income. Although caused by natural processes, erosion is often aggravated by disorderly anthropogenic modification of the coast and extreme events. In Yucatan, Mexico, increasing urban development and deficient coastal management strategies as well as hurricanes have affected beach stability. This has highlighted the need for adequate coastal planning and policies that ensure the protection of key coastal ecosystems, such as beaches and sand dunes. To address this, a methodology to classify the coast according to its vulnerability is presented in this work. This methodology assumes that morphological features are indicators of beach evolution and the processes driving it and that these can be associated with different levels of vulnerability. The features considered are beach width, dune vegetation, anthropogenic pressure, and shoreline orientation, which were analyzed through aerial images and a multicriteria evaluation. It was observed that the most vulnerable areas are found near the most developed parts of the coast, where narrow beaches with little dune vegetation dominate. It is expected that this index will be of use to coastal planners and decision makers, particularly in the identification of critical zones.     

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.     

MINOE: A Software Tool to Analyze Ocean Management Efforts in the Context of Ecosystems

Transitioning ocean governance into an integrated ecosystem-based approach requires improved knowledge of existing governance arrangements. This article presents a software tool, MINOE, to assist policymakers, scientists, and others involved in ecosystem-based management initiatives to navigate through management documents as they relate to a user-defined ecosystem. The tool uses a conceptually modeled ecosystem, defined by the user, and text analysis of a set of management-related documents to determine which ecosystem linkages are potentially acknowledged in the documents. For illustration, the set of documents included with MINOE currently (and used to demonstrate the software in this article) are laws and regulations from four geopolitical jurisdictions for the year 2006; however, users may also import other documents for a more tailored application. Features include an interactive matrix containing results about the set of management documents within the user's scope and scale of interest. In addition, MINOE includes metrics and visualization tools to synthesize information derived from the documents. The article presents the software tool, describes potential uses for the tool, and ends with a discussion of future work to expand the program.     

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.     

The Effectiveness of Coastal Zone Management in the United States

The Coastal Zone Management Effectiveness Study was undertaken between 1995 and 1997 to determine how well state coastal management programs in the United States were implementing five of the core objectives of the U.S. Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA). The five core objectives studied were: (1) protection of estuaries and coastal wetlands; (2) protection of beaches, dunes, bluffs and rocky shores; (3) provision of public access to the shore; (4) revitalization of urban waterfronts; and (5) accommodation of seaport development (as an illustration of the policy to give priority to coastal-dependent uses). Separate articles in this issue of Coastal Management report the findings of the five studies, each dealing with one of the core objectives. Each of the articles assesses issue importance, processes and tools used, and the limited outcome data available for that objective. This article provides an overview of the purposes of the study, the methodology used, the summary findings of each study, and overall conclusions and recommendations of the study team. State coastal programs are found to be effective in addressing the five CZMA objectives examined, but this conclusion is based on very limited information about program outcomes. A more definitive conclusion will require better outcome information. Coastal managers in the United States have not agreed upon indicators of success, which severely inhibits systematic and sustained collection of outcome information. A national outcome monitoring and performance evaluation system is recommended to address these deficiencies and allow better determinations of program effectiveness in the future.     

An Analysis of the Impact of the Internet on Coastal Management

The role of the Internet in coastal management practice is analyzed through the Internet's communication and information access capacity. Primary and secondary impacts of the Internet in coastal management are assessed. A broad research framework is employed, including background on the development and spread of the Internet worldwide; analysis of emerging literature on the societal impact of the Internet; limited existing research on the use of the Internet by environmental management professionals generally and coastal managers in particular; and personal experience of the authors in the development of coastal management Internet sites. This analytical framework is supplemented by the first survey of integrated coastal management (ICM) Internet websites by www.coastalmanagement.com and a case study of the Internet Center for Coastal Management (ICCM) Internet-based communication platform based at the University of Washington. The survey of ICM websites found a total of 77 websites worldwide, with a dominance of sites in English located in the developed world. Assessment of the first year of operation of the ICCM project to facilitate discussion between coastal management practitioners and students in the United States and the Philippines demonstrates the enormous potential of the Internet as a communications tool in coastal management and also reveals the many practical technological and cultural constraints of using the Internet, especially in working on a project between the developed and developing world. Three groups of scenarios of the future use of the Internet in coastal management with decreasing levels of forecast certainty, namely, "probable," and "possible," and "potential for" are presented and discussed. Finally, the potential for the Internet to fundamentally transform the practice of coastal management is analyzed. It is concluded that while such a potential exists, there remain significant research questions requiring further analysis before the full transformative potential, and the possible impacts of such a transformation on coastal management, can be fully assessed. This article aims to provide a benchmark against which such future assessments can be made.     

Spatial and Temporal Changes in Access Rights to Shellfish Resources in British Columbia

Over the past decade, the shellfish and finfish aquaculture industry has expanded rapidly in coastal British Columbia (BC) Canada. Foreshore and nearshore shellfish and finfish aquaculture leaseholds are sited in close proximity or in direct competition with habitat for wild shellfish. As a result, some wild shellfish harvesters believe shellfish farms are significantly reducing access to beaches and estuarine areas for wild harvesting, or that salmon farms are contaminating wild shellfish stocks. In this article, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are used to analyze spatial and temporal trends in the growth of shellfish and finfish aquaculture tenures in BC, while interviews with stakeholders in coastal communities are used to explore user conflicts and the implications of changing access rights on the distribution of marine resources. Qualitative and quantitative findings suggest that shellfish aquaculture provides significant economic opportunities for coastal communities, but that such development may hold increased risk of spatial conflicts over marine habitat as the aquaculture industry continues to grow.     

基于MGIS的舰船器材保障系统研究

随着信息技术的不断发展,装备保障数字化的研究越来越受到重视.通过引入军事地理信息系统（MGIS）,可把舰船器材保障的各个组成单元与地理信息有机结合起来,实现保障资源的可视化和智能化管理.并分析了该系统的功能,包括双向查询,可视化和辅助决策等,并对系统的总体结构以及系统的实现方式进行了具体的描述.     

Inventory,Classification, and Analysis of Special Management Areas Associated with U.S. Coastal Programs

Area-based management approaches may be beneficial in integrating sectoral, single-purpose laws and regulations; however, these benefits may not be attained if special area designations are equally sectoral or single-purpose in nature. Over 60 types of special management areas were documented under U.S. coastal programs, and a new classification scheme was developed to allow comparisons and analyses across programs. Results indicate that requirements and incentives for special area designations under the Coastal Zone Management Act did little to standardize or influence area-based management systems associated with state and territory coastal programs. Further, the absence of clear patterns within and between coastal programs with respect to special area policies suggests a limited commitment to this important aspect of coastal management. Continued research is needed to document the effectiveness of the various area-based management approaches presented in this article.     

The Quiet Revolution in Visual Resource Management: A view from the coast

Abstract

This introductory piece traces the growth of knowledge and activity associated with visual resource management in general. A specific framework of questions regarding methods of coastal zone visual resource management is presented. The state‐of‐the‐art in methodological studies is listed for each question, and the methodological questions are related to the major articles with the special issue of the Coastal Zone Management Journal. Major legal federal statutes, state statutes, and court cases are reviewed in light of visual resource management in the coastal zone. The remaining articles within the special issue that deal with integration of VRM into decision‐making are then arrayed against a management framework. This framework includes regulatory situations for (1) public land management and planning, (2) public projects involving private lands, and (3) public regulation of private projects.