Introduction to the Theme Issue: The Role of Geography in Contemporary Coastal Management Policy and Practice

This article provides a brief introduction to the theme issue on “The role of geography in contemporary coastal management policy and practice.” The theme is addressed through a suite of seven articles that collectively consider how geographical understandings and methods relate to contemporary coastal policy and practice. The key theme to emerge from the articles is that geography forms an underlying framework for considering integrated coastal management, largely due to the integrative nature of geography itself.     

Stimulating Vertical Integration in Coastal Management in a Federated Nation: The Case of Australian Coastal Policy Reform

Four decades ago Australia was credited as being an early leader in implementing integrated coastal management (ICM). Nevertheless, as a federation of states and territories Australia has since struggled to fully implement vertical integration of its coastal governance arrangements. In particular the federal government has historically possessed only a minor role in coastal management despite the recommendations of several major inquires suggesting that this role needed to be enhanced. This article examines a series of circumstances and events over the past two years in Australia that has created the opportunity for the federal government to adopt a more significant and prominent role in coastal management and hence to substantially complete the vertical integration of ICM in Australia. These stimuli for coastal policy reform could also play a role in enhancing ICM in other federated nations.     

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.     

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.     

CZARA of 1990: A Critical Time for Coastal Management

To appreciate the present, sometimes you need to reflect on the past and wonder “what if?” This is one of those times. In recognition of the 40th anniversary of the Coastal Zone Management Act and acknowledgment of the dedication of the program's practitioners, it is important to note that the successful implementation of the Nation's primary coastal law has depended, and will continue to depend, on its legitimacy and institutionalization in the political culture of the country. Today, the national coastal management program, while underfunded and, in recent years, subject to wavering political support, has nevertheless reached a certain level of stability to safeguard the country's coastal resources. It is fitting, therefore, in this special issue of Coastal Management to recall a time when the future of the CZMA was in serious doubt.     

Criteria for Evaluating the Design of Implementation Models for Integrated Coastal Management

Despite the emphasis placed on the contextual nature of integrated coastal management (ICM) implementation in the literature, many uniformities are encountered in ICM implementation worldwide. In this article the tangled threads of ICM practice are unravelled and a theoretically founded set of criteria for evaluating the design of ICM implementation models is provided. First, paradigms in integrated environmental management (IEM) implementation, the broader domain within which ICM practice is nested, are characterized in terms of their key concepts. Next, the paradigms are used as a mechanism to distill uniformities in ICM practice as reported in review articles. Finally a set of fourteen building blocks against which the scientific credibility of contextual, country-specific ICM implementation models can be validated, is generated by translating the theory-based characterization into evaluation criteria readily accessible to practitioners.     

Democratization of Coastal Zone Decision Making for Indigenous Australians: Insights from Stakeholder Analysis

Community participation has become something of an orthodoxy within natural resource management. In the absence of an explicit strategy for democratization and capacity-building the notion of community participation is potentially meaningless and its application likely to mask decisions made in the interests of elite groups. This article examines the shortcomings of participatory processes in coastal resource management and seeks to identify and overcome constraints to democratization and capacity-building for Indigenous Australians. Using two coastal catchments in Central Queensland as a case study, we explore relations of power among stakeholders using Stakeholder Analysis to provide a platform for more effective deliberative participation by this group of stakeholders. Discussion of the specific barriers to participation identified by Aboriginal stakeholders will demonstrate the need to adopt notions of capacity-building that focus not only on the attributes of the individual stakeholder that might facilitate their participation, but on the characteristics also of the decision-making environment.     

Constructing Paradise: The Impacts of Big Tourism in the Mexican Coastal Zone

Although coastal tourism is often looked to as a way of generating foreign revenue, it can also engender a range of social and environmental impacts. From an historical perspective, this article examines the growth of Cancún in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo since the late 1960s. The article documents a range of socioeconomic and environmental impacts associated with the rise of coastal tourism, and suggests that centralized planning and the provision of physical and financial infrastructure does not prevent those impacts. The principal causes of these impacts are also described, including changes in land-usage, population, tourism markets, foreign market penetration and control, an emphasis on short-term economic gain, weak regulatory enforcement, and an overall lack of integration of coastal zone management.     

Coastal erosion and sea level rise: Implications for ocean beach and San Francisco's westside transport project

Abstract

One of the consequences of sea level rise resulting from the greenhouse effect is increased coastal erosion. This article discusses a model of erosion that can be used to estimate the response of beaches to sea level rise. The model is applied to Ocean Beach, California, with particular attention to the consequences of accelerated erosion for the San Francisco Westside Sewer Transport. Results obtained show that erosion produced by accelerated sea level rise could cause substantial damage to the structure. Large expenditures on beach nourishment will be required to protect the transport and the recreational value of the beach.     

Coastal and Ocean Science-Based Decision-Making in the Gulf of California: Lessons and Opportunities for Improvement

The Gulf of California hosts astounding biodiversity that supports numerous economic activities in the region. These activities, and emerging threats, are placing pressure on the region's ecosystems. Government and civil society are working to address threats through several conservation and management mechanisms. Nevertheless, the use and incorporation of scientific information—a key component for creating effective and durable management—is still deficient. This article presents the concept of science integration and discusses the findings of a study that assesses the regional landscape, existing institutional arrangements, and capacity for using science to inform policy and management decisions. It also explores the current use of science within fisheries policy and management and the capacity of the National Network of Information and Research of Fisheries and Aquaculture (RENIIPA) and the State Fisheries and Aquaculture Councils, two mechanisms in the region. Finally, it shares lessons learned and offers recommendations on how the region can strengthen science-based decision-making. Results indicate that while there are some actors in the Gulf of California producing relevant science, there is varying capacity of intermediary groups connecting producers with users of science, or mechanisms in place to ensure that science is being utilized in decision-making processes. Moreover, despite having a well-developed landscape of producers and intermediaries and mechanisms in place for fisheries management in the region, effective science integration is not occurring.