Coastal governance includes all the processes and institutional arrangements through which ‘actors’ (decision makers and stakeholders) influence outcomes on the coast. Diverse actors play a role, formally or informally, in coastal governance.

Adaptive Learning Theme

Adaptive learning is crucial for coastal organisations to navigate and improve their governance processes during times of complexity and change. The Adaptive Learning Theme presents a toolkit that provides content on both the theory of adaptive learning and examples of practice. For example, the toolkit incorporates 15 case studies at the local, national and international levels on coastal management drawing on principles and practices of adaptive learning. The case studies provide coastal organisations with examples of adaptive learning across various contexts (e.g. various scales and issues). Primary case studies from Sunshine Coast Council, Coolum Coastcare, the CSIRO, and Healthy Waterways are also completed and included.  The toolkit also has content on how to become an adaptive learning organisation and includes learning tools and examples of what an adaptive learning organisation would look like and do.

TODO:

• add appropriate title for each,
• provide doi for each entry,
• create dot points for lessons section,
• to improve onscreen reading,
• enable transformative learning,
• consider addressing difficulty in navigation through sustainable learning sub-themes by bringing each up to Theme level

TODO:

• coastal cluster banner resolution to be improved,
• appropriate title to be added for each case study,
• enable pdf download through single click,
• still-to-be-validated case study to be finalised before publishing,
• determine how to reference case studies

Research case studies provide real examples of how coastal issues have been identified and addressed. While each issue is individual to each place and the stakeholders, these case studies may give general guides as to the various ways that applied research may provide solutions. 

Theme 1 Coastal Governance Systems

Introduction

The framework in Figure 1 has been developed as the basis for ordering and analysing the themes emerging from the interviews and workshops undertaken over the duration of the Governance Theme’s research.  Four ‘domains of influence’ relevant to the policy process are represented in the figure and it is necessary to have all of these domains represented in a dialogue if it is to create legitimate responses. The domains are:

These documents guide you through the steps, methods and other considerations for applying coastal research to various issues and challenges.

These guidelines provide some advice about the establishment of a website representing local Indigenous coastal and marine values. As an example of a recent website created using this approach please see www.derbalnara.org.au

Integration and Synthesis Theme

The Synthesis Theme presents an analysis of the barriers to the application of science in coastal zone management, based on a survey of relevant  government officers, elected officials, researchers and community members at local, state and Commonwealth scales. This, and a study of the use of biophysical science in legislation and court processes in New South Wales have provide the context for synthesis of the outcomes of the four thematic studies above. As a heuristic for organising the findings, tools and guidelines of the other themes, this Theme presents a cyclical model showing adaptive management steps with pathways and enablers for the contributions of science.

Goal orientated

Goal setting can occur across all organisational levels and is necessary to establish purpose. This purpose should be clearly understood and broadly supported. For example: a goal for a community organisation might be 'to sustain dunal vegetation in the local area through restoration, management and educational networks.

An orientation to learning

System and organisational goals provide the focus for learning. However, it is the underpinning organisational structures and processes that determine opportunities for learning and its role in decision making.

Devolved management structures

Hierarchical, command-and-control organisational structures are not conducive to effective adaptive learning within dynamic and complex systems. Devolved management structures based on trust, openness, cooperation and respect can enhance self-organising processes.

Knowledge Systems Theme

When science and scientists operate as an integral component of a broader context or ‘operating environment’ they can and do open new spaces for discussion, debate, knowledge and decision-making. Operating environments can be understood as primarily driven by a seemingly simple question in relation to a particular issue: ‘what is at stake and for whom? In the context of the 'wicked problem' of coastal management a key concern is the degree to which the component elements of that problem are structured, and thus how the issues and stakes are presented. Consideration of sectoral and disciplinary boundaries is useful in this regard. The Knowledge Systems Theme presents a model of a tactical problem solving approach to mediating complex relationships through an interaction between the issue, what is at stake and for whom in relation to that issue.

Voluntary property acquisition in a vulnerable coastal community

Waitakere City (population approximately 204,000) is located within the Auckland Regional Council area of New Zealand. The Project Twin Streams area focused on in this case study covers 10,000 hectares of mostly urban residential development intersected by streams draining from the Waitakere Ranges to the west of Auckland and flowing into a number of other streams and the Waitemata Harbour.

The Australian coastline is renowned for its beautiful beaches and towns. These iconic places are an important part of the lives of most Australians. It's where we live, play and holiday. But what does the future hold for these iconic areas?

Our coasts are used for many purposes such as urban and industrial development, fishing, recreation and tourism, marine protected areas, ports and dredging, and offshore oil and gas developments. Coastal ecosystems and human communities also face mounting pressure from loss of wetlands, pollution, population growth and climate change.

Seagrass Watch is an award winning, community-based, habitat assessment program established in Australia in 1998. Seagrass Watch functions as a partnership between local conservation groups, industry, government and various other communities of interest. The key aim is to raise awareness of the condition and trend of near-shore seagrass ecosystems and provide an early warning for major coastal environmental changes.

Sociocultural Context Theme

The Sociocultural Context Theme explores the informal and formal connections between community-industry-government in relation to knowledge formation and its influence on knowledge systems and policy formation. This Theme identifies, explains, and critically analyses the functioning of coastal governance networks in South Australia. Case studies of the social networks involved in four coastal development decisions are investigated. The four case studies are: Minda Dunes retirement apartments, Henley Surf Life Saving Club redevelopment, Buckland Park Township, and Point Boston holiday home subdivision. Social Network Analysis (SNA) was employed to investigate coastal decision-making networks. This Theme also examines the influence of coastal champions on social networks and on science uptake into coastal policy.

Building institutional capacity to utilise and transfer science into decision-making is a challenge in contemporary coastal zone management. There are fundamental limits, mostly imposed by time and human capacity, to incorporating even the most appropriate and well-targeted science into policy development and planning and management decisions.

Climate change will lead to sea level rise and increased frequency of storm surges; consequently to increased erosion and coastal inundation; and ultimately to the retreat of the shoreline. Impacts may include:

An adaptive learning organisation demonstrates learning across organisational goals, structures, processes and core behaviours. Use the following descriptive checklist to review features that may characterise a learning organisation.