Managing and valuing coastal resources : an examination of the importance of local knowledge and surf breaks to coastal communities

v.1 Thesis -- v.2. Appendice

The role of the community in decision-making for coastal planning and management in New South Wales

"February 2002".Thesis (MA (Hons))--Macquarie University, Division of Environmental & Life Sciences, Graduate School of the Environment, 2003.Bibliography: leaves 115-127.The evolution of coastal management -- Current policy, legislative and reporting framework for coastal management in NSW: a review -- Principles of public participation -- Case studies -- A model for monitoring and evaluating public participation -- Conclusion.Everybody wants access to the coast. The NSW coast is where people want to live, do business, create development and where people want to recreate (Holliday 1998). -- This thesis is about coastal management in NSW, Australia. Specifically, it's a study of the role that individuals and community groups have in the decision-making process for issues affecting the coastal zone and its management. The current international benchmark for coastal management is the concept of "integrated coastal management (ICM)" (Cicin-Sain and Knecht, 1998). This implies a particular "focus on the interactions between the various activities and resource demands that occur within the coastal zone and between coastal zone activities in other regions (OECD 1993)." Stewardship, that is, a sense of public ownership, responsibility and involvement in decision-making of natural resources and the manner in which they are utilised or protected, is a key component of ICM today and for the future. -- In this thesis, I argue that the current planning and management system for coastal management in New South Wales is not adequately equipped to monitor and evaluate public involvement / participation in the development and review of coastal management policies and programs. The current system, although responding to change, is off-track and there is a grave danger that a cynical and badly consulted public will lose interest in the management and protection of this precious resource. I will present a case that argues for the development of a model that monitors and evaluates public participation in coastal planning and management policies and programs, and recommend that it becomes imbeded within the New South Wales Coastal Policy as a tool that can be used by individuals, community groups and government to more effectively manage our coasts.Mode of access: World Wide Web.vii, 144 leaves ill., map

Beaches as societal assets: Council expenditures, recreational returns, and climate change

Drawing on expenditure and survey data from the Gold and Sunshine Coasts in Queensland, Australia, this chapter compares expenditures on beaches relative to their recreational benefits. Beaches are found to be exceptional investments. The comparison of the two councils also provides insights into their relative capacity to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change. The Gold Coast can rely to some extent on historical large investments in infrastructure to defend itself against change. In contrast, the Sunshine Coast has more options which may lower the cost of adaptation e.g., it can rely more heavily on retreating from change in certain locations because of historical investment in dunal buffer zones. However, historical investment patterns impact in different ways on the environmental quality of beaches and the benefits provided to users and non-users. Limitations and areas of future research are also outlined