Appraisal and evolution of the littoral ‘sediment cell’ concept in applied coastal management: Experiences from England and Wales

This paper reviews the historic approach to coastal management and the reasons behind the introduction of the littoral ‘sediment cell’ concept to shoreline management planning in England and Wales. It then reviews the strengths and limitations of the approach and makes practical recommendations on how the approach can be further improved to ensure that a robust methodology exists for assessing coastal evolution; thereby providing a foundation for enabling sustainable future management decisions. Such decisions can relate to both the selection of shoreline management practices, and the identification of appropriate land use planning and development control responses. Both of these items need to take account of natural coastal processes and the interactions that occur within coastal systems at various temporal and spatial scales.     

Heritage management plans and integrated coastal management

This paper examines at the origins of coastal zone management and planning in England and from that, how integrated coastal zone management techniques were developed. The lack of heritage management planning in coastal plans in England is discussed and put into context of ‘integrated heritage zone management’ approaches. Having looked at these two systems, examples of good practice are discussed. The concept of spatial planning is also discussed and the opportunities that this might offer for integrating coastal and heritage planning in the Solent are considered.     

Strategic coastal flood-risk management in practice: Actors’ perspectives on the integration of flood risk management in London and the Thames Estuary

This paper examines constraints and enabling factors towards ‘integration’ as they are perceived by actors involved in an ongoing strategy development process. The paper examines stakeholder perspectives on current progress in coastal flood risk management in London and the Thames Estuary. The case-study suggests that important steps have been taken towards an integrated and adaptive strategy development process, particularly through the development of informal stakeholder networks. However, constraints in enabling learning within the strategy development process mean that practical pathways of integration in such a large, global-scale city remain challenging to identify and perhaps even more so to implement.     

A critical review of the CoastView project: Recent and future developments in coastal management video systems

This contribution provides a critical review of the CoastView project; a research program designed to develop and quantify video-derived Coastal State Indicators (CSIs) which simplify various aspects of coastal zone management including, coastal protection, navigation and recreation. This paper aims to provide a guide to future applied research projects of this kind. The research program implemented a ‘frame of reference’ methodology in order to effectively match research outcomes to the needs of end users and to facilitate communication within a consortium comprising both scientists and end users of the technology. Data derived from coastal video systems played a crucial role in defining CSIs which form a central component of the ‘frame of reference’ process. In general coastal video systems were demonstrated to be a very effective coastal management tool in all of the areas under investigation, uniquely providing data with excellent spatial and temporal resolution and coverage. Additionally, the ‘frame of reference’ ensured the appropriate match of science to the needs of the end user. However, even given these significant advances, the transfer of useful methodologies to applied tools is not guaranteed. The importance of providing simple, robust tools for delivering CSIs simply and efficiently to the coastal manager at the appropriate time-scale was recognised; ideally this should be completed within the timeframe of the research program. The acceptance of new methodologies is greatly enhanced by demonstrating them alongside more established techniques and other data sources, clearly showing the advantages, reliability and accuracy of the new approach.     

The role of video imagery in predicting daily to monthly coastal evolution

Owing to intensified use of the coastal region and the frequent application of small-scale, tailored interventions such as beach nourishments, there is a growing need for coastal state information and knowledge on spatiotemporal scales of meters to kilometers and days to months. The design and implementation of engineering and management measures at these scales is hampered by limited predictability of their impact. Advanced, automated video stations open the door towards the collection of long-term, high-resolution data sets, which offer enhanced opportunities for the prediction of coastal processes at smaller scales. In this paper, the added value of high-resolution data sets for prediction purposes is explored. In particular the application of data-driven approaches as well as process models supported by video data are explored. In the data-driven approach, the inclusion of monthly video-derived data was found to not only improve confidence intervals on the predicted shoreline evolution, but also to facilitate the use of more sophisticated data extrapolation methods. Short-term, operational forecasts of the nearshore flow and sediment transport field were found to benefit from the inclusion of intertidal bathymetric data derived from video imagery. Though in its pioneering stage for video-based research, it is foreseen that significant advancement in prediction skill will be achieved through development of data-assimilation schemes which combine the best of existing process and empirical knowledge on coastal morphodynamics.     

Identification of ‘High Risk Vessels’ in coastal waters

The development of criteria for the identification of ‘High Risk Vessels’ (HRV) in European waters would allow coastal States to monitor the movements of ships posing significant risk to their interests. However, the pro-active monitoring by coastal States can only be carried out in compliance with the requirements of international law of the sea and with the framework of rights and duties of coastal States established in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. This paper proposes ‘HRV’ criteria on the basis of technical standards and rules widely accepted by States through Port State Control Agreements, thus providing a legal basis for the monitoring of ‘HRV’ by coastal States.     

‘It׳s part of me’; understanding the values,images and principles of coastal users and their influence on the social acceptability of MPAs

Improving the social acceptability or ‘social licence’ of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is a key challenge facing countries all around the world. As the world moves slowly towards the establishment of a global network of MPAs, it is increasingly apparent that a greater understanding of social responses to MPAs is required, given they are often met with resistance from local communities. A series of in-depth, semi structured interviews were conducted across coastal users in New South Wales, Australia, including surfers, recreational fishers, professional fishers, spearfishers, walkers, divers, snorkellers, kayakers and other community members. The research identified the values, images and principles at work amongst coastal users to determine the dominant ‘cultural models’ within the community and how these models influenced attitudes towards MPAs. This research indicates that traditional consultation models may not be sufficient to address the full spectrum of community needs, and in fact suggests the need to re-conceive the make -up of ‘the community’ itself. In the context of MPA planning ‘the community’ is not an amalgamation of a range of homogenous stakeholder groups but instead a diverse and complex mix of identities and value systems which are not confined to particular interest groups. Incorporating consideration of the diverse range of values, images and principles found within and across stakeholder groups will require new and innovative approaches to participation and management.     

Innovation in coastal risk management: An exploratory analysis of risk governance issues at eight THESEUS study sites

The nature of coastal risk management is changing, away from an engineering-dominated approach seeking to defend against the sea, to one where risks are managed using a portfolio of measures usually incorporating an acceptance of a finite standards of protection. Inherent in the modern approach is the use of new techniques and approaches, and the process of innovation is important to their adoption across Europe. This paper is based on the hypothesis that governance issues can constrain that process of innovation or enhance it, and that the focus of these governance issues concerns institutional arrangements, legal capabilities, funding regimes and stakeholder engagement. Over a period of three years, two questionnaire surveys have been undertaken of the ‘Stakeholders’ and the ‘Site Champions’ involved in THESEUS research sites, including in-depth interviews, seeking information on these matters across the wide range of circumstances in these different geographical locations. Our tentative conclusion is that technical issues concerned with risk assessment and risk reduction choices are not central to the process of innovation with regard to the practice of risk management, but that institutional culture, traditions and capabilities are of greater significance. This resonates with the literature on governance and innovation, which stresses the importance of the social context in which governance arrangements can be improved and in which innovation flourishes.     

The many faces of ecosystem-based management: Making the process work today in real places

Despite the widely accepted need for ecosystem-based management of coastal and marine systems, many managers struggle with how to put these principles into practice. Commonly voiced concerns include complicated and expensive implementation, prohibitive data requirements, and lack of testing with long-term applications. We address some of these perceived barriers by providing guidance on strategies and approaches that can be used for the steps of one ecosystem-based management process, the integrated ecosystem assessment framework, including scoping, defining indicators, setting thresholds, risk analysis, management strategy evaluation, monitoring and evaluation. Importantly, we demonstrate how an ecosystem-based management approach can be utilized in a variety of contexts which vary widely in data quality and availability, governance structure, and time frame. We then illustrate the suggested steps in the process by exploring two case studies that represent realistic ends of the data/governance/time frame spectrum: Puget Sound, Washington, USA and Raja Ampat, Indonesia. By providing concrete suggestions for how to move forward with key steps in an integrated management process, we show that ecosystem-based management is feasible from a range of starting points and that for any given starting point there are numerous productive paths forward.     

Shifting sands? Coastal protection by sand banks,beaches and dunes

In a closely integrated system, (sub-) littoral sandy sediments, sandy beaches, and sand dunes offer natural coastal protection for a host of environmentally and economically important areas and activities inland. Flooding and coastal erosion pose a serious threat to these environments, a situation likely to be exacerbated by factors associated with climate change. Despite their importance, these sandy ‘soft’ defences have been lost from many European coasts through the proliferation of coastal development and associated hard-engineering and face further losses due to sea-level rise, subsidence, storm surge events, and coastal squeeze. As part of the EU-funded THESEUS project we investigated the critical drivers that determine the persistence and maintenance of sandy coastal habitats around Europe's coastline, taking particular interest in their close link with the biological communities that inhabit them. The successful management of sandy beaches to restore and sustain sand budgets (e.g. via nourishment), depends on the kind of mitigation undertaken, local beach characteristics, and on the source of ‘borrowed’ sediment. We found that inter-tidal invertebrates were good indicators of changes linked to different mitigation options. For sand dunes, field observations and manipulative experiments investigated different approaches to create new dune systems, in addition to measures employed to improve dune stabilisation. THESEUS provides a ‘toolbox’ of management strategies to aid the management, restoration, and creation of sandy habitats along our coastlines, but we note that future management must consider the connectivity of sub-littoral and supra-littoral sandy habitats in order to use this natural shoreline defence more effectively.     

Striking the right balance? Applying the jurisprudence of international tribunals to coastal state innovations in international fisheries governance

While the coastal State has ‘sovereign rights’ with respect to the exploration, exploitation, conservation and management of the living resources of the exclusive economic zone, including the right to take the necessary enforcement measures, these rights are not as all-encompassing as they first appear. In practice, the geographic and substantive limitations on the coastal State's jurisdiction in the exclusive economic zone provide significant challenges to effective fisheries governance and enforcement. This paper considers the approaches that have been adopted – or could be adopted – by coastal States seeking to improve the reach and effectiveness of their jurisdiction over the living resources of the exclusive economic zone, by reference to the current state of jurisprudence from international courts and tribunals.     

Science-based coastal management in Fiji: Two case studies from the NGO sector

The effectiveness of coastal management in developing countries is widely perceived to be inhibited by a lack of scientific data on the coastal zone. To try to fill this need for information, donors and big international non-governmental organizations are increasingly initiating large-scale, science-driven conservation programs, with the goal of creating and using management relevant transdisciplinary datasets. In Oceania, these programs are entering a context where local ecological knowledge is already informing existing community-based approaches to coastal management. This paper examines two large-scale programs in Fiji, the Marine Management Area Science initiative and the Vatu-i-Ra and Cakau Levu Reefs Seascape Project, and offers insight relevant to the planning and implementation of similar programs where local management systems are already in place. Research methods used to examine the programs included document analysis, direct observation, and semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders over multiple field visits to Fiji in 2009 and 2010. Results suggest that as donors, non-governmental organizations, and partners move forward in implementing these programs, there must be active steps taken to bridge boundaries between disciplines and among knowledge systems, evaluate the added value of science for all stakeholder groups, and build opportunities for datasets to be used after donor funding ends.     

基于大数据的海洋环境监测数据集成与应用

面对多源异构的海量数据的集成,传统的集成方法和技术无法实现,直到大数据技术的出现才有了可能.应用大数据技术实现多源异构的海洋环境监测数据集成,有利于海洋环境监测数据的共享,避免信息孤岛的出现,同时为数据的分析、挖掘等提供了所需的数据.文中重点讨论了基于大数据和数据虚拟化平台技术,参照ODM2信息模型和MMI ORR本体语义框架来实现多源异构的海洋环境监测数据的集成问题,并在数据集成的基础上,探讨了多源异构数据查询、综合展示应用的实现方法.此研究有利于解决海量海洋环境监测数据管理难题、满足海洋环境科研工作者的大数据需求、实现数据驱动决策、提升海洋环境管理水平.     

Evidence of a common understanding of proximate and distal drivers of reef health

Marine management has typically prioritised natural science methodological traditions as an evidence base for decision-making; yet better integration of social science methods are increasingly shown to provide a more comprehensive picture to base management decisions. Specifically, perceptions-based assessments are gaining support, as they can provide efficient and holistic evaluation regarding management issues. This study focuses on coral reefs because they are particularly threatened ecosystems, due to their ecological complexity, socio-economic importance, and the range of environmental drivers that impact them. Research has largely concentrated on assessing proximate threats to coral reefs. Less attention has been given to distal drivers, such as socio-economic and governance factors. A common understanding of threats related to coral reef degradation is critical for integrated management that takes account of peoples’ concerns. This study compares perceptions of drivers of reef health among stakeholders (n = 110) across different sectors and governance levels, in four Caribbean countries. Interview data identified 37 proximate and 136 distal drivers, categorised into 27 themes. Five sub-groups of themes connecting proximate and distal drivers were identified. Perceptions of two of these narratives, relating to ‘fishing and socioeconomic issues’ and ‘reef management and coastal development’, differed among respondents from different countries and sectors respectively. However, the findings highlight a shared perception of many themes, with 18 of the 27 (67%) mentioned by > 25% of respondents. This paper highlights the application of perceptions data for marine management, demonstrating how knowledge of proximate and distal drivers can be applied to identify important issues at different context-specific scales.     

Web-based and ‘real-time’ beach management system

The last 5 years has seen the rapid advancement of new image analysis methods specifically targeted to support and enhance coastal management practice. In parallel to these developments, greater attention has been given to the use of the Internet to build more manager-oriented information delivery systems. This paper draws upon experience from Australia using a network of Argus coastal imaging sites, to illustrate and discuss the suite of image-derived CZM ‘products’ that is now available to the coastal manager. Both qualitative and quantitative information is routinely delivered via the Internet, ranging from hourly images of the monitoring site to weekly summaries of shoreline variability and longer-term beach-width trends. All monitoring program results and data summaries are accessed via a World Wide Web interface, providing ‘real-time’ delivery direct to the managers’ desktop computer.     

Donor evaluations of ICM initiatives: what can be learned from them?

The experience of 19 donor agencies and international organizations with evaluation of ICM initiatives is surveyed to analyze the differences in the evaluative purposes and methodologies and their relevance to a “learning-based approach” to ICM. We group evaluation into three broad categories: performance evaluation, management capacity assessment and outcomes evaluation. Performance evaluations address the quality of project implementation, and the degree to which project goals are achieved. Management capacity assessments are conducted to determine the adequacy of management structures and governance processes as these relate to generally accepted international standards and experience. Outcome assessments evaluate the impacts of a coastal management initiative upon coastal resources and the associated human society(s). The survey show that most donor evaluations emphasize performance evaluation, but usually combine elements of all three types. There is strong interest among international donors investing in coastal management in learning from and advancing coastal management practice. If donors are to maximize leaning and commit to an adaptive approach to ICM they will need to modify the manner in which project monitoring and evaluations are conducted, analyzed and distributed. A number of modifications to current approaches to evaluation are suggested in the paper.     

THE COASTAL SWELLS OF CHINESE COAST IN WINTER

In winter, ,at the coast of China, the direction of swells is generally different from that of the winds, but we could not find the generation area of these coastal swells on the weather map. In this paper, the differences between the 'coastal swells' and the other swells are studied, and we realize that the 'coastal swells' are developed from the wind waves after refraction near the shore or developed from the coastvvard component of the wind waves.     

The role of local taboos in the management of marine fisheries resources in Tanzania

Contemporary government rules for fisheries resources management in developing countries have been challenged for their inadequacy. The search for modern management models for coastal and marine resources could be usefully informed by wealth of traditional knowledge that enabled communities to sustainably live with their environment for centuries or millennia. Local taboos, defined as implicit or explicit social rules prohibiting certain actions, have played an important part in many traditional approaches to resource use. A mixed methods approach was used to investigate how local taboos play a role in the management of fisheries resources in some rural and urban coastal communities of Tanzania. Focus group discussions, key informant interviews, participant observations and questionnaire surveys were used to gather primary data. Data were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The study identified a number of potential local taboos in the management of fisheries resources and their habitats in coastal Tanzania. While these taboos showed some potential for applications in modern management approaches, a majority of fishers indicated non-compliance to most of them, especially in urban areas. A number of reasons are revealed to have attributed to the non-compliance of these taboos. These findings suggest the prospect for judicious integration of traditional practices with modern strategies, to enhance compliance. More studies on traditional knowledge that has a role in fisheries resources management are recommended, as are biophysical assessments in conjunction with traditional practices to reveal their scientific benefits. Successful community-based fisheries resources management in Tanzania will draw on modern and traditional perspectives.     

Exploring concepts of fisheries ‘dependency’ and ‘community’ in Scotland

There is a growing argument that the biological priorities of Europe's Common Fisheries Policy – to halt the depletion of commercial fish stocks – are not a straightforward solution to the problems currently facing international fisheries management and that social objectives need to be incorporated into policy. However, existing notions of fisheries ‘dependency’ and ‘community’ remain poorly understood and leave decision-makers struggling to address social and cultural issues. By investigating further concepts of ‘dependency’, ‘community’ and some of the social issues facing Fisheries Dependent Areas in Scotland, this research explores the complex shape of coastal fishing communities and the conditions of dependency on fishing that coastal areas face. In this paper preliminary findings from an in-depth case study of Fraserburgh in the north east of Scotland are presented to explore the potential meaning and justification of social objectives in fisheries policy.