Marine and coastal policy in the UK: Challenges and opportunities in a new era

Marine and coastal policy in the UK has faced a number of significant changes in recent years, most notably the passing of the Marine and Coastal Access Act in 2009. These changes have brought significant challenges and opportunities for all those involved in the management and use of the UK's marine and coastal environment. This new era of marine policy inspired the UK's first Marine and Coastal Policy forum held in June 2011. In this introductory paper the global context of marine policy changes and the themes which emerged from the forum, forming the basis of the articles in this special issue, are outlined. It is concluded that there is a high level of engagement, capacity and willingness of key stakeholders to work collaboratively to address the environmental, social and economic complexities of managing the marine and coastal environment. It is both evident and encouraging that progress is being made and the many challenges faced in this new era give rise to a number of opportunities to develop new ideas and effective mechanisms for finding solutions.     

Public awareness of marine environmental issues in the UK

This paper presents the results of a survey of public awareness of marine environmental issues within the context of the UK's National Maritime Museum. It was found that public interest in marine environmental issues is significant, but that gaps exist in terms of issue-specific awareness and that the availability of independent information on marine issues is limited. It is concluded that there are significant opportunities to develop the Museum's role in raising public awareness of marine environmental issues that build on its current activities and that of the Museum's partners.     

Differences in perception and reaction of tourist groups to beach marine debris that can influence a loss of tourism revenue in coastal areas

Marine debris is the most conspicuous pollutant that makes beaches aesthetically unappealing to users. The perceptions and reactions of beach users to stranded litter were compared between second-home owners and users (SHOU) and non-recurrent tourists (T). A questionnaire was applied to obtain socio-economic characteristics; assessment of the overall beach quality and perception of beach litter pollution (perception); hypothetical scenarios of marine litter pollution and deterrence (reaction); and potential alternative destinations in the case of deterrence (economic effect). Questionnaires (n = 319) were applied at two Brazilian subtropical beaches, with different physiographical settings (Pontal do Sul, PS, estuarine beach; Ipanema, I, open-ocean beach). Beach users’ groups differed regarding daily expenses (T > SHOU), period of permanence per trip (SHOU > T) and trip frequency (SHOU > T). The open-ocean beach (I) was rated the worst regarding overall beach quality. Marine debris generation was mainly attributed to local “beach users”, in the open-ocean beach (I). “Marine” (or non-local) sources were four times more frequently cited in the estuarine beach (PS). Perception on actual litter pollution and litter deterrence scenarios, did not vary between beaches or groups. More than 85% of beachgoers would avoid a beach visit if a worst scenario (> 15items/m²) occurred and most users would choose a neighboring state beach destination. Stranded litter may potentially reduce local tourism income by 39.1%, representing losses of up to US$ 8.5 million per year. These figures are proxies to support the trade-off local authority's make between investments to prevent/remove beach litter and the potential reduction in income from a tourist destination change.     

欧盟及其成员国海洋塑料垃圾政策及对我国的启示

海洋垃圾已经逐渐成为一个全球性的新兴话题,尤其是塑料垃圾对于海洋环境具有破坏性的影响。我国目前还缺少海洋塑料垃圾的统一管理机制,对海洋塑料垃圾的防治还未有专门的战略规划,使得目前的污染防治成效不甚乐观,因此,整合 各部门力量和资源,对海洋塑料垃圾防治进行统一规划、统一管理是关键。本文在对欧盟及其成员国的海洋塑料垃圾政策搜集和梳理分析的基础上,从塑料的生产和使用、入海塑料垃圾的处理、海洋中已有垃圾的处置三方面与我国进行了对比,并从海洋塑料垃圾的法律体系、行动计划、全过程管控、监测防治技术、宣传教育手段和全球治理等方面为我国加强海洋塑料垃圾污染防治提出了建议。     

要素市场扭曲对中国沿海地区海洋经济效率的影响

生产要素在各产业间的自由流动和资源的优化配置是实现经济效率提升的关键,因此,科学合理地配置海洋要素资源,提高海洋经济效率,促进海洋经济高质量发展,是中国从海洋大国走向海洋强国的必经之路。本文运用C-D生产函数法和Super-SBM模型分别测度中国沿海11个省区市2006—2016年海洋要素市场扭曲程度及海洋经济效率,并构建计量模型来探究海洋要素市场扭曲与海洋经济效率之间的关系,同时考察不同海洋经济圈内,海洋要素市场扭曲对海洋经济效率的影响并分析其产生原因。最后,利用反事实检验进一步估算要素市场扭曲造成的海洋经济效率的缺口。得出以下结论:(1)研究期间,中国海洋资本、劳动及总体要素市场指数均大于1,呈现负向扭曲状态。从省际层面来看,沿海11个省区市的资本要素市场均为负向扭曲;劳动要素市场除浙江、福建、广东、广西、海南为正向扭曲外,其余为负向扭曲;总体要素市场扭曲省际差距并不明显,其中上海、广东海洋要素市场扭曲程度较轻。(2)从全国层面看,要素市场扭曲明显抑制了中国海洋经济效率的提升,产业结构、海洋区位优势对海洋经济效率的提升有显著推动作用。从三大海洋经济圈来看,要素市场扭曲对海洋经济效率的影响存在显著的地区差异。北部海洋经济圈要素市场扭曲对海洋经济效率有显著提升作用;东部海洋经济圈要素市场扭曲对该地区海洋经济效率呈负向作用,但在考察期间并不显著;南部海洋经济圈要素市场扭曲抑制其海洋经济效率的提升。(3)海洋要素市场扭曲造成的海洋经济效率损失缺口呈波动下降趋势,若消除海洋要素市场扭曲,海洋经济效率损失将平均减少66%。     

England's evolving marine and coastal governance framework

This paper reviews the principal marine and coastal policy changes in England since 1999. The key changes identified are the establishment of a strategic national marine and coastal policy direction, new marine legislation and institutions, the emergence of a marine planning framework, the consolidation of Integrated Coastal Zone Management approaches to coastal governance, the establishment of a Marine Protected Area network, and the decline of coastal partnerships. The European Union, UK National Government, and devolved administrations are identified as key influences on the governance evolution and their relative contributions are discussed. It is concluded that the English marine and coastal governance context has evolved significantly since 1999 and that the new framework, if implemented successfully, represents a genuine step towards an integrated governance framework for England's coasts and seas.     

渤海海洋环境治理的演化博弈分析

随着海洋强国战略的提出, 海洋经济进入快速发展期。尽管海洋开发的不断深入带来了巨大的经济效益, 但也造成 了海洋生态环境的不断恶化。本文基于演化博弈分析方法, 首先探究了渤海海洋环境治理面临的问题, 并就其治理的主体 (政府 、企业和公众) 构建演化博弈模型, 进一步分析三者达到均衡点所需要的条件, 最后提出相关主体参与海洋环境治理 的建议。结果显示, 监管成本是影响政府参与监管的主要因素, 企业是否非法排污取决于政府监管效率 、非法排污再治理的 成本、罚款与按照标准排污成本的利益比较, 而公众是否参与监督则取决于监督成本和回报。 因此为了实现渤海海洋环境的 有效治理, 应该降低政府监管成本以提高监管效率, 加大对企业非法排污的惩处力度, 畅通公众投诉渠道。     

A new direction in coastal management

This paper argues for a stronger integration of marine sciences and coastal management studies that generates better formulated marine policies and viable policy implementation strategies. Integration of natural and social sciences in environmental management has surfaced as a key issue recently in the fields of sustainability science, ecosystem-based management, and social–ecological resilience. This paper promotes such trend in marine studies, and examines the rationale, progress, and examples of the integration.     

Public perception of environmental pressures within the Slovene coastal zone

Public participation is an essential part of sound and legitimate political decision-making, since the awareness of environmental problems on the side of potential investors and that of the public may have a significant effect on environmental protection in the area. The subject of this investigation is the perception of the environmental pressures in the Slovene coastal area by different social groups, where the opinions of the general population and employees of the Port of Koper are analysed and compared.Results show that the group of employees grade ports’ impacts on the environment significantly lower with respect to the general population, while both groups grade environmental impacts not connected to the port's activities similarly. Respondents rank sources of marine pollution and noise generation in accordance to environmental research in the area and rank the impact of road traffic on air quality too low.     

Unfinished business: Taiwan's experience with rights-based coastal fisheries management

This paper examines a case involving a mix of Territorial Use Rights in Fisheries, co-management and the competition for using coastal zones. In the 2000s, Taiwan's government initiated a remodeling of the fishery right system, which is a rights-based approach to fisheries management, as an attempt to address conflicts between fishers and developers regarding the use of coastal space and to put community-based co-management into practice. The paper particularly compares the system before and after 2000 and identifies areas of concern in the implementation of the remodeled system. The results show that the government's support for this system signifies progress in the right direction. However, concerns emerge, mostly involving fishers' low participation, fishermen's association's lack of technical skills and financial resources, and the division of management responsibility. The government is advised to play a more active role in dealing with these concerns. Finally, the paper reveals that the factor of competition for using coastal zones poses a challenge to co-management, and suggests a holistic view with integrated coastal management or marine spatial planning practices, for developing co-management under the fishery right system.     

The whaling issue: Conservation,confusion, and casuistry

Morishita's “multiple analysis” of the whaling issue [Morishita J. Multiple analysis of the whaling issue: Understanding the dispute by a matrix. Marine Policy 2006;30:802–8] is essentially a restatement of the Government of Japan's whaling policy, which confuses the issue through selective use of data, unsubstantiated facts, and the vilification of opposing perspectives. Here, we deconstruct the major problems with Morishita's article and provide an alternative view of the whaling dispute. For many people in this debate, the issue is not that some whales are not abundant, but that the whaling industry cannot be trusted to regulate itself or to honestly assess the status of potentially exploitable populations. This suspicion has its origin in Japan's poor use of science, its often implausible stock assessments, its insistence that culling is an appropriate way to manage marine mammal populations, and its relatively recent falsification of whaling and fisheries catch data combined with a refusal to accept true transparency in catch and market monitoring. Japanese policy on whaling cannot be viewed in isolation, but is part of a larger framework involving a perceived right to secure unlimited access to global marine resources. Whaling is inextricably tied to the international fisheries agreements on which Japan is strongly dependent; thus, concessions made at the IWC would have potentially serious ramifications in other fora.     

Private rights,public benefits: Industry-driven seabed protection

New Zealand has a large exclusive economic zone (EEZ) that contains a variety of marine habitats and commercially-important species. The commercial fishing industry operating within New Zealand's EEZ is of significant value to the economy and fisheries resources are managed through the extensive use of Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQs). One of the benefits of ITQs has been to better align some of the private incentives of quota owners with the public interest. These incentives contributed to an initiative proposed by the fishing industry to close large areas of New Zealand's EEZ to protect the seabed from trawling. These closed areas are termed benthic protection areas (BPAs) and protect the benthic biodiversity of about 1.1 million square kilometres of seabed—approximately 30% of New Zealand's EEZ. A significant proportion of New Zealand's known seamounts and active hydrothermal vents are protected by these closed areas. We describe and discuss the criteria used to select BPAs and some of the criticism of this marine protection initiative. We argue that the assignment of strong property rights in fishing resources was an important precondition to an industry initiative that has a significant public benefit. Where private and public interests are well aligned, government can adopt an enabling and facilitation role, ceding direct control of processes in order to get the results the align with the public interest.     

基于非期望超效率模型的辽宁沿海地区海洋生态效率测算及影响因素分析

采用基于非期望产出超效率的SBM模型测算辽宁沿海地区海洋生态效率值,结合Malmquist指数模型方法定量刻画效率动态演化特征,并通过VAR对效率的影响因素和机制进行实证检验。研究结果表明:(1)海洋生态效率整体呈现波动上升趋势且地区差异明显,盘锦市属于效率值较高城市,大连、葫芦岛市生态效率由低效率水平向高效率水平提升,营口、丹东两市效率值上升幅度相对较小,由较低效率水平向中等效率水平转变,锦州市生态效率由效率相对无效上升至较低效率水平,远远落后于其他几个城市;(2)动态分析来看,技术进步和技术效率对海洋生态效率的增长起到了促进作用,技术效率并未发挥出显著作用,技术进步变化是效率值增长的主要动力;(3)海洋产业结构对效率的扰动以正向促进为主,海洋科技水平对海洋生态效率的扰动在正负响应之间波动,环境政策规制对海洋生态效率的响应存在一定滞后期,但产生的是正向推动作用和持续效益。     

Coastal zone management focusing on coastal tourism in a transitional period of China

Coastal zone management in China has undergone a developmental leap since 1978, a turning point in the country's economic and institutional reform. In examining China's reform in coastal management, this paper assesses the evolution of marine activities including coastal tourism. It also looks into the present issues of coastal resource uses and how administrative agencies responded to those coastal resource issues especially as the country moves from a planned economy to a market economy, and from centralized governance to decentralized governance. This paper also proposes a management approach for coastal tourism management in the future of China.     

Migration and coastal resource use in Papua New Guinea

Human migration is a considerable issue for many coastal societies, affecting the ways that people use and manage natural resources. This paper examines reasons for migration in 14 coastal communities in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and compares coastal resource use and socioeconomic conditions between migrants and non-migrants to test the hypothesis that migrants have different levels of coastal resource use than non-migrants. Migrants had lower participation in the fishery, ranked fishing as a less important livelihood strategy, and had lower involvement in village decision-making, but had higher levels of human development. Common property systems such as tenure rights may prevent migrants from accessing marine resources. However, migrants' marginalization in decision-making processes may become increasingly contested where resources are scarce and migrants desire an increasing say in how they are allocated. The current limited use of coastal resources by migrants may be a latent problem that needs to be considered by resource managers, particularly in areas where rapid socioeconomic change is occurring and tenure institutions are fragile.     

海洋环境辐射质量分级方法及导出活度浓度限值初探

本研究综述了国际上海洋环境辐射质量评价方面的研究进展,结合我国海洋管理的实际需求,提出将海洋环境辐射质量分为4个级别(1～4级分别表示环境放射性水平处于本底范围、超出本底范围但无危害、所致公众辐射剂量超出限值和所致海洋生物辐射剂量超出限值),并提出了各级导出活度浓度限值的确定原则。其中,确定第1级导出活度浓度限值的依据为我国的放射性本底调查数据,采用统计分析的方法,取绝大多数本底值的上限值,作为分级阈值。确定第2级导出活度浓度限值的依据为公众辐射剂量限值、鱼类对不同核素的浓集系数、不同核素的剂量转换因子、海产品消费量等参数,原则是确保在正常摄入海产品的情况下,对公众造成的辐射剂量不超过国家标准规定的年剂量限值。确定第3级导出活度浓度限值的依据为国际上有关海洋生物发生辐射效应阈值的研究成果,原则是保护海洋生物种群不受辐射伤害。最后,本研究将根据各级的分级阈值与现行国家标准限值进行比较。本研究成果有助于国内工作在一线的海洋监测人员对常规监测数据进行评价,亦为海洋管理决策提供技术支持和参考依据。     

西沙群岛海洋资源调查评估与南海渔业开发维权

海洋移动自主观测平台在海洋观测技术中越来越为人们所倚重,发达国家相继投入了大量的研究和部署.研究一种具有全天候、长续航力的海洋移动自主观测平台是当前一系列海洋装备中的研究热点和未来趋势,尤其是最近5年,这项工作更是达到了新的高度.针对长续航力海洋移动自主观测平台的特征,文中将其分为长续航力自主潜航器系列和水下滑翔机系列两大类,结合其共性问题分析了世界各国的研究现状,并对其未来发展趋势作了展望,最后简要讨论了这些平台未来发展中的关键技术.     

Decomposition rate and invertebrate colonization of seagrass detritus along a hydrodynamic gradient in a Mediterranean coastal basin: The Stagnone di Marsala (Italy) case study

Seagrass leaf litter decomposition is a key component of marine carbon flow driven by both biotic and abiotic factors, including water movement. In this study, we analyse Posidonia oceanica litter decomposition and invertebrate colonization in three sites with different hydrodynamics in a coastal basin. Litterbags were put on the sea bed along a gradient of distance from the open sea, implying a different level of water exchange. Leaf litter mass loss and carbon and nitrogen concentration were analysed, and density and biomass of benthic invertebrates colonizing litterbags were recorded after 3, 7, 14, 47, 101, 152 and 221 days. Results showed that in the most sheltered site, the leaf litter decomposition rate, the invertebrate density and biomass and the detrital carbon release were the lowest. The reduction of the decomposition rates of seagrass leaves in the site characterized by low hydrodynamic forces may promote organic matter burial and carbon stocks, emphasizing the role of coastal basins such as ponds and lagoons as sinks of carbon and the important role of seagrass detritus in the Blue Carbon global balance.     

RCEP区域内中国海洋高科技产业出口效率及前景——基于随机前沿引力模型的实证研究

海洋经济发展是海洋强国战略目标实现的关键内容,为海洋强国建设提供基础动力。文章运用时变随机前沿引力模型和贸易指数分析法,计算出口贸易拓展空间（TS）和海洋高科技产品进口依赖度（IRCA）两项指标,结合波士顿矩阵分析法研究中国在RCEP自贸区内海洋高科技产业出口贸易前景。研究结果表明,中国与RCEP成员国的海洋高科技产品贸易前景光明,有较大贸易拓展空间,但是在不同海洋高科技产品细分市场上的具体情况存在较大差异。此外随机前沿引力模型结果表明,整体而言中国经济规模以及RCEP自贸区其他成员国经济规模对中国海洋高科技产品出口贸易存在显著促进作用。RCEP正式生效后将为中国海洋高科技产品贸易带来战略机遇,中国应采取相应措施,提升国内海洋产品产业和企业竞争力,扩大中国海洋产业尤其是海洋高科技产业贸易,大力提升我国海洋经济强国能力,积极寻求我国海洋经济强国道路。     

The negotiations for a binding instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond national jurisdiction

The conservation of marine biological diversity has been identified as a crucial issue in need of legal regulation. The UNCLOS does not sufficiently address all issues relevant to viably conserve biological diversity. Legal developments concerning marine genetic resources, area-based management tools such as marine protected areas, environmental impact assessment and capacity building are being discussed as elements of a new implementing agreement. In particular, more precise legal rules concerning marine protected areas beyond national jurisdiction are needed to supplement the frame left by UNCLOS. As concerns the issue of access to genetic resources and the sharing of benefits the UNCLOS regime has gaps because the relevant activities had not been foreseen at the time of the convention's adoption. Divergent views exist as to whether the concept of the common heritage of mankind should be extended to genetic resources.