1	International Coastal Management as Sustained Learning and Adaptation Stephen B. Olsen Director Coastal Resources Center University of Rhode Island
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5	Coastlines Have Become the Primary Human Habitat Almost half the people on 15% of the inhabitable landspace 75% projected by 2050 12 of the 15 largest cities sprawling tropical coastal megalopoli with many living in poverty by 2050
6	Coastal regions contain half to three quarters of the planet’s: - residential development - energy production and consumption - transportation infrastructure - manufacturing infrastructure - tourism sites and infrastructure
7	Food Security 90% of the fish harvest: livelihoods for 1 billion people the majority of aquaculture is coastal most seafood production is dependent upon estuarine habitats, freshwater inflows, and adequate water quality a high proportion of the best cropland is coastal climate change and freshwater allocations affect both
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9	Equity Issues are Critical common property resources dominate access to the shore and coastal waters is increasingly at risk Half the people (women) often have no voice in planning and decision making the gulf between the wealthy few and the many poor is widening at all scales
10	Bio-physical Dynamics erosion and accretion processes threaten, and are altered by, shorefront development Waterborne diseases and invasive species are increasingly problematic Climate change is: accelerating sea level rise increasing the frequency and strength of storms altering established patterns of rainfall
11	The Goal of ICM The goal of ICM is to improve the quality of life of human communities who depend on coastal resources while maintaining the biological diversity and productivity of coastal ecosystems.
12	The Desired ICM Outcomes: Ecosystem Qualities the many goods and services that flow from healthy estuaries and other critical habitats are restored and sustained, nutrients inflows from sewage, agriculture and the atmosphere are dramatically reduced freshwater inflows to estuaries are sustained Networks of MPAs are embedded within ICM governance frameworks
13	The Desired ICM Outcomes: Societal Qualities The required changes in societal behavior are widely appreciated;progress is gauged against unambiguous goals Resources are distributed equitably Coastal governance frameworks that span municipal, provincial, national and regional scales are nested together as a internally consistent, decentralized systems Planning and decision making is efficient, effective, transparent and equitable
14	The Emerging Features of ICM Learning and adaptation are central to sustained success But in low-income nations successful initiatives are not being supported long term Success requires the decades of effort required to change societal behavior Such change ultimately requires programs that operate at the regional scale Decentralized authority is most efficient in complex systems
15	Principle #1:Design for Learning and Adaptation Expand the scope of a program through a sequence of linked generations of planning and implementation
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21	Questions that Probe the Outcomes of ICM Are the enabling conditions for ICM practice in place? What impacts is the program having on planning and decision making processes? What impacts is the program having on coastal social and environmental conditions? Are sustainable conditions being defined?
22	Orders of Outcomes in ICM
23	An Example: Coastal Water Quality Restoration First Order: Formalized Structures, Constituencies Research, pilot projects, public education plans, legislation, allocation of funds Second Order: Correction, Mitigation Point sources treated/controlled, land use measures implemented, regulations enforced, water quality monitored against goals Third Order: Selected Quality Gains Water quality measurably improved, public health benefits, habitat recovery, related human uses expand Fourth Order: Sustainable Ecosystems and Societies Sustained good water quality contributes to long term ecosystem and societal well-being
24	Principle #2: Incorporate the Scientific Method into ICM Practices Without experimentation, reliable knowledge accumulates slowly, and without reliable knowledge there can be neither social learning nor sustainable development. Kai Lee, 1993 Science in support of ICM must be management-driven within a structure for solving problems GESAMP 1996
25	But Recognize the Tensions Between Scientists and Resource Managers “Act before scientific consensus is achieved.” “Rely on scientists to recognize problems, but not solve them.” “Confront uncertainty. Once we free ourselves from the illusion that science or technology (lavishly funded) can provide a solution to resource or conservation problems, appropriate action becomes possible.” After Ludwig et al. 1993
26	Principle #3: Involve Those Affected Sustained success in program implementation always relies heavily on voluntary compliance
27	A Philosophy of Learning I Hear and I Forget I See and I Remember I Do and I Understand
28	A Philosophy of Participation Go to the people, live among them, learn from them, love them. Start with what they know, build on what they have; but of the best leaders, when their task is accomplished, their work done, the people will remark: ‘We have done it ourselves.’
29	Principle #4: Assure that Program Ownership Lies with the People of the Place Build constituencies for the program simultaneously at both the national level and within coastal communities
30	The Two-Track Strategy Programs are initiated with community-based “experiments”supported by an interagency council at the highest level of national government: tangible results build constituencies management issues become sharply focused methods of participatory management are worked out at a pilot scale impediments to implementation are quickly discovered The threats of re-allocation of authority at the national level are assuaged
31	Management or Governance? Management is the process by which human and material resources are harnessed to achieve a known goal within a known institutional structure. Governance addresses the policies, laws and institutions by which a set of issues are addressed. Governance defines the fundamental goals, the institutional processes and the structures that are the basis for planning and decision-making. Governance sets the stage within which management occurs.