This study draws together an evidence base that demonstrates beyond question the need for enhanced governance coordination between terrestrial activities and marine resources. It concludes that in order to ensure the effective conservation and sustainable use of coastal resources, it is necessary to develop governance approaches that holistically take account of the individual and cumulative effects of land- based activities wherever and in whatever sector they originate. In order to be meaningful, the governance approach must overcome the legal and administrative barriers that result in marine and terrestrial environments being treated as separate governance units.
OPTIONS TO STRENGHTEN EXISTING PRACTICES IN LAND-SEA GOVERNENCE DEFINED
- Ecosystem-based management should be a guiding principle of coastal resource governance, as it provides a holistic approach to the consideration of all influences on coastal resources (with an emphasis on a healthy underpinning ecosystem).
- Existing area-based management tools, with enhancement and adaptation, should be used to counteract the impacts of land-based activities on coastal resources (such as marine protected areas, marine spatial planning, integrated land-use planning and integrated coastal management).
- Improved coordinating mechanisms are needed to overcome fragmented governance between sectors and between terrestrial and marine governance arrangements.
- Implementation-focused capacity development programmes should be formulated and disseminated to target land-sea governance practitioners.
- Filling evidence gaps, particularly related to the impacts of land-based activities on abiotic coastal resources, should be prioritized and their implications for effective governance determined.
NEW APPROACHES FRAMED AROUND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AND DECOUPLING PROVIDED
- Coastal governance should focus on the pathways connecting multiple land-based activities to coastal resources, and should not be constrained by arbitrary boundaries such as legal or administrative ones that disconnect causes from effects and frustrate coordinated governance responses.
- Regional regulatory frameworks that place a legal obligation on land-based activities to take account of coastal resource impacts should be developed to reduce the impacts of land-based activities on coastal resources.
- Natural capital safeguarding on land and at sea is a unifying principle that could be used as a common cause to connect otherwise fragmented governance systems.
- Coastal natural capital needs to be mapped and protected, as there is currently a substantial evidence gap.
- A stakeholder community must be constructed to reflect the pathways connecting land-based activities to coastal resources, rather than the typical area- based stakeholder partnerships currently in place.
- Monitoring and evaluation should focus on Impact pathways, and not merely on the condition of coastal resources.
- A decision-support tool is required to support land- sea governance focused on impact pathways that take account of different geographical contexts.