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The Human Dimension of Coastal Management: Linking Social Development & the Environment Watch Video Connection Speed: High Speed Low Speed Audio    Event Title : Source : BSPAN Date : 5/19/2004 Duration : 73 minutes Language  : English Country/Region : N/A World Keyword : Environment       Presenter : Leah Bunce Marea Hatziolos Reidar Kvam | Related Material | Related VoD Videos | Viewers Reviews |  DESCRIPTION  In 2004, nearly 50 percent of the world’s population, or 3 billion people, lives within 100 kilometers of the coast. By 2015, that number will only go up, as three-fourths of the world’s megacities will be located on the coastline. Statistics of this nature only highlight the importance of coastal management, one of the many interdependencies between social development and the environment. Coastal management is a continuous decision making process for balancing sustainable use development and protection of coastal and rain resources. In the last decade, its focus has been on integrated coastal management — working among the multiple sectors that are involved in coastal areas, from upland forestry and factories to fisheries. It also encompasses the idea of a land-sea watershed ecosystem and a focus on stakeholder participation in management. On May 19, 2004, Leah Bunce, a member of the ENV Blue Team of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), discussed with colleagues at the World Bank the role of social sciences in coastal management. Marea Hatziolos, a senior environmental specialist in the Bank’s Latin America region, and Reidar Kvam, a coordinator from the Social Analysis Office, sat in on the presentation as facilitators. Bunce offered four major challenges for coastal management. First, the oceans are typically seen as common-pool resources. The idea of the freedom of the sea leads individuals to have no incentive for controlling their activities, ending with the tragedy of the commons. Second, many activities drastically affect the marine environment. Upland actors rarely see and realize the impact of their actions on the ecosystem. The third challenge is the population problem mentioned earlier. Finally, there is typically an emphasis on natural environment rather than the social one — that is, protection of habitats or species is usually more common than the protection of entire ecosystems. Coastal managers need to see the importance of the human dimension, Bunce explained. “By understanding people’s behavior, you get a better sense of what are the threats to coastal and marine environments,” she said. Resources often have cultural, historical, or religious significances that must be considered. In addition, management must be tailored to the local context. An example she offered was a marine-protected area in Indonesia, where there were signs explaining to residents what was the purpose of the site. A basic demographic study would have revealed that over 70 percent of the local people were illiterate. An increasingly popular approach to resolving problems with unsustainable use is to develop alternative livelihood programs. There are often problems in terms of switching, however — many people need the money so they do not actually switch to a new livelihood, but add it as a second job. More often than not, though, these programs are not comprehensively analyzed and residents lack the capital and the business development skills to be successful. Bunce heralded social science as a great mechanism for encouraging stakeholder participation. The incentives, markets, regulations, and threats all tie in with sustainable livelihoods and healthy resources, she said. They involve a range of expertise from economists, sociologists, natural scientists, and governance experts. Bunce concluded by looking at the various opportunities for sustainable development collaboration already existing at the Bank. She urged higher level strategic planning through social analysis, and encouraged midterm reviews and final evaluations once implementation takes place. Two suggestions were to develop environmental strategy notes and to hold more discussion forums on issues in social development and the environment.  RELATED MATERIAL  U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Human Dimensions of Coastal Management The World Bank: Coastal & Marine Management  RELATED MATERIAL in VoD Environment (180)  READER REVIEWS  Date Author Coutry Review Rating (Total # of Review: 0 ; Average Rating: 0 out of 4)