How important is the coast? A survey of coastal objectives in an Australian regional city

Dutra, Leo and Dichmont, Catherine M. and van Putten, Elizabeth I. and Thébaud, Olivier and Deng, Roy A. and Pascual, Ricardo and Owens, Randall and Jebreen, Eddie and Thompson, Carolyn and Warne, Michael St J. and Quinn, Ross H. and Bennett, John and Read, Mark and Wachenfeld, David and Collier, Catherine and Waycott, Michelle and Davies, Julia and Garland, Anna and Dunning, Malcolm and Playford, Julia (2016) How important is the coast? A survey of coastal objectives in an Australian regional city. Marine Policy, 71 . pp. 229-241. ISSN 0308-597X

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Abstract

Defining goals and objectives is a critical component of adaptive management of natural resources because they provide the basis on which management strategies can be designed and evaluated. The aims of this study are: (i) to apply and test a collaborative method to elicit goals and objectives for inshore fisheries and biodiversity in the coastal zone of a regional city in Australia; (ii) to understand the relative importance of management objectives for different community members and stakeholders; and (iii) to understand how diverse perceptions about the importance of management objectives can be used to support multiple-use management in Australia’s iconic Great Barrier Reef. Management goals and objectives were elicited and weighted using the following steps: (i) literature review of management objectives, (ii) development of a hierarchy tree of objectives, and (iii) ranking of management objectives using survey methods. The overarching goals identified by the community group were to: (1) protect and restore inshore environmental assets; (2) improve governance systems; and (3) improve regional (socio-economic) well-being. Interestingly, these goals differ slightly from the usual triple-bottom line objectives (environmental, social and economic) often found in the literature. The objectives were ranked using the Analytical Hierarchical Process, where a total of 141 respondents from industry, government agencies, and community from across Queensland State undertook the survey. The environment goal received the highest scores, followed by governance and lastly well-being. The approach to elicit and rank goals and objectives developed in this study can be used to effectively support coastal resource management by providing opportunities for local communities to participate in the setting of regional objectives

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences
Divisions:	Faculty of Science, Technology and Environment (FSTE) > School of Marine Studies
Depositing User:	Fulori Nainoca - Waqairagata
Date Deposited:	31 Aug 2016 05:09
Last Modified:	31 Aug 2016 05:09
URI:	http://repository.usp.ac.fj/id/eprint/9175

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