Looking at our coast as a whole

Key dimension 1: Integrated land-sea planning

Policy is highly fragmented over levels of government and actors, Ellen explains. ‘The EU offers frameworks, which the member states are expected to implement. They don’t always manage to do this. Sometimes this is due to internal timelines, such as elections, that can put processes on hold. Add to that the fact that policy is also often made on a regional or even local level, and that there are many policy, regulatory and administrative boundaries. Vertical integration is therefore important.

Another problem is that policy is often fragmented into sectoral domains, which can create a mismatch in attributed funds. For marine and coastal governance integration is crucial, we should look at our coast as a whole.’

Data are key

Key dimension 2: Scientific knowledge

Data are key in the dimension of scientific knowledge, Ellen observes. ‘You have to ensure two things: the data has to reach the right persons, and it has to convince them. But even if you manage to do that, politicians still use it as just one of their sources of information. Companies, NGOs and citizens also provide their input. Policy is therefore never purely objective but inherently political. This entails making choices which in many cases create winners and losers.’ Despite clear evidence on the effects of climate change, for instance, scientific evidence often battles against short-term economic interests and policy-makers prioritize immediate economic growth over long-term environmental sustainability. This is an enormous challenge.’

Weighing interests equally

Key dimension 3: Stakeholder involvement

Involving stakeholders is complex in marine and coastal governance, Ellen and her team have found. ‘There are always many actors involved with varying degrees of access to policy makers. Compare for example local coastal communities to classical economic sectors such as the shipping industry, and the way they are funded and organised. This implies that local interests are often not considered equally. A first step is to make the participation process more transparent and recognize the added value of the knowledge and ecological insights of local, small scale communities in marine and coastal governance.’
Add to that the occurrence of so-called “participation fatigue”, Ellen remarks. ‘Community members often participate on a voluntary basis, investing a lot of emotion and time in preparation, research and meetings. There can come a time when they no longer see the relevance of participating and become frustrated in policymaking because their efforts are not able to produce meaningful outcomes.’ So even when governments want to better engage with stakeholders, they certainly have to take this phenomenon into account and take measures to avoid it.

Creating a shared story

Key dimension 4: Strategic foresight

There is often a mismatch between the political cycle and predictions for future problems. Ellen: ‘With elections every 3, 4 or 5 years, it is not easy to bring about policies to deal with sea level rising in 50 or 100 years’ time. We think that using foresight can help make things more visible and tangible and bring about a shared vision of the future between policy makers and stakeholders. In the stakeholder workshops in our Case Studies in the project, we use foresight to identify preferred future scenarios and discuss with stakeholders the steps required to achieve them. We find this exercise very valuable because it integrates scientific data with stakeholder information. As Rob Hoppe, Emeritus Professor of Policy and Knowledge says: “It’s not about speaking truth to power, but about making sense together.” The workshops can help us to create shared understandings of the problem and its solution.
Not that this is easy! Stakeholders have different interests and some may even be fine with the way things are, resisting change. As such it is also a challenge to get all these stakeholders at the table and have them create a shared understanding.’

Visualizing the future

Key dimension 5: E-Gov tools

Innovative about this project is the ambition to apply digital tools to help visualise this strategic foresight, Ellen states. ‘The digital tools in the project are useful in trying out scenarios and visualising effects of climate change, for instance, on the land and the sea. At the same time, the project uses digital tools to consult with stakeholders. Digital tools thus serve two purposes. Using them is challenging in some aspects, our research has found. It is important to consider what is put in the tool and ensure that it is not too complex, and that it is easy to work with, showing users and stakeholders clearly what climate change entails. The Case Studies in this project are a good testcase to see how this works.’

Target: Institutional change

These five dimensions shape the capacity for change within governance systems. But change is never easy. Ellen: ‘It is very difficult to change things that have grown historically. But we hope to set in motion some institutional change for marine and coastal governance, by involving stakeholders, using scientific knowledge and incorporating strategic foresight and E-Gov tools into the process. This however requires a long-term perspective and entails that achieving change needs to be done step by step. Evolution rather than revolution. The project certainly has the ability to contribute to such change and reframe the governance process in a meaningful way.’