Coastal Perspectives

The resources within this section center around topics such as community level coastal protection and empowerment of local stakeholders. A collection of observations, interview data detailing local perspectives, and findings from a diverse set of study sites such as the Chilika Lagoon in India, coastal fisheries in Sweden, and various Canadian littoral regions are available through the papers found here. Concepts including well-being and vulnerability due to climate-induced and non-climate induced pressures in both the human and natural systems are discussed throughout these resources. 

Practical implications for policy development which address the concerns and interests of local community members and resource users, while emphasizing protection of the coastal environment are stressed as a central theme within this section. The potential of collaborative partnerships built up between community members, government, and the scientific community are discussed as a means of not only empowering individuals at the local level to partake in stewardship activities, but to also inform policy makers on key issues faced by a specific community – so that actions can be tailored to best suit the needs found at each site.

Impacts and interactions between coastal land-grabbing, erosion, runoff, sea-level rise, and migration are discussed at length in these papers, which provide insight into the development of sustainable coping responses to livelihood disturbances, as well as outreach strategies aimed at helping to inform communities about effective coastal adaptation strategies.

Key Themes:

Governance, Rights & Conflict, Livelihoods,  Places & Spaces, Climate & Environmental Change

Click titles to expand sections: