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Sustainable coastal resources management: Principles and practice

Article in Natural Resources Forum · October 1999

DOI: 10.1111/j.1477-8947.1999.tb00916.x

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 Natural Resources
FORUM
PERGAMON Natural Resources Forum 23 (1999) 275-286
www.elsevier.com/locate/natresfor

Sustainable coastal resources management: principles and

practice
R.K. Turner, W.N. Adger, S. Crooks, I. Lorenzoni, L. Ledoux

Abstract
Coustol Zones ure currently experiencing intense and sustained environmental pressures from a range of driving forces.
Responsible agencies uround the globe are seeking ways of better miinaging the causes und consequences of the environmental
change process in coustul ureus. This article discusses the basic principles underpinning a more integrated approach to
cocrstul mnringenient, U S well U S the obstcrcles to its implementation in both developed and developing countries. The fulfilment
of the goul of sustuinuhle utilisrrrion of coustcrl resources via integrated munugenietit is likely to prove to he d@cult. Aiiy
successful strategy will have t o encompuss ull the elements of management from planning und design through financing and
irrii~lerizeritatiot~.
An interdiscii,liti~i~i
unulyticcrl and operutional crpproach is also required, combined with a more jexible and
pcrrticiptoty institutiond structure and ernphusis to account f o r multiple stakeholders and resource demands. As historical
nnci institutioricrl perspectives U S well as socio-economic m d cultural contexts are also important, two case studies (based on
U K N I I ~Vietriarnese esperiences) are presented in order to identify arguments and examine these aspects in more detail.
0 I999 United Nations. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
K e y w r d s : Coastal mnnagcment; Pressure-state-impact-response;Institutional change; United Kingdom; Vietnam

1. Introduction
With the relentless and cumulative process of global
environmental change, driven by, among other things, popu-
lation growth, urbanisation, industrial development, trade
and capital flows, liberalisation of transnational corporation
activity and changes in lifestyle and attitude, the world’s
coastal zones have come under increasingly severe pressure.
The consequences of this process manifest themselves
across a range of spatial and temporal scales, and now
pose a significant threat to the environmental and socio-
economic systems located in coastal areas. These zones
contain a wide diversity of assets-human populations,
physical as well as natural biological capital-with the
capacity, when sustainably managed, to provide extensive
opportunities for wealth creation and the maintenance and
enhancement of the quality of life. The loss of biodiversity
may impose negative impacts on the functioning and adapt-
ability of ecological systems themselves and the provision
of their goods and services. It also seems to be the case that
the current rate of biodiversity loss is unprecedented. All
coastal areas are facing an increasing range of stresses and
0165-0203/99/$20.00 0 1999 United Nations. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved
PII: s o l 65-02o3(99)00007-0
shocks, the scale of which now poses a threat to the resilience
of both human and environmental coastal systems. The coastal
resource systems are being stressed by growing and multiple
usage demands, many of which are competing (Turner et al.,
1996).A more integrated approach to coastal management is
urgently required.
The present article addresses this issue through an analy-
sis of both the principles and practice of coastal manage-
ment. The article first examines the basic principles
underpinning the process of integrated coastal management,
as well as the obstacles to its implementation, in both devel-
oped and developing countries. Two case studies are then
introduced (UK and Vietnam) to illustrate key arguments in
more detail and to emphasise the importance of the histor-
ical, socio-economic and cultural contexts necessary for
sustainable coastal resources management to operate.
2. Pressures, impacts and responses in the coastal zone
In order to scope the myriad of issues, problems and
arguments surrounding the scientific analysis, valuation
216 K . K . Turner et crl. / Nciturcrl Resources Forum 23 (1999)275-286

SOCIO-ECONOMICDRIVERS
Urbanizatm and transpodtrade, agncultural
mtensificatidand-use change,
tounsm and recreatwn demand, fisheries and
aquaculture, mdustnal development
*
I

/
CLIMATE CHANGE AND
COASTAL VARIABILITY
f
ENVIRONMENTAL PRESSURES
b Land conversions and reclamation,
dredgmg, aggregates and oil and gas
extraction, waste disposal in coastal waters,
water abstraction, drainage network and
estuarine and coastline engineering works,
dams, barriers and barrages, congestion. * *
ENVIRONMENTAL
POLICY RESPONSE ‘STATE’ CHANGES
OPTlONS -- --.
. I::::......... ----..
..................................
Changes in nutritmt, sediment
...
’ water fluxes across coastal
zones, loss ofhabitats and
biological diversity, visual
intrusion, groundwater
changelsak water intrusion,
eutrophicatidwater pollution,
coastal erosion.

\ .
IMPACTS
The changes in processes and
functions of eco-systems leads to
consequential impacts on human
welfare via productivity, health,
.
amen@ and conservation value
changes.

Fig. I . Pressure-state-impact-response (PSIR) framework: continuous feedback process in coastal areas. The figure shows a simplified organisational and
auditing framework illustrating the PSIR approach for a coastal zone and linked drainage basin. Source: Turner et al., 1998.

and management of coastal areas, a simplified organisa-
tional and auditing framework is adopted in this article:
the pressure-state-impact-response (PSIR) approach (see
Fig. I ) for a coastal zone and linked drainage basin (see
Turner et al., 1998). Although simple, it is flexible enough
to be conceptually valid across a range of spatial scales. It
also highlights the dynamic characteristics of ecosystem and
socio-economic system changes, involving multiple feed-
back within a co-evolutionary process (Turner et al.,
1997). As environmental pressure builds up through various
interrelated socio-economic driving forces-demographic,
economic, institutional and technological-changes occur
in the ecological system ‘states’. These changes include
increased nutrient, sediment and water fluxes through drai-
nage basins and into the marine environment; land conver-
sion loss, fragmentation and degradation of habitats;
pollution of soils, water and atmosphere; and climate altera-
tion.
The processing and functioning capabilities of ecosys-
tems is affected, which in turn results in impacts on
human welfare through changes in values such as produc-
tivity, health, amenity and other aspects. These impacts
impose social welfare gains and losses across a spectrum
of different stakeholders, depending on the spatial, socio-
economic, political and cultural setting. Policy response
mechanisms will then be triggered within this continuous
feedback process.
At the core of this interdisciplinary analytical framework
is a conceptual model, based on the concept of functional
diversity, which links ecosystem processes and functions
with outputs of goods and services, which can then be
assigned monetary economic and other values (see Fig. 2).
Functional diversity can be defined as the variety of
different responses to environmental change, in particular
the variety of spatial and temporal scales with which organ-
isms react to each other and to the environment (Steele,
1991). Marine and terrestrial ecosystems differ significantly
in their functional responses to environmental change and
this will have practical implications for management strate-
gies. Thus, although marine systems may be much more
sensitive to changes in their environments, they may also
be much more resilient (i.e. more adaptable in terms of their
recovery responses to stress and shock). The functional
diversity concept encourages analysts to take a wider
perspective and examine change in large-scale ecological
processes, together with the relevant socio-economic driv-
 R.K. Tirrtier et d . /Nurirrrrl Resources Forum 23 (1999) 275-286 217

e.g. Geographical location (landuse interfke);

landwardseaward height and depth; slope; currents;
tides; seasonaVextreme variations; precipitation;
evapotranspiration;water in soils; pH; etc.

I
I r I I 1
Structure Processes
+e.g. Biomass; flora and fauna; e.g. Biogeochemical cycling, hydraulics;
__* waterlsah supply; minerals b nutrient flows; sandsedimenttransport; -
(including onshore and offshore water circulation; longshore transport;
oil and gas); etc. shelf transfers;ecological interactions,etc.
I Coastal zonefunctions I
---.--------------- - - -i- - - - - - - - - - _
EC?L?CY-
Coastal wne uses
GoodsProducts Services
e.g. Agricuhre; fisheries, e.g. Systems balance/environmentaI risk buffer
(beach recharge; flood control); assimilative
+

urbanisation; recreation; nature

capacxty; contamination; retentiddispersion;
habitats; energy resource sewage disposal; landfill; bathing water; etc.
I I
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ECOFOGY-
- ECONOMICS INTFRFACE
- - - - - - - I - - - - - - -

Coastal Zones Values

Direct Use Value Indirect Use Value Nonuse values

Market analysis; productivity Damage costs; production Ej-istence, bequest &

loss;hedonic pricing; travel functions; hedonic pricing; philanthropy
costs; replacement & defensive expenditures;
restoration costs; contingent relocation, replacement & Contingent valuation
valuation restoration costs; contingent

-
Option Values
Contingent valuation

-
- -
Use Value Nonuse Value

Fig. 2. Coastal zones. environmental functions and associated values. The figure shows a conceptual model, based on functional diversity, which links
ecosystem processes and functions with outputs of goods and services. These outputs can be assigned monetary economic andor other values. Source: Adapted
from Turner et al. (1998).

ing forces causing diversity loss. The focus is then on the
ability of interdependent ecological-economic systems to
maintain functionality under a range of stress and shock
conditions.
Economic development is thought, these days, to be
constrained by the goal of sustainability. In the context of
coastal management, sustainability can be defined as the
preservation, through proper use and care, of the coastal
environment, ‘borrowed from’ future generations. But,
although an economic use of the environment can be both
efficient and sustainable, economic efficiency does not in
itself guarantee sustainability (Pearce and Turner, 1990).
The scale of socio-economic activity must be kept within
biophysical limits and carrying capacity, a concept related
to resilience. To keep the scale of socio-economic activities
within the resilience limits of their underlying resource
base, locally, regionally and globally, is the main challenge
for sustainable development policy. For example: biodiver-
sity loss may be related to a loss of system resilience, but the
limits are not static; appropriate behaviour, management
systems and institutions can serve to delay or postpone
their onset. The principle of sustainable utilisation of
resources should be a key component of any future coastal
management strategy. The real challenge will be to demon-
278 R.K. Turner CI nl. / Nrrrurcrl Resources Forum 23 (1999) 275-286

LINKS TO OVERALL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING (regiondnational)

t

AnalysisiPlanning:
n PRODUCTS

’
analysis of options:
preliminary designs;
formulatiodevaluation
of management
u
structural and
non-structural
elements
0 SERVICES

Lmj
& A

I-
Financial flows
Information Flows b-
Selected

Management

Fig. 3. Simple schematic of the elements of ICZM. Source: Bower and Turner. 1998.

strate in practical ways both the economic value of coastal
resources (use and non-use values) and to identify mechanisms
by which local people can participate in an equitable sharing
of income and assets devolving from coastal zones under
development pressure. The rate of social return derived
from conservation-motivated activities needs to be
compared with the rate of return available from alternative
options (the opportunity cost of conservation), allowing for
the prior correction of any existing market and institutional
failures (Turner et al., 1996).
No management prescriptions can possibly anticipate all
the vagaries of the environmental change process. Flexibil-
ity and adaptability will be necessary characteristics of any
future successful management strategy. Nevertheless, some
fundamental uncertainty will remain over climate variabil-
ity and change, and the effects of change in coastal
processes and consequent losses. There is generally consid-
erable uncertainty about the threshold values of either popu-
lation of organisms or biogeochemical cycles for many of
the most important ecosystems. Further, the implications of
breaching such a threshold are completely unknown (see
Perrings and Pearce, 1994). Some judgement will be
required about the socially acceptable margin of safety
(the ‘precautionary principle’) in the exploitation and
protection of coastal resources. This is essentially an ethical
judgement and there are a number of ways in which such an
ethical dimension can be reflected in the decision-making
process. It may be possible to discern a hierarchy of
economic and ethical considerations, from immediate self-
interest and efficient resource use, through possible self-
interest (risk avoidance), to responsibility for and obligation
towards future generations. An important task is to clarify
where conventional economic values are sufficient for
sustainability decisions and where broader human
values-including non-monetary values-and criteria are
more appropriate (Bingham et al., 1995).
3. Integration in coastal zone management
In principle, integrated coastal management should
include:
0 integration of programmes and plans for regional
economic development, environmental quality manage-
ment and coastal management;
integration of coastal management with sectoral plans for
fisheries, energy, transport, water resources, waste dispo-
sal and natural hazards management;
integration of responsibilities for coastal management
across different levels of government -local, state/
provincial, regional, national, international-and
between public and private sectors;
integration of all elements of management, from plan-
ning and design, through implementation (see Fig. 3 ) ;
integration among disciplines, e.g. ecology, geomorphol-
ogy, marine biology, economics, engineering, political
science, law; and
integration of the institutional capacities available, i.e.
the management resources of the agencies and entities
involved (Bower and Turner, 1998).
 Mitigation Benefits
Enhancement Benefits
Preservation Benefits
Option Benefits
Existence Benefits

Use‘VaJues Nonub Values

.........................................
I I I
Direct Use Values Indireci Use Values Option values Quasi-option Values Eristenc‘e Bequest
I (Functional Values) I I I
e.g. fish I insurance value of value &rived from just
e.g. flood control
fuelwood value of increased knowing a species or
storm protection
recreation preserving dormation system is conserved
nutrient cycling
transpod options for in the future value of passing on
waste assimilation
navigation sedimentation use ‘MtUral natural assets ‘intact’
laboratory’ to future generations
habitat loss reduction
groundwater protection ‘moral resource’ value
motivations
Valuation Methods Valuation Methods Valuation Methods Valuation Methods
Market analysis: Damage costs avoided C W C W
Other non-market Prwentive expenditures;
valuation methods Value of changes in
(TCM,CVM, HP) productivity;
(Ioc); (IS) (Relocation costs)
(Replacement costs)

Notes: Market Analysis: based on market prices; HP = hedonic pricing, based on land/property value data; CVM = contingent valuation method based
on social surveys designed to elicit willingness to pay values; TCM = travel cost method, based on recreationalist expenditure data; IOC = indirect
opportunity cost approach, based on options foregone; IS = indirect substitute approach.
The benefits categories illustrated do not include the ‘indirect’ or ‘secondary benefits’ provided by the coastal zone to the regional economy,t.e. the
regional income multiplier effects.

Fig. 4. Methods for valuing coastal zone benefits. Source: Adapted from Turner ( I 988) and Barbier (1 989).
280 R.K. Turner el cil. / Nuturd Resources Forum 23 (1999) 275-286
Coastal management will need to encompass multiple
foci-the politically designated management area, ecologi-
cal areas (covering several ecosystems or catchment areas),
and demand areas (sources of resource and services
demand). Given multiple problems and virtually always
limited resources with which to ‘tackle’ them, a major
task for integrated coastal management is to establish prio-
rities. A difficult sustainability balance will need to be
struck depending on the real and full economic value of
the various resource management options, the extent to
which sustainable human livelihoods can be fostered with
alternative income sources substituting for unsustainable
current usage, and the actual resilience of various natural
systems and processes.
Coastal management is not therefore a unified concept
that varies only according to its degree of integration. The
scope of integration (top-down versus bottom-up) can also
vary. The collective approach and maximising stakeholder
co-operation are fundamental requirements of more sustain-
able future strategies for coastal resources management. To
sum up, integration is required across broad policy objec-
tives and plans, with different sectoral plans and manage-
ment, with different levels of government and with the
public and private sectors. Integrated coastal management
itself must encompass all the elements of management from
planning and design through financing and implementation.
It also requires an interdisciplinary analytical and opera-
tional approach. There is a need to combine some centra-
lised institutional capacity (to ensure co-ordination and cost
effectiveness) with a more process-oriented and participa-
tory network which extends down to the local level (to
address equity and other stakeholder concerns).
4. Barriers to integrated coastal management
Obstacles to the fulfilment of the goal of sustainable
coastal resources development include a lack of political
will to invest in the forms of governance necessary to deal
with the complex relationships found in coastal zones. Some
existing institutions also serve to inhibit adaptive responses
to ecosystem changes, and conjointly create a gridlock
situation as well as confusion in environmental management
(Pritchard et al., 1998). The slow rate of progress of inte-
gration measures reflects the strength of the vested interests
that may exist, but may also be due to a failure to demon-
strate the net social benefits of a more integrated strategy for
coastal planning and management and the incomplete scien-
tific understanding of the functioning of coastal processes
and ecosystems (see Fig. 4). The benefits of integrated
management can be demonstrated by comparing a coastal
resource management strategy ‘without integration’ versus
one ‘with integration’. The net benefits are then represented
by the difference between the two ‘states of the world’ in
given coastal areas. The integrated assessment framework
must include coupled or integrated models (biogeochemical
and socio-economic), but is not limited to just this. It is also
a participatory process of combining, interpreting and
communicating knowledge from diverse scientific disci-
plines to achieve a better understanding of complex
phenomena (Bower and Turner, 1998).
It is important to take a historical perspective on the
interaction of socio-economic-natural systems, in order to
advance the analysis and debate on coastal management. As
coastal zone contexts feature irreversible effects, surprise
outcomes and unpredictable changes, the appropriate policy
response should be a flexible one. Policy should be condi-
tioned by the precautionary principle and notions such as
safe minimum standards, with due regard to the cost effec-
tiveness of options and choices, taking social opportunity
costs into account. Coastal management to date, by contrast,
has more often than not been dominated by a more closed
attitude which has sought to buffer socio-economic activ-
ities and assets from natural hazards and risks via hard
engineering protection. In the face of an increasing degree
of environmental risk, uncertainty and ignorance, the distri-
butional incidence of the risk, costs and benefits becomes a
key issue. Stakeholder consultation and consequent accep-
tance of the inevitable trade-offs involved will be an impor-
tant requirement in any legitimisation process.
In future, a more active and conciliatory approach to
consultation across and among stakeholders in any given
resource allocation and environmental decision-making
situation will be required. It can be argued that there are
strong social, political and economic arguments for widen-
ing the consultative arrangements and ensuring a more face
to face participatory role for representative interests.
0’Riordan and Ward ( 1997), for example, have explored
the theory of legitimisation and legitimacy in participatory
negotiative processes in the context of shoreline manage-
ment planning in the UK. They have sought to justify the
empowerment of stakeholders through respect, authenticity
and trust in the conduct of mediating exercises.
Sustainable use of coastal resources cannot, therefore, be
divorced from the economic, political and legal framework
within which management takes place. This first part of the
article has highlighted integration as a necessary condition
for managing coastal resources in a sustainable manner and
has also argued that an appropriate and flexible institutional
infrastructure is an important component of sustainability in
this context. Two case studies of coastal management, in the
UK and Vietnam. will now be examined.
5. Institutional change and integration: UK
The coastal lowlands of the UK have been subject to ad
hoc embankment and land-use modification since the
Romano-British Period some 2000 years ago. The present
coastal zone configuration reflects this unregulated develop-
ment with, in England alone, over 860 km of soft cliffs,
susceptible to erosion and requiring protection (23% of
 R.K. Turner el d . 1Nnlurcrl Resources Forum 23 (1999) 275-286
the coastline), and in excess of 1259 km of sea-defences
protecting 2347 k m 2 of embanked lowlands from flooding
(Barne et al., 1996). On these coastal flood plains, over 5%
of the population live (more than 2 million people) and 50%
of the highest grade agricultural land is found. The remain-
ing coastal natural resources in the UK are suffering from a
continuous net decline, in part related to coastal squeeze’ of
intertidal habitats.
The need for a more integrated approach to coastal zone
management (CZM) was highlighted by a parliamentary
committee, convened in I99 I , to address the growing envir-
onmental and development pressures (HOC, 1992).
Although the study is limited to England and neighbouring
estuaries, the recommendations of the committee are applic-
able throughout the UK.
The committee recommended that the coastal zone be
treated as one integrated unit, to be subject to Europe-
wide policy initiatives and legislation. A national strategic
overview of policy and enabling framework for manage-
ment was thought to be lacking, and an obvious first step
in any integration process should be the combining of the
currently separate responsibilities for coastal protection
(largely erosion countermeasures) and sea defence (flooding
and inundation countermeasures). More funding should be
provided for regional bodies and groups, together with
better databases and monitoring of coastal change. The
concept of spatially defined areas, coastal ‘cells’, on
which niore participatory planning and management could
be based was also advocated. A number of measures for
strengthening environmental protection were put forward
to buttress the provisions of the EU Habitats Directive, the
establishment of marine areas of conservation, and the crea-
tion of new coastal habitats as part of managed retreat and
other soft engineering’ approaches (HOC, 1992).
Some of these suggestions have already been implemen-
ted or are currently being incorporated into local policies.
Numerous statutory and non-statutory baseline management
plans have been created to identify pressures within the
coastal zone; nature conservancy agencies have been
provided with funds to catalogue the state of the UK’s
natural resources; the UK has adopted European legislation,
specifically the Habitats Directive, which provides a greater
level of protection to nominated habitats within designated
areas; operational planning authorities are gaining greater
awareness of the need to incorporate environmental and risk
considerations in the planning process of coastal areas; and
research into habitat restoration by managed retreat is
currently in progress. A significant step forward has been
the creation of a single regulator to oversee environmental
’ Coastal squeeze is the loss of intertidal resources through narrowing of
the intertidal zone between the low water mark and sea-embankments as sea
lcvcl rises.
’Soft engineering refers to the integration of natural coastal systems
such as a salttnarsh. dune system or beach to provide a more resilient
form of sea-defence rather than falling back on less resilient hard, engincer-
ing structurcs.
28 I
quality in England and Wales. The remit of the Environment
Agency (EA)3 is now to police environmental quality in
coastal areas, but the Agency has no power for direct
management of coastal zones or for policy-making beyond
an advisory capacity. Any modifications to the existing
structures and existing policy implementation, suggested
by the EA, have to be undertaken through the institutional
channels currently in force.
Nevertheless, integration of CZM is by no means
complete and, as yet, the coastal zone is not being treated
as one integrated unit. Several barriers to integrated CZM
remains to be overcome in the UK. A nationally fragmented
institutional structure still hinders a holistic and co-ordi-
nated approach to CZM. The distribution of responsibility
for management of the UK coastal zone is partitioned across
a tiered system of local, regional and national governmental
levels. In England, environmental policy is implemented by
the Department of the Environment, Transport and the
Regions. The Department of Trade and Industry deals
with mineral/energy extraction, waste and pollution control
and areas related to navigation (such as shipping, commu-
nications), regulation of oil and gas exploration and exploi-
tation, mainly offshore (HOC, 1992; DTI, 1998). The Home
Office is responsible for bylaws in England and Wales.
Likewise, flood and coastal defence and fisheries are the
responsibilities of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries
and Food (MAFF). At sub-regional level local authorities
are empowered to undertake flood defence works (funded
by local taxes and grant aid support by MAFF) and are
responsible for the zoning of land-use. All these exemplify
the fractionation of responsibilities and are a good indica-
tion of the plethora of existing management reports for
coastal zones produced by the many separate departments
and organisations involved.
The range of management plans being produced have
been valuable in highlighting conflicts of interest and the
state of the coastal zone. The county of Northumberland, for
example, currently possesses 2 I different management
plans encompassing various geographical scales and
sectoral interests for its coastline. However, local managers
and decision-makers are becoming fatigued by the process
of producing plans which have yet to identify an integrated
and holistic strategy for managing their coast. Managers in
many areas are now requesting guidance on linking these
plans together (including many non-statutory plans, such as
Biodiversity Action Plans), rather than asking for further
new plans.
In terms of legislative interdependence between the UK
and the European Union, the implementation of the Habitats
Directive illustrates the difficulties encountered in balancing
maintenance/enhancement of biodiversity and flood defence
considerations. To date, 272 Special Areas of Conservation
Created in April 1996 from the amalgamation of the National Rivers
Authority, Her Majesty’s Pollution Inspectorate and Waste Regulation
Authorities.
282 R.K. T i m e r et 01. / Nuturul Resorirces Foririii 23 (1999) 275-286

Table I
MAFF Priorities for Grant Aid Scheme (PGAS)

Elements of the scoring system Description Scorc

Priority Flood warning 10

Urban coastal/tidal defences 8
Urban Hood defence; environmental assets of international importance 6
Rural coastal/tidal defences; existing rural flood defences and drainage works; 4
environmental assets of national significance
New rural flood defence works: environmental assets of local significance 2
Urgency (based on expected residual life)” Failure.. .
Already occurred 10
Expected within 2 years 8
Expected within 5 years 6
Not expected within 5 years 0
Alternatively, when information on urgency not Flood warning scheme New: 10
easy to assess, equivalence can be based on
following scheme types:
Replacement: 9
Research for a shoreline management plan (SMP) New: 9
Updates: 8
linplementation of water level management plans (WLMPs) 8
Strategy studies leading to capital defence works 7
Economic based on benefit:cost ratios of
Over 5
Between 3 and 5
Between 2 and 3
Between 1.5 and 2
Between I and 1.5
Studies (e.g. SMP), where b:c not known

’ Scores for urgency can also be derived from a shortfall in standard of protection, based on ii comparison between current and proposcd standards of
defence.
Source: Adapted from Purnell and Richardson, 1997

(SACS) have been identified in the UK (English Nature,
1998) and submitted to the European Commission to be
considered for inclusion with similarly identified areas in
other Member States as part of the future Natura 2000
network. Despite these efforts, however, conservation
policy in the UK, whether influenced by legislation at the
European level or not, protects natural habitats to some
extent from development within designated areas, but
does not provide a mechanism to maintain habitat levels
and diversity in the face of global changes (e.g. sea-level
rise and coastal squeeze). This situation hinders the main-
tenance of a resilient coastline and the implementation of
integrated CZM.
One of the areas of conflict still to be resolved is the
merging of governance as enacted through a ‘top-down’
national policy approach with local sustainable manage-
ment based on a ‘bottom-up’ approach involving the grass-
roots levels of society. The problem of integrating the
maintenance of biodiversity and flood defence is a typical
example. Until recently, the main funding mechanism to
recreate habitat in the coastal zone consisted in government
grants supporting schemes to maintain flood defence
requirements through the landward realignment of sea-
defences. These schemes were updated in Autumn 1997,
when MAFF introduced a new pilot scheme (Priorities for
Grant Aid Scheme, PGAS) to structure the allocation of
national funding for coastal flood and sea defence works
(Table I ) .
The ‘points system’ currently being used is based on a
‘top-down’ approach: coastal erosion and flood defence
schemes are assessed individually according to three
criteria, namely priority, urgency and economics and then
ranked depending on points attained. Those schemes
exceeding a given points threshold (the level of which is
set by available funding that year: for the year 1998, it was
23 points) are provided with grant aid support. Point allot-
ment reflects: principal land use of the area; how quickly
work should be undertaken; any impacts resulting from this
work; the residual life of sea defences or the decrease of
protection provided by these structures; and the benefits
related to any costs of the scheme (cost benefit analysis,
expressed as a ratio).
From the MAFF perspective, operating with limited fund-
ing, the scheme is designed to channel funds to meet most
critical needs: protecting human lives and the higher
economic value areas, such as urban districts as against
rural areas. Implementation of this scheme will cause the
level of protection to rural areas to steadily fall, placing
natural assets behind flood defences under increasing pres-
sure. However, because PGAS considers projects on an
 R.K. Turner et al. /Natural Resources Forum 23 (1999) 275-286
individual basis and as funding is geared towards urgency,
long-term pressure on overall coastal resilience are not
taken into account. Although there is scope within the
scheme to include intertidal habitat recreation as a benefit,
both for environmental and ‘soft-engineering’ flood defence
scheme considerations, large-scale geographical concerns
are not taken into account.
At present, the strategic recreation or restoration of inter-
tidal habitat beyond that created as a secondary considera-
tion from flood defence requirements is poorly supported
politically, institutionally and financially. Biodiversity
Action Plans, produced by conservation organisations,
have outlined requirements to be met if UK coastal regions
are to maintain natural resource assets. However as these
plans are non-statutory, demands for action cannot be
legally enforced. The lack of financial means and instru-
ments hampers agencies wishing to restore coastal habitat
through coastal realignment. There are cases where agencies
having raised funds to acquire land for habitat re-establish-
ment were prevented from purchasing such land by pressure
from landowners, who considered coastal realignment in their
region as a threat rather than a benefit. Losses of natural
resources in the UK coastal zone are therefore, in some
measure, a consequence of the lack of commitment to ICZM.
Given these circumstances, the low-lying coastal regions
of eastern England are particularly at risk from a combina-
tion of natural variability and the lack of an integrated
approach to CZM. Much of the coastal natural resources
in this region are protected under the Habitats Directive
according to which losses through development pressures
should be mitigated by compensatory provision of natural
habitat. The scale of many of the developments, however, is
small, and as such is not deemed to have a “significant
effect” on the “integrity of the (natural) site”. In the long-
term, these losses may accumulate to degrade the site
completely (known as ‘death by a thousand cuts’). Natural
resources are also being lost through the pressures of envir-
onmental change, including rising sea-levels. Not until these
losses are addressed will coastal resources and their asso-
ciated functions be maintained for the future.
From the point of view of local sustainability, the short-
comings of the present coastline management are exempli-
fied by the case of the villages of Cley and Kelling in north
Norfolk, UK. The coastline in this area consists of a shingle
barrier ridge, which protects the two villages from flooding
as well as an embanked freshwater grassing marsh and reed-
beds, with a high environmental status recognised interna-
tionally (designated as Ramsar, SPA, candidate SAC as well
as being one of Britain’s flagship County Nature Reserves).
Under conditions of rising sea-levels, the barrier has been
slowly migrating landward, and to prevent this, steps have
been taken over the past 20 years to bulldoze the barrier.
This action has reduced the integrity and resilience of the
barrier, which has been breached several times in recent
years, leading to saline flooding of the freshwater grazing
marsh, with adverse consequences for the wildlife.
283
A consultation exercise over flood defence and land use
issues at Cley and Kelling was undertaken in 1996 by
university-based researchers, with support from the EA. A
bottom-up approach was facilitated to reach a consensus on
a strategy for the defence of the coast between Cley and
Kelling (O’Riordan and Ward, 1997). All parties with an
interest in any outcome of the decision-making process and
the future of the area were involved in the discussions. The
result of the consultation process was positive. Local stake-
holders, governmental and non-government bodies (such as
the EA and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds)
identified a sustainable strategy for the future of the area: a
secondary line of defence was to be created some distance
back and the shingle barrier was to be allowed to regain a
natural form and continue its landward migration; habitat
lost was to be recreated elsewhere though at the time no
specific geographical location had been identified (O’Rior-
dan and Ward, 1997). Although funding for the project had
been earmarked, this issue was still to be resolved when the
MAFF new PGAS was introduced; funding for the scheme
agreed by stakeholders was postponed, partly due to the
status of the area being considered ‘rural’ and thus not top
priority.
To summarise, although CZM in the UK has come a long
way in the last few years, it is as yet far from integrated. The
institutional structure dealing with coastal issues remains
fragmented. Local sustainable management issues are too
often ignored and the dominance of ‘top-down’ policy and
approaches based on flood protection schemes, has lead to a
lack of commitment to the funding of more integrated
schemes, i.e. those involving a combination of managed
retreat and soft engineering measures. The net impact of
climate change-induced sea-level rise on intertidal and
other relevant habitats at the landscape level is also not
adequately incorporated into the official strategy which
only prioritises ‘urban’ defences as nodal points.
6. Institutional change, risk and sustainability: Vietnam
Vietnam has had a sophisticated and effective system of
coastal management and policy response to environmental
change. The following case study provides evidence that the
level of institutional infrastructure is not determined simply
by the level of income: developing countries with low
income do not necessarily have less effective institutions
for coastal management. In fact the necessity to substitute
risk-minimising collective action for physical infrastructure
can provide the incentives for appropriate institutional
arrangements for sustainable coastal resource management.
These lessons are drawn from a case study of risk manage-
ment in coastal Vietnam by taking a historical perspective
on the evolution of the institutions in that centrally planned
economy which, in the past decade, has moved rapidly
towards a decentralised and market-oriented development
trajectory. The case illustrates the impacts-and-response
284 R.K.Turner ei ul. / Nurural Resources Forum 23 (1999)275-286
section of the PSIR framework (see Fig. 1 ) outlined above,
and demonstrates that sustainable coastal resource manage-
ment requires effective and legitimate institutions which
evolve and adapt to changing pressures and impacts.
The management of risk is a critical element of much
coastal planning with respect to coastal flooding and longer
term environmental change. Both physical infrastructure
and the natural ecosystems of coastal Vietnam fulfil an
important storm protection function, sheltering agriculture,
aquaculture and urban settlements along the country’s
3000 km coastline. These coastal areas have high economic
value. The global assessment by Costanza et al. ( 1 997)
identifies coastal ecosystems as possessing the highest
economic value of any major ecosystem, whether terrestrial
or marine, and includes a value for coastal protection. An
analysis of a part of the economic value of coastal protection
for Vietnam has been outlined by Tri et al. (1998). Tri and
co-authors show that coastal protection is a significant
element of the overall value of coastal zones, but not as
important as local benefits derived from maintenance of
mangrove ecosystems. Coastal protection must be handled
in an integrated manner, as it involves multiple aspects, such
as ecosystem management; the development of infrastruc-
ture; the perception of risk; and impacts on settlements and
economic behaviour.
The recent history of Xuan Thuy District in Nam Dinh
Province, northern Vietnam, demonstrates how the restruc-
turing of ownership and control of coastal resources
throughout Vietnam’s coastal provinces and the reduction
of collective action in these areas has resulted in an increas-
ingly hazardous environment (see Adger, 1998, 1999).
Locally organised collective action for coastal defence
and water management has been undermined by decollecti-
visation and the decline in importance of agricultural
co-operatives. Offsetting these trends, informal collective
action manifested by civil society has acted to counter the
overall increase in vulnerability to external environmental
change.
Features of the recent historical evolution of collective
action to mitigate hazards in Nam Dinh Province include the
hierarchical operation of local and regional central planning
under collectivised agriculture in the communist era; the
inertia of this system in the light of both liberalisation and
of changing environmental pressures; and concurrent insti-
tutional adaptation to cultural and political-economic
factors within the district. The local level formal govern-
ment institutions have, over the past three decades, acted as
facilitators for collective action to ameliorate the impacts of
climate extremes and hazards. In the most recent 5 years
under economic reforms, known as Doi Moi reforms, signif-
icant retrenchment of government institutions has occurred,
which essentially has reduced the importance of collective
action and therefore enhanced vulnerability. The major
reason for this is the concentration of resources and power
in the coastal communes as a result of decentralisation.
Collective vulnerability to extreme climate events is
tempered through an elaborate system of social institutions
from the formal commune and district level government to
an informal moral economy of reciprocal arrangements and
networks. The district and commune authorities operate a
tax-funded system of activities to mitigate the impacts of
storms. These activities include work brigades to repair and
maintain the dike system and the mobilisation of province
level labour and resources when floods or widespread
damage occur.
The district level institutions in northern Vietnam are
responsible for protection from coastal storms, primarily
through a series of sea and river dikes along the southern
and eastern boundaries of the district under their control.
However, the threat of coastal hazards and related costs are
both differentiated and diverse. Firstly, the communes of
Xuan Thuy face different threats. The whole district is
impacted by severe coastal storms and typhoons. The exten-
sive coastline of Vietnam experiences a mean rate of land-
fall typhoons of approximately five per year over the last
century, though it is projected that the typhoon regime will
change in both intensity, frequency and seasonality with
global climatic change (Kelly, 1996). In addition, the central
nature of government planning in Vietnam has led to a
government decree, enforced for over two decades, that
all adults in coastal districts in the country must allocate
10 days of their labour annually to dike protection. This
may well not be an efficient resource allocation, considering
the range of typhoon risk and threat, as well as the varying
erosion and sedimentation circumstances of the coast. Thus,
while not all centralised planning can be seen to be contri-
buting to sustainability from a perspective of economic effi-
ciency, simple decentralisation is not the panacea either.
Given these threats and the uncertainty over future
impacts of typhoons, the Xuan Thuy District Irrigation
Committee establishes the need for dike repairs and main-
tenance throughout the district and decides on priorities for
expenditure. This system embodies the conflict between
economic liberalisation and collective security. Communes
employ a variety of strategies to utilise the revenue they
raise for storm protection. The difference in use depends
primarily on geographic location: coastal communes have
the sea dikes within their jurisdiction. The communes have
rather different profiles of impacts of storms and have differ-
ent opportunities to use surplus labour for dike protection.
The village council raises the following ‘hypothecated’
resources within the commune for dike protection with two
major features. Firstly, taxes are raised, in an amount
equivalent to 40 kg of rice (VND 70,000)4 or the equivalent
of 10 days of labour, based on the number of eligible work-
ers in each household. All male workers between 18 and
45 years old and all females 18-25 years old are liable for
this tax. The tax is district wide and supports both temporary
work brigades and hired groups of workers drawn from the
‘ Rate of exchange for Vietnamese dong: 13,903 VND = US$] (olticial
rate of exchange used by the United Nations, I August 1999).
 R.K. Turner et ul. /Natural Resources Forum 23 (1999) 275-286
district who take on this labouring task as seasonal employ-
ment. Secondly, a labour force is constituted for mainte-
nance during the months of March to May after the first
rice crop has been transplanted. This workforce is a subset
of the total eligible adults and complements the paid work
brigades. In reality, not all eligible adults are called in any
year, with the workforce determined by the extent of storm
damage. In storm years all labour aged people are expected
to carry out emergency repairs. In 1986, these lasted for over
one month for a large section of the available population.
The tax and the contribution of labour are alternative
means of payment for most people in the district. However,
in practice only coastal dwellers actually contribute their
labour. The ‘tax’ system represents the latest evolution of
the shift to household responsibility as a necessary outcome
of the privatisation process and has regressive distributional
impacts. Households perceive all charges levied by the
commune or the co-operative as the overall ‘tax’, while in
effect some are user fees and some property and land taxes,
some are general taxes and some are earmarked for specific
purposes. The dike maintenance tax is an earmarked head
tax, but is simply perceived as part of the general tax burden
by Xuan Thuy householders.
Allocating their own labour to dike repair ensures that the
coastal communes limit their input into the system, particu-
larly in years where few repairs are required and avoid
paying monetary resources to the district government. In
the dike protection season following a year with little
storm damage, such as 1995, those communes who do not
directly allocate labour (the inland communes) still have to
pay full tax rates, while the coastal communes, by contrast,
can simply undertake their own repairs.
Further, the ‘hypothecated’ tax collected by the district
government is not spent annually solely on coastal protection:
the tax actually collected is at least four times that spent on
coastal protection in years such as 1996. Indeed, the rich
coastal communes receive a ‘double dividend’ of paying
lower effective tax rate than inland communes, along with
receiving disproportionate investment in other infrastructure
projects. In effect, a ‘core’ of powerful coastal communes are
being created which capture resources at the district level, to
the detriment of ‘peripheral’ inland communes.
This type of action, along with the lack of consultation
with the district irrigation committee, constitutes a form of
non-decision-making, which keeps the political playing
field tilted in favour of the coastal communes. Furthermore,
some commune level officials appeal to the locally held
perception that storm impact is a major constraint on
economic performance. Hence, they argue that it is legiti-
mate, as a reflection of local knowledge, to maintain tax
collection for sea dike maintenance. However, coastal
communes officials are equally ready to downplay potential
storm impacts and other environmental change when conve-
nient. Thus, when officials wish to promote economic
growth to the exclusion of other policy objectives, they
trivialise hazard mitigation.
285
The empirical observations from Xuan Thuy District
demonstrate that institutional inertia and the reinforcement
of strictly hierarchical structures exacerbate vulnerability in
the short run at the district and commune level, while many
other adaptations within formal as well as non-formal insti-
tutions offset this trend and enhance security. Institutional
change can be observed both as material outcomes such as
formal institutional action and inaction, and also by percep-
tions of being able to cope with and respond to the hazar-
dous environment.
The observed institutional changes are almost exclusively
stimulated by the processes of economic liberalisation and
transition to a market economy. The rapidity of this liberal-
isation makes it relatively easier to observe the impacts of
institutional change; and also puts in sharper relief the
offsetting nature of most of the recent changes in terms of
coastal zone vulnerability. Thus the reinforcing of commune
influence over resource allocation in the present era of the
‘rolling back’ of state influence in Vietnam, increases
collective vulnerability at the district level with respect to
sea dike maintenance.
The dike maintenance aspect of the commune’s respon-
sibility for hazard mitigation has become increasingly
monetised and professionalised. The redirection of
resources towards the core of politically influential commu-
nes in coastal Xuan Thuy is the principal negative outcome
of autarchic decision-making, in terms of increased vulner-
ability. At a higher level, district and province level institu-
tions side-step the issue of a potentially more risky coastal
environment, and provide a minimum of strategic planning.
The Vietnamese experience of ‘decentralisation’ of the
economy provides evidence that the political re-casting of
some of the organs of administrative power does not neces-
sarily lead to greater local participation or collective
empowerment (Slater, 1989).
A key issue is whether presently observed institutional
change in Vietnam is contributing effectively to collective
security or if it is, on the contrary, increasing the vulner-
ability of society to climate extremes. Local autonomy from
central state policy, and the enhanced role of provinces,
districts and communes, have, in the past, resulted in dissi-
pation of infrastructure investments in Vietnam. At the same
time, it has not necessarily led to greater local participation
in decision-making (see discussion of decentralisation
above and Slater, 1989), but the system of local autonomy
would appear to have a potential cost.
Local autonomy and privatisation have contributed to the
loss of mangrove areas in coastal Xuan Thuy, thus weaken-
ing coastal protection and enhancing the damage potential
of storms. In addition, decentralisation has created a vacuum
at the level of strategic management.
In summary, the economic reforms and institutional
changes associated with the dike protection system of
Xuan Thuy provides insights into hazard mitigation and
institutional adaptation to social and environmental change
relevant for sustainable coastal management. The
 286 R.K. Turner et nl. / Nnturcil Resources Fonotr 23 (1999) 275-286
communes essentially use the sea dike resource allocation
system to maximise their own budgets, often by unaccoun-
table actions through which the collective vulnerability to
the impacts of storms may even be increased. However, in
general, the enhancement of the institutions of civil society
within the communes documented in this section strengthen
security and potentially reduce the recovery time after the
impact of a major storm. The need for co-ordinated action
and the delineation of property rights in coastal resources
necessary for sustainable coastal management, are critical in
Vietnam, as this case study has shown. But the decentralisa-
tion and reduced effectiveness in coastal management at the
level of government institutions in Vietnam observed over
the past decade seem, in fact, to be increasing coastal
vulnerability, and redirecting the integration of coastal
management, planning and policy.
7. Conclusions
At the interface between ocean and terrestrial resources,
coastal ecosystems undergo stress from competing multi-
usage demands, while having to retain their functional
diversity and resilience in the face of global environmental
change. A more integrated management of coastal zones
must therefore take into account the multiple resource
demand and variety of stakeholders, as well as natural varia-
bility. This article has introduced a PSlR approach to scope
this complex issue, together with a conceptual model based
on ecosystem functionality. Case studies have illustrated
this framework while highlighting the importance of the
institutional, cultural and historical contexts. In the UK,
the fragmented institutional structure, and the dominance
of a top-down policy approach have lead to a lack of
commitment to integrated coastal management, and inade-
quate consideration of potential impacts of environmental
change in decision-making. In Vietnam, privatisation and
decentralisation have created a vacuum of strategic manage-
ment and increased the vulnerability to storm impacts. Both
studies demonstrate the need for integration at the govern-
ment level, while including stakeholder consultation in the
decision-making process.
This article also highlights the need for further research
on evaluation of coastal zone ecosystem functions, and their
integration at the landscape level. Legitimisation and
increased effectiveness of CZM policies require that more
local participation be included in the evaluation procedures
and that new, more flexible institutional arrangements be
developed.
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