Estuaries and coasts are dynamic and complex ecosystems and are important regions in terms of ecology and productivity. They consist of a wide range of different habitats and are important locations for wildlife. They also tend to be the world’s most intensely used regions, accommodating a range of activities including shipping, ports and harbours, fishing and coastal development. As a result of global population growth and increasing demands for food and energy, estuaries and coasts are coming under intense pressure leading to their degradation. Current management approaches which consider activities in isolation are no longer sustainable. In Ireland, the management of coastal ecosystems is largely carried out in a fragmented, sectoral and uncoordinated manner. There is no overarching national coastal or marine policy and there is no single body with overall responsibility for Irish estuaries and coasts. A more holistic approach is required to deal with the multi-uses, multi-users, multi-scales and multi-effects of estuarine and coastal ecosystems. This research develops an approach for the integrated and sustainable managemeht.of estuaries and coasts in Ireland. Based on a review and critical analysis of integrated environmental management theory and practice, an integrated environmental management and monitoring system (EMMS) was devised for Irish estuaries and coasts. The proposed EMMS was used as a heuristic device to evaluate existing management initiatives and future management approaches in two Irish case studies. This suggested that the EMMS was unable to address all the issues preventing a more sustainable management of estuaries and coasts and exposed more ‘persistent problems’ associated with a system-wide failure in environmental governance and regime impediments. As a response, to this, the thesis makes an original contribution by applying the multi-level perspective from transitions theory as a way of conceptualising the large scale changes to governance that can deliver sustainable integrated management of Irish estuaries.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:727413 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Kelly, Christina |
| Publisher | Queen's University Belfast |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | https://pure.qub.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/towards-the-integrated-management-of-irish-estuaries-and-coasts-proposing-an-integration-transition-pathway-using-a-multilevel-perspective(fe1c25da-d357-4e5e-8de4-b273bcf11fb2).html |
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