Why did we undertake this study?
Hope promotes a positive attitude toward the future that can incentivise action. The challenges facing coastal communities are immense and within this context it is unclear if vulnerability managers are optimistic for the future of the coast, or despair at its decline. Further, it is unclear how these perceptions influence implementation of the significant reforms in coastal governance called for to address the challenges faced. This commentary asked these question using coastal governance in Australia as a case example.
How was it done?
We drew on the results of semi-structured interviews with coastal managers and community service providers who work in the most rapidly growing coastal communities in Australia; and explored the presence of hope in narratives of coastal governance and vulnerability using qualitative analysis methods (i.e., text search and thematic analysis).
What did we find?
When reflecting on coastal governance, vulnerability, and the needs of their community, we found strong positive narratives of hope.
- Coastal managers hoped existing practices and processes would achieve coastal governance goals - and the goals of coastal governance described aligned to good practice coastal governance (see figure).
- Community service providers hoped for change in the systems and processes that determine vulnerability
Narratives of hope were rarely accompanied by active plans for change. Passive approaches such as hoping for change to be driven by the community or extreme events, dominated. Passivity is a function of social-institutional systems (politics, economics) that constrain change.
Implications
To leverage narratives of hope for transformational change, hopeful frames must be accompanied by a clear understanding of the elements vital to their success: policy and community. Structural (policy) change and individual action can alter the values and norms that constrain reform in coastal governance. But such change will take time and effort; and the time to start is now. There is the need to accept difficult discussions, the likelihood of disputes and have the strength to challenge the status quo, because only through the presence of change agents will hopeful futures come to fruition.
Learn more
The full paper is available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2023.106953
Citation: Elrick-Barr CE, Smith TF, Thomsen DC (2023), Is ‘hope’ helpful or a hinderance? Implications for coastal governance, Ocean and Coastal Management, 248: 106953
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Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council Discovery Projects Funding Scheme (Project FT180100652). This work contributes to Future Earth Coasts, a Global Research Project of Future Earth. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Australian Government, Australian Research Council or Future Earth Coasts.