ABSTRACT
Coastal areas provide many co-benefits associated with their natural infrastructure, facilitating activities such as fishing, industry, tourism and transportation, for instance. From an ecological perspective, the coastal zone represents a unique transition area between terrestrial and marine environments. Because of these interactions, the coast presents a dynamic and challenging environment for adequate management and planning. Climate impacts such as sea level rise, storminess, intensity of flooding and coastal erosion are likely to become more severe in the coming decades. The complexity and dynamism of climate and coastal policy domains calls for an integrated approach to governance in the coastal zone. An understanding of coastal sustainability requires understanding of multi-scalar complexities, a relational understanding of space, as well as insights into the heterogeneous stakeholder landscape, institutional context and resource base, differentiated across particular regional, national and international settings. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
