ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the factors that are associated with managing marine resources in a sustainable manner. It outlines the challenges presented by marine governance, and some evocative lessons that can be applied to assess and improve marine governance in the future. Marine governance is a contested and political activity. The functions of effective marine governance serve to induce political will to pursue more sustainable marine governance efforts. The chapter presents the findings that are developed deductively from theories about environmental governance and collective action, and inductively from comparative studies of specific environmental governance efforts where the identified factors correlated with more effective governance efforts. Analysts have identified a wide variety of barriers to collective action at the national and international levels that inhibit effective marine governance for most issues. Administrative design and capacity issues inhibit the ability of states and resource managers to effectively make and enforce comprehensive marine policies.
