CHAPTER 2 • The Challenge of Demonstrating the Socia-economic Benefits of ICM
47
their economic and social welfare. Where coastal development alienates local populations from resources and reduces their livelihoods there can be a consequent breakdown in the cohesion of communities because people can no longer sustain themselves
from coastal resources. This can lead to a movement of fishermen and others from rural
communities to urban areas in search of employment where their little opportunity to
use their skills and they are further impoverished. This breakdown of rural society in
developing nations can also increase the burden on urban communities which are themselves striving to provide adequate housing, infrastructure and services to meet even
basic human needs.
Alteration to one coastal system and the substitution by a man-made replacement
can have a negative ecological impact upon other coastal systems with the potential
result of reducing their productivity and ability to sustain human activities. These
potenti,al adverse environmental and corresponding social and economic effects should
be taken into consideration when calculating costs and benefits.
Accurate and holistic valuation of coastal systems also allows decision makers to
assess the benefits and costs associated with developments inland from the coastal zone
which may have an adverse environmental and economic impact in the coastal zone.
A good example is the work by Hodgson and Dixon (1988) that illustrates the disbenefits
of upland logging in terms of the loss of valuable tourism and fisheries in Palawan.
The poorer people become as a direct or indirect result of non-sustainable development of coastal systems, the less incentive they have of investing in environmental
management measures to sustain their activities. The more problematic survival becomes, the greater the incentive to seek short-term results (World Bank 1992). This leads
to a breakdown of risk reducing, traditional approaches to the management of coastal
areas which further exacerbates problems of environmental degradation.
Given the wide range of ecological, economic and social factors involved, the assessment of the costs or disbenefits associated with the conversion of coastal habitats
to alternative forms of use is a very complex but very important challenge. We must
therefore give greater'attention to the economic, social and environmental costs associated with poorly planned and managed development in coastal regions.
This suggests that far greater attention needs to be given to the development of Social and Cultural assessment of coastal ecosystems and resources to ensure that the
Ecological and Economic assessments are placed into perspective. There are a number
of critical socio-cultural issues that need to be addressed in strengthening the Social
and Cultural assessment of coastal ecosystems. Examples include:
• Understanding local knowledge and the dynamics of technical change in developing countries. This must be effectively linked to political and ideological objectives
in development, such as poverty reduction, gender issues, empowerment and locally
organized and accountable institutions, with locally appropriate, widely adopted and
sustainable objectives for technical change (Blaikie et al. 1996);
• Developing methodologies for identifying and incorporating the needs, aspirations
and viewpoints of stakeholders in the assessment of options and constraints for
sustainable coastal resources development;
• Developing methodologies for analysing and improving the effectiveness of uptake
pathways for renewable natural resources information and technology by local communities.
47
their economic and social welfare. Where coastal development alienates local populations from resources and reduces their livelihoods there can be a consequent breakdown in the cohesion of communities because people can no longer sustain themselves
from coastal resources. This can lead to a movement of fishermen and others from rural
communities to urban areas in search of employment where their little opportunity to
use their skills and they are further impoverished. This breakdown of rural society in
developing nations can also increase the burden on urban communities which are themselves striving to provide adequate housing, infrastructure and services to meet even
basic human needs.
Alteration to one coastal system and the substitution by a man-made replacement
can have a negative ecological impact upon other coastal systems with the potential
result of reducing their productivity and ability to sustain human activities. These
potenti,al adverse environmental and corresponding social and economic effects should
be taken into consideration when calculating costs and benefits.
Accurate and holistic valuation of coastal systems also allows decision makers to
assess the benefits and costs associated with developments inland from the coastal zone
which may have an adverse environmental and economic impact in the coastal zone.
A good example is the work by Hodgson and Dixon (1988) that illustrates the disbenefits
of upland logging in terms of the loss of valuable tourism and fisheries in Palawan.
The poorer people become as a direct or indirect result of non-sustainable development of coastal systems, the less incentive they have of investing in environmental
management measures to sustain their activities. The more problematic survival becomes, the greater the incentive to seek short-term results (World Bank 1992). This leads
to a breakdown of risk reducing, traditional approaches to the management of coastal
areas which further exacerbates problems of environmental degradation.
Given the wide range of ecological, economic and social factors involved, the assessment of the costs or disbenefits associated with the conversion of coastal habitats
to alternative forms of use is a very complex but very important challenge. We must
therefore give greater'attention to the economic, social and environmental costs associated with poorly planned and managed development in coastal regions.
This suggests that far greater attention needs to be given to the development of Social and Cultural assessment of coastal ecosystems and resources to ensure that the
Ecological and Economic assessments are placed into perspective. There are a number
of critical socio-cultural issues that need to be addressed in strengthening the Social
and Cultural assessment of coastal ecosystems. Examples include:
• Understanding local knowledge and the dynamics of technical change in developing countries. This must be effectively linked to political and ideological objectives
in development, such as poverty reduction, gender issues, empowerment and locally
organized and accountable institutions, with locally appropriate, widely adopted and
sustainable objectives for technical change (Blaikie et al. 1996);
• Developing methodologies for identifying and incorporating the needs, aspirations
and viewpoints of stakeholders in the assessment of options and constraints for
sustainable coastal resources development;
• Developing methodologies for analysing and improving the effectiveness of uptake
pathways for renewable natural resources information and technology by local communities.