56
c. Heeps . V. May
ronment is still an alien world, not just to the general public but also to many sectoral
interest groups. Sustainable development requires an integrated and more holistic approach to coastal management, based upon a deeper understanding of physical forcing
functions and ecosystem processes. Unfortunately, unless individuals or interest groups
are directly affected by an issue they are reluctant to learn more about it, voice their
concerns or become actively involved in the management process.
Another aspect of the debate is the role of technology in both helping to solve and
sometimes adding to problems. In a global context many of the products and services
of the marine sector relate to large-scale construction (e.g. oil and gas pipelines, port
facilities, bridges, coastal and flood defence schemes), much of which takes place in
shallow coastal waters where environmental impacts are most pronounced. The increase
in subsea operations, emerging issues of decommissioning and waste disposal, changes
in marine transport (particularly to serve the leisure market) and developments in aquaculture all require improved resource and coastal management (Office of Science and
Technology 1997). With population migration to the coast continuing to escalate, there
will be added pressure and impact upon coastal and marine resources in the future.
If effective management requires advice and decision making based upon best available information, then the emerging practice of coastal zone management should be
viewed as an opportunity to provide a longer-term vision and actively engage all sectors of the community in data collection, assimilation and dissemination. The UK Marine Foresight panel (OST 1997) emphasised that such innovation and technological
change must be matched by a development dimension in the provision of marine education and training at all levels. The new skills required for industry, professional institutions, trade associations and academia to compete within the global market place are
rapidly changing: such bodies need to attract and encourage new human resources
into the marine science and technology sector. This is not intended to imply that there
is a greater need for traditional marine scientists, but rather that the sector has poor
links to the social sciences. Moreover, it has not been effective in encouraging public
understanding of the nature and processes of the marine sector. This can be achieved
through the stimulation of the public understanding of the marine environment and
its value to future heritage. The task - to improve everyone's knowledge and appreciation of the oceans - is not a simple one.
This arises at least in part because there are considerable barriers to people's understanding and use of scientific information. The ways in which scientists work and the
extent to which their results approximate to the truth are poorly understood by developers, decision-makers, the media and the public. The progress of science as a powerful tool for development has depended upon its practice of doubting theories, even
those on which action itself is based (Haldane 1927). Increased public participation in
the debate about large-scale coastal construction challenges coastal scientists and developers to move from a position in which scientific knowledge is the preserve of "experts" to a shared fund of knowledge accessible to all who use and live in the coastal zone.
6.3
Constraints on Public Understanding of Coastal Science
Five key issues affect public understanding of coastal and marine science: existing levels of knowledge and the uncertainties surrounding the data itself, the decision-mak-
c. Heeps . V. May
ronment is still an alien world, not just to the general public but also to many sectoral
interest groups. Sustainable development requires an integrated and more holistic approach to coastal management, based upon a deeper understanding of physical forcing
functions and ecosystem processes. Unfortunately, unless individuals or interest groups
are directly affected by an issue they are reluctant to learn more about it, voice their
concerns or become actively involved in the management process.
Another aspect of the debate is the role of technology in both helping to solve and
sometimes adding to problems. In a global context many of the products and services
of the marine sector relate to large-scale construction (e.g. oil and gas pipelines, port
facilities, bridges, coastal and flood defence schemes), much of which takes place in
shallow coastal waters where environmental impacts are most pronounced. The increase
in subsea operations, emerging issues of decommissioning and waste disposal, changes
in marine transport (particularly to serve the leisure market) and developments in aquaculture all require improved resource and coastal management (Office of Science and
Technology 1997). With population migration to the coast continuing to escalate, there
will be added pressure and impact upon coastal and marine resources in the future.
If effective management requires advice and decision making based upon best available information, then the emerging practice of coastal zone management should be
viewed as an opportunity to provide a longer-term vision and actively engage all sectors of the community in data collection, assimilation and dissemination. The UK Marine Foresight panel (OST 1997) emphasised that such innovation and technological
change must be matched by a development dimension in the provision of marine education and training at all levels. The new skills required for industry, professional institutions, trade associations and academia to compete within the global market place are
rapidly changing: such bodies need to attract and encourage new human resources
into the marine science and technology sector. This is not intended to imply that there
is a greater need for traditional marine scientists, but rather that the sector has poor
links to the social sciences. Moreover, it has not been effective in encouraging public
understanding of the nature and processes of the marine sector. This can be achieved
through the stimulation of the public understanding of the marine environment and
its value to future heritage. The task - to improve everyone's knowledge and appreciation of the oceans - is not a simple one.
This arises at least in part because there are considerable barriers to people's understanding and use of scientific information. The ways in which scientists work and the
extent to which their results approximate to the truth are poorly understood by developers, decision-makers, the media and the public. The progress of science as a powerful tool for development has depended upon its practice of doubting theories, even
those on which action itself is based (Haldane 1927). Increased public participation in
the debate about large-scale coastal construction challenges coastal scientists and developers to move from a position in which scientific knowledge is the preserve of "experts" to a shared fund of knowledge accessible to all who use and live in the coastal zone.
6.3
Constraints on Public Understanding of Coastal Science
Five key issues affect public understanding of coastal and marine science: existing levels of knowledge and the uncertainties surrounding the data itself, the decision-mak-