Community based management : an assessment of its potential for the management of New Zealand’s coastal marine environment

Abstract

To effectively manage New Zealand's coastal marine environment is a challenge. It is a challenge because of its unique characteristics including its capacity to transcend a multitude of issues across a range of levels.

Recent reforms of the New Zealand environmental management framework include an attempt to take up this challenge. Within these reforms is the greater opportunity for the public to influence the way the coastal marine environment is managed. Community based management is one way of achieving greater public participation through shared decision making in local management decisions.

This report examines what the potential is for community based management to promote the effective management of the coastal marine environment.

Findings indicate that a potential basis does exist for this to occur. However, this basis is subject to a number of constraints, both practically and politically derived. Some community based management arrangements are in existence and evidence suggests greater opportunities for this approach to local management in the future. Before this occurs, however, there remains a more immediate need to assess the relative effectiveness of these arrangements in relation to other approaches so that efforts are not wasted and ineffective management implemented.