Shoreline management in a policy vacuum: A local authority perspective M.C. O’Connor * , J.A.G. Cooper, J. McKenna, D.W.T. Jackson School of Environmental Sciences, Centre for Coastal and Marine Research, University of Ulster, Cromore Road, Coleraine, Co. Derry, Northern Ireland BT52 1SA, United Kingdom article info Article history: Available online 2 November 2010 abstract In Ireland there is no national shoreline management policy. Instead, management involves a series of actions at the local authority (County) level that respond to local demands, politics and economics within only a broad legal framework. Through the COREPOINT project, University of Ulster scientists have been working with local authority officials in Donegal to bring a scientific understanding of coastal processes to bear on practical management. Experience at several sites has shown significant changes in practice as a result of this interaction, compared to the previous situation when rock armouring was the favoured response to coastal erosion. We argue that achieving sustainable approaches to coastal management in a policy vacuum relies on a combination of (i) commitment to these approaches by local officials, (ii) low levels of public pressure for action, and (iii) limited financial resources. A change in any one of these is likely to lead to unsustainable actions. While close co-operation with scientists can help management in the absence of a coherent policy, only a formal regulatory instrument can deliver sustainable shoreline management. Ó 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd. 1. Introduction Presently the 5800 km coastline [1] of Ireland is regulated by a large number of government departments, local authorities and national agencies. Due to rising sea levels (in most areas) and a lack of contemporary sediment input, the majority of the soft coastlines in Ireland are vulnerable to erosion [2]. With this in mind the Government set up the “National Erosion Committee” in 1991 and this was followed in 1997 by a draft Coastal Zone Management Strategy for Ireland [3]. This ‘Strategy’ was not implemented and although a review has been ongoing for a number of years there is no coastal defence policy at a national level. Coastal management is currently delivered by the Department of Communications Energy and National Resources, Department of Transport, Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Food and the Office of public works 1 . Lack of a national policy means that local government authorities are mainly responsible for the methods adopted for management of their respective coastlines. In 1996 each local authority senior engineer was issued with a coastal protection manual [4] to aid management in carrying out its responsibilities in this area. Although guides are helpful, coastal defence management is complex and involves social, economic and environmental factors which have ever changing boundaries. The evolution of practice-based rather than policy-based coastal defence management has resulted in varying management prac- tices at both national level and at county level over the past decades. The change in management practices seen within Donegal County Council cannot be attributed to a change in national policy, but to developments within local government and the adoption of the Expert Couplet Node approach as a method of integration of science with policy and management. Through examination of the processes leading to specific management decisions at Five Finger Strand, County Donegal, this paper aims to outline the fundamental components which have aided sustainable management in this case. The paper also highlights the fragility of the interrelationships among these factors. Recommendations for a more defined coastal defence management process which is not dependent on chance factors are also suggested. 2. Management context Globally, coastal management has evolved from being domi- nated by economic considerations, to one involving a more sustainable and holistic decision-making process. In the mid-1990s awareness of the history of mismanagement and the diminishing resilience of the coast, coupled with growing concern surrounding * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ44 28 70 324318; fax: þ44 28 70 324911. E-mail address: m.oconnor@ulster.ac.uk (M.C. O’Connor). 1 Responsibility for coastal flooding was only transferred to the Office of Public Works from the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Food in December 2008. At the time of writing responsibility for foreshore licensing was divided between the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Food and the Department of Envi- ronment Heritage and Local Government. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Ocean & Coastal Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ocecoaman 0964-5691/$ e see front matter Ó 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd. doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2010.10.016 Ocean & Coastal Management 53 (2010) 769e778