Collaboration and co-creation in coastal communities: perspectives from the Global South
Coastal communities across the globe are faced with multifaceted, interconnected challenges with competing environmental, social, and economic needs. In rural coastal communities of the Global South, the challenges presented by climate change are complicated by those related to development, resource management, and sustainable livelihoods. The rapid growth of such coastal communities exacerbates these challenges and reinforces the need for effective and sustainable governance. Such governance requires a move from top-down approaches to human-centred approaches. Human-centred coastal governance engages multiple stakeholders and combines multidisciplinary knowledge, participatory approaches, co-creation of solutions, and multi-institutional partnerships.
This webinar, organised by our Marine & Coastal Science Community, presented case studies from several coastal communities in the Global South. These illustrated several of the complex challenges facing such communities, and the collaborative and empowering strategies that have been used to meet them. Based on these case studies our speakers, Sian Davies-Vollum and Debadayita Raha, a transdisciplinary framework to inform the co-creation of coastal management strategies that meet interconnected human and environmental needs. They also took a deeper look at a bottom-up governance framework that has been developed in West Africa in consultation with coastal stakeholders and communities.
What does the Marine & Coastal Science Community do?
The Marine & Coastal Science Community is a community of like-minded professionals looking to promote an interdisciplinary approach to marine and coastal issues to support the sustainable management of our coasts and oceans. Similar to the other IES communities, the Marine & Coastal Science Community is a key tool for directly engaging with members, channelling their expertise into a unified voice, and informing the development of tailored resources.
The Marine & Coastal Science Community aims to provide thought leadership in the sector, most recently publishing the Turning the Tide: Systems thinking for a sustainable ocean. This report marked the end of a long-term project covering four key themes in marine and coastal science from a systems thinking perspective. It was endorsed by the UN Ocean Decade, an initiative running from 2021 to 2030 which calls for ‘the science we need for the ocean we want’ and promotes a shared, global effort towards the needed developments in marine and coastal science.
The Steering Group will support in delivering the activities of the Marine & Coastal Science Community and play a leading role in shaping the work of the community.
How can I get involved?
- Whether you work in a relevant role, or just have an interest in the topic, all IES members can join any IES Community through the Manage my Communities form in the Members' Portal. You can join more than one Community, and we encourage interdisciplinary collaboration within and between all Communities.
- Keep up to date with events and publications on our Marine & Coastal Science webpage.
- Catch up on previous webinars and workshops run for the Marine & Coastal Science Community on our dedicated YouTube playlist.
- Reach out to our Community coordinator, Amy Bond, on communities@the-ies.org if you have ideas for topics you'd like to see covered, or if you're interested in presenting a webinar or writing an article.
Header image credit: Sian Davies-Vollum
