Derek J. McGlashan

Stakeholder Involvement in Coastal Decision-making Processes

This article discusses the current framework of coastal decision making which tends to exclude participation by individuals and those without a strong institutional representation. A distinction is drawn between institutional and local stakeholders to illustrate weaknesses in the existing decision framework. It is argued that particularly in the coastal environment, the relationship between changes in physical form and changes in social welfare is critical to understanding how decision making may engage more fully with local stakeholders and ultimately improve decision outcomes. A reordering of stakeholder engagement in decision systems at the coast is proposed and a framework is outlined which enhances the capacity of local stakeholders to influence decision making.

Scotland's coast: Understanding past and present processes for sustainable management

Abstract The coastline of Scotland is extremely long and varied. It comprises most of the major types of coastal environment and includes machair, a sand dune system that is unique to the western seaboard of the British Isles. Such variety has its roots in the geology and sea level inheritance of Scotland and demonstrates that long‐term processes still exert a profound influence on coastal form and functioning. Understanding how these processes affect the coast and influence such diversity is essential to efficient coastal management, although it is also imperative that the vision, strategy and political will to deliver such management are also in place.

Managing lakeshore erosion: Impacts of bank protection on Loch Lomond, Scotland

Abstract The shoreline of Loch Lomond is currently undergoing erosion not only because of passive natural changes but also because of active changes produced by the interaction of shoreline protection structures and natural processes. In order to assess the influence of protection structures on different types of loch shore, the shores were classified and their total extent, including the extent of artificial shore, was quantified. The effect of structures is often felt on adjacent shores as well as on those that the structure is designed to protect. In order to assess the extent of impact of structures, sediment cells were identified along the loch shore within which the effects of a structure may produce compensatory effects but beyond which they will not. A management strategy is presented that is aimed at minimising the detrimental effects of any future intervention in the shore system.

Perceived socio‐economic and environmental costs and benefits of ICZM in Scotland

Abstract ICZM in Scotland has followed a voluntary approach to date through local coastal fora. The socio‐economic costs and benefits of these fora are assessed based on a two‐track approach. Much of the information is based on analysis of questionnaire returns from the individual fora, while the ecosystem services approach was adopted to model economic impacts of the fora activities at two scenario levels: low and high level ICZM. Key features of the fora are presented, as is their perceived impact on the economy. The value of Scotlands coastal zone is presented in the form of the annual value of ecosystem services.

Unstable Boundaries on a Cliffed Coast: Geomorphology and British Laws

Abstract Coastal erosion is a problem around much of the coast of Great Britain. This paper uses the example of Birling Gap in East Sussex to highlight a variety of problems associated with property boundaries on eroding cliffed coasts. The legal foreshore definitions (generally owned by the Crown) from English and Scots laws are compared with the use of tidal data from the nearest reliable tide gauge at Newhaven. With a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet model and shore profiling, these data are used to identify the extent of private property in the coastal environment at Birling Gap under both Scots and English law. The paper highlights that under both definitions, a small parcel of “land” exists at the base of the cliffs that is owned by the adjacent cliff top landowner. Therefore, the foreshores as defined in (Scots and English) law on the mainland of Great Britain do not fully enclose the envelope of coastal processes. Under Scots and English law, the foreshore is defined on the basis of tidal heights, irrespective of the mobility of the substrate that the foreshore boundary is drawn on. The cliff morphology at Birling Gap strongly suggests control by marine erosion; however, the tidal data from Newhaven suggest otherwise when compared with the shore profiles. A number of reasons are identified to explain a substantial difference in the height of the beach at Birling Gap and the observed tidal heights at Newhaven, including the distance from the tide gauge, the damping effects of tide gauges, and the morphology of the beach. We conclude that, under British property laws, a small area of the upper beach (which regularly changes in shape and size) is owned by the adjacent landowner and is technically under their control despite being regularly inundated by the tides.

The PDMU Approach to the Integration of Coastal Management

Abstract The context underlying the concept of Process-Defined Management Units (PDMUs) as an aid to sustainable coastal decision-making is reviewed. Using examples, it is suggested that the flexible PDMU approach can help to pragmatically integrate coastal management and has considerable merits compared with other types of coastal management units, such as sediment cells and Homogeneous Environmental Management Units (HEMUs).