Ocean and Coastal Sustainability: Outcomes Paper from Canberra Launch

On March 11, 2020, a multidisciplinary group of academics, policy makers, and practitioners gathered at the Shine Dome in Canberra to provide input into the first steps of FEA’s Sustainable Oceans and Coasts initiative, which will lead to the creation of a national, ten-year strategy.

The outcome paper that summarises the findings from that meeting is now available on our website.

The meeting participants considered the key elements required for a national strategy, refined the scope of the work, and looked forward to the next steps of the process.

Reflecting on the current state of Australian oceans and coasts, participants saw them as threatened, crowded, and fragile, though they hoped for a future of vibrancy, health, and resilience.

To achieve this vision, participants felt it was crucial for a national strategy to reflect the diverse needs of the richly varied Australian ocean and coastal environments. They also stressed that the strategy should consider top-down ideas of governance as well as bottom-up elements of community engagement.

Building off the methodology that FEA developed for 2019’s Sustainable Cities and Regions Ten Year Strategy, which explores vision, knowledge gaps, stakeholder engagement, and institutional design and governance, participants suggested incorporating elements of implementation, adaptability, transparency, equity, and wellbeing.

These insights and more are explored in this outcome paper. This will be the first in a series of outcome papers prepared for the Sustainable Oceans and Coasts initiative. Learn more about this initiative, and future outcome papers, on our landing page.