Speakers

Speakers Briefing for The Coastal Solutions Forum:

Radical improvement in estuary and coast management

Background

1. the ongoing transfer of use-value from the public and the less wealthy to the most wealthy;
2. the loss of opportunity to enjoy relatively unspoiled areas, in ways that reflect and preserve their ‘natural-ness’;
3. the incremental erosion of the biophysical integrity and natural values (including underwater ecology, and foreshore ecology);
4. the effective subsidisation of these processes through public funds (for example for dredging, armouring, and facilities provision);
5. The lack of accountability to achieve policy goals to redress such issues.

Goals of the Forum

1. making regulation more effective (including different ways of defining property interestsand managing these) such as through:


• coordination of regulations and regulatory enforcement
• different regulatory design to reduce transaction/enforcement costs
• conditional property titles, such as rolling title and conditional or temporary titles


2. using markets and incentives to meet social and environmental policy goals, these to include


• different ways of pricing eco-system services (including leveraging the investment that government makes to provide these services;
• different ways of ensuring that the harm-doers to the environment meet the full costs of that harm;
• innovative ways to use voluntarism to support environmental and social objectives
• market-based trading systems (like a cap and trade approach used to control emissions) to manage issues like seagrass degradation, crowding of foreshores and waterways with private facilities
• achieve social goals including effective recognition of Aboriginal interests, providing for the needs of the less advantaged; and
• better ways of balancing and managing different types of recreational use, such as impact-costed use licenses or differential rights of access.

Our aim is an action program for the Hacking (as the practical experiment) rather than an abstract set of ideas.

From talk to action

A tight format for the materials for the Forum has been adopted so that the material can be efficiently captured and reported. The aim is that the outputs will be turned into a report that can be actioned.

The event is structured as a two day event, day 1 being ‘information and ideas sharing’ (with expert speakers and some discussion) and day 2 being ‘action planning’. The action planning will take place about a week or two after the public forum.

The outcome will be an in-depth report, with specific recommendations for action that can be taken up by the Catchment Management Board, the local council and relevant agencies in restructuring the management of the estuary. This in turn will be available for other resource managers and interested stakeholders.

Day 1: Program

Day 1 is intended to set the scene by putting a number of possible strategies on the table. We are proposing a limited number of topic areas, with 2 speakers per topic

9:00: Framing the problem (15 mins, 1 speaker)

Bob Spencer, Chair of the Port Hacking Management Panel.

This introduction is intended for the problem ‘owner’ to state the challenge that needs to be met. It is intended that this highlight:

1. the trajectory in the biophysical health of the Port
2. the management issues
3. the limitations to management effectiveness (policing costs, political and economic pressures etc).
4. the “owner’s” criteria for a good outcome from the forum.

This statement will be delivered as a presentation and a formal statement that has been agreed beforehand.

An Issues Survey will be handed out at this session

Bruce Thom, Chairman of the Coastal Council of NSW will chair the morning session.

9:15: Can we better use private rights to protect the public commons? (60 mins, 2 speakers)

Specification: Both rights of individuals to take action to protect the environment, and also constraints on the ability of private rights owners to exercise these in damaging ways.
1. What are the private interest and litigation issues/challenges we see in estuaries?
2. What can we do to reduce the adverse effects of private ownership expectations on public interests in estuaries?
3. What can we do to strengthen the ability of citizens to take private action in defense of natural values?
4. Some examples of the use of private rights to defend natural and social values in coastal and estuarine environments.
5. “x” solutions to consider (with arguments for these solutions).

The issues survey will be collected for processing prior to the 3:30 discussion.

Speakers (yet to be finally confirmed)
• Jessica Simpson
• Angus Gordon

Can we use markets where markets don’t yet exist? (60 mins, 2 speakers)

Specification: Opportunities to extend market solutions to issues like loss of seagrasses, control of foreshore over-development, reducing permissive occupancies.
1. What are the market behaviour issues/challenges we see in estuaries?
2. How and where might we go about creating markets to better defend the natural values of estuaries?
3. What are the practicalities we would have to address in making such markets work?
4. Some examples of the use of market instruments to defend natural and social values in coastal and estuarine environments.
5. “x” solutions to consider (with arguments for these solutions).
Speakers (yet to be finally confirmed)
• Professor Robert Marks, Australian Graduate School of Management
• Others TBA

How can we create a regulatory framework that is cost-effective for estuaries? (60 mins, 2 speakers)

Specification: speakers who understand the conceptual frameworks (economic, regulatory) for considering regulation of foreshore land use (zoning, developments etc) and waterway use (boating, fishing activities, contamination etc).
1. What are the regulatory design issues/challenges/problems we see in estuaries?
2. How can we build in efficiency in regulation from the design stage?
3. How can we manage transaction costs of implementation to better defend natural values of estuaries?
4. What can we do to limit the adverse impacts of political agency and ‘negotiability’ in the design and implementation of regulation?
5. What can be done to ensure regulatory accountability for biophysical and social outcomes?
6. Some examples of superior regulation (particularly for coast and estuarine areas)
7. “x” solutions to consider (with arguments for these solutions).
Speakers (yet to be finally confirmed)
• Paul Martin, Chair, Southern Catchment Management Board
• Others TBA

How can we get a fully credible and effective governance approach for estuaries? (60 mins, 2 speakers)

Paul Martin to Chair the afternoon session

Specifications: The total system to make policy effective, to provide proper supervision and outcome accountability.
1. What are the governance issues we see in coasts and estuaries?
2. How can we secure multi-tiered policies that really will defend natural values and encourage innovation in doing so?
3. What are the ways in which we can ensure effective monitoring, and encourage continuing refinement and improvement in the governance of estuaries?
4. How can we deliver the right information, to the right people, at the right time, to make the right decisions?
5. How do we ensure that the defense of social and natural values is not lost in the processes of consultation, administration and litigation?
6. Some examples of the ways in which better models of governance have been used to defend natural and social values in coasts and estuaries.
7. “x” solutions to consider (with arguments for these solutions).
Speakers (yet to be finally confirmed)
• Professor Bruce Thom, Chair, Coastal Council of NSW
• Jeremy Dawkin (TBC)

How do we get effective voluntary protection of natural and social values? (60 mins, 2 speakers)

Specification: Looking at both active involvementand also voluntary conservation including different mechanisms for transfer of lands etc. Also various forms of Voluntary Conservation Agreement.
1. What are the ways in which voluntary action can be used in defence of natural and social values in estuaries?
2. What can be done to support individual voluntary action on private lands?
3. What can be done to strengthen collective action on public and private lands?
4. What can be done to ensure voluntary ‘best practice’ in how the commons are used?
5. Some examples of the ways in which voluntary action has been used to defend natural and social values in coasts and estuaries.
6. “x” solutions to consider (with arguments for these solutions).
Speakers (yet to be finally confirmed)
• Mellissa Bradbury
• Other TBC

Participating in preserving social and natural values of estuaries

Les Robinson to moderate the resolution of issues. The intent is to expand on/brainstorm ideas, and to suggest directions for change. These would then be picked up as part of the Day 2 (Directions for Implementation) core agenda.

Publication format and approach

Each speaker will be fully briefed at the outset, and as their paper moves towards finalisation, to try to ensure that the ideas are as comprehensive and well developed as possible. We have various items of support material and ideas that we can input into the preparation.

There is a tight format for the papers:
1. each paper be turned into a 2 page summary, with a common format (see attachment 1); together with
2. each concept for possible solutions be turned into a 1 page summary (see attachment 2)
3. participants would be invited to put forward other possible solutions, in the period between the Symposium and the Workshop, but they have to follow the format.
4. The papers from the whole event would be in the form of:
1. An introduction that outlines the purpose and process used;
2. Each of the expert papers, preferably abbreviated form, with the summary of the paper in the form of Attachment 1, together with the specific concepts in the form of Attachment 2
3. Other contributed concepts in the form of Attachment 2.
4. A summary of the moderated discussion outcomes; and
5. a report on Directions for Implementation out of the 1 day workshop.
That would give the whole thing a very specific shape and outcomes focus.

Attachment 1: Summary of papers

Topic

This would be a moderated discussion, with a well developed process, to expand on/brainstorm ideas, and to suggest directions for change. These would then be picked up as part of the Day 2 (Directions for Implementation) core agenda.

Issues addressed

This would be a moderated discussion, with a well developed process, to expand on/brainstorm ideas, and to suggest directions for change. These would then be picked up as part of the Day 2 (Directions for Implementation) core agenda. This would be a moderated discussion, with a well developed process, to expand on/brainstorm ideas, and to suggest directions for change. These would then be picked up as part of the Day 2 (Directions for Implementation) core agenda.

Examples of the issues

This would be a moderated discussion, with a well developed process, to expand on/brainstorm ideas, and to suggest directions for change. These would then be picked up as part of the Day 2 (Directions for Implementation) core agenda.

Examples of concepts or solutions

This would be a moderated discussion, with a well developed process, to expand on/brainstorm ideas, and to suggest directions for change. These would then be picked up as part of the Day 2 (Directions for Implementation) core agenda.



Attachment 2: Concepts for consideration

The Issues Addressed

This would be a moderated discussion, with a well developed process, to expand on/brainstorm ideas, and to suggest directions for change. These would then be picked up as part of the Day 2 (Directions for Implementation) core agenda.

The essence of the solution

This would be a moderated discussion, with a well developed process, to expand on/brainstorm ideas, and to suggest directions for change. These would then be picked up as part of the Day 2 (Directions for Implementation) core agenda.

Examples of this solution in action

This would be a moderated discussion, with a well developed process, to expand on/brainstorm ideas, and to suggest directions for change. These would then be picked up as part of the Day 2 (Directions for Implementation) core agenda.

The Principles

This would be a moderated discussion, with a well developed process, to expand on/brainstorm ideas, and to suggest directions for change. These would then be picked up as part of the Day 2 (Directions for Implementation) core agenda.

Readings and Sources

This would be a moderated discussion, with a well developed process, to expand on/brainstorm ideas, and to suggest directions for change. These would then be picked up as part of the Day 2 (Directions for Implementation) core agenda.

This Page will updated with:

• Biographies
• Abstracts from presentations

Soon