Integrated Coastal Management: 'Wicked' Problems and 'Clumsy' Solutions

Abstract

In response to increased pressure on coastal systems, integrated coastal management and planning has emerged as a comprehensive approach to involve multiple users within decision-making. The deliberative spaces in which public participation occurs consist of complex social processes where the "wickedness‟ of integrated coastal management problems can be observed. Using Cultural Theory, conflicting rationalities within an in-class roundtable exercise were identified to expose the "wicked‟ nature of coastal problems. In response to these conflicts, students within the roundtable exercise incorporated multiple perspectives into decision-making to reach "clumsy‟ but integrated solutions. Observations of the roundtable exercise indicate that "wicked‟ problems and "clumsy‟ solutions offer an appropriate framework for navigating the deliberative spaces of integrated coastal planning.