Educating for the governance of coastal ecosystems: the dimensions of the challenge

There is a fundamental shift in how the problems confronting a practicing coastal manager are being defined. Coastal zone management began as an expression of an environmental protection strategy and has evolved into a promising vehicle for progressing towards more sustainable forms of development. The contemporary practice of coastal management requires integrating within a curriculum a diverse mix of knowledge and skills that emphasize the two defining features of adaptive management. These are a governance process rooted in the principles of participatory democracy and the application of the scientific principles that can produce reliable knowledge.