Marine development in the UK and internationally is not currently sufficiently considering the wide range of social impacts for coastal communities, a new report finds.
The review was led by Dr Pamela Buchan, an interdisciplinary marine scientist in the University of Exeter Geography Department.
The review is one of a number of evidence bases The Crown Estate is using to inform its thinking on social impact in the marine space, as well as comprising a key resource for the wider marine industry.
The report identified that overall marine decision-making processes need revision to better recognise the pillars of social justice:
- Recognition of coastal communities and wider society as stakeholders in marine development, and the potential conflict between the wider societal benefit and more local place-based impacts.
- Procedural participation of stakeholders to enable better understanding of potential impacts and identification of alternative plans, and to fulfil the UN Human Right to participate in environmental decision-making in the marine context.
- Distribution of benefits and negative impacts in a fairer way that goes beyond the current narrow set of social impacts relating to some socio-economic outcomes.
The report calls for systematic review of social impact assessment across marine sectors.
Dr Buchan said: “This report sets out for the first time a comprehensive overview of social impact assessment in marine development in the UK and internationally that crosses marine sectors. The study also looked at how involved people can be in marine decision-making. Activities happening at sea are typically being viewed as not having any effect on nearby coastal communities – sometimes called ‘sea blindness’ – and consequently many marine decisions are made without the public being meaningfully involved.”
The report is available to download here.