Power Sharing in the Coastal Zone:

Shifting Roles of Government in Community-based Coastal Management

Marine Affairs Program Seminar
Larry Hildebrand, PhD
Manager, Sustainable Community and Ecosystem Programs, Environment Canada (Atlantic Region)
Adjunct Professor of Marine Affairs and Environmental Studies at Dalhousie University

Monday March 1, 2010 | 3:00-4:00 pm

Room 308
Schulich School of Law
Dalhousie University
6061 University Avenue
Halifax, NS

Abstract:  Governments and community-based organizations can work together effectively in collaborative coastal governance initiatives by sharing many of the management functions inherent to these processes. The key to these partnerships is for the government partners to make some significant shifts in their attitude, behaviour and comfort levels in sharing power with their community-based partners.  Governments can, over time, rely on community-based organizations to take on certain management functions that are best placed for delivery at the local level.  A Ph.D. research project at Cardiff University focused on the almost 20-year old Atlantic Coastal Action Program (ACAP), demonstrated that the vast majority of the 83 management functions tested for in this program (e.g., strategic planning, partnership management, priority setting) have already shifted to a community lead, but with a strong desire for government involvement.  It is important to note that this shifting of responsibilities is not an abrogation by government of its legal rights, obligations and accountabilities, but rather a recognition that community-based organizations can have the capacity, commitment and on-the-ground partnerships to take on the responsibility for local leadership and action.

Bio:  Larry Hildebrand is the Manager of Sustainable Community and Ecosystem programs for Environment Canada in the Atlantic Region and Adjunct Professor of Marine Affairs and Environmental Studies at Dalhousie University. Larry is also active in the coastal and ocean NGO sector, serving as an executive board member of the Coastal Zone Canada Association, the Canadian Coastal Science & Engineering Association, The U.S. Coastal Society and the Elizabeth Mann Borgese Centre for Ocean Governance. Larry has also served in various academic and training/capacity building efforts with colleagues at Dalhousie and other institutions in Vietnam, China, Philippines, Cuba, Uruguay, Mexico, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sweden, Iceland and Canada. He has conducted external evaluations of coastal management projects for UNDP/GEF in Cuba and Belize, served on the editorial boards for the journals Coastal Management and Ocean & Coastal Management, represented Canada on international coastal and ocean policy working groups for the OECD and Convention on Biological Diversity, is a frequently invited keynote speaker at domestic and international coastal management conferences, and has published extensively in various books, peer-reviewed journals, government reports and conference proceedings.

Larry is the recipient of the H.B. Nicholls Award for Significant Achievement in the Field of Coastal Zone Management in Canada and the Public Service Award of Excellence for Exemplary Contribution under Extraordinary Circumstances, the latter following his mission to Thailand immediately following the 2004 Asian tsunami.  Dr. Hildebrand has degrees in marine biology and coastal zone management and recently completed his Ph.D. at Cardiff University in Wales.  He will be presenting on his doctoral research.