Balancing multiple landscape values (e.g. economic, biodiversity, aesthetic, spiritual), in the management of populated coastal and estuarine landscapes, is a challenge for coastal- and marine-use planning. Many such values,... [ view full abstract ]
Balancing multiple landscape values (e.g. economic, biodiversity, aesthetic, spiritual), in the management of populated coastal and estuarine landscapes, is a challenge for coastal- and marine-use planning. Many such values, despite having high perceived importance to residents in the services they provide, can be overlooked in planning because (1) their worth has not been revealed to the market, (2) many values are not confined to discrete spaces, and (3) they are not explicitly included in legislation that guides coastal planning, creating tension between different values. This tension is explored in Darwin, a tropical port city on the shore of an expansive harbour and estuarine system in northern Australia that is managed by a functional regulatory system and threatened by industrial, commercial and residential development. To explore conflict among a range of landscape values, and between the current land-use plan and landscape values, a mail survey was sent to 2000 randomly selected households within the harbour catchment. The survey contained 1) questions on respondent engagement with the harbour and foreshore, 2) socio-demographics, and 3) a mapping exercised based on an established landscape values method that allowed respondents to identify what they value, and where, in the harbour and along the foreshore. 7.5 % of households responded. Analyses were conducted to determine spatial correlation among landscape values and understand what types of people, based on socio-demographic profiles, prioritise different landscape values at different locations in and around Darwin Harbour. Preliminary results suggest that respondent age, place of residence, and years living in Darwin explained differences in spatial distribution of, and preference for, specific landscape values. Further, conflict is observed between some aspects of the current regional land-use plan and resident values; particularly relating to controversial industrial development. Long-term wellbeing of people residing in coastal and estuarine landscapes would likely be improved if residents perceived landscape values were explicitly incorporated into coastal and marine planning.
