The condition of the Australian coast is declining and facing intensifying threats from global environmental change and urbanisation – this is despite almost 50 years of integrated coastal management efforts.

We need to urgently change how we think about and manage our coastal environments, exploring new and better ways to protect Australia’s coastal values.

This research:

1. Identifies the types of social-ecological vulnerabilities in changing coastal contexts
2. Critically analyses how vulnerability and change is managed through current coastal governance approaches
3. Assesses the implications for coastal governance innovations that embrace vulnerability and change

Acknowledgement

This research is supported by the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council's Discovery Projects funding scheme (project FT180100652). The views expressed herein are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Australian Government or Australian Research Council.