Towards Collaborative Coastal Management in Sri Lanka?
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Ingegerd Landström Towards Collaborative Coastal Management in Sri Lanka? A study of Special Area Management planning in Sri Lanka’s coastal region GEOGRAFISKA REGIONSTUDIER NR 70 !" # $ % &" ' ( ' ' )( (* +( , (* - .* %* + , / / 0 - 1 2 ' 2 0 - 3 * ! * $" * * .45 67" %76 87!* +( ( , ( ( '' ' ( ' - 3 * +( ( ( ' ( 2 0 920: ( ( ( 7 ( 7 ( , , ( , ( ( - ( ( ( ' * 7 ( ( ((( ( ' ( (' ' ' ( ( ( ' ' ( ( ( ' - * +( ( ' ' ' ( ( ( ,(( ( ( ( , ( ( ' ( 20 * +( ( ( ( ' ( ( ( ; , * ( ( 20 ' ( ,(( ( ,(( ( ' ' , ( ( ' ; * +( ( ( ( ( - ( 8* < , ( = ' - 3 ( ( ( ( ( ( (( * ( > < , - !" #$% & & ' ()#$*+ & ? . - % .5 8@7 @ .45 67" %76 87! & &&& 7!$! 9( &AA **A 1 B & &&& 7!$!: Table of Contents Acknowledgements .......................................................................................9 1. From government to governance in natural resource management .........13 Special Area Management planning in Sri Lanka....................................16 Object of thesis.........................................................................................20 Delimitations............................................................................................21 Outline of the thesis .................................................................................23 2. Theoretical perspectives: participation, power and place...................25 Local participation past and present: from radicalism to mainstream......26 Motives for participation: efficiency and empowerment .........................28 Towards local governance........................................................................29 Local governance through partnerships...............................................30 Political implications of local governance...........................................32 A political-geographical perspective on local governance.......................35 Local participation as “situated practice”............................................36 The heterogeneity of place ..................................................................38 3. Methodology............................................................................................39 Choice of field study areas.......................................................................39 The interview study..................................................................................40 Selecting interviewees .........................................................................41 The interviewees..................................................................................42 Interviewing in practice............................................................................43 Analysing and interpreting the interview material...................................45 Written material .......................................................................................46 Analysing written material ..................................................................48 4. The setting ...............................................................................................49 Some basic facts of Sri Lanka..................................................................49 Social welfare and poverty ..................................................................51 Economy..............................................................................................52 The administrative and political system ..............................................54 An overview of Sri Lanka’s coastal region..............................................55 The aftermath of the tsunami disaster ......................................................59 From coastal protection to collaborative coastal management ................60 Towards increasing local participation................................................62 Defining the coast ....................................................................................64 5. Special Area Management in theory and practice...............................69 Special Area Management – an introduction ...........................................69 The institutional set-up ........................................................................70 The process..........................................................................................71 Hikkaduwa Special Area Management site .............................................75 Environmental and social problems in Hikkaduwa.............................78 The Special Area Management process in Hikkaduwa .......................81 Rekawa Lagoon Special Area Management site......................................84 The SAM process in Rekawa ..............................................................85 Unawatuna Special Area Management site..............................................86 The Unawatuna SAM process .............................................................87 6. To mobilise and organise a community ................................................89 From ‘command-and-control’ to collaboration........................................90 Local civil society organisation................................................................92 Heterogeneous resource user groups........................................................94 Initiating participation ‘from above’........................................................98 Relying on individuals.......................................................................101 Conclusion..............................................................................................103 7. Ambiguity towards community participation ....................................105 Communities as co-managers.................................................................106 Communities as consultants...................................................................109 Formal authority or forum for discussion? ........................................111 Participation as a means for efficient natural resource management .....114 Environmental versus socio-political knowledge..............................117 What constitutes a successful SAM project?.....................................119 Who constitutes the community? ...........................................................120 Conclusion..............................................................................................122 8. Participation on equal terms?..............................................................125 Heterogeneous community groups.........................................................126 Strong organisation sharing interests and views................................130 “They are not educated people”.........................................................131 Having the right connections.............................................................133 Relations between the state and local actors ..........................................135 Conclusion..............................................................................................138 9. Special Area Management and international tourism.......................141 Towards sustainable tourism development through SAM .....................142 Proposals for sustainable tourism......................................................142 Sustainable tourism in practice..........................................................144 Tourism and local economic development.............................................145 Community involvement in theory but not in practice......................147 The informal tourism sector ...................................................................149 Providing opportunities for local actors ............................................150 Strained relationships ........................................................................152 A mutual dislike ................................................................................153 Towards local control and participation?...............................................155 Conclusion..............................................................................................157 10. Towards collaborative coastal management in Sri Lanka: concluding discussion ...............................................................................159 Special Area Management planning in the Sri Lankan context– a summary.................................................................................................160 Mobilising and organising a community ...........................................160 The ambiguity of community participation .......................................161 Negotiating on equal terms?..............................................................162 The SAM-strategy and international tourism ....................................163 Towards collaborative coastal management in Sri Lanka? ....................164 What can make SAM work?..............................................................165 Special Area Management planning in Sri Lanka: questions for the future ................................................................................................................166