Author Description

This book represents the results of a Flemish research project carried out in the framework of the European Interreg IIIB North-West Europe Project COREPOINT (Coastal Research and Policy Integration). It consists of a thorough scientific analysis of two policy processes in the Belgian marine and coastal environment: the designation of the marine protected areas and the drawing up of provincial spatial implementation plans for beaches and sea dikes. The book analyzes the legal framework and the concrete application of this for both cases. Central to the book is the question in which ways these policy processes have worked out and, in particular, what role participation played in this. In order to answer this question, the researchers analyzed documents and the related scientific literature. Additionally, they conducted a series of in-depth interviews with representatives of different spheres of society: state (politicians and public servants), civil society, and market. In the description of the policy processes, attention is given to the roles of various agents and coalitions (networks), the distribution of power, and the current rules, as well as the policy discourses used. Who Rules the Coast? provides inspiration for scientists, those involved in making policy, as well as all of those who make their living from the sea or use it during their leisure time.