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Learning and local government in coastal South Australia: towards a community of practice framework for adapting to global change
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Learning and local government in coastal South Australia: towards a community of practice framework for adapting to global change

Melissa Nursey-Bray, Nick Harvey and Timothy F. Smith
Regional environmental change, Vol.16(3), pp.733-746
01/03/2016

Abstract

Australia coastal management community of practice global change local government
Social learning can be a vital tool in assisting communities to adapt to change. Local governments can be a conduit between the communities they serve and the policy that they are trying to implement. Social learning in this context can be an iterative, often organic process. Based on a case study of coastal planning in South Australia, Australia, this paper presents the results of a qualitative mixed-method approach that documents the aspects of social learning within coastal management and evaluates the various lessons learned by local governments in South Australia. The role of social learning and adaptive governance is discussed. The paper concludes that by deliberatively incorporating the notion of communities of practice into learning frameworks, local governments can more effectively manage their coastal zones in response to global change.

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