Governance for Sustainable Development of Estuarine Areas - Assessing Alternative Models for Ria de Aveiro, Portugal

Estuaries are areas where multifaceted environmental systems coexist and are often intensively used by various economic activities. The promotion of sustainability in these areas, where conservation and economic development are usually seen as conflicting purposes, plead for careful balancing. Moreover, estuaries are areas where different public agencies and management instruments often overlap and where the various users show conflicting interests. Their complexity and dynamism increase uncertainty in decision-making processes and challenge the design of governance systems. The current governance model of Ria de Aveiro, a coastal lagoon and estuarine area in central Portugal, has shown to be inadequate to face the persistent problems and emergent challenges brought, among other aspects, by sustainable development and climate change. The environmental protection and economic valorization of this large and rich lagoon area, a concern integrated in the Integrated Strategy for Territorial Development of the Aveiro Region 2014-2020, require particular care from the different levels of government and consequently the adoption of priorities and measures able to secure its sustainable development and to improve its resilience. This article develops a critical analysis about the governance of Ria de Aveiro. The methodological approach includes four phases. First, it presents a brief literature review, highlighting the main concepts and challenges relevant for the governance of estuaries and their sustainability. Five key factors are selected to be later used as terms for assessment of governance models, namely: i. aquatic ecosystems; ii. ecosystem-based management; iii. knowledge; iv. coordination of sector policies; and v. involvement of stakeholders in the decision-making process. Second, it identifies and analysis the weaknesses and inadequacies of the current governance model of Ria de Aveiro requiring attentive transformation in order to face the problems and challenges of this estuarine area, using the key factors referred above. Third, it identifies alternative governance models and assesses their potential, adequacy and viability within the legal and traditional political culture. Finally, it proposes a way to enrich and improve the current model within the actual legal and institutional framework, able to better face new or persistent challenges. The article concludes that estuarine areas such as Ria de Aveiro require integrated governance schemes able not only to deal with multifactor, multisector and multilevel issues but also with uncertainty and vulnerability. They must be bounded by an interactive and adaptive learning process, through which governance agencies, stakeholders and citizens are engaged in shared governance processes, credible communication platforms and willingness to build collective visioning. It is, however, necessary to ensure the identification and articulation of values, expectations, rules, measures and resources. Independently of the model to be adopted, these should be materialized into a framework for decision-making, such as an action plan, emerging from a collaborative process.