Trust and knowledge exchange in coastal settings

Integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) involves multiple stakeholders operating through multiple processes and levels. This makes ICZM challenging. Trust is a critical ingredient for ensuring that the diverse understandings, perspectives and forms of knowledge about the coast are appropriately considered in decision-making. However, the number and diversity of stakeholders with an interest in the coast means that building and maintaining trust is challenging. Drawing on insights from 42 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders involved in coastal management in Victoria, Australia, this paper contributes to an improved understanding of the importance of trust in coastal zone management and what might be done to enhance it. In doing so, the importance of trust in coastal zone management is reinforced; stakeholders' perspectives on who they trust to obtain advice from, and why, are unpacked; and the broader implications for coastal zone management are discussed.