Abstract

This article examines the protection of coastal areas and develops two themes. The first concerns methodology and raises a number of issues that question the fundamental approaches used in the analysis of coastal areas. These questions relate not only to conventional legal approaches, particularly the theory that the separation between land and sea constitutes the primary law of the planet – and the paradigm predicated on individual legal ownership – but also to established distinctions among law, geography, and other social sciences. The second theme posits that the integration of law and the sea, rather than their separation, is not only consistent with existing knowledge but also makes sense of the practical solutions proposed by national, international, and supranational legal frameworks. These solutions include the use of indicators and planning instruments, as well as the denial or revocation of building permits in coastal areas vulnerable to rising sea levels.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction

2. Why coastal areas?

3. Beyond Traditional Legal Theories
   3.1 Legal theories concerning coastal areas
   3.2 The separation between land and sea
   3.3 A critical analysis of the idea of separation
   3.4 Changing practices and legal standards
   3.5 From ownership to protection and usage of coastal areas

4. Boundary Crossing: Transdisciplinary Research
   4.1 Disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and Transdisciplinary research
   4.2 The pros and cons of transdisciplinary research
   4.3 Why coastal areas require transdisciplinary analysis

5. Research Outcomes (I): Knowledge
   5.1 A research for the advancement of knowledge
   5.2 Conceptions of space
   5.3 An atlas of coastal areas
   5.4 A new nomos: the integration of land and sea

6. Research Outcomes (II): Instruments
   6.1 Defining indicators
   6.2 From administrative adjudication to planning
   6.3 Best practices for involving stakeholders
   6.4 Science and law: the precautionary principle
   6.5 Rising sea levels and withdrawal of permits

7. Conclusion