The population and development pressures that coastal areas experience generate a number of critical problems and policy issues and raise serious and difficult challenges for coastal planners.In many parts of the world, access to detailed information about the coast is considered a very sensitive issue, primarily due to concerns over national security. These restrictive national security and pricing policy regarding marine and coastal data lead to coastal data being withheld from stakeholders and the general public. Other issues also need to be taken into account, including the need for harmonised data access policies and exploitation rights for spatial information, particularly that collected by public sector agencies across different nations and even within single governments (Bartlett et al. 2004). These issues add to the institutional challenges described above, showing that current management strategies are ‘fragmented, complex and poorly understood’ (Neely et al. 1998).
Many coastal management issues could be overcome if a spatial data platform that enables a holistic, integrated and coordinated approach to spatial information for decision-making existed. SDI provides an enabling platform enhancing decision-making and facilitating a holistic approach to management (Strain et al. 2004).
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