COASTAL RESOURCE-MANAGEMENT CONFLICTS AND COMMUNITY-ACTION AT MANGAWHAI, NEW-ZEALAND

Whereas public participation and social impact assessment have become central themes in the resource management literature, direct action st rategies by local communities have received much less attention. Direc t action is likely to result when communities are affected by changes in their environment, whether these are human induced or the result of natural processes, and when agencies of the state fail to respond to the demands of the affected public in respect of such changes. Under t hese circumstances the local community might take action. This paper d escribes and analyzes community response to change in the coastal envi ronment. Mangawhai Harbour in northern New Zealand has been subject to problems relating to the management of the coastal environment since the development of a dual inlet configuration in July 1978. By the ear ly 1990s, conditions in the harbor had deteriorated in several importa nt respects. On the basis of evidence indicating that restoration work may not be successful, government agencies decided against undertakin g to control the processes that were operating, despite requests from the local community to do so. Local residents eventually initiated the ir own environmental management campaign in February 1991. This paper describes the nature of community action at Mangawhai, with reference to appropriate conceptual frameworks. The empirical component of the s tudy, based on close interaction with the community and a questionnair e survey, attempted to identify the perceived causes of environmental change, attitudes toward community leaders, and the views of the commu nity on the performance of government agencies. The research has demon strated a need for closer interaction between local communities and st ate authorities, to avoid unnecessary conflicts.