Applying the policy solutions in the Cadiz Bay#
Description#
The Cadiz Bay test site stands out within T6.2 as a unique example where policy solutions were specifically tailored to address test site-level barriers. This focused approach was shaped through in-depth discussions with the CoP members, enabling the identification of local challenges and the co-creation of solutions. Unlike other test sites, where broader frameworks were applied, Cadiz Bay served as a pilot for developing specific strategies to overcome its barriers in management, stakeholder engagement, and institutional coordination. This process exemplifies the potential of localized, participatory approaches to foster effective and context-sensitive MSP.
In general, Cadiz Bay test site faces a couple of challenges that hinder its potential as a model for integrated management and sustainable development. Currently, the area lacks a cohesive management framework that encompasses the Bay and its several natural parks. Public participation in environmental management, especially in the contexts of MSP and MPAs, remains ineffective, limiting stakeholder engagement and community buy-in. Institutional collaboration and coordination are fragmented, with significant gaps among various entities responsible for managing the protected areas. This disjointed approach impedes the instrumental integration of different tools, plans, and measures within the Bay, leading to inefficiencies and missed opportunities for holistic management.
Cadiz Bay requires a paradigm shift to be viewed as a socio-ecosystem rather than through sectoral lenses. This perspective emphasizes land-sea integration, recognizing the interconnectedness of natural and human systems. Existing mechanisms for public participation, such as the “Junta Rectora” of the Cadiz Bay Natural Park, fall short in representativeness and fail to meaningfully engage stakeholders. Moreover, inadequate information dissemination exacerbates this problem, leaving many stakeholders uninformed and unable to participate effectively.
Core guiding questions
Addressing these challenges necessitates developing an integrated management framework for Cadiz Bay. The guiding questions shaping this effort include:
GQ1: How to transform participation in cultural behavior?
GQ2: How to move from participation to engagement and co-creation, transforming participation in cultural behavior?
GQ3: How to create a culture of collaboration among responsible institutions?
Developing a shared agenda and securing funding
Description: Establish a collaborative agenda with clear guidelines for Cadiz Bay, supported by adequate financial resources to ensure its implementation. This agenda should reflect shared goals and priorities among all stakeholders.
Step 1: Define a shared agenda or guidelines (a strategy) to the entire Cadiz Bay as a socio-ecosystem
Take advantage of the role of the University as independent actor to lead or speed the process of achieving agreements
Agree on common intersectoral priorities or goals shared to Cadiz Bay among sectors, administrations, institutions, and other relevant stakeholders.
Agree on the scope of Cadiz Bay as a socio-ecosystem, considering land-sea interactions and relevant marine planning tools (South-Atlantic Demarcation: Marine Spatial Plan and Marine Strategies), for example with the development of offshore windfarms or new MPAs.
Rationale of the proposal:
Cadiz Bay lacks a unified agenda that considers the entire socio-ecosystem, making it necessary to establish shared goals among stakeholders to improve coordination and public participation, with the University of Cadiz positioned as a neutral leader to facilitate this process.
**Practical experience to be inspired by: **
The ICZM Strategy for the Mar Menor coastal lagoon successfully implemented a Joint Declaration to unify goals for managing the socio-ecosystem effectively.
Step 2: Create a Fund for the Cadiz Bay to develop the previous agreed agenda or guidelines to the Cadiz Bay
The Fund can facilitate collaboration between different stakeholders in Cadiz Bay.
**Rationale of the proposal: **
A dedicated fund for Cadiz Bay, established by competent authorities, is essential to implement the agreed objectives and guidelines, demonstrating political support and encouraging local managers to work consistently toward long-term goals.
**Practical experience to be inspired by: **
The ICZM Strategy for the Mar Menor lagoon, initially funded by European funds, transitioned to a locally supported fund to ensure sustainable, long-term management of its socio-ecosystem goals.
Stakeholder opinions: Positive
CoP interactions in Cadiz Bay test site revealed strong stakeholder support for two proposals: designing a shared agenda or strategy for the Bay of Cádiz as a socio-ecosystem and creating a dedicated fund linked to the implementation of this agenda. Participants identified the potential to unify local, provincial, and regional efforts into a single platform while addressing the lack of collaborative political culture in the Bay as a significant barrier. Suggestions included establishing recognized seals of good practices, leveraging existing decrees and agreements to align proposed actions, and fostering a metropolitan vision to guide integrated management. Stakeholders emphasized the importance of a joint declaration by municipalities to solidify political and social commitment, enabling a cohesive approach to both terrestrial and marine management within the Bay.
The creation of a dedicated fund for the Bay was viewed as essential to ensure the sustainability of integrated projects and reduce reliance on sporadic funding. However, consolidating dispersed resources into a single, stable pool was recognized as a significant challenge. Stakeholders proposed securing adequate budgets to motivate municipalities and advance a shared vision, with the University of Cádiz positioned as a neutral facilitator to strengthen governance and coordination. Recommendations included starting with scalable objectives and progressively advancing towards higher levels of collaboration, incorporating the ecological and socio-economic importance of the inner Bay into management plans, and leveraging existing agreements to propose a supraregional strategy. Highlighting achievements, such as the approval of the SIPAM proposal by the United Nations and the FAO’s recognition of the salt marsh system, was also suggested to build momentum and mobilize support for the initiatives.
**Enhancing coordination mechanisms **
Description: Implement robust coordination mechanisms to facilitate effective collaboration among institutions. These mechanisms should address the current gaps in communication and planning, ensuring alignment and synergy across all efforts.
Step 1: Create or reformulate previous existing platforms for collaboration and coordination between the Cadiz Bay responsible institutions (vertical & horizontal coordination)
Define an official space for meetings
The coordination mechanism should meet periodically to develop the agenda/guidelines of the Cadiz Bay
Increase the quality and ensure proper frequency of meetings to achieve ongoing and meaningful engagement.
Implement structured engagement processes that include representatives from all relevant administrations and sectors within the Cadiz Bay.
The minutes of every meeting should be published to ensure transparency
Ensure instrumental integration to achieve the shared objectives/priorities defined by the agenda/guidelines of the Cadiz Bay
**Rationale of the proposal: **
Management problems in Cadiz Bay usually go beyond the competences of the relevant authorities, so the responses and goals established by the proposed Cadiz Bay agenda/guidelines will also cut across the administrative borders of the Bay.
**Practical experiences to be inspired: **
The Mar Menor ICZM strategy created two coordination bodies for the lagoon. The first was focused on policy-decision making coordination, and therefore is composed by high-level managers or politicians. The second has a technical-operative character and is created for coordination among managers of different institutions/administrations acting in the Mar Menor.
Step 2: Enhance coordination with MSP South-Atlantic Demarcation
Enlarge the role of existing inter-ministerial committees from merely providing information to actively participating in decision-making and project implementation.
Create and empower regional monitoring committees per marine planning area to include representatives from all relevant bodies, granting them greater authority in oversight and decision-making processes.
Identify/create a regional authority/leader within the Autonomous Communities to ensure land-sea coordination in the marine planning areas.
Implement regular feedback mechanisms and public consultations to tailor cultural transformations better.
Stakeholder Opinions: Cautious
Most CoP members expressed reservations about the proposal to create or reformulate a collaborative forum for institutional coordination, citing previous unsuccessful experiences with similar forums as a significant barrier. Participants emphasized that existing institutional challenges, such as the absence of a “Bay Commission” and fragmented mechanisms, require targeted solutions beyond simply establishing another forum. Suggestions included creating a “Coast to Coast Commission” at the provincial level to periodically unite stakeholders and clarify the role of the Junta de Andalucía in advancing the shared Cadiz Bay agenda.
To address coordination challenges, stakeholders recommended reviewing and unifying existing plans to identify overlaps, engage key entities like the Port Authority and Coastal Demarcation in decision-making, and ensure regulatory enforcement for sustainable activities. Additionally, they highlighted the importance of involving the private sector by improving legal security and simplifying administrative procedures to facilitate investment. Practical steps such as developing technical guidelines, simplifying laws, and using scenario-based techniques to align stakeholder aspirations were also suggested to translate initiatives into concrete, actionable outcomes with visible short-term impacts.
**Strengthening stakeholder engagement: **
Description: Design and operationalize mechanisms to engage stakeholders actively in the development and implementation of the Cadiz Bay agenda. This includes improving existing participation tools, ensuring representativeness, and fostering meaningful co-creation processes.
Step 1: Establish structured engagement processes:
Reform and strengthen bodies like the “Junta Rectora”, or create a new one for the Cadiz Bay, to ensure broader and more effective stakeholder representation and decision-making.
Implement structured engagement processes that include representatives from all regions and sectors affected by policies, adapted to both marine-coastal management and cultural programs.
Increase the frequency and quality of meetings to ensure ongoing and meaningful engagement.
Step 2: Training and education:
Provide training and education opportunities for local authorities and stakeholders on coastal-marine management principles, tools, and best practices. This builds local capacity to engage effectively in the planning process.
Develop a comprehensive guideline that integrates extensive stakeholder engagement, respects local cultural practices, and empowers local governance to effectively manage marine and coastal areas.
Step 3: Expert exchange programs:
Facilitate exchange programs with regions that have established successful MSP or MPA practices including local level (e.g., Latvia), allowing local planners to gain firsthand experience and knowledge.
Step 4: Co-creation workshops:
Involve diverse community stakeholders in the co-creation and participation of cultural programs, ensuring respect for and integration of their views and traditions. In addition, organize workshops where community members can actively co-create cultural content, ensuring their voices and ideas are integral to the development process.
Stakeholder opinions: Positive
The CoP interactions highlighted strong support for proposals aimed at transforming participation into a cultural behavior and shifting from participation to engagement and co-creation within the Bay of Cádiz. Key endorsed actions include reforming and strengthening existing mechanisms, implementing structured participation processes, and fostering more frequent and meaningful stakeholder meetings. Training and education initiatives, expert exchange programs, and co-creation workshops were also emphasized as important steps to build capacity and promote interdisciplinary collaboration. Opportunities identified include developing communication plans, promoting citizen science methodologies like Coastwatch, and leveraging public spaces for awareness campaigns. However, barriers such as the passive nature of previous participation efforts, limited collaboration culture, and the novelty of co-creation approaches were recognized as challenges to overcome.
Participants also proposed additional strategies to address these guiding questions. Suggestions included strengthening the sense of identity and belonging to the Bay by linking its cultural, historical, and natural values and engaging stakeholders through positive marketing and communication efforts. Workshops to visualize future scenarios, testimonials from other regions, and concise educational reports were recommended to promote collaboration and public awareness. Other ideas included identifying positive catalysts for collective action, reconnecting urban and natural visions for the Bay, and encouraging entrepreneurial investment in restoring salt flats. These comprehensive and creative approaches aim to foster an active, engaged, and collaborative community for the sustainable management of the Bay of Cádiz.
Beyond the three guiding questions, discussions among CoP members and regional actors brought valuable insights, including the need to identify common issues, leverage climate change as a unifying catalyst, adopt preventive approaches, carefully consider the geographical scope, and secure funding for problem identification to enhance the management of the Bay of Cádiz.