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The development of the bilateral Long Term Vision for the Scheldt Estuary between 1999 and 2001 reveals that it is possible to move from a history of conflict to cooperation in just two years. A retrospective, insider perspective is used to analyse the integrated three-layer hybrid modelling at the heart of this groundbreaking agreement. We tell an untold story of the collaborative eco-morphological modelling activity that served as a boundary object supporting communication and contributing to a model-based metaphor of the intrinsic character of the estuary – its most lasting contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of a growing emphasis on research and application of citizen engagement methods in environmental planning and management (e.g. Reed 2008; Von Korff et al. 2010), we compare three collaborative activities aimed at finding innovative coastal policy solutions in the Netherlands. In these activities, participants across the citizen, science and policy divide were involved in designing nature-based interventions for specific areas in the Netherlands. The activities are compared in terms of the theoretical promise stakeholder engagement holds for influencing participants' understanding of the respective bio-geophysical systems, the actor networks and for effecting knowledge sharing. We find local knowledge offers the potential for crafting coastal policy solutions to fit the specific bio-geophysical and societal context. The empirical analysis revealed the deep competence of local people, who generally understand their lived environment in a systemic way, and the knowledge that can be harvested to broaden and enrich the design space for coastal solutions – in addition to a willingness on the part of the stakeholders to collaborate in developing local solutions for sustainable futures. Although measures to reduce power differences and enable local knowledge inclusion served to broaden the design space for innovative solutions in our case studies, they also constrained the scientific and technical quality of the contributions from professional experts such as bio-geophysical scientists, engineers, spatial planners and policy analysts. As such, future work addressing the dilemma of integrating high quality professional inputs into coastal policy solutions founded on local expertise is advocated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The papers in this VSI describe major results from the Coastal Genesis 2 research programme in the Netherlands. • Coastal Genesis 2 aimed at the development of a future-proof long-term coastal management strategy. • Three types of papers are included: policy development, lower shoreface, and Wadden Sea tidal inlet systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Policy-oriented learning is important for decision-makers who are confronted with complex societal problems. Learning can be supported by linking policies to implementation actions and expected outcomes, which then in turn can be monitored. Unfortunately, the use of monitoring information in decision-making is often diffuse and indirect. If one accepts the importance of, and the practical limitations to the use of monitoring information in relation to policy-oriented learning, what can reasonably be expected? To what extent do actors in a policy process adhere to these expectations regarding their collection and use of information to support decision-making over time? We have studied these questions for two policy processes in coastal management, one in the Netherlands and one in South Africa; both related to infrastructures and spanning a 25-year period. Results show that actors who were driving the original policy decisions on coastal infrastructures devised monitoring strategies that addressed the issues most salient to their core responsibilities. Other issues, raised by other actors in early policy decisions, were monitored less intensively, if at all. Although understandable, this omission affected the possibilities for policy-oriented learning on these other issues, and limited the information base in subsequent policy games when these issues became more pertinent. This raises questions regarding the responsibilities for monitoring design and knowledge development in multi-actor settings. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Hydraulic engineering infrastructures, such as reservoirs, dikes, breakwaters, and inlet closures, have significantly impacted ecosystem functioning over the last two centuries. Currently, nature-based solutions are receiving increasing attention in hydraulic engineering projects and research programs. However, there is a lack of reflection on the concomitant, fundamental changes occurring in the field of hydraulic engineering, and coastal engineering in particular, and what this could mean for sustainability. In this article, we signal the shift from conventional to ecosystem-based hydraulic engineering design and characterize this in terms of four continua: (i) the degree of inclusion of ecological knowledge, (ii) the extent to which the full infrastructural lifecycle is addressed, (iii) the complexity of the actor arena taken into account, and (iv) the resulting form of the infrastructural artefact. We support our arguments with two carefully selected, iconic examples from the Netherlands and indicate how the stretching ideals of ecosystem-based engineering could engender further shifts towards sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]