Talking Forth: Citizen participation in seascape planning in the Inner Forth, Scotland

The Inner Forth estuary in the central belt of Scotland is a dynamic socio-ecological system, representing many other seascapes that are being rapidly shaped by both climate change, post-industrialisation, urbanisation and social deprivation. Many expert stakeholders are proposing ecosystem restoration of tidal areas, to return marshland and mudflats for natural flood management and wildlife. This policy context provides an interesting opportunity to explore and develop tools for participatory decision-making in the seascape, to incorporate local knowledge and values in planning and management. The authors will present results from a citizen-inclusive participatory process with a cross-section of people living in the Inner Forth. We will present a framework for addressing awareness gaps in terms of knowledge and world views from both local and expert perspectives. We will also highlight how five common barriers for stakeholder inclusion can be overcome during the participatory process. The results suggest that seascape governance can be improved if citizens are better informed and included in the planning and decision-making, however, their knowledge particularly regarding governance and local solutions to global drivers is limited, and more inclusive approaches to articulating stakeholder values need to be adopted.