Emma Woodward

A survey of Internet use by coastal managers was undertaken for the period June/July 2000. Results were obtained through paper based and online questionnaires. A separate screening survey gave an indication of the likely demographics of the online questionnaire respondents. Eighty-seven responses were obtained from 21 countries, with the majority from the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. The results suggest that online participants were more likely to be male, aged 25-39, live in the city and be employed by the government at State or Provincial level. Coastal managers communicate online mainly with practitioners from their own region and are most likely to access information from Web sites originating within their own region or North America.

Since the survey was undertaken, use of the Internet for coastal management has progressed. It is now used by government agencies in the public participation process to notify the public at different stages of the planning process, make draft plans available and allow interactive online discussion. Comprehensive databases of environmental information are being created, however greater interaction must be forged between information users and information technology specialists to ensure the needs of users are predetermined and used in the design of such systems.