5. Conclusion
In overall assessment of the role of the social sciences in ocean and coastal
management, three themes may be highlighted. The first of these is the academic
contribution to management. Although all subjects are important, some have
developed much more in a management context than others. The contributions of
law and to a lesser extent economics are outstanding, the former in professional
practice as well as academic study contexts. Geography has also made a notable
contribution the past 20 years. The significance of the contributions of anthropology,
sociology, politics and archaeology lie rather in the academic background which
these provide to management topics, rather than in management itself.
The second theme concerns capacity building and professional practice. Here,
apart from direct social science inputs, the contribution lies primarily through
accountancy, planning, law and education channels. The means range from full
undergraduate and postgraduate taught courses and Ph.D.-level research, to a wide
and increasingly important provision of short professional courses, often run as
global networks [34]. Through professional practice, social science influences
pervade other aspects of technical management and general management functions.
The final theme concerns the role of the social sciences in contributing to
integrated ocean and coastal management. Integration can range simply from