Stakeholder perceptions of coastal environmental stressors in the Florida panhandle

This case study provides an evidence-based contribution to our understanding of how problems are recognized and addressed by decision-makers at the local level. Although there are a large number of policy issues at any time waiting to be addressed, decision-makers have finite time and resources to address these issues. An increasingly important issue facing coastal communities in the United States (U.S.) and around the globe is how rapid population growth and urbanization may increase vulnerability. Using a theoretical framework for public policy-making paired with qualitative methods, we assessed how stakeholders in two Florida Panhandle coastal communities perceive threats to the estuaries on which they depend. Estuarine communities are important to study because they are at the forefront of climate change impacts and the subjects of investments in preparation through public policy. Our study presents insights into current perceptions of problems in the estuaries by local stakeholders. Using a survey and key informant interviews with stakeholders from various organizations (e.g., environmental NGO groups and local government officials), we found that the preeminent issue for stakeholders was land conversion and its cascading influence on water pollution and increased vulnerability to climate change impacts. We found that stakeholders in the two sites were largely in agreement about what issues were the biggest environmental stressors. Formally identifying issues using our theoretical framework enhances our ability to be used explicitly in the policy-making process. This is a novel and important contribution to our understanding of the policy-making process at the local level and contributes to the policy-making literature more broadly.