Beyond the shoreline: making sense of coexistence for the marine governance realm

Sammendrag

Coexistence, a concept long explored in other disciplines, has recently gained prominence in marine governance, driven by growing pressures from ocean industrialization and blue growth. In marine governance, it is commonly used to describe industry spatial and temporal overlap in the ocean; however, such a narrow definition is uncommon in other disciplines. This study examines how coexistence is conceptualized in other disciplines and explores how these insights can inform marine governance. Through a scoping review (PRISMA-ScR), we screened 1,908 articles and analyzed 22 that provided conceptual frameworks, principles, or definitions of coexistence. These articles emphasized deliberate decision making and relationships between at least two biological entities, including humans. Most of the 22 articles originated from the discipline of conservation sciences, indicating a richer conceptual discourse compared with other fields such as international affairs, anthropology, sociology, philosophy, and minority studies. Coexistence emerges as a multidimensional process that extends beyond spatial and temporal considerations to encompass social, cultural, and institutional aspects, balancing human and nonhuman interests in dynamic contexts. In fact, coexistence often exists not as a concept with a single definition, but as a collection of guiding principles. For applications to marine governance, we identify four guiding principles: process orientation, context sensitivity, willingness, and adaptability, and outline key challenges for each. This consolidation of coexistence principles may support marine governance actors in identifying and responding to the challenges emerging from the industrialization of the oceans in the context of blue growth. Insights from this review can help marine governance move beyond narrow spatial definitions toward approaches that foster harmony and well-being of all ocean users, human and nonhuman.