Practitioner perspectives of wellbeing in rapidly changing Australian coastal communities

Coastal communities are situated in dynamic socio-ecological contexts at risk from the impacts of climate change and other hazards. Meaningful strategies to maintain and/or improve community wellbeing are more important than ever; and so too is understanding the impact of chosen strategies. Past research has highlighted divergence in the how problems impacting the coast are framed in policies that direct management action; hampering the ability to holistically improve wellbeing (across social, economic and environmental grounds). Yet calls to better understand whether perceptions of those responding to change also diverge, and implications for improving wellbeing in coastal areas, remain unanswered. To address this gap, we interviewed key stakeholders that respond to change (coastal managers) and seek to improve wellbeing (community service providers) in Australia's fastest growing coastal areas and used Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs theory to examine divergence and convergence in perceptions of needs attainment as indicative of progress towards improved wellbeing. All stakeholders identified inequity in the ability of community members to meet their needs, but the impact of coastal hazards on community needs were perceived differently. Coastal managers perceived greater impacts on higher order needs (self-esteem and self-actualisation) while community service providers perceived greater impacts on lower order needs (physiological). These differences shape the prioritisation of responses and highlight the need for improved multisectoral understanding and collaborative strategies to improve wellbeing in coastal areas.