On the nature and utility of natural boundaries for land and marine administration

Abstract

The notion of using ‘natural boundaries’ to administer land and marine environments is gaining traction: a legislative study conducted upon Australian jurisdictions confirms these boundaries are being increasingly embedded into administration systems. However, the desire to utilize natural boundaries is impeded by disparate understandings of the concept. Therefore, this paper introduces a new model for understanding natural boundaries across disciplines. The study synthesizes earlier understandings of natural boundaries into an easily understood conceptual model: one flexible enough for use by practitioners from a range of disciplines, but also complex enough to enable administrative design. It is suggested all natural boundaries have five key elements: perception, purpose, presence, point-in-time and presentation. Considered together these elements help uniformly define natural boundaries. The model aims to provide a uniform description of natural boundaries for use in multi-disciplinary fields such as land and marine administration. Moreover, it will help determine what type of administrative approach is most appropriate for certain natural phenomena. While further quantitative testing is required, the model has the potential to enable multi-disciplinary discourse and to guide the design of future land and marine administrative systems.