Legal frameworks for adaptive governance in marine protected areas: An English case study

Adaptive governance is increasingly promoted as a framework for managing change in complex social-ecological systems, yet its legal underpinnings and practical implementation in marine conservation law remain underexplored. This study investigates how English inshore marine conservation law-specifically the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (MCAA), enables or constrains adaptive governance in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). We apply an operational framework of four key adaptive governance principles, social learning, reflexivity, planned review, and participatory decision-making, to analyze both statutory provisions and their implementation by Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCAs). Through a combination of doctrinal legal analysis and semi-structured interviews with IFCA practitioners, we reveal that while the MCAA contains mechanisms supportive of adaptive governance, their effectiveness is constrained by limited institutional capacity, funding shortfalls, and bureaucratic delays. Our findings expose a critical implementation gap between legal design and governance delivery. By bridging conceptual and empirical insights, this research offers grounded lessons for improving MPA governance under climate-driven change, demonstrating that enabling legislation must be matched by institutional support to realize its adaptive potential.