The vision for our coast A biologically and culturally rich, diverse coastal, estuarine and marine environment that is managed for its protection, sustainable use and enjoyment today and for future generations. London Bridge Beach, Mornington Peninsula National Park. Our connection with the coast Today, as for thousands of years, we treasure the Victorian coast. We live and work in coastal communities or spend our leisure time there. We are fortunate so much of our coastline is quite intact and most of it is in public hands, making it available to all. Most people have special memories of beach holidays with families and friends: swimming, surfing and playing, rock hopping, and bush adventuring. Each of us has a favourite place - it may be the endless beaches and fishing towns of East Gippsland, the peace and quiet of the Gippsland Lakes and Corner Inlet, the granite coast and wild bush of the Prom, or the holiday feel of Phillip Island and its rollicking penguins and seals. Then there are the seagrass and bird habitats of Western Port, and Port Phillip Bay's extensive playground set amongst sandy beaches, heritage and maritime landscapes and shipping terminals. While the surf beaches and maritime history of the west coast and the magnificent Great Ocean Road can never be forgotten. Many of us have looked with wonder at middens in the dunes and on cliff tops, imagining the gatherings Aboriginal people have shared around campfires for thousands of years. There is a sense of remoteness and distance from daily clutter and noise, even around Port Phillip Bay at the end of a long day at work. We love the long views, the silence at night or the sound of waves against the beach. The coast is a symbol for getting away from it all - by walking quietly in the bush and spotting wildlife, sitting on a headland and taking in a sunrise, sunset or a moonrise, fishing on a jetty, promenading on a pier, running along the beach, diving beneath the sea surface, sailing, sipping a coffee, reading the paper, watching the weather roll in or soaking in the sun and salty air. What will our coast look like when we achieve our vision? Our planning and management frameworks will be well-established and responsive to change to ensure that communities will keep their distinctive character and beach-side feel, even when they are developed. Structures on the coast and adjoining private land will be sensitively sited and designed, incorporating well-recognised principles of good design. We will be able to experience the wilderness of the coast between one town and the next. Metropolitan beaches will be clean, safe and remain an important place to socialise. They will be more intensively used, and will vary from the cosmopolitan to the truly relaxed. The water will always be clean. The sea will nourish an incredible diversity of fish, seagrasses, mammals, crustaceans and other plants and animals - and we will know so much more about them. The shape of our coast will move and change as more and more storms buffet it due to our changing climate. Skilled coastal planners and managers will lessen the costs of damage to our coastal infrastructure, roads, drains and other facilities. Coastal plants and animals will gradually move further inland and some will be lost with the advancing sea. Private land owners will want to help protect plants and animals with their land, and volunteers, community groups and Aboriginal people will share a strong role in managing this change. The coast will increasingly become an important economic hub. It will support an ever-growing population, provide quality tourism experiences, and have sustainable commercial fishing and aquaculture, host bustling ports and shipping terminals and support well-located renewable energy facilities. This third Victorian Coastal Strategy represents our generation's determination to continue to look after and protect our coast and sustain its environmental, social and economic integrity.

10 December 2008