Governance Innovation for Coastal Wetlands: Dependencies, Challenges, and Opportunities in the Valencian Community

 Coastal wetlands rank among the world’s essential ecosystems, and yet, despite decades of conservation
 efforts, they continue to face degradation, transformation, and loss. This ongoing decline underscores the
 need for innovative approaches to their governance. However, much of the existing literature remains
 broadly focused on littoral governance and does not address the specific challenges of coastal wetland
 planning and management. In response, this article provides a specific assessment of coastal wetland
 governance, examining challenges and opportunities across five key dimensions: land–sea management
 integration, scientific knowledge, stakeholder participation, strategic foresight, and digital tools. Grounded in
 the evolutionary governance theory and informed by a focus group and in‐depth interviews, the study
 explores the extent to which innovative strategies drive the evolution of governance in six protected littoral
 wetlands of the Valencian Community: l’Albufera, El Hondo, Lagunas de La Mata y Torrevieja, Marjal de
 Pego‐Oliva, Prat de Cabanes‐Torreblanca, and Salinas de Santa Pola. The findings reveal that the
 opportunities linked to dependencies in the Valencian context can help to overcome barriers to innovation,
 particularly in the areas of scientific knowledge, stakeholder involvement, and e‐governance tools. Notably,
 common obstacles persist across the five dimensions, including the lack of coordination between
 government bodies, rigid regulations, frequent political changes, and funding instability, all of which
 underline the critical importance of addressing institutional and organizational dependencies.