Evaluation of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) in ...

Evaluation of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) in Europe – Final Report
Nonetheless, by being promoted at the EU level, ICZM has revived -
or in some cases initiated - an interest in participatory approaches in
spatial planning and environmental management on the national/
regional levels. This has led to a wide array of stakeholders participating
in the elaboration of an ICZM strategy in many cases. The result
is better coastal awareness and, to some degree, conflict management.
Regional fora and workshops, if applied, have been proven to
be good and adequate means to agree on (mostly regional) priorities,
to communicate and adjust existing and evolving policies and
legislation.
ICZM as a missing link in policies and legislation
ICZM could be the instrument to link "terrestrial" and marine legislation.
The UK Government, for example, has recognised the need to
link the Water Framework Directive and its tools with existing coastal
groups already established and promoting an ICZM approach. In
Portugal ICZM could be the link from existing legal frameworks for
spatial planning along the coast to the maritime strategy and marine
policy on the European level and the national marine policy.
Connecting
policies
The relevance and contribution of national ICZM approaches on the
EU level will strongly depend on how the Commission itself will
translate ICZM in their Maritime Policy and the Maritime Strategy.
Instruments to encourage enforcement and tailored in strong recognition
of regional conditions are required. It is hoped by many stakeholders
that the current debate on the EU maritime policy may
endorse the principles of ICZM in an open dialogue.
Socio-economic benefits
The report on the Assessment of Socio-Economic Costs & Benefits of
ICZM has shown that “More coherent spatial planning“, "Improved
decision making” and “Better partner understanding" are major
advantages in areas with ICZM and thus improve the acceptance of
management measures taken at the coast. A cost/ benefit analysis for
the EU countries shows higher benefit ratios in countries where ICZM
principles are respected.
Proven
socio-economic
benefits
This means that an EU-wide implementation of ICZM would not only
place ecological issues more in the focus of existing spatial and other
planning mechanisms but also improve the livelihood and employment
of the coastal population and thus impact economy and social
communities in often underdeveloped areas. This aspect merits
further investigation in the future when ICZM will be implemented in
more regions.
Socio-economic benefits vary from country to country depending on
the level of available investment and degree of innovation. Thus, for
example, habitat retention and enhancement may account for most of
the ICZM benefits in highly developed countries such as Scandinavian
countries and Germany, whereas industry and tourism benefits
may dominate for the New Member States (such as Poland, Estonia,
Latvia and Lithuania or the Black Sea states (Bulgaria and Romania).
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