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

Evaluation of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) in Europe – Final Report
Enhance stakeholder coordination and participation
Obtain a more comprehensive overview and insight of current
ICZM practices in Europe. Establish an ICZM Advisory Board
and create open stakeholder fora at European, Regional Sea
and national levels to facilitate cross-sectoral stakeholder
participation. Build on existing organisations and practices for
implementation.
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The evaluation has shown clear deficiencies in the participatory
approach to coastal zone management in most EU countries.
Even in those cases where participation is written in bold letters
in the report and strategy, these documents themselves were
not prepared respecting this principle. The questionnaires
underlined these results showing at least 50 % (to 100%) of the
statement "No" to the question if stakeholders have been
involved.
Rationale
It has become clear that most problems at the coast are still
regulated within the existing administrative borders. It is
feasible that coastal management happens at the local level
within small areas and units. But ICZM has also to tackle largescale
problems and cannot stop at particular (national) borders
if issues need to become analysed in an ecosystem or river
basin context.
Moreover, the involvement of different sectoral stakeholder
groups in ICZM development appears to be unbalanced.
Relevant actors from the fields of economic development,
social welfare, spatial planning, transport, agriculture or fishery
are often not represented, so that ICZM in practice often
becomes reduced to its environmental dimensions.
Based on a good understanding of current practices in the
different regions of Europe, suitable frameworks for bringing
stakeholders together and develop common responses to the
challenges of ICZM are required. While building on existing
organisations and partnerships, a dedicated context for the
communication and exchange should help to broaden the
identification with ICZM in different policy domains. However, at
this moment there is no structure in place at the EU or regional
level that could organise and coordinate such activities, neither
is there an organisation that could function as an independent
moderator and catalyst, accepted by all sectors and stakeholders.
In implementing this recommendation, the following actions and
costs to the EU are proposed:
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