pdf - Ministry of Environment and Forests

1.3 Coastal Zone Management - International Best Practices
1.3.1 Developed countries
(i) United States of America
It is estimated that about 60% of the population are living along the coastal areas of
USA. The maritime jurisdiction is 12 nautical miles from the shore. The major coastal and
marine issues are discharge of effluents , decline in fishery stocks, development of off-shore
oil platforms , coastal erosion and natural coastal hazards including storm surges. For the
purpose of protecting the coastal environment, USA has issued marine and coastal sectoral
laws in 1972, which is called Coastal Zone Management Act in 1972. The Act lays-down a
framework for voluntary cooperation between Federal Government and coastal States. The
approach for coastal zone management is top down and bottom up and is focused on
regulatory mechanism including coastal planning.
The Coastal Zone Management is supervised by National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) of Department of Commerce. The Coastal Zone includes coastal
waters upto 3 miles of shore with land boundary being flexible in order to protect the sea
from the effects of land based activities or to deal with sea level rise. The Act identifies 10
National Policy objectives such as Protection of natural resources, coastal development,
public access, etc. Each coastal State brings out its own Act such as California Coastal Act
of 1976, Connecticut Coastal Management Act, Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management
Programme. Federal grants are provided to the coastal States to develop, administer and
manage the programmes. The main activities at all levels of government are directly linked.
Under the Coastal Zone Management Authority all three levels of government, federal, state
and local, are given important roles to play and considerable flexibility in defining those
roles.
At the national level the OCRM is the administering office. It interprets the statute
through rules and regulations, interacts with oversight and reauthorize committees in the
Congress, and approves (or rejects) state management programmes and programme
amendment submitted to it for approval. Additionally, it awards grants to states for planning
and administration of coastal programs, evaluates the progress of the states in implementation
and oversees implementation of federal consistency provisions of the Coastal Zone
Management Authority.
The states are the action arm of the coastal management systems. The states follow
the frame and guidelines laid out in the federal act. States, for example, determine the
boundaries of the coastal zone, the key coastal problems, the policies and laws that address
them, and the state and local organization required to be involved in implementation. Within
each state, a designated lead agency is the author and lead implementor of the coastal
management programme and the recipient of federal grants and matching funds for planning
or administration. Frequently, the states provide technical assistance to other entities, build
constituencies, research coastal management issues and trends, and promote new policies.
Local Government, includes cities, counties and substate regional entities, are often
primary implementors of state coastal polices and programs. They use traditional land use
power and infrastructure improvement to achieve coastal policies objectives. Another
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