Coastal zones: integrated management ICZM, implementation of a strategy

PURPOSE: to identify the need for an Integrated Coastal Zone Management system in Europe. CONTENT: Council Resolution 94/135/EC on a Community Strategy, for integrated coastal-zone management (ICZM) and Council Recommendation 92/59/EC on the future Community policy concerning the European coastal zone both identify the need for concerted European action to implement ICZM. Against this background, the proposal recommends that the Member States should commit to a common vision for the future of their coastal zones, based on: - durable economic opportunities; - a functioning social and cultural system in local communities; - adequate open land for future enjoyment and aesthetics; - the integrity of the ecosystem, and sustainable management of the living and non-living resources of both the marine and terrestrial components of the coastal zone, and - in the case of remote costal areas, their full incorporation into the European mainstream. Furthermore, Member States should adopt the principles of good coastal zone management as identified in the Commission's Demonstration Programme on Integrated Coastal Zone Manangement, namely that coastal zone management should be based on: - a broad "holistic" perspective (thematic and geographic); - a long term perspective; - adaptive management (responding to new information and conditions) during a gradual process; - local specificity; - working with natural processes; - participatory planning; - support and involvement of all relevant administrative bodies; - use of a combination of instruments. Finally, Member States should conduct a national stocktaking to analyse which actors, laws and institutions influence the planning and management of their coastal zone. Based on the results, the Member States should then develop a National Strategy to implement the principles for integrated manangement of the coastal zone. Member States should enter into dialogue with neighbouring countries, including non-Member States in the same regional sea, to establish mechanisms for better coordination of responses to cross-border issues. In conclusion, Member States should report to the Commission on the experience in implementation of this Recommendation two years after its adoption.�