Background to ICZM

To date, coastal management policies and decisions in the UK have been made with reference to individual sectoral interests such as aquaculture, environment, waste management and tourism. The framework currently in place in NI also reflects the sectoral nature of coastal management and is almost exclusively driven by central government Departments as opposed to local authorities as in the rest of the UK.

Integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) provides a new way of balancing our social and economic demands on the coast with the protection of coastal ecosystems.

The objective of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) is to establish sustainable levels of economic and social activity in our coastal areas while protecting the coastal environment. ICZM seeks to “join up” the different policies that have an effect on the coast whilst bringing together stakeholders to inform, support and implement these policies.

During the 1990s, the European Commission funded a study on ICZM known as a ‘Demonstration Programme’. This examined 35 coastal management projects around Europe (7 UK projects) to identify the main pressures and problems facing our coasts. The Demonstration Programme highlighted a wide range of environmental and social issues at the coast such as habitat destruction, loss of fish stocks and biodiversity, pollution, economic decline and social deprivation. Interrelated biological, physical and human issues facing European coastal zones were also investigated and the causes were traced to a number of underlying problems:

A lack of vision related to management of the coast based on a very limited understanding of coastal processes and dynamics and with scientific research and data collection isolated from end-users
Inadequate stakeholder involvement when formulating and implementing solutions to coastal problems
Inappropriate and uncoordinated sectoral legislation and policy, often working against the long-term interests of sustainable management of the coast
Rigid bureaucratic systems and the lack of coordination between relevant administrative bodies limiting local creativity and adaptability
Inadequate resources and political support from higher administrative levels for local initiatives in sustainable coastal management.