The Northern Ireland ICZM Strategy

In Northern Ireland the Department of Environment (DOE) is responsible for leading on integrated coastal zone management. Its integrated nature, however, means that it does impact on most government departments and requires their collaboration.

DOE launched ‘An Integrated Coastal Zone Management Strategy for Northern Ireland 2006-2026’

on 28^th June 2006.

An ICZM strategy provides a management framework

for a given coastal area. Whether an ICZM strategy is being developed at a national, regional or local level, it must provide a vision for the integrated management of the particular coastal zone it addresses.

Developed in partnership with all relevant Government Departments, the ICZM strategy for Northern Ireland is a living document, which reflects government's commitment to sustainable development through the key elements of society, environment, economics and integration. The strategy was informed by both direct consultation with coastal stakeholders and taking account of the wider policy context e.g. the Review of Marine Nature Conservation.

In line with the EU Recommendation on ICZM, the strategy’s action plan:

Identifies the roles of different organisations as well as identifying ways in which these roles can be co-ordinated
Identifies a suitable mix of techniques for implementing ICZM with due regard for the EU’s ICZM principles
Develops national, regional or local programmes to address both the marine and landward areas of the coastal zones
Identifies measures to promote public participation
Identifies long-term and reliable sources of durable funding for ICZM initiatives
Identifies mechanisms to ensure full and co-ordinated implementation and application of community legislation and policies that have an impact on coastal areas
Includes adequate monitoring systems as well as information dissemination to the wider public
Determines appropriate national training and education needs

The strategy is intended to form the basis for a new approach to the management of the coast and provides a useful reference for all users, planners, managers and developers in deciding how best to balance competing resource demands with environmental needs. It will also aid the development of an integrated programme of social, environmental and economic improvements for future generations.

All bodies with statutory authority for the diverse range of activities undertaken in the coastal zone are responsible for administering the appropriate laws or regulations relating to the control of these activities. Although the strategy itself is a non-statutory one, it aims to bring about a new approach to management of the coastal zone by applying all the regulating duties and powers available to the statutory bodies to achieve its goals; it does not introduce an additional level of governance.

The strategy will improve the way the coast is managed by:

Promoting integrated management by encouraging bodies to work together and to consider management of the coastal zone as a whole.

Promoting a new approach to management that will bring users and regulators together to discuss and resolve issues at a local level.

However, the strategy is not:

A statutory document
A nature conservation plan
An economic development plan
A social development plan
Biased towards any particular interest group

The strategy does not impose any new duties on Government Departments, public bodies, organisations or individuals. Instead it intends that all relevant bodies will use their existing powers better, in order to implement the actions listed in the strategy and to which the various government departments have agreed.