2 3 Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM): a review of progress in Portuguese implementation (original) (raw)
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Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM): a review of progress in Portuguese implementation
Regional Environmental Change, 2013
Coastal areas are the focus of intensive urbanisation and tourism and are subject to changing physical processes causing significant natural environment modifications. It is in this context that the European Commission (EC) developed the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Recommendation and invited coastal Member States to produce national implementation strategies. Its general aim of sustainable coastal development was based on policy integration in cooperation with all stakeholders in an informed and participatory context. Portugal responded to the EC request by creating, approving, and adopting the national ICZM strategy. This paper focuses on Portuguese experiences putting the ICZM recommendation into practice and begins with a brief overview of community guidelines, national legislation, and implementation. Subsequently, governance mechanisms are discussed and best practice identified. From an assessment of Portuguese ICZM progress and lessons learned, conclusions and recommendations for improved effectiveness included: strengthening governance; improving sustainable decisionmaking processes supported by technical and scientific knowledge; and securing financial sustainability.
Basis for a national strategy for integrated coastal zone management—in Portugal
Journal of Coastal Conservation, 2008
This paper includes the proposals made in the report “Basis for a National Strategy for Coastal Zone Management” prepared for the Portuguese Ministry of Environment, Territorial Planning and Regional Development. The final version of that report was presented in June 2006. This paper describes a theme framework followed by a discussion of concepts. Nine Primary Principles, eight Principal Objectives, and 37 Strategic Options for an Integrated Coastal Zone Management are then presented. These Strategic Options are set hierarchically according to their sequential priority, identifying the dominant types of Associated Measures. The analysis of these arrives at a set of Structural Measures, which interlink and aggregate various actions and propose a new method of integrated management for the coastal zone, which includes the “Legal Basis of Coastal Zone”; the Organization System; the Action Plan and Monitoring.
Revista de Gestão Costeira Integrada, 2020
The sharing of space by various human activities leading to social conflicts and threats to ecosystems, alongside increased awareness of the threats to coastal zones has created the need to legislate on coastal planning and integrated management by developing international guidelines. A new management challenge has emerged due to climate change that had not previously been considered in legislation or policies. Therefore, the European tools and frameworks applied in Portugal, their implementation and effectiveness will be analysed. Extensive bibliographic data was analysed including EU directives and policies, and Portuguese governmental documents from national to a municipal level. We found that all the European Union guidelines and frameworks are being implemented in the Portuguese Governmental planning and are very well substantiated, whereas the base of all land management instruments (IGT), have a questionable implementation, mainly due to the number of entities involved and the long implementation process.
The Strategy for Coastal Sustainability: A Spanish Initiative for ICZM
Coastal …, 2010
The Spanish Strategy for Coastal Sustainability (SCS) was an initiative aimed at implementing coastal interventions under the principles of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) and improving the state of the coast at the Spanish national level. The SCS, promoted by the Spanish Ministry of the Environment, started as a broad national strategy in 2005 and was finally delivered as a coastal planning instrument at the regional level in late 2007, designed to address coastal policies within the Spanish maritime-terrestrial public domain (MTPD). The initiative was triggered by the increasing pressure on the coastal zone and its preparation was supported by different European initiatives, first of all the European Recommendation on ICZM (413/2002/EC), while taking into consideration the future requirements of the Mediterranean Protocol on ICZM of the Barcelona Convention, signed in February 2008. Technically, the preparation of the SCS included four steps: (i) a Stakeholder Identification and Engagement process, including a stocktaking of the laws and regulations, (ii) the design of a broad Strategic Framework for the Spanish coastal zone, including a set of specific objectives and the instruments for its implementation, (iii) the signature of cooperation agreements for ICZM between the central government and the regions and (iv) a detailed Technical Diagnosis at the local scale, designed to address future coastal interventions in the maritime-terrestrial public domain and its areas of influence.
The challenge of the Integrated Coastal Zone management (ICZM) in the European Union
Boletín de la Asociación de Geógrafos Españoles, 47, p.387-391., 2008
The E.U. is facing the challenge of the Integrated Coastal Zone Management. Coast is a strategic space for the European economic and social development, but at the same time it is weak and threatened. Different documents approved by the European Commission, whose contents are analyzed in these pages, invite Member States to accept principles of sustainable management.
Ocean & Coastal Management, 1999
The paper looks at recent developments in Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM). It considers the influence of global and international instruments on national policies and it takes the United Kingdom as an illustration of contemporary commitments of a European country to ICZM. It further reflects on how recent initiatives may change the perception of the role of coastal sciences and management in decision making. It looks at the entanglement of legal frameworks at various levels, including the role of government departments and agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). NGOs are considered, here, as important agents on the international stage. The availability and the reliability of scientific information are recognised to be the critical factor, which can influence public opinion. In particular, it is shown that there is a great need for ecological interdisciplinary studies, which would provide material for rational action. Despite new policies, it is made clear that concrete actions are still to be taken in order to achieve sustainable development and avoid natural resources destruction or degradation. The need for a holistic approach to ICZM, including education and the dissemination of scientific information, is emphasised.
Facts, Fictions, and Failures of Integrated Coastal Zone Management in Europe
Coastal Management, 2007
Nearly 40 years on since its first tentative steps in North America, this article considers whether Integrated Zone Coastal Management (ICZM) in Europe has grown to maturity as a form of governance. The article summarizes the findings of recent research concerning the levels of implementation of coastal management in Europe, with particular reference to the UK experience. A research framework is used to identify the different motivations behind the social actor groups involved in coastal management. The application of this framework reveals four major findings about gaps in implementation: (1) the complexity of responsibilities at the coast continues to prevent agencies from taking a "joined-up" approach; (2) a policy vacuum is constraining implementation from national to local scales; (3) informational obstacles are significant in preventing coordination between science and policymakers, and between different sectors; (4) a democratic deficit is preventing implementation in the working practices of coastal stakeholders, with little opportunity in decision making for public comment or local accountability, especially offshore. The article also explores different conceptualizations of the role of coastal management and planning held across Europe, providing an analysis using the Strategic Management literature and the experience of the EU Demonstration Programme on Integrated Coastal Zone Management (1996-1999). Recent arrangements, with the availability of priming funds from the European Commission and emphasis on "pilot" and "demonstration" methods, have tended to encourage a project-based approach to ICZM that may fail to realize long-term objectives. The article seeks to present an analysis of the behaviors of scientists, academics, policymakers, and practitioners, and will be of interest to all those seeking to establish ICZM within the wider system of governance, as supported by the Commission of the European Community (2000) Communication on ICZM (COM 547). Some technical solutions are also offered from the UK experience that will be of use to coastal project officers working at national and regional levels.
The practice of coastal zone management in Portugal
Journal of Coastal Conservation, 2004
The practice of coastal zone management in Portugal is very recent. Key issues and considerations about natural shoreline dynamics, main policy instruments, and lessons learned from the EU Demonstration Programmes on Integrated Coastal Zone Management in Portugal will be outlined in this paper in an attempt to understand how the practice of ICZM and its prospects are. Coastal zone management problems and their associated side effects, as well as national and international evolution patterns will be drawn. Some means of achieving better coastal zone management practices and ways of addressing some of its forefront issues are also identified.
Improving Integration for Integrated Coastal Zone Management: An eight country study
Integrated coastal zone management)ICZM) is a widely accepted approach for sustainable management of the coastal environment. ICZM emphasizes integration across sectors, levels of government, uses, stakeholders, and spatial and temporal scales. While improving integration is central to progress in ICZM, the role of some types of integration remains understudied. To further understand the concept of integration, our research analyzes the performance of specific mechanisms used to support ICZM in eight countries (Belgium, India, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, UK, and Vietnam). The assessment is based on a qualitative comparative analysis conducted through two surveys. It focuses on five ICZM mechanisms (environmental impact assessment; planning hierarchy; setback lines; marine spatial planning, and regulatory commission) and their role in improving integration. Our findings indicate that certain mechanisms enhance specific types of integration more effectively than others. Environmental impact assessment is especially suitable to enhance science-policy integration and can be useful to integrate knowledge across sectors. Planning hierarchy and regulatory commissions are effective mechanisms to integrate policies across government levels, with the latter also promoting public-government integration. Setback lines can be applied to enhance integration across landscape units. Marine spatial planning is a multi-faceted mechanism able to promote all types of integration. Therefore, policy-makers should adopt the mechanisms that are more adequate to support the required type of integration. Results of this study also contribute to evidence-based coastal management by identifying the most common impediments limiting integration in the eight studied countries.