FAO FISHERIES TECHNICAL PAPER 327

Integrated management of coastal zones

by
John R.Clark
Senior Research Associate
National Park Service Program
Rosenstiel School of Marine Sciences
University of Miami
Miami, Florida, USA

Reprinted 1994

The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory,city or area or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

M-43
ISBN 92-5-103275-0

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Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Rome, 1992
© FAO

PREPARATION OF THIS DOCUMENT

This document follows the FAO publication “Development of Coastal Areas and Enclosed Seas”, which forms part of the report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) on “Protection of the oceans and all kinds of seas, including enclosed and semi-enclosed seas, and coastal areas and the protection, rational use and the development of their living resources”.

The original version was prepared by FAO in close collaboration with the UNCED Secretariat and all members of the Working Party on Oceans, and with the assistance of the author of this report. It responded to Decision 1/20 of the First Preparatory Commitee of UNCED, most specifically items (m) and (q) of paragraph 1 of the Decision related to the following:

Integrated management for the development of coastal areas and maritime zones under national jurisdiction,providing an appropriate balance between environmental and developmental requirements and , to this end,development of integrated management techniques,including environmental impact assessment.
Means of protecting or rehabilitating living marine resources and their habitats, including mangroves and coral reefs,taking into account the ongoing work of the United Nations Environment Programme towards a legal instrument on biological diversity and that of its Regional Seas Programme.

It should be noted that the discussions of individual habitat types in Section 3 are partially excerpts from the book “Coastal Resources Management Guidelines”, by S.C. Snedaker and C.B. Getter which was prepared by the National Park Service for the US Agency for International Development.

This paper was prepared as a reference source and is not intended as a reader or a narrative text. The material is not necessarily sequential and repetition of certain key matters is intentional, in the interest of making the information most readily usable.

Distribution:

FAO Fisheries Department
FAO Regional Fisheries Officers
Directors of Fisheries
Regional and International Fisheries Organizations
UNEP

Clark,J.R.
Integrated management of coastal zones.
FAO Fisheries Technical Paper. No. 327. Rome, FAO. 1992. 167p.

ABSTRACT

This report identifies governmental actions that can lead to effective management of coastal resources and strenghtening the national capacity for effective coastal resources management through Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM). This is a system for controlling development and other human activities that effect the condition of economic resources and the quality of environment in coastal zones.

The overall objective of ICZM is to provide for sustainable use of coastal natural resources and for maintenance of biodiversity. Environmentally planned development is reputed to add to economic and social prosperity of a coastal community in the long term. The orientation of the report is toward developing countries, particularly those of the coastal tropics. Fisheries productivity,increased tourism revenus,sustained mangrove forestry, and security from natrual hazard devastation are among the practical benefits of ICZM.

ICZM incorporates modern principles of planning and resources management, intensive information bases an interdisciplinary processes. A major objective is to facilitate the interactions of different coastal economic sectors (e.g.,shipping, agriculturte,fisheries) toward potimal socio-econopmic outcomes,including resolution of conflicts between sectors.

ICZM may be initiated in response to a planning mandate but more often because of a crisis - a use conflict, a severe decline in a resource, or a devasting experience with natural hazards.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance and encouragement of the staff of the FAO Fishery Resources and Environment Division, particularly Drs Serge Garcia, John Caddy, and Purwito Martosubroto. Other FAO staff reviewers to whom I am gratefulinclude Messrs H. Cirelli, M. Mekour, P. Vantomme and A.D. Insull. The generosity of Drs Peter Burbridge and Chua Thia-Eng in critically reading the manuscript is greatly appreciated. Dr Jens Sorensen provided key materials and ideas. Mr Robert C. Milne of the US National Park Service supported much of the earlier work which brought the subject to the present status. Final manuscript preparation was skilfully handled by Messrs Shelly Copper and Edgar Piehl.

Hyperlinks to non-FAO Internet sites do not imply any official endorsement of or responsibility for the opinions, ideas, data or products presented at these locations, or guarantee the validity of the information provided. The sole purpose of links to non-FAO sites is to indicate further information available on related topics.

1. INTRODUCTION

2. OVERVIEW