Integrating Climate Change into the ICZM planning process - Establishment

This is an important stage of the ICZM process. The aim is to set out an operational foundation for the subsequent preparation of the strategy or plan and its implementation, to begin the process of understanding the challenges facing the area and the differing perceptions of those challenges, and to begin building a constituency of support for the strategy or plan.

As far a climate change is concerned, the main concern is to ensure that there is institutional coordination with bodies responsible for climate adaptation and mitigation strategies and plans. All countries have an obligation to produce a communication to the United National Framework Convention on Climate Change, detailing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), as well as vulnerability assessments and some actions to adapt to climatic changes. Thus from the outset any actions on climate change under the ICZM should be coordinated with the National Communication Office of the country. In addition, local authorities in many coastal zones are already planning to introduce measures to respond to some of the expected impacts of climate change. It is essential that these authorities and their plans and procedures be brought into the ICZM process at this initiation stage.

Establishing coordination mechanisms

The IMF document identified three groups that constitute the governance structure for the ICZM: the steering group, the technical group and the consultative group. As far as climate change is concerned, its mainstreaming requires the following:

1. At least one representative from national government or the higher-level

competent local administration(s) should have familiarity with climate issues, possibly because s/he is involved in one of the other bodies dealing with this topic.

1. The technical group needs at least one person with working knowledge of

adaptation to climate change

1. The consultative group should include someone from the National Communication

Office as well as representative from all sectors where climate issues have been assessed as being important at stage 1.4 Scoping

The governance structure is decided during the preparation of the national ICZM strategy and implemented in drawing up the national and local plans.