Lessons learned from three ICZM best-practice projects
The European Parliament and Council released in 2002 the recommendation ‘2002/413/EC’ to develop and implement Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) in Europe. All EU member states were requested to develop national ICZM strategies until 2006. The response of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (‘Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit’; BMU) has been to publish an ICZM strategy in March 2006. But the ICZM process in Germany still contains significant gaps. In particular, it is not clarified adequately how to execute ICZM at the regional and local level. Many coastal practitioners and stakeholders do not know how to initiate and maintain ICZM.
Contents
Objective
The objective of this study was to analyse three regional/local ICZM projects along the Baltic and Northern Sea other European in order to derive lessons learned for ICZM in Germay.
Research question:
- What are the lessons to be learned for the German ICZM process concerning execution of ICZM measures from the experiences by three regional/local ICZM projects?
Research methods
The research method is mainly based on an own evaluation framework for ICZM projects (Table 1). In the course of the bottom-up approach three regional/local ICZM projects are examined in-depth according to the steps of this framework.
Step | Action and Description |
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1. Identification of preconditions for planning, management and funding |
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2. Assessment |
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3. Preparation of a plan/strategy |
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4. Formal implementation |
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5. Practical implementation |
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6. Evaluation |
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The conclusions of each project are drawn by the application of a SWOT (Strenghts-Weakness-Opportunities-Threats) analysis. This method is frequently used in the field of environmental management to determine current strengths and weaknesses and to estimate future opportunities and threats of certain projects (Horn et al., 1994). This method is appropriate for drawing conclusions since it summarises results in an analytical and communicative way.
Lessons learned from regional and local ICZM projects
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This part analyses what Germany can learn from regional/local ICZM projects in order to bridge its gap in 'ack of best-practice experience and knowledge-transfer. Therefore, three regional/local ICZM best-practice projects at the Baltic and Northern Sea were examined in-depth (see Figure 1):
- ICZM-Best practice case study in the Oder estuary,
- ICZM-Best practice case study in the Bay of Lübeck and
- ICZM-Best practice case study in Western Zeelandic-Flanders.
Conclusion
All three projects have different starting points:
‘ICZM-Oder estuary’ is mainly a regional research project dealing with gaining knowledge rather than putting measures into practice.
‘ICZM-Bay of Lübeck’ is more likely a local practical measure of coastal protection using an ICZM approach, namely the sensitivity analysis as a tool for inventive participation.
‘ICZM-Western Zeelandic-Flanders’ relates to a huge region, where practical executions of numerous ICZM measures are most important and pushed forward.
All projects assessed the identification of precondition as the most important aspect of an ICZM project. Therewith, they tend to build ICZM actions on a stable and ‘real-world’ fundament. First, it was of high importance that coastal stakeholders were aware of a coastal problem. Second, the support of stakeholders from administrations and the public was essential for the acceptance of ICZM and the success of the projects. According to experiences gained in the Oder estuary, it was important to emerge key stakeholders which have a meaning and influence beyond their function. They are able to fund and implement ICZM issues. A practical tool for an innovative participation procedure holds the sensitivity analysis of ‘ICZM-Bay of Lübeck’.
The question how to implement ICZM in the respective region is answered differently. ‘ICZM-Oder estuary’ made good experiences with the Regional Agenda. It was a suitable umbrella to reach political commitment. The activities of the Agenda office led to new working-, communication-, and information structures within the region. ‘ICZM-Bay of Lübeck’ and ‘ICZM-Western Zeelandic-Flanders’ integrated aspects of ICZM into coastal defence measures. On the one hand that led to a subordination of ICZM aspects in coastal defence measures. On the other hand funding for these measures was regulated by law and was consequently taken over by higher administrations. The division of the ICZM process in Western Zeelandic-Flanders is viewed as a practical straight forward approach. First, creating an overall ICZM vision as umbrella for later ICZM activities, second, integrating this vision into sub-projects such as INTERREG programs, and third, executing coastal measures.
All projects assessed the execution of ICZM measures as very important. Therewith, the practical use of ICZM could be transferred to dwellers and visitors. Especially the realisation of huge, eye catching measures functioned as efficient tool to carry the benefits of ICZM into the region. According to experiences in ‘ICZM-Bay of Lübeck’ it must be pointed out that a long time-lag between plan preparation and execution of the measure can lead to decreasing acceptance among the public.
References
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See also
Internal Links
- Lessons learned from ICZM in Belgium, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom
- Analysis of the ICZM process in Belgium
- Analysis of the ICZM process in The Netherlands
- Analysis of the ICZM process in the United Kingdom
- Guidelines for Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) in Germany
External Links
- The present study was performed within the frame of a Diploma thesis at the Technical University Berlin which was published as ICZM-Odra report no. 44, ISSN 1614-5968 download
Please note that others may also have edited the contents of this article.
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