Introduction and Overview
7
resource use efficiency, through possible self-interest (reflected in a preference for more
rather than less risk avoidance measures and policies), to care for and obligation towards future generations. An important task will be to further clarify where conventional economic values are sufficient for sustainability decisions and where broader
human values - including non-monetary values - and criteria are more important.
It seems fair to conclude that the actual practice of coastal zone management around
the globe is lagging well behind the emerging principles for sustainable actions and
policy. The experiences of a number of developed and developing countries are recorded in several chapters in this volume. The studies cover a number of different contexts from individual coastal ecosystem management through to whole zone planning.
A number of chapters examine the coastal zone management issues associated with
one particular pressure or coastal resource. Drude and Kjerfve report on the status and
importance of mangroves in coastal Latin America. They note that a detailed inventory and classification of mangrove areas in Latin America is far from complete and
this is inhibiting the further development of sustainable management strategies. The
chapter by Conde and Rodriguez discussed the pressure from the oil industry on the
Maracaibo system. Tourism is a major economic factor in many areas in the world, and
the chapter by Sarda and Fluvia discusses the pressures, impacts and responses to such
development in the Costa Brava region in Spain.
The regional practise and case studies on the one hand illustrate the various mechanisms, which are in place for coastal zone management and on the other hand highlight specific priority issues in coastal zone management. In most cases the issues connected to sea level rise are rather low on the agenda, more attention is given to the short
to medium term problems stimulated by industry, tourism, fisheries and housing. For
India (Ramachadran) a survey picked out population pressure and environmental
degradation such as destruction of mangroves along with pollution and urbanisation,
as the upcoming major problems. Sea level rise together with agriculture are not considered major issues. Also in Indonesia (Sukardjo), where 2/3 of the population already
lives in the coastal zone, the pressure from population increase, in combination with
associated increases in impacts from industry, sewage outfalls, etc., is singled out again
as the major issue. Both authors give an overview of the various international agreements that have been signed and the judicial institutions in each of these countries. In
both countries implementation of existing regulation is difficult, although the case study
on a power plant in the Danahu region in India (Khanna et al.) shows the various regulatory phases and options deployed to control the power industry.
In Bangladesh which is downstream of rivers whose sources are in India and Nepal, receives a transboundary pollution loading, furthermore increased erosion in the
Himalayas and Assam Hills causes high sediment load in the rivers and siltation and
high turbidity problems in the coastal region.
Specific issues in South Asia are coral mining for the cement industry and its use as
building material in certain parts of India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
The tourist industry will be a world leading economic sector by the year 2000, representing in 1997 already some 12% of the world GDP. Tourism brings income and jobs,
increased understanding of other cultures, investment in infrastructure, which in turn
brings social and cultural benefits. However, on the other hand, it can cause destruction of habitats, degradation of landscapes, and competition of scarce resources and
services, such as land, freshwater, energy and sew~ge treatment. The chapter by Sarda
7
resource use efficiency, through possible self-interest (reflected in a preference for more
rather than less risk avoidance measures and policies), to care for and obligation towards future generations. An important task will be to further clarify where conventional economic values are sufficient for sustainability decisions and where broader
human values - including non-monetary values - and criteria are more important.
It seems fair to conclude that the actual practice of coastal zone management around
the globe is lagging well behind the emerging principles for sustainable actions and
policy. The experiences of a number of developed and developing countries are recorded in several chapters in this volume. The studies cover a number of different contexts from individual coastal ecosystem management through to whole zone planning.
A number of chapters examine the coastal zone management issues associated with
one particular pressure or coastal resource. Drude and Kjerfve report on the status and
importance of mangroves in coastal Latin America. They note that a detailed inventory and classification of mangrove areas in Latin America is far from complete and
this is inhibiting the further development of sustainable management strategies. The
chapter by Conde and Rodriguez discussed the pressure from the oil industry on the
Maracaibo system. Tourism is a major economic factor in many areas in the world, and
the chapter by Sarda and Fluvia discusses the pressures, impacts and responses to such
development in the Costa Brava region in Spain.
The regional practise and case studies on the one hand illustrate the various mechanisms, which are in place for coastal zone management and on the other hand highlight specific priority issues in coastal zone management. In most cases the issues connected to sea level rise are rather low on the agenda, more attention is given to the short
to medium term problems stimulated by industry, tourism, fisheries and housing. For
India (Ramachadran) a survey picked out population pressure and environmental
degradation such as destruction of mangroves along with pollution and urbanisation,
as the upcoming major problems. Sea level rise together with agriculture are not considered major issues. Also in Indonesia (Sukardjo), where 2/3 of the population already
lives in the coastal zone, the pressure from population increase, in combination with
associated increases in impacts from industry, sewage outfalls, etc., is singled out again
as the major issue. Both authors give an overview of the various international agreements that have been signed and the judicial institutions in each of these countries. In
both countries implementation of existing regulation is difficult, although the case study
on a power plant in the Danahu region in India (Khanna et al.) shows the various regulatory phases and options deployed to control the power industry.
In Bangladesh which is downstream of rivers whose sources are in India and Nepal, receives a transboundary pollution loading, furthermore increased erosion in the
Himalayas and Assam Hills causes high sediment load in the rivers and siltation and
high turbidity problems in the coastal region.
Specific issues in South Asia are coral mining for the cement industry and its use as
building material in certain parts of India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
The tourist industry will be a world leading economic sector by the year 2000, representing in 1997 already some 12% of the world GDP. Tourism brings income and jobs,
increased understanding of other cultures, investment in infrastructure, which in turn
brings social and cultural benefits. However, on the other hand, it can cause destruction of habitats, degradation of landscapes, and competition of scarce resources and
services, such as land, freshwater, energy and sew~ge treatment. The chapter by Sarda