CHAPTER 15 • Australian Integrated Coastal Management: A Case Study ofthe Great Barrier Reef 293
For example under the area of conservation there would be a broad twenty five year
objective relating to the preservation and maintenance of ecological integrity over that
time and then there are a number of separate five year objectives such as "to pay special attention to conserving rare and endangered species". The strategies for doing this
would be to first identify the species in the area which are endangered and identify the
threats to their survival, then to develop and implement appropriate coordinated management actions and then to extend this to species which are globally endangered and
are within the area.
While there has been significant management success with the zoning of the Reef
and the management strategy for the World Heritage Area, there has been a need for
more focused management plans in certain areas where there are specific issues or
intensive use. For this reason a number of plans of management have been drawn up
to conwlement the broader zoning for areas with significant sites or intense usage such
as important bird rookeries, critical turtle nesting sites, cultural heritage sites, or sites
of intense tourism and coastal developments. In the future there is likely to be an increasing use of these plans of management. A further initiative to assist in community
participation has been the formation of Regional Marine Resources Advisory Committees. These committees have wide representation from stakeholder groups and function effectively in providing management advice in sensitive areas, providing important formal communication channels with the community and user groups, contributing local expertize, and assisting in local awareness raising of coastal issues. Such
initiatives as the plans of management and the advisory committees complement the
broader zoning and long term strategies for the Reef.
15.6
How Integrated is the Management of the Great Barrier Reef?
The Great Barrier Reef has previously been quoted as a good example of integrated
coastal management' (Commonwealth of Australia 1993a; Kelleher 1996). The concept
of integrated coastal or coastal zone management (ICM or ICZM) has been around for
at least thirty years according to Sorensen (1997) with different interpretations of what
is meant by "integration"in ICZM (Kenchington 1994; Kenchington and Crawford 1993).
Of the varying definitions of ICZM, a useful one with significant international input
comes from the 1993 World Coast Conference which defined it along with the key elements of integration necessary. "Integrated coastal management involves the comprehensive assessment, setting of objectives, planning and management of coastal systems
and resources, taking into account traditiona~ cultural and historical perspectives and
conflicting interests and uses; it is a continuous and evolutionary process for achieving
sustainable development." (World Coast Conference 1994)
The key elements of integration in order to achieve this are as follows:
• Responsibilities of agencies at different levels of government ("vertical integration");
• The responsibilities of different government sectors ("horizontal integration");
• The responsibilities of government and local groups;
• Policies across sectors of the economy;
• Economic, technical/scientific, and legal approaches to coastal problems(World
Coast Conference 1994, p 25).
For example under the area of conservation there would be a broad twenty five year
objective relating to the preservation and maintenance of ecological integrity over that
time and then there are a number of separate five year objectives such as "to pay special attention to conserving rare and endangered species". The strategies for doing this
would be to first identify the species in the area which are endangered and identify the
threats to their survival, then to develop and implement appropriate coordinated management actions and then to extend this to species which are globally endangered and
are within the area.
While there has been significant management success with the zoning of the Reef
and the management strategy for the World Heritage Area, there has been a need for
more focused management plans in certain areas where there are specific issues or
intensive use. For this reason a number of plans of management have been drawn up
to conwlement the broader zoning for areas with significant sites or intense usage such
as important bird rookeries, critical turtle nesting sites, cultural heritage sites, or sites
of intense tourism and coastal developments. In the future there is likely to be an increasing use of these plans of management. A further initiative to assist in community
participation has been the formation of Regional Marine Resources Advisory Committees. These committees have wide representation from stakeholder groups and function effectively in providing management advice in sensitive areas, providing important formal communication channels with the community and user groups, contributing local expertize, and assisting in local awareness raising of coastal issues. Such
initiatives as the plans of management and the advisory committees complement the
broader zoning and long term strategies for the Reef.
15.6
How Integrated is the Management of the Great Barrier Reef?
The Great Barrier Reef has previously been quoted as a good example of integrated
coastal management' (Commonwealth of Australia 1993a; Kelleher 1996). The concept
of integrated coastal or coastal zone management (ICM or ICZM) has been around for
at least thirty years according to Sorensen (1997) with different interpretations of what
is meant by "integration"in ICZM (Kenchington 1994; Kenchington and Crawford 1993).
Of the varying definitions of ICZM, a useful one with significant international input
comes from the 1993 World Coast Conference which defined it along with the key elements of integration necessary. "Integrated coastal management involves the comprehensive assessment, setting of objectives, planning and management of coastal systems
and resources, taking into account traditiona~ cultural and historical perspectives and
conflicting interests and uses; it is a continuous and evolutionary process for achieving
sustainable development." (World Coast Conference 1994)
The key elements of integration in order to achieve this are as follows:
• Responsibilities of agencies at different levels of government ("vertical integration");
• The responsibilities of different government sectors ("horizontal integration");
• The responsibilities of government and local groups;
• Policies across sectors of the economy;
• Economic, technical/scientific, and legal approaches to coastal problems(World
Coast Conference 1994, p 25).