P.R. Burbridge
through large scale and fully integrated coastal zone management strategies for some
very good reasons, namely:
1. Nature of the system
a The coastal zones of the world generally contain a greater diversity of ecosystems than the purely terrestrial or marine environments that border the coast;
b Associated with each coastal ecosystem there is a complex array of natural resources which provide both economic goods and services - i.e. those that are
traded using market mechanisms, and environmental goods and services of equal
value but which do not lend themselves to rational allocation via the market;
c The resources development opportunities offered by these coastal resources are often
far more varied and valuable than those found in purely terrestrial or marine en' \ vironments. As a result, coastal zones support very complex patterns of human activity;
d Damage to any coastal system can have an adverse influence on other systems
and upon human activities based on those systems. This is illustrated in the following figure where the inter-dependent coastal ecosystems are represented as
stone blocks forming the arch of a bridge in Fig. 2.1.
Figure 2.1 illustrates the need to treat coastal ecosystems as inter-dependent and
mutually supporting components whose combined contribution to the sustenance
of human activities must be assessed before decisions are taken which could adversely influence their health and productivity. This requires an holistic perception
of the environmental linkages among different coastal ecosystems as well as the
potential support they give to economic and socio-cultural systems.
2. Pressures
a These opportunities have attracted large numbers of people and in many nations
more than one-half of the population is located close to the sea in coastal zones.
The concentration of population and economic activity creates great demands
for space for the expansion of settlements, industry and commerce and associated infrastructure. These pressures often lead to conflicts over access to land and
water resources. Moreover, the future growth of the world population is expected
to be concentrated in the world's coastal zones, most of this will occur in developing nations ~hich are least well equipped to plan for and manage growth in a
manner that promotes sustainable resources use and protection of coastal ecosystems and environmental process that are essential to their welfare;
b There are less direct pressures on coastal regions resulting from human development pressures. One example is climate change associated with changes in
carbon cycles which may increase the vulnerability of coastal regions to the effects of sea-level rise such as increased incidence and duration of flooding.
3. Management issues and shortcomings
a Legal, administrative, planning and management arrangements have generally
evolved to represent individual sectoral economic interests and do little to avoid
conflicts of interest among different sectors many of which have a common dependence on the economic or environmental goods and services generated by
one or more coastal ecosystems;
b These same arrangements also tend to treat the marine and terrestrial components of the coastal zone as separate and unrelated entities when in fact they are
interdependent;
through large scale and fully integrated coastal zone management strategies for some
very good reasons, namely:
1. Nature of the system
a The coastal zones of the world generally contain a greater diversity of ecosystems than the purely terrestrial or marine environments that border the coast;
b Associated with each coastal ecosystem there is a complex array of natural resources which provide both economic goods and services - i.e. those that are
traded using market mechanisms, and environmental goods and services of equal
value but which do not lend themselves to rational allocation via the market;
c The resources development opportunities offered by these coastal resources are often
far more varied and valuable than those found in purely terrestrial or marine en' \ vironments. As a result, coastal zones support very complex patterns of human activity;
d Damage to any coastal system can have an adverse influence on other systems
and upon human activities based on those systems. This is illustrated in the following figure where the inter-dependent coastal ecosystems are represented as
stone blocks forming the arch of a bridge in Fig. 2.1.
Figure 2.1 illustrates the need to treat coastal ecosystems as inter-dependent and
mutually supporting components whose combined contribution to the sustenance
of human activities must be assessed before decisions are taken which could adversely influence their health and productivity. This requires an holistic perception
of the environmental linkages among different coastal ecosystems as well as the
potential support they give to economic and socio-cultural systems.
2. Pressures
a These opportunities have attracted large numbers of people and in many nations
more than one-half of the population is located close to the sea in coastal zones.
The concentration of population and economic activity creates great demands
for space for the expansion of settlements, industry and commerce and associated infrastructure. These pressures often lead to conflicts over access to land and
water resources. Moreover, the future growth of the world population is expected
to be concentrated in the world's coastal zones, most of this will occur in developing nations ~hich are least well equipped to plan for and manage growth in a
manner that promotes sustainable resources use and protection of coastal ecosystems and environmental process that are essential to their welfare;
b There are less direct pressures on coastal regions resulting from human development pressures. One example is climate change associated with changes in
carbon cycles which may increase the vulnerability of coastal regions to the effects of sea-level rise such as increased incidence and duration of flooding.
3. Management issues and shortcomings
a Legal, administrative, planning and management arrangements have generally
evolved to represent individual sectoral economic interests and do little to avoid
conflicts of interest among different sectors many of which have a common dependence on the economic or environmental goods and services generated by
one or more coastal ecosystems;
b These same arrangements also tend to treat the marine and terrestrial components of the coastal zone as separate and unrelated entities when in fact they are
interdependent;