Dr. Emmanuil KOUTRAKIS Fisheries Research Institute-NAGREF 640 07 Nea Peramos, Kavala, Greece,

1. Improving the design of projects, planning and programming of interventions for Integrated Coastal Zone Management Dr. Emmanuil KOUTRAKIS Fisheries Research Institute-NAGREF 640 07 Nea Peramos, Kavala, Greece, E-mail: koutrman@otenet.gr

2. Integrated Coastal Zone Management • Coastal environments are dynamic, comprising continual fluxes of mass and energy. • Coastal management should be prepared to endorse this dynamism and accommodate it within management structures. • ICZM or ICAM is a continuous process with the generalaim of implementing sustainable development and maintaining diversity in CZ. • To this end, ICZM aims, by more effective management, to establish and maintain sustainable levels of use, development and activity in CZ, and eventually to improve the state of the coastal environment.

3. Variability in CZM approaches The priorities vary in different countries, depending mostly on the problems each country has in the coastal zone: • In Holland, CZM is treated as a national objective, mainly for reasons connected with the health and wealth of the inhabitants. • In the Mediterranean, the approach concerns mainly the management of coastal and marine resources and the prevention of the anthropogenic impact. • Today, 56 countries are said to have tested various approaches to CZM. Most of them are developed nations. Developing nations have little time or resources for integrated programmes, preferring to “cope” with particular problems as they arise. • Common drawbacks in CZM programmes, are the lack of adequate finance, bureaucratic inflexibility, and the absence of co-operation and consistency between agencies and between projects.

4. EU approach for the ICZM Europe has an extended continental shelf and a long coastline (89,000 km). It’s CZ contain some of the most fragile and valuable natural habitats. The EU had 3 important reasons to be interested in the fate of CZ: • The existence of European wide problems (common heritage, transfers of pollutants, tourist flows, maritime safety). • The influence of the policies and actions of the EU on the evolution of the coastal zones. • The need for exchange of experience and know-how in a field where successes are still rare and where there is a substantial demand for CZ conservation and sustainable development.

5. EU Demonstration Programme • The EU D.P. on ICZM, operated from 1996-1999, around 35 projects, 12 in the Mediterranean, & 6 thematic studies (legislation, participation, technology, sectoral co-operation, role of EU policy & information). • The purpose: to lead to a consensus regarding the necessary measures in order to stimulate ICZM and to identify concrete actions that need to be taken for the implementation of ICZM, to discuss these widely and to prepare all for their adoption. • Thus, the demonstration programme was articulated around 3 key words: coordination, cooperation, concertation. Fig. 1. The steps in the Demo Projects – a cyclic process

6. Case study: The Strymonikos Project Coastal Zone description • Rich in natural resources, scenic landscapes and features of cultural interest. • Permanent population of 15,360 but rises to 150,000 during summer. • Terrestrial area: 2,625 ha, Marine area: 8,135 ha, Total 10,760 ha. Coastline 123 km long. • In the terrestrial part, 3 areas covering a total of 730 ha, are included in the “Natura 2000” network. • Human activities include tourism, poorly controlled housing development, fisheries, aquaculture, agriculture, forestry and mining. Fig. 2. Map of the project area.

7. Case study: The Strymonikos Project Coastal Zone Problems • Human activities are not always practised wisely, leading to increasing environmental problems. • These problems will deteriorate, as a result of the expected increase of tourists from the Eastern European countries. • Mining activities are changing and a factory for gold extraction was designed to be created in the area, posing additional threats to the environment. • The Egnatia highway which crosses the project area, is now under construction. • River Strymon discharges pollutants from its Bulgarian and Greek watershed into Strymonikos Gulf. Fig. 3. Strymonikos Gulf

8. The Strymonikos Project - Tasks • Description: A detailed description of the terrestrial and marine area, regarding its abiotic, biotic, social, economic and administrative features. • Monitoring: Collecting key parameters of the zone's marine environment, in order to identify those more suitable to indicate threats. • Analysis: To identify and rank environmental problems and threats, evaluate trends of environmental changes, set conservation and management aims, and propose specific management measures. • Concertation: Establishment of a Steering Committee, in order to decide on priority measures and to co-ordinate their implementation. • Implementation of measures: Establishment of an Information Centre to support environmental awareness activities, to promote co-operation and to alert authorities on emerging environmental threats. • Environmental awareness and dissemination of knowledge: Awareness material, conferences, media work and technical publications.

9. Case study: The Strymonikos Project Fig. 4.Organisation chart of the Strymonikos project.

10. Problems and actions in the Strymonikos Project: a step by step process (1) Three main problems were faced when designing and implementing the project: a) the lack of data regarding the natural environment of the area, the socio-economic status and the human activities and impacts. In order to cope with this problem, we conducted samplings. A high biodiversity was observed, both in terms of habitats and species: • 24 habitat types, 3 of priority, • 808 species, subspecies and varieties of plants, 46 endemic, • 55 marine macroalgae species and 3 species of marine phanerogames, • 21 mammal, 164 bird (46 of Annex I of the 79/409/EU Directive), 8 amphibian, 18 reptile and 131 fish species, • 321 species of benthic macrofauna, forming 5 assemblages, one unique for the Mediterranean; 12 cephalopod and 16 crustacean species recorded in the area are of economic importance.

11. Problems and actions in the Strymonikos Project: a step by step process (2) Regarding the socio-economic status: • The area contains notable antiquities and cultural monuments, and moderately well-developed technical and social infrastructure. The area’s principal environmental problems are: • the lack of planning for urban and tourist development, • the disposal of domestic sewage and rubbish, • the degradation of surface and ground waters and of natural habitats, • the declining of fish stocks and, • the operation of the Stratoni-Olympiada mines, at least as long as they continue to operate as at present. Within the third task, ‘Analysis’, all the above data collected, were elaborated and synthesised in a brief document, in order to be used in the dialogue among all bodies involved in the zone’s management.

12. Problems and actions in the Strymonikos Project: a step by step process (3) b) the complex and conflicting jurisdictions of the bodies involved in the management of the area. In order to promote co-ordination, a Steering Committee was established, where the various levels of public administration, were represented: 2 Regional Directorates, 4 Prefectures, the Ministry of Macedonia-Thrace, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works. The Steering Committee supervised the project activities and collaborated closely with the project team by discussing problems and necessary actions, by bringing forward problems of the users and by operating as a control agency for the better use of coastal resources, or even by offering financial help to the project.

13. Problems and actions in the Strymonikos Project: a step by step process (4) c) the insufficient level of environmental awareness. • To address this, the Information Centre for the Strymonikos Coastal Zone was established. It is the only I.C. focused on CZ in Greece. • Themes such as life in the sea, marine plants and animals, human impacts etc, are presented with texts, photos, relief models, aquaria, stands with seashells, sponges etc, as well as with a documentary film. • The information given is based on data collected. • In 17 months more than 2,500 people visited the Centre. • The establishment of the I.C. was supported by local authorities in terms of financial help and manpower and by several donations. • It helped to increase the confidence of local people in those involved with the project and led to a very positive public response. • The IC with all its equipment was donated to the local authorities in order to ensure its operation after the end of the project.

14. Information Centre: The interior

15. ICZM Project Design

16. ICZM motivation • ICZM may be initiated in response to a planning mandate (e.g. national strategy) but more often because of a crisis, such as a use conflict, a severe decline in a resource, or a devastating experience with natural hazards. • Despite the motivation, it should be accepted that ICZM is a multi-sectoral process of achieving goals and objectives of sustainable development, by the utilisation of, and within the constraints of, legal, financial and administrative systems and institutions, through integration and co-operation. • A proposal should be based on some prerequisites (scientific knowledge, existence of a national framework, recognition of the values of the coastal area and the benefits arising from their sustainable management, financial aid), the general goals, the boundaries of the area, the people, institutions, organisations expected to participate, available finance and a work plan with a timetable.

17. ICZM Project Design: Stages • Description of the existing situation - Goal definition • Delimitation of management zone • Strategy planning • Implementation • Oversight – Monitoring and evaluation

18. Description of the existing situation - Goal definition A quite important stage, as it will input into the formulation of goals (clear and not conflicting) and objectives and will lead to the definition of management strategies. The following information is important: • The environmental features of the CZ, in order to identify the impact of human activities and to mark out the values of the particular area: basic environmental data, natural resources & environmental hazards. • Spatial (terrestrial and marine) uses (including all economic sectors, urban development, infrastructure) and networks (i.e. water supply and drainage, waste disposal, transport). • The socio-economic context along with its spatial implications. • Future developments in the area. • Information regarding problems, conflicts, opportunities and constraints (if critical information is missing, then it has to be collected - information useful for the implementation of the project, can be collected later).

19. Delimitation of management zone • The coastal zone has been distinguished as a geographical zone apart from, yet between, the oceanic domain and the terrestrial domain. It is a strip of land and water –a “corridor”- that straddles the coast. • An ecosystem approach, requires the delineation of the terrestrial part up to the closest watershed area, including the coastal ecosystems. The marine area can be included to a depth of 50 m, which is the maximum depth for Posidonia meadows. • The use of administrative boundaries facilitates information management, co-ordination of actors, data collection, etc. The broader, however, is the CZ, the more problematic will be the implementation of the project. • Small island countries may face difficulties determining boundaries. Some would consider the entire islands as coastal zones. But in this way, the concept of CZ as a definable and separable entity is abandoned, and this could jeopardise a viable ICZM project.

20. Strategy planning • Strategy planning is the key step in an ICZM project, because the main “hows’, ‘whys’, ‘wheres’, ‘whens’ and ‘whos’ are decided and methodologies and tools are chosen. • At this stage the basic strategy is articulated in an Action (Master) Plan that introduces principles and guidelines for management. • The Plan links the goals and the objectives with the required policy, the regulatory, economic, and other measures, while prioritising actions. • The Plan guides development in the CZ, in parallel to resource conservation and biodiversity protection. It ensures that advances in one sector do not bring reverses in another; e.g, that port development does not diminish local fisheries or tourism. • Strategy planning should develop an optimum strategy that involves issue analysis, dialogue and negotiationthat will facilitate local consensus on future conservation legislation.

21. Implementation of ICZM Once the Action Plan is approved and institutional mechanisms are created, the project can be implemented. Particularly important is that: • Policies are clearly described to match national development objectives. • Responsibilities are clearly assigned. • A leadagency is assigned to co-ordinate the project. • The lead agency (that should be regarded as even-handed), has the power to enforce rules or to achieve intergovernmental consent. • Funds to achieve ICZM are available. According to the lessons from the EU DP, an individual or a group with an understanding of the principles of ICZM and the drive to push the process forward can be a great asset. A secretariat to co-ordinate the logistics and organise the required information is needed. Political and financial support is dependent on the level of awareness of decision makers. Political leaders should understand the cross-sectoral scope of coastal management and the consequences of mismanagement.

22. Oversight – Monitoring and evaluation Retrospective aspects may include monitoring, evaluation and programme revisions. The project must be flexible as new facts and opportunities come to light (experience indicates that during implementation, although the initial goals do not change, some of them may lose and others may gain importance). • Monitoring is a continuous process, starting from the beginning of the project. It is linked directly with the assessment of the performance of the ICZM project and the results achieved, with respect to the initial goals and objectives. Monitoring feeds periodically the strategy planning and leads the interventions closer to the defined principles and guidelines of management (usually, for practical purposes, is concentrated on some key parameters). • Evaluation, is not a continuous process, but it is performed at selected time intervals, usually in the middle of, and afterthe completion of the project. It needs to be characterised by objectivity, credibility and representation, ensuring that key local and national stakeholders are involved in the monitoring and evaluation process.

23. Key issues in planning ICZM projects:Information • Information is a key issue for ICZM. It should support the analysis of issues useful to the management of the area. Information gathering should be led by the issues, as ICZM is an issue-driven process, and not by the facility of the data collection. • In the Strymonikos project, where there were no data available and there was the perspective of building an industry for gold extraction on the CZ, we had to point out the environmental values of the area (i.e. increased biodiversity), the values of the natural resources and the social constraints for such an activity, since the area was tourism oriented. • Not all projects will need such an extensive data collection, however, existing data must be evaluated; they have to be precise, complete, compatible and statistically credible.

24. Key issues in planning ICZM projects:Participation • It is important to use participatory planning in order to build consensus. Participatory planning comprises both the co-operation and collaboration of administrative partners involved in different levels of government, and the participation of NGO’s, organisations, private sector and individuals affected by the management of the coast. • It is important for all of the levels to be involved in their own capacity and sphere of competence. Almost without exception, the EU DP have indicated that local ICZM activity is not effective when there is a policy vacuum at high levels. • In areas with low environmental awareness, the environmental conservation aspect could be accused for retardation of the development of the area. Through participation it can be shown that long-term economic development strongly depends on environmental quality. • Kelleher (1996) states “...participation that is not actively encouraged is not real participation. You’ ve got to go out there. You’ ve got to go through the process of distrust before you get to the process of trust”.

25. Key issues in planning ICZM projects:Tools/ Instruments • A variety of tools can be used: Data bases, Geographic Information Systems(GIS),Decision Support Systems(DSS),Environmental Impact Assessments(EIA)Strategic Environmental Assessment(SEA),Risk Analysis Assessments(RAA),evaluation of costs & benefits, environment-developmentscenarios, Carrying Capacity Analysis(CCA),regulation/control offinancial mechanisms, new technologiesfor the study of the CZ, awareness, capacity building, training,education, conflict resolution. • The EU DP has shown that whilst management tools have a valuable role in achieving ICZM, their successful use requires careful management in their own right.Management tools cannot understand what they manipulate. Only people can gain that understanding. Decisions about whether to use a particular tool should always involve an analysis of how the tool will enhance understanding of the issue at hand.

26. Key issues in planning ICZM projects:Public awareness and education • Public awareness plays a major role in the success of ICZM projects. In all cases where CZM is effective, conservation awareness is usually high among communities, managers, and the private sector. • Environmental education aims to provide the community with information and a conservation ethic so that its members can make informed decisions about the use of their resources. • The approach must combine printed material, audio-visual presentations & face-to-face interaction. Additionally mass media, exhibits, tours, workshops, promotional items, recreational activities, etc. • The importance of public support was made clear in the Strymonikos, since the reaction of the local people to the creation of an industry of gold extraction, have given positive results. • Dissemination of information is also valuable in order to ensure repeatability of positive project results.

27. Strymonikos: Conclusions • Our experience from the Strymonikos D.P. shows that a good knowledge of the environmental, social, economic and administrative features of the area is the essential first step in planning integrated management and sustainable development. • Continuous monitoring of the area is necessary to detect environmental changes. • The Information Centre has proven to be a very useful tool for supporting actions of environmental awareness, training, dissemination of information, and for promoting participation of the public and local authorities. • A legally instituted management body is indispensable for the implementation of ICZM. The multi-agency partnership of the Steering Committee was just an example of a co-ordinated management scheme, since it was only informal. The deficiencies in legislation are still present and pose substantial obstacles to ICZM in the area.

28. Conclusions & future prospects (1) • The ICZM D.P. & the thematic studies have ended. Two consultation documents, a Commission proposal for a European Parliament, a Council Recommendation and a Commission Communication, have been prepared. • According to these documents, the E.C. is not going to forward certain legislative measures for CZM, but to promote the integration of ICZM principles and goals into the sectoral policies. • Although this is important, it does not ensure ICZM as a unique and integrated process. Only a legal binding (e.g. Council Directive) can promote sustainable management and environmental protection. • Given that a framework Directive for ICZM by the EC would be difficult to be produced, the sustainable management must be ensured at the national level. Each country should adopt a strategy for CZ on the basis of ICZM principles, which will guide associated legislative acts. • This comes in agreement with the recent Recommendation, issued shortly after a political agreement within the Environmental Council, calling EU Member States to develop national strategies that promote sustainable development in CZ through integrated management of these areas, within the next 3 years.

29. Conclusions & future prospects (2) • During the past years several initiatives to implement ICZM have been realised (EU, UNEP/PAP, MCSD, etc.). The value of these initiatives is significant since we have to build on existing experience and practice so as to increase synergies and minimise losses. • Of course ICZM is not a panacea for all the problems of coastal areas, nor is a universal tool applicable in the same way in all coastal regions. However, there are elements that are universal, such as the gradual process of ICZM implementation, while other elements must be understood and applied with flexibility. • Experience has clearly shown that sustainable development is being implemented too slowly in relation to the gravity and complexity of the problems of the coastal zones. • Specific joint action is therefore required in order to improve the effectiveness of legislation and of the existing financial and planning tools.