Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM)
• Was brought about by the 1992 UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
• Integrated risk management is the holistic, dynamic, and coordinated process of managing
all aspects of the coastal zone, including geographical, political, social, and economic
wellbeing, and sustainability, whilst respecting the limits of the ecosystems – ‘ecosystem-
based approach’.
• It involves integration of the marine and terrestrial components of the coastal system,
related to human activities such as conservation, industry, agriculture, tourism,
development, and mitigation/adaptation to climate change.
• It covers the full cycle of information collection, planning, decision making, monitoring and
management. It is important to involve and allow all stakeholders to participate to ensure
support for management strategies, and to assess the goals in the coastal area.
Identified goals of ICZM:
1. Maintain functional integrity of the coastal system
2. Reduce resource-use conflicts
3. Maintain health of the environment
4. Facilitate the progress of multicultural development
5. Sustainable development
The need for ICZM:
• Coastal zones are some of the most ecologically productive and diverse ecosystems.
• Natural protection against flooding, tropical storms, and climate change – such as salt
marshes.
• Two thirds of the world’s cities occur on the coast (e.g. 200 million people live near Europe’s
coastline)
• Coastal zones are popular tourist destinations e.g. Maldives
• Pressure on the coastal environment is leading to biodiversity loss, habitat destruction,
pollution, conflict, and overcrowding.
• Was brought about by the 1992 UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
• Integrated risk management is the holistic, dynamic, and coordinated process of managing
all aspects of the coastal zone, including geographical, political, social, and economic
wellbeing, and sustainability, whilst respecting the limits of the ecosystems – ‘ecosystem-
based approach’.
• It involves integration of the marine and terrestrial components of the coastal system,
related to human activities such as conservation, industry, agriculture, tourism,
development, and mitigation/adaptation to climate change.
• It covers the full cycle of information collection, planning, decision making, monitoring and
management. It is important to involve and allow all stakeholders to participate to ensure
support for management strategies, and to assess the goals in the coastal area.
Identified goals of ICZM:
1. Maintain functional integrity of the coastal system
2. Reduce resource-use conflicts
3. Maintain health of the environment
4. Facilitate the progress of multicultural development
5. Sustainable development
The need for ICZM:
• Coastal zones are some of the most ecologically productive and diverse ecosystems.
• Natural protection against flooding, tropical storms, and climate change – such as salt
marshes.
• Two thirds of the world’s cities occur on the coast (e.g. 200 million people live near Europe’s
coastline)
• Coastal zones are popular tourist destinations e.g. Maldives
• Pressure on the coastal environment is leading to biodiversity loss, habitat destruction,
pollution, conflict, and overcrowding.
