National level implementation of Chapter 17: the Korean example

Chapter 17 of Agenda 21 requires new approaches to marine and coastal area management and development, approaches that are integrated in content and precautionary in ambit. With this understanding, Korea is moving in the direction of a more sustainable society along the general action plans outlined in Agenda 21. This paper describes how Korea has transformed its marine environmental policies at different economic development stages, examines how Korea follows up the UNCED's recommendations, and reviews how various domestic and international strategies for marine and coastal management are being prepared.     

Targeting development assistance to meet WSSD goals for large marine ecosystems and small island developing states

Global commitments agreed in the last two years at Doha, Monterrey, and Johannesburg represent the potential for a political turning point in reversing the degradation of coastal and large marine ecosystems (LMEs). International finance institutions, bilateral donor agencies, international organizations, and governments of the North and South all align their policies and programs if progress is to be made. Since 1992, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) has supported countries to address Chapter 17 of Agenda 21, and in early 2003 GEF adjusted its strategic priorities to align with World Summit targets. This paper outlines GEF support in targeting development assistance for countries in the biodiversity and international waters focal areas related to oceans, coasts, and islands since 1992 with a focus on large marine ecosystems and small island developing states. Examples of GEF projects are provided that illustrate interventions at different scales for coastal and marine systems. Since 1991, GEF has approved 47 projects in its international waters focal area for $454 million GEF and $1.49 billion in total cost as well as 58 projects in the biodiversity area for $330 million from GEF and $1.22 billion in total cost for some 118 countries supporting coastal and marine ecosystem interventions described in the World Summit's Plan of Implementation. While GEF has become the top source of financial assistance for reversing degradation of oceans, coasts, and islands, the pilot scale activities it is able to fund need to be scaled up to meet global poverty reduction, economic security, and World Summit targets through partnerships for individual LMEs.     

Implementing Agenda 21: oceans, coasts and the Barbados outcomes in the Pacific region

Progress has been made in the Pacific region to implement the decisions taken by leaders at the Earth Summit. There has been investment in the environment and in sustainable development initiatives in the Pacific, and island countries have managed to place their concerns and special circumstances clearly on the international agenda. By the very nature of Pacific islands, Agenda 21 and its off-shoot, the Barbados Programme of Action, have influenced ocean and coastal management. However, the extent to which this has changed the fundamental approach to development in islands is less clear. While it may not be possible to determine categorically the state of implementation of Agenda 21 or how far Pacific island countries have gone down the path towards sustainable development, there are some sound indicators of change. This paper examines a number of these indicators of progress to implement Agenda 21 in the Pacific at the national, regional and international levels, and identifies some challenges for the future.     

The integration of coastal zone management into national development planning

The broad acceptance and collective commitment of countries to the tasks involved in the implementation of Agenda 21, Chapter 17, have profound implications vis-à-vis the interplay between coastal zone management (CZM) and national development planning (NDP). It appears that in many countries, CZM has evolved in isolation from the mainstream of national development processes. The paper examines various forms and elements for the effective integration of CZM into NDP.     

Approach to the geostrategy of the oceans: The case of the mediterranean

It is known that by the general ‘geostrategy’ for the oceans we mean the behaviour of countries of the world in defending their own vital economic interests as projected on different oceans. The means for protecting national interests can be economic, political, diplomatic or military. This paper dwells in particular on these last aspects, offering in the first part some useful reflections on the analysis of regional seas. The second part gives elements for the understanding of the complex Mediterranean situation where the East-West confrontation is accentuated by widespread economic, political, ideological and ethnic contrasts between coastal states. For these reasons this sea can be defined as one of the most unstable and belligerent regions in the world.     

Start with what the people know: a community based approach to integrated coastal zone management

While there has been increasing recognition of the role that coastal zone management has to play in dealing with coastal issues and problems, much of the debate has centred on national, pan-national or global perspectives. This paper highlights the need to work at the local scale, presenting problems of coastal zone management in the Bantry Bay area, southwest Ireland. The first part of the paper describes the attributes of the bay, providing a geographical context for the present case study. Following on from this, the various activities operating in the bay are examined, and resultant problems highlighted. The opinions of the local community are then considered based on the results of a survey carried out among the coastal stakeholders. The aim of the paper is to demonstrate a need and then examine the possibilities for a community based approach to integrated coastal zone management. The philosophy behind this approach is encapsulated in the statement: ‘Start with what the people know.’     

Human empowerment: Opportunities from ocean governance

Stimulus to reach the millennium goals of poverty abatement and empowerment, including education and employment, for the large part of the population in the coastal zone can be found in the resources and services of oceans and coasts; the required financial means, given political will and right priorities, can be provided through implementation of the related international conventions, in particular UNCLOS with the EEZ, the Common Heritage of Mankind and other provisions, Agenda 21 [1] of UNCED and the WSSD 2002 Ocean Targets; the motivation is the necessity to address over-exploitation, depletion and destruction of resources, habitats and coastal ecosystem services, global changes, as well as economic transformations and social conditions of poverty, employment and unequity. Achieving adequate management and protection of natural assets as ecosystems and their services, habitats, biodiversity requires that the socio-economic and human security needs of the coastal populations are met. One way to reach the goal is to enable them, representing about 50% of the global population and increasing, to fight poverty and cope with uncertainties and changing conditions of employment, environment and sustainability through proper governance of the coastal and ocean assets. This includes provision of education and knowledge as regards these assets and their proper uses. They include energy, water, food, transportation and trade, communication, coastal developments, tourism, recreation and ecosystem services, as well as the need to properly manage them.The present economic system cannot fully harmonize with the required governance, partly since the ecosystem resources and services are not internalised in the market-oriented system. This calls for a revised education and training system, more comprehensive than the present, taking into account the social, cultural and environmental requirements, and stressing the sustainable development paradigm. In order to achieve ocean governance and comprehensive human security an understanding of the system is needed. This is substantiated through the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development as well as the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment.The aim here is to discuss some of the issues in context of implementation of related ocean conventions and commitments, which include achieving ocean governance, and to elucidate opportunities given by oceans and coasts, also in generating employment and providing for basic human needs.     

Coastal morphometry as regulator of water exchange—a Swedish example

This is a paper from the Swedish research project ‘The coastal zone—scientific criteria for planners’. The goal has been to establish simple, general scientific methods for management of Swedish coastal waters. In this paper the focus is on a set of empirical data from 21 so-called type areas and on the exchange of surface water. The working hypothesis has been that the water retention (or residence) time is regulated by the morphometry. The theory has been verified. It has been shown that the water retention time can be determined from a formula based on only two key morphometric parameters, the exposure and the mean coastal width. It provides an 86% degree of explanation (r²=0·86) of the variation in empirically determined retention times and can be physically linked to the basic mass balance equation. The formula is valid for the bioproductive season (May–Oct.) and for small (1–100 km²) Swedish coastal areas. It cannot be directly applied to areas affected by heavy tides.     

Approaches to knowledge sharing and capacity building: The role of local information systems in marine and coastal management

This paper explores how coastal data and information can be mobilised in information systems and applied in coastal management. The concept of an Information System is defined and described, and the potential role of Local Information System (LIS) in integrated coastal management (ICM) is considered. Three examples, from the Severn Estuary, UK the coast of the North West of England and North Wales, and the Fal and Helford estuaries, are used to demonstrate the requirements of a LIS for coastal areas. The role of GIS as part of the solution is considered in detail. The paper demonstrates how ideas from the disciplines of information systems and information science can be practically applied in coastal areas. The findings promote a holistic approach for those involved in the development of technologies and dealing with data and information about coasts and oceans.     

Seasonal variations in the speciation of dissolved iodine in the Chesapeake Bay

The speciation of dissolved iodine and the distributions of the iodine species in the deep Chesapeake Bay underwent seasonal variations in response to changes in the prevailing redox condition. In the deep water, the ratios of iodate to iodide and iodate to inorganic iodine decreased progressively from the Winter through the Summer as the deep water became more poorly oxygenated before they rebounded in the Fall when the deep water became re-oxygenated again. The composition of the surface water followed the same trend. However, in this case, the higher biological activities in the Spring and the Summer could also have enhanced the biologically mediated reduction of iodate to iodide by phytoplankton and contributed to the lower ratios found during those seasons. Superimposed on this redox cycle was a cycle of input and removal of dissolved iodine probably as a result of the interactions between the water column and the underlying sediments. Iodine was added to the Bay during the Summer when the deep water was more reducing and removed from the Bay in the Fall when the deep water became re-oxygenated. A third cycle was the inter-conversion between inorganic iodine and ‘dissolved organic iodine’, or ‘‘DOI’’. The conversion of inorganic iodine to ‘DOI’ was more prevalent in the Spring. As a result of these biogeochemical reactions in the Bay, during exchanges between the Bay and the North Atlantic, iodate-rich and ‘DOI’-poor water was imported into the Bay while iodide- and ‘DOI’-rich water was exported to the Atlantic. The export of iodide from these geochemically reactive systems along the land margins contributes to the enrichment of iodide in the surface open oceans.     

Management of Mediterranean coastal dunes

This paper gives some theoretical concepts of dune management as well as practical examples of how actual measures should be carried out.Dune management is defined as all measures aimed at the preservation and restoration of the natural values of a coastal sand dune area. It is essential that beach and foreshore are seen as parts of a whole dune system. Management must take into account all processes within this system. It should aim at nature conservation and wise use of coastal resources and all forms of land use should be ecologically sustainable. Dune management should work as much as possible ‘with’ the natural processes and not ‘against’ them.Four types of Mediterranean dune systems (including Portugal and SW Spain) are distinguished:: mainland dunes, lagoon-bay barrier dunes, delta dunes and remnant dunes.Like in most parts of the world, Mediterranean dunes fulfill several functions at the same time. The following functions will be dealt with: nature management, coastal defence and erosion, dune stabilisation and afforestation, agriculture, tourism and urbanisation, recreation, golf, information and education. The concepts of management which are considered include: sustainable use, large and coherent units, compensation, management planning, environmental impact assessment and function analysis.Dune stabilisation is not always considered necessary. In case of stabilisation by planting, only indigenous species should be used, preferably pioneers and not trees. Planting of exotic species should be avoided.     

Building capacity for integrated coastal management in developing countries

The need for building human and institutional capacity has been identified in Agenda 21 of the UNCED conference as well as by a number of international environmental institutions as essential for integrated coastal management (ICM) and sustainable development in developing coastal states. There is a growing need for coastal management practitioners and organizations with expertise in planning and implementation for ICM. The application of strategies for institutional development and building human capacity in coastal management and other fields shows that short-term intensive training efforts and long-term institutional strengthening programs are appropriate to address the issues and needs of ICM. An overview of the experience of the URI/USAID International Coastal Resources Management Program in Sri Lanka, Thailand and Ecuador presents lessons learned for strengthening ICM efforts in developing countries.     

The need and practice of monitoring, evaluating and adapting marine planning and management—lessons from the Great Barrier Reef

An increasing number of scientists and resource managers recognise that successful marine management approaches, including marine spatial planning (MSP), cannot occur without effective monitoring, evaluation and adaptation. These basic components are necessary to ensure that any marine planning or marine management measures are both effective and efficient. While a number of fundamental principles for marine monitoring, evaluation and adaptive management exist, there are varying levels of understanding about how these should be undertaken and what they may achieve. Challenges include the development of realistic and measurable objectives and indicators against which effectiveness can be practically measured. The matter becomes even more complicated as the focus of marine planning and management strategies changes from ‘single species’ to ‘habitats’ and ‘ecosystems’ that may enable a diversity of permitted uses consistent with a variety of overall objectives. Over the last 30 years, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) has successfully established a multiple-use spatial management approach that allows both high levels of environmental protection and a wide range of human activities. Drawing on this unique long-term experience in the GBRMP, this article discusses key aspects of effective monitoring and evaluation, and summarises lessons learned from over two decades of adaptive management.     

The infusion of sustainability into bilateral fisheries agreements with developing countries: The European Union example

The EU's bilateral fishing policy towards developing third countries has evolved over the years to increasingly emphasise sustainability, culminating in 2002 with the release of a ‘fisheries partnership approach’. The Community has begun to operationalise the policy in various West African coastal states, where its new fisheries partnership agreements are intended to function as ‘development vectors’. This paper introduces the EU's new policy, examines its potential implications for the role of sustainability in future bilateral fishing relations and highlights the impetus for it with reference to analysis of the EU's most recent agreement with Senegal based on empirical research.     

The importance of estimating the contribution of the oceans to national economies

The oceans are in trouble. Poorly understood and unprecedented environmental and economic changes are underway in our world's oceans that will significantly affect life in the sea as well as on land. Only in the last thirty years has the contribution of the ocean sector to the economy been measured. An examination of these studies has exposed definitional, conceptual and methodological differences in measuring marine-related economic activity in the economy, making comparisons difficult. Both the ocean and the coastal economies face a world of volatile changes. In the ocean economy marine transport faces unpredictable fuel costs. Coastal tourism also faces losses from climate change impacts and sea level rise. Finally, a warming ocean and increasing acidification of the oceans from greenhouse gases is already affecting coral reefs and a range of fish stocks. Economic measures are important to predict these impacts, as are economic measures of the resilience of different areas of the ocean and coastal economies. This article demonstrates how knowledge of both the ocean, coastal and national economies can help governments address the future impacts and demands posed by nature and human populations on our coasts and oceans.     

Figuring fish and measuring men: the individual transferable quota system in the Icelandic cod fishery

This article discusses inequality in the Icelandic cod fishery, focusing on changes in the actual distribution of fishing quotas and the ways in which Icelanders currently talk about equity and ownership. The individual transferable quota (ITQ) system, introduced in 1984, divided access to an important resource among those who happened to be boat owners at that time. Statistical findings with respect to the cod fishery - based on a database (the ‘Quotabase’) constructed using detailed information on all vessels that have been allotted ITQs from the onset of the system - show that ITQs have been increasingly concentrated in the hands of the biggest companies. Many of the small-scale boat owners that still hold ITQs are increasingly compelled to enter into contracts that involve fishing for larger ITQ holders. It is suggested that the distribution of ITQs, as well as their evaluation in social discourse, represents an important field of research. In Iceland, public discontent with the concentration of fishing rights and the ensuing social repercussions is increasingly articulated in terms of loaded metaphors, including ‘profiteering’, ‘tenancy’ and ‘lords of the sea’. It is argued that the ultimate efficiency of management programs may be jeopardized if managers ignore the history and culture of the fisheries involved and the likely social and ecological consequences of their programs.     

Guidelines for navigation and overflight in the exclusive economic zone

Several significant international incidents in Asian exclusive economic zones (EEZs) have underscored the ambiguity and lack of agreement regarding the regime governing foreign military activities in coastal States’ EEZs. A group of senior officials and analysts participated in their personal capacities in a dialogue from 2002–2005 that discussed the issues with a view to improving mutual understanding of the regime and finding areas of agreement. The Tokyo meeting in September 2005 reached consensus on some voluntary, non-binding guidelines that are presented here. The guidelines are based selectively on the 1982 UNCLOS, State practice and emerging ‘soft’ law, and attempt to balance the interests of coastal States and user States. It is hoped that they may serve as the basis for discussion and eventual agreements between governments.     

Variations in the chemical lability of iron in estuarine, coastal and shelf waters and its implications for phytoplankton

The relationship between total and chemically labile Fe has been studied in estuarine, coastal and shelf waters of the Gulf of Maine, U.S.A. Measurements of the labile fraction of total Fe, defined by complexation with 8-hydroxyquinoline in 1 h, correlate with the availability of Fe to marine phytoplankton and therefore can be used to estimate Fe availability in seawater. The results show that the relative lability (=labile/total) of Fe in seawater varied both spatially and temporally from near-zero to 100%. Although particulate Fe (>0.45 μm) was generally less labile than dissolved Fe (<0.45 μm), the particulate fraction often contributed substantially to labile Fe concentrations overall. Conversely, as much as 75% of ‘dissolved’ Fe was non-labile, and therefore was probably not available to phytoplankton. In seawater/river-water mixing experiments, aggregation diminished the relative lability of Fe by 30%, even though much of it remained in the ‘dissolved’ fraction. Considering phytoplankton nutrition, these results demonstrate that equating dissolved Fe concentrations with ‘available’ metal can be misleading. Furthermore, the large variability observed in the labile proportion of total Fe in seawater indicates that Fe availability to phytoplankton cannot be estimated by applying fixed lability-ratios to total Fe concentrations.