Scottish Coastal Forum: Current ICZM initiatives: Spring 2004
Government's perspective
On 30 May 2002, the European Union adopted a Recommendation on implementing integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) in Europe. Member states were asked to undertake an "overall stocktaking to analyse which major actors, laws, and institutions influence the management of their coastal zone". Following this, the information would be used to develop national strategies to implement ICZM by early 2006.
Also in May 2002, the first Marine Stewardship Report, "Safeguarding Our Seas", set out the context for taking forward ICZM in the UK, including the production of the stocktaking. The stocktaking exercise, currently being carried out by Atkins and reporting in spring 2004, will involve stakeholders meetings to discuss the main issues arising from the current management framework.
The Recommendation states that member states should "take a strategic approach to the management of their coastal zones" and highlights a number of principles it has identified:
Taking a broad overall perspective (thematic and geographic).
Taking a long-term perspective including the precautionary principle.
Taking an adaptive management approach during a gradual process.
Allowing for local solutions to local problems.
Working with natural processes.
Involving all the parties concerned.
With the support and involvement of relevant administrative bodies.
Using a combination of instruments to deliver what is required.
In the meantime, there are other initiatives underway.
To test ways of integrating nature conservation into key sectors to make an effective contribution to sustainable development on a regional basis, the Review of Marine Nature Conservation has undertaken a pilot regional seas project in the Irish Sea (that covers the south west of Scotland). This will seek to determine the potential of existing regulatory and other systems for delivering marine nature conservation and aim to identify any gaps in existing systems and make recommendations on how to fill them. It will report in Spring 2004.
The Scottish Executive Environment Group has also recently established a Marine Environment Co-ordination Group to help develop a more integrated approach to marine activities across the Executive.
The Scottish Executive and the Marine Sub-Group (of the Expert Working Group on SSSI reform) agreed that a substantial piece of work was required to explore ways of identifying what, if anything, may require additional protection. This should also consider how, in each case, such protection might be most effectively achieved, whilst continuing to embrace the ethos of sustainable development.
A project has begun that is considering the nature, scale and potential of social, economic and environmental resources in Scottish waters and the pressures it faces. It concerns itself with the sustainable management and utilisation of Scotland's coastal marine environment and fragile coastal communities.
The work, which is being undertaken in three phases, seeks to bring together a wide range of policy interests. Phase I comprises the conceptualisation of the project together with the scoping of Phase II. The second phase will create the framework for two or more pilot management schemes, whose aim would be to pilot the benefits of a sustainable development approach in a third and final phase.
The Scottish Executive and DEFRA see this project as fully complementary to the pilot scheme in the Irish Sea, and one which they would expect to bring about mutually-added value.
Manson Wright,
Coastal Management Co-ordination,
The Scottish Executive,
Victoria Quay,
EDINBURGH EH6 6QQ
E-mail:manson.wright@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Tel: 0131 244 6038