SMAP Integrated Coastal Zone Management Guide

Integrated Coastal Zone Management in the Mediterranean - Theory and Practice

A practical guide to Integrated Coastal Zone Management with examples from Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries

SMAP III Technical Assistance www.smap.eu This project is funded by the European Union

Integrated Coastal Zone Management in the Mediterranean - Theory and Practice

A practical guide to Integrated Coastal Zone Management with examples from Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries

Table of Contents Introduction Foreword by H.E. Dr. Klaus Ebermann, EC Ambassador to Egypt This Guide SMAP and SMAP III TA SMAP III and ICZM

What is Integrated Coastal Zone Management?

The “Integrated” of ICZM The “Coast” of ICZM The “Zone” of ICZM The “Management” of ICZM

Context and Issues for ICZM in the Region

1 5 7 9 11

13

Natural Resource Management Port Said, Egypt Kroumerie & Mogods, Tunisia Coastal Processes Bay of Algiers, Algeria Institutions & Governance Institutional Context, Regional SMAP III Projects, Regional El Kala, Algeria Tourism Gokova Bay, Turkey SMAP III Projects, Regional

15 18 23 27 29 35 37 44 47 51 54 59

Tools and Approaches for ICZM

63

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) SMAP III Projects, Regional Indicators Port Said, Egypt Spatial Planning Sfax, Tunisia Environmental Economics IMAC, Lebanon Stakeholder Participation M’diq and Essaouira, Morocco Cap Nador, Morocco Integration Tools and Information Systems Cap Nador, Morocco M’diq and Essaouira, Morocco Sfax, Tunisia

Conclusion

65 67 73 75 81 84 89 91 97 99 103 107 109 111 112

117

Contributors Etienne Baijot Martin Le Tissier Nick Marchesi Bernard Kalaora Hester Whyte James Spurgeon Jeremy Hills Marine Zimmermann Peter Burbridge Xavier Marti

Editor & Concept: Tiny McKinney Design/Layout: Sheridan Hashish at OGM Printing: Ashraf Eyada at Triangle

Legal Notice The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of Environmental Resources Management (ERM) Ltd., leader of the Consortium of firms implementing the SMAP III Technical Assistance project, and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Commission. Š SMAP III TA, 2009. The contents of this book may be reproduced without consent, provided the source is acknowledged.

SMAP III TA (2009) ICZM in the Mediterranean, EuroMed SMAP III Technical Assistance Project, Cairo, 2009

This publication has been funded by the European Commission.

ERM

i

Foreword H.E. Dr. Klaus Ebermann European Commission Ambassador to Egypt

Nothing symbolizes the profound link between Europe and the countries south of the Mediterranean more than the sea itself, the “middle” sea for all peoples, north and south.

Management of coastal areas has been, and must continue to be, a priority for the European Commission. Much has been achieved, but much is yet to be achieved if we are to meet our objective of de-polluting our shared sea by the year 2020.

It is with pleasure that I present to you “Integrated Coastal Zone Management in the Mediterranean, Theory & Practice”. It documents many of the activities carried out under the third phase of SMAP, the Euro-Mediterranean programme for the environment, to promote management approaches that are better for the environment and for local communities.

This guide joins its sister publication, “Sustainable Development in the Mediterranean”, published earlier this year, as a testimony to the precious collaboration between individuals and institutions north and south of the Mediterranean. Many lessons have been learned and we are keen to share these with all in the region and beyond who share our commitment to sustainable development and our love for our common sea, the Mediterranean.

Dr. Klaus Ebermann EC Ambassador to Egypt

ii

SMAP SMAP (Short and Medium Term Priority Environmental Action Programme, 1997 - 2009) is the environmental component of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. Currently in its third and final phase, the programme has been devoted to advancing sustainable development, with SMAP projects targeting different environmental priority areas: water, waste, biodiversity, desertification and Integrated Coastal Zone Management.

SMAP III TA The EC-funded SMAP III Technical Assistance project (2005 – 2009) aims to assist Partner environmental administrations in preventing degradation, improving standards and “mainstreaming” environmental considerations into all policy-making, and to promote Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) around the Mediterranean.

www.smap.eu

iii

This Guide Of all the groups of people we have worked with over the last four years - governments, institutions, civil society, the private sector and the press in every country in the southern and eastern Mediterranean - no relationship has been closer than that with the eight Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) projects funded under SMAP III. In true ICZM spirit, sometimes there have been different points of view, sometimes negotiation, but always a frank and open dialogue.

SMAP III TA has provided support and technical assistance, but it has been a learning experience for all of us. With this guide, we hope to share this learning with policy-makers, ministries, environmental agencies and anyone working in the fields of coastal management, environment, sustainable development and cooperation in the Mediterranean region. The lessons will not be lost on coastal managers and experts active in other regions in the world, including Europe.

This guide provides a practical introduction to Integrated Coastal Zone Management in the region.

It is divided into three sections. The first introduces key ICZM concepts, the second focuses on the context in which coastal managers act and the issues they face, and the third section looks at tools that can be used to promote sustainable development of coastal zones.

For those not deeply acquainted with ICZM, we have answered the key questions: what is it? why use it? when? how? etc., as far as possible in simple, non-technical language. For each issue or tool, examples are taken from SMAP III projects, activities are analysed and discussed, and the lessons learned - sometimes surprising - are presented clearly and unambiguously.

Our thanks go to the ICZM project teams for sharing with us their findings, draft reports and other materials so that this guide could be completed before submission of their final reports to the European Commission. We wish them good luck for the implementation of the ICZM Plans they have worked so hard to prepare.

SMAP III TA Cairo, June 2009

iv

SMAP III and ICZM Integrated Coastal Zone Management was one of the five priority areas for the environment identified at the Euro-Mediterranean Conference in Helsinki in 1997. It has been the main focus of the third and final phase of SMAP, with eight projects in six southern and eastern Mediterranean countries receiving a total of over 7.5 million Euro from the European Commission to develop sustainable approaches to coastal management.

SMAP III projects were established in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon and Turkey, all of them with the principal objective of formulating an ICZM plan for the project area, and most of them including demonstration or pilot activities. Although mostly operating at the local level, many of the projects have been able to establish a dialogue with national authorities and to provide input for national policies on coastal management.

In all but one case (Turkey), project partners have included institutions from Europe as well as from the country itself. Projects were composed of public authorities, environmental agencies, academic institutions and civil society organizations.

SMAP III TA has provided advice, support and capacity building to all of the projects, based on their needs, with a multi-disciplinary team of local and international experts.

It is hoped that the actions and achievements of the eight SMAP III ICZM projects will contribute to a better management of the coastal zone in the region, and will feed into the new EuroMediterranean initiatives for sustainable development in the region, Horizon2020 and the Union for the Mediterranean

Integrated Coastal Zone Management

3

What is Integrated Coastal Zone Management?

Integrated Coastal Zone Management, ICZM, is a strategic spatial planning instrument for developing sustainable practices in multiple types of activity in the coastal zone. It is not a “recipe” type tool where a set of predetermined steps are followed to arrive at a solution to a problem. Instead it is a process or framework which builds upon and incorporates a wide range of resource management initiatives (sustainable agriculture, tourism, conservation, economic development) using a variety of tools depending on the problem to be addressed (demonstration projects, zoning for multiple use and marine protected areas, etc). The goal of ICZM is ultimately to facilitate resource use patterns that improve and protect the livelihoods of coastal resource users and dwellers by conserving the natural processes and system functions of the environment.

The more natural processes and functions can be maintained the less need there is for interventions (e.g. hard sea defences versus sand dunes) that are often expensive to build and maintain.

Egypt’s most important stakeholders Credit EB

Why is ICZM used?

Coastal areas and their resources are important to the security and stability of coastal people and nations.

Almost half the world’s population lives in coastal areas and depends directly on coastal resources not just for agriculture and fishing but also space to live and work. People also depend indirectly on the services provided by coastal natural systems, such as protection against climate change-induced sea level rise, storm damage and water quality. Wise

management of coastal systems is therefore vital to meet the needs of humans who live and work in the coastal zone and protect their livelihoods, prosperity, health and happiness (wellbeing). It will also protect economic investments in coastal areas, encouraging a positive contribution to local development while minimising adverse environmental impacts. Because they represent the point of interaction between diverse ecosystems and multiple resource systems, coastal areas are inherently dynamic and complex. ICZM responds to these characteristics through management approaches that analyse the whole coastal system aiming to: • improve and diversify the livelihoods of coastal resource users and dwellers; • improve the efficiency of investment in coastal areas through the conservation of underlying environmental processes and ecosystem functions (e.g. through set-back lines to protect against coastal erosion, and the conservation of groundwater levels to protect against subsidence); • respond to the impacts of climate change (e.g. sea level rise, extreme events); and • resolve conflicts between various user groups (including local and remote users, poorer and more wealthy groups).

The outcome of ICZM should provide the basis for effective integration of coastal industries into local economies (e.g. encouraging local employment and procurement strategies) and ensure that incentives offered to users of coastal resources are consistent with the objectives of the ICZM programme.

Incentives - and disincentives - are shaped by, for example, resource tenure and use right systems, subsidies and pollution taxes.

When is ICZM used?

ICZM is used when other forms of resource management either have not worked or will not work.

This is often because they overly promote the interests of one sector group over others (e.g. access to a resource: artisanal versus commercial fishers) and/or lead to environmental degradation to the detriment of other coastal users (port development leading to up-current coastal erosion). Such failures are ultimately because only part of the coastal system (its physical, biological as well as human characteristics) has been considered without a strategic long-term view that includes all coastal users and their activities. As long as the participation and contribution of interested and affected parties

4

are secured from the earliest stages of planning, ICZM approaches can be applied across various physical scales and institutional forms.

ICZM can be viewed as a “higher” level management tool that gathers and integrates the outputs from other resource and planning tools to provide an overarching view of available options. ICZM is most likely to succeed when: 1. there is a genuine acceptance for the need for action that generates wide public and political support to finding a solution, 2. approaches to resolve issues are bound within available human and financial resources, and 3. there is a strong desire to create solutions that lead to net gains to most parties with opportunities to mitigate the effects on parties that do not benefit, or benefit less than others.

Who needs to be involved?

ICZM approaches should be both flexible and inclusive, identifying and harnessing relevant skills and resources from both the public and the private sector. In particular, the academic/research sector is required to provide the information and knowledge that can underpin and inform a decision making process. Policy, legislative and regulatory bodies should also be involved as their activity is ultimately needed to promote and/or enforce compliance with management decisions. As the outcomes of management decisions will affect and perhaps constrain the activities of coastal users, it is important that civil society is involved in the process from the outset facilitated by a communication strategy to disseminate and acquire information.

Overseers of the ICZM process/project should have a vision of coastal area use which is consistent with the capacity of underlying natural processes (industrial use should be consistent with industries ability to manage and minimise pollution, fisheries should be regulated to take account of stock regeneration capacity, etc.) and a holistic and coordinated approach to planning in coastal areas.

Where do I start?

Since ICZM is problem-driven, appropriate management boundaries should be defined for any given issue. For example, watershed boundaries may be best suited to addressing sedimentation and flooding issues while administrative boundaries may be more appropriate for treating

urban pollution problems. A starting point for addressing all problems is to understand current use patterns and indigenous management systems.

Subsequent questions include: • Does the scope of definition incorporate core physical interactions and provide the basis for the resolution of conflicts between major user groups?

• Which groups/institutions should be involved?

Do weaker groups require support or external representation for their voices to be heard?

• Do existing management systems provide the basis for effective resource management?

(ICZM is strengthened by building on existing systems, where these are still appropriate.)

• What type of facilitation/mediation/negotiation process is appropriate?

Tools and approaches for working on these questions are outlined in this guide, together with the experience of SMAP III ICZM projects in attempting to answer them.

Suggested reading www.planbleu.org/indexUK.html www.beachmed.it/Beachmede/SousProjets/ICZMMED/tabid/97/Default.aspx

Essaouira, Morocco Credit NM

THE “INTEGRATED” OF ICZM

What is the “Integrated” of ICZM? To integrate means to unify parts to make a whole.

In Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM), the term “integrated” corresponds to bringing together different sectors of the coast to permit a unified understanding of the coast. And ultimately used to make better decisions about management of the coast.

In ICZM, the type of sectors commonly involved include fisheries, tourism, oil and gas exploration, aquaculture, ports & harbours and recreation. The process of integration can occur horizontally: between sectors such as the Ministry of Public Works, the Ministry of Spatial Planning and the Ministry of Tourism; or vertically, between layers of governmental and public users, at local, provincial and national government levels. Nearly every area of coast in the world has a set of sectors involved.

Integration is thus the process of bringing the diverse coastal sectors together, under the common management platform of ICZM.

Lake Maryout, Egypt Credit NM

Why is integration needed?

Classical approaches to management of coasts tend to target one particular sector, such as fisheries or tourism. There has been a long history of sectoral management and this is exemplified by many of the statutory government organisations which manage the coast. For example, most countries have a Ministry of Fisheries and a Ministry of Tourism. Thus classical management of coasts tends to be focussed on one or small number of sectors, and involves one or a

small number of government agencies.

A focus on management of a small number of sectors is adequate in an uncontested coastal area, as the sectoral implementation of plans do not compromise each other. However, as coasts become more and more used, involve a wider array of activities, uses and pressures, there tends to be more contest for the space and resources between the sectors. For example, there may be a desire to exploit an area of coast for tourism and recreation, aquaculture and oil and gas production. Such uses are not compatible as they have negative effects on each other. These negative effects could be due to visual impact and pollution from oil and gas production on tourism and recreational activities, or through land use for aquaculture in the coastal hinterland which is a prime site for tourist hotel development. Thus, some approach is needed to maximise the benefits of the coastal area as whole, and this approach is called “integration”.

Integration between sectors is necessary to maximise compatible sectoral activities whilst minimising the negative effects of increasing use. By considering the array of sectors involved in the coast in an integrated way, it is possible to formulate plans and strategies within ICZM that permit a blend of activities to maximise benefit in a sustainable way.

In some cases, as well as maximising the blend of compatible activities, it is also possible for mitigation actions to be planned that limit the impact of one sector on another. For example, using trees to screen oil and gas plant and machinery from recreational areas, or developing of wastewater treatment works for water discharges from aquaculture to maintain water quality. Integration thus serves to maximise benefits of the coast through identifying compatible activities, and mitigation measures where activities are incompatible.

When is integration needed?

Integration is necessary when there is a contest between sectors which cause conflict in uses and exploitation of the coast; this situation applies to most coastal areas. Exceptions may include large areas set aside for conservation (National Parks), or for tourism (resorts). The process of integration is not easy in practice, however, as there are many factors to consider. This description of integration

6

used above corresponds to horizontal integration.

Although this is a probably the most important aspect of integration within an ICZM plan, there are other aspects of the term integration that need to be considered.

Each sector operating in the coastal environment has its own complexity; this has traditionally been the focus of sectoral planning. The approach to coastal use by a sector is affected by many aspects international and/or national policy and law, regional or local development plans and laws, the organisations involved (governmental, non-governmental and the commercial sector) as well as aspects of local specificity (cultural values).

Thus we can also recognise vertical integration, as the way in which national and local governance of the sector operates. Depending on the sector and the context it may be strong or weak. For example, there may be strong vertical integration in a fisheries sector, through strong national and regional fishcatch quota setting, regional and local level enforcement of catch quotas, and strong government control of the fish markets. By comparison, in the tourism sector where there is a general national-level policy, but implementation at the local scale is carried out primarily by commercial hotel and holiday companies who compete for market share, vertical integration tends to be weak. Thus, different sectors are likely to have differing characteristics of vertical integration and modes of governance. Understanding the key elements and drivers of vertical integration in the sectors is a vital requirement to permit ICZM plans with multi-sectoral ownership to be drawn up.

Who needs to be involved?

Integration is needed across all the involved sectors (horizontal integration) and also cover the different levels of organisations and drivers in each sector (vertical integration). To gain any degree of ownership of an ICZM plan, this means that wide discussion and consultation needs to take place. This should focus at the local and regional level organisations that operate within the coastal area, but should also cover national level government organisations. In addition, it may be necessary to involve wider relevant NGOs and commercial organisations with influence or investment in the area.

Successful integration is based on engagement and communication. Integrating the sectors means that

individual representatives have to communicate with other individuals from outside their sector. Such cross-sectoral engagement may be unfamiliar to many. Horizontal integration in more contested areas will inevitably not lead to win-win outcomes for all sectors. Thus, building up trust among key individuals is a pre-requisite for negotiation and acceptance of integrated ICZM plan outcomes.

Where should I start?

In order to develop effective integration in an ICZM plan, the following stages should be considered: 1. Engage with sectors to gain an understanding of how the parts work and the relationships that determine how they operate in the coastal area and then identify issues and conflicts between sectors in terms of sectoral plans.

2. Work with the key organisations, integrate the issues and conflicts together and try to identify management options which could lead to minimising conflicts between sectors; tools like impact matrices and GIS (Geographical Information Systems) may aid communication and assist this process.

3. If compatible uses between sectors cannot be confirmed, then identify any possible mitigation actions. Carry out wide consultation to further refine the management and mitigation options.

Suggested reading www.encora.eu/coastalwiki/The_Integrated_appro ach_to_Coastal_Zone_Management_(ICZM) www.netcoast.nl/coastlearn/website/intro/ integration.html. www.iasonnet.gr/abstracts/prem.html www.cbd.int/doc/publications/cbd-ts-14.pdf www.pap-thecoastcentre.org/itl_public.php? public_id=314&lang=en The coast, a recreational area, although some times for very risky show, Ras Elma, Nador province, Morocco Credit EB

THE “COAST� OF ICZM

What is the Coast of ICZM? We all know that the coast is where the land and sea meet. But what is less well known are all the implications of this meeting between the land and the sea. Most obvious are the environmental ramifications, but within an ICZM context, we must also consider the socio-economic and governance connotations of this meeting between land and sea.

From an environmental standpoint, the meeting of the land and sea lends the coast a set of unique characteristics. Physical forces dominate the shape and land forms (geomorphology) found on the coast.

Wind and waves constantly change the shape and position of a coastline; they can move huge amounts of sediment onto (accretion), or from (erosion), a coast. Daily tidal movement can also move sediment, creating landforms such as drainage channels on salt-marshes and intertidal coastal lagoons. The underlying geology combined with these physical forces lead to the general character of the coast.

Moroccan coastline Credit NM

Within this coastal mixing pot of sediment and energy, a wide variety of animal and plant species are found. Most of these species are highly adapted to the coastal situation, and thus coasts are often of very high conservation and biodiversity importance.

For example, in many coastal areas we can find saltand desiccation-resistant plants species and sessile animals living on rocks and boulders that are adapted to being inundated during each tide. High species richness and productivity of biological matter typify coastal biological communities. In addition, due to the rapid changes in physical forces and sediment across small geographical distances, we tend to find many different communities within a small area of coast, compared, for example, to forest and grasslands

where large tracts of similar habitat can be found.

The strong physical forces and highly dynamic nature of the coast, coupled with the diverse and productive ecology has implications for the socio-economic and governance aspects which we explore next.

Why is the Coast important?

As we know that the coast is where the land meets the sea, we also know that the coast provides us with many useful things. The physical-ecological nature of the coast is the prime reason why the coast is so useful for us. The coast holds many physical features (e.g. ports and harbours), physical resources (e.g. sand for construction), biological resources (e.g. fish and prawns) as well as direct benefits for tourism and recreation. In addition to these direct benefits, the coast is also home to many less obvious benefits.

For example, sewage pumped into the sea can be diffused and cleaned by the coastal system, coastal power stations use sea water for cooling. We can even value the coast in terms of its ability for high rates of carbon sequestration possibly to limit global warming. It is no coincidence that over half the world’s population live in coastal areas, as they are primarily there to benefit from the services and resources provided by the coast.

However, the high levels and diversity of services and resources of the coast mean that there are many activities and users operating there. Unfortunately, some of these activities are not compatible, which means that instances of dispute and conflict are also high around coasts. The high levels of population and economic importance mean that coasts are generally complex in terms of socio-economic systems. For example, many fishing communities have a strong traditional element in their exploitation of fish stocks. Access to resources can be a complex issue especially between, say, a new tourist development and artisanal users of the coastal areas.

For this reason the coast is often a common place to find the development of single-issue NGOs. Governance of the coast can also be complex, partly due to multiple-users and a high resource base, but also because coasts have a high degree of local specificity. Most coastal areas, at the scale of an ICZM plan, are a unique blend of physical, socioeconomic and governance aspects. One solution cannot fit all.

8

When do we need to consider the coast?

Degradation of the coast is an ever-increasing problem, so we need to understand the coast now!

Despite satellite technology, powerful state-of-theart modelling and many other scientific developments, we are not in a position to understand all aspects of the coast collectively. At best we can probe various single aspects of the coast, for example sediment models, which show shoreline changes, and stakeholder analyses, which identify the influential stakeholders in coastal areas. However, such approaches are limited by the high degree of variability and unpredictability of the parameters they utilise and generally provide poor predictive power for management decisions. We are not at this time in a position to develop a single model of the coast that includes the level of complexity of the various layers of the coast (physical/biological, socioeconomic and governance) needed to provide all the answers for ICZM-style management. At best we have a number of tools to help us understand and improve management of aspects of the coast.

If we can never achieve a full understanding of the coast, then maybe ICZM is anathema? No. It is a fallacy that full understanding is needed to manage complex systems. In fact an approach, which is embodied in ICZM, has been developed to be used when we do not have complete understanding of the system; this approach is called adaptive management (AM). AM is a structured and iterative process of optimal decision making in the face of uncertainty with the aim of reducing uncertainty over time via monitoring of the system. The key facet of this approach is that monitoring provides feedback on the management decisions made during each cycle of the process, thereby providing a progressively clearer understanding of the coastal system. AM is often simply stated as "learning by doing".

Who needs to be involved?

We have previously identified the important different discipline areas involved in understanding the coast: environmental, socio-economic and governance. One person cannot understand all facets of a coastal area, and so ICZM must be achieved through a multidisciplinary team. However, for successful integration of the different disciplines, the scientists involved need to be creative in finding links between disciplines, otherwise we end up with a diversity of views and perspectives.

Any team studying the coast in an ICZM context should include three main competence areas: • Environmental the physical/geomorphological aspects which shape the coast, as well as the biological resource base within the coastal setting • Socio-economic the sociological cultural aspects, as well as understanding about who and how people exploit resources and create the coastal economy • Governance this aspect includes relevant policy and law as well as organisational diversity and capability in relevant actors of the coast. It is fundamental to ICZM as it is necessary to understand the institutional context within which ICZM could operate.

Where should I start?

You can start anywhere! The important thing is to organise and systematically store the information which is collected about the coast. A meta-database is a good idea as it gives an overview of the information you collect, especially as the information is likely to be in many forms, such as maps, demographic information, pictures and detailed site- or village-specific studies. New information will be regularly produced and should be embedded within the database system.

Suggested reading http://scholar.google.co.uk/schhp?hl=en&tab=ws www.coastweb.info/

Nador mountains and lagoon, Morocco Credit EB

THE “ZONE” in ICZM

What is the “Zone” in ICZM? Integrated Coastal Zone Management does not just focus on the narrow line where the land meets the sea, as this is a purely geographical definition. ICZM considers the seaward and landward areas or zones as well. This is because many coastal resources and activities do not take place right on the coastline, but we do need to encapsulate them into the ICZM planning process. Although the coastline is the defining feature of the coast, if we look at natural processes, resources and activities on the coast, then we must also consider some distance into the sea and onto land as well because these areas are strongly influenced by the joining of the land and sea. Thus, we can initially define the “zone”: in ICZM as being the landward and seaward area which is heavily influenced by the meeting of the land and the sea.

Some approaches to integrated coastal management do not use the term zone. They call the approach Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) or Integrated Coastal Area Management (ICAM), or other similar terms. This is largely a semantic issue and in reality all such approaches need to identify the area or zone which is under the jurisdiction of the plan.

The Moulouya river, Morocco Credit EB

Why is deciding the Zone important?

It is important to define the zone or area over which an ICZM plan operates as this determines what is included and excluded from the plan, and what is, in effect, the jurisdiction of the plan. A clearly defined

zone is the starting point for identifying the stakeholders who need to be involved in the ICZM process, and the activities, issues and opportunities that can be considered as part of the plan.

When do we need to define the Zone?

Defining the coastal zone is one of the first things to do in kicking-off an ICZM initiative. In fact, a definition or map of the boundaries is most likely to be included in the Terms of Reference or the Project Specifications at the outset. If it is not, the ICZM team needs to work to define the zone and the boundaries of the plan at the earliest opportunity, since this is vital to identify the main stakeholders, activities and issues within the defined zone.

Even with the limits of the coastal zone defined in some rational way, some consideration needs to be given to issues and impacts external to the zone early on in the ICZM process. It is not possible to define a coastal area which operates as a black box: inevitably it is affected by external inputs and impacts.

For example, migration into and out of a coastal zone, and associated change in terms of culture and / or technology can only be considered as an external influence, especially if the migration involves another country. Equally, physical change on the coastal zone can be affected by factors many kilometres away, for example, building of dams in upland rivers tends to reduce sediment supply to the estuary and coast, and can lead to coastal erosion many dozens of kilometres away from the dam. In consequence, once the coastal zone is defined, the main external agents that transcend the boundaries need to be identified and considered within the ICZM plan if they are significant. It may be possible to ameliorate coastal conditions by reducing the impact of such external factors, but sometimes it is necessary to have within-coastal zone mitigation approaches, like housing and infrastructure for immigrants and coastal defences to reduce dam-induced coastal erosion.

Who needs to be involved in deciding the Zone?

If higher-level political or policy actors have not defined the zone, then this should be done in a rational way by the multidisciplinary ICZM team. This process should involve communication and discussion with a variety of organisations, in particular locallevel or statutory government agencies. Government

10

agencies tend to be defined along sectoral lines e.g.

Fisheries, Transport (Ports and Harbours), Nature and Conservation and Tourism, and they often have different jurisdictions. For example, in England the seaward jurisdictions for the following government agencies are: Local Planning Authorities (Mean Low Water), Harbour Authorities (3 miles), Sea Fisheries Committees (6 miles), Natural England conservation body (12 miles) and Department of Trade and Industry oil and gas exploitation (Exclusive Economic Zone; up to 200 miles). Thus, the definition of the zone is important in identifying who the responsible bodies for different aspects of management are.

Clearly, the responsible bodies that have jurisdictions in the defined coastal zone need to be involved from the outset in the ICZM process.

Where do I start?

Some basic data are needed to create a rational definition of the area included within the coastal zone. These data include administrative boundaries, statutory government agency jurisdictions, land-use maps, demographic census data and physical and bathymetric maps and fisheries areas. From this, it should be possible to determine a rational and practical definition of the coastal zone.

Often it is not sufficient to identify the length of coast and then say x km inland and y km offshore, since the coastal zone is defined by the influence of the coast, and this may vary along a stretch of coast.

For example, if a coast is in an area with steep seabed and land relief, then the coastal zone becomes very narrow, as there is a narrow coastal shelf and the land quickly loses the coastal influence with altitude.

This contrasts with an example where there is a large estuary of coastal lagoon system which can extend many kilometres inland from the actual coast.

Different approaches can be used to find a rational and working definition of the coastal zone: • Variable distance definitions. This approach uses a standard landward and seaward measure to define the position of the boundaries of the zone of the plan. For example, the seaward extent could be the mean low water line, or at a particular water depth when the seabed changes from shelf to deep sea (e.g. 150m) with landward defined by a particular altitude.

• Definition according to use. This approach defines the coastal zone in relation to human activities.

Often this approach is used for single sector plans,

•

for example the fishing grounds of a particular fishery. With multiple uses being considered with an ICZM initiative, selecting the criteria for landward and seaward delimitation becomes more difficult but can be based on the boundaries associated with particular issues.

Hybrid definitions. This approach uses a different approach for the landward and seaward definition of the coastal zone. For example, Queensland State Government (Australia) defines the seaward extent as 3 nautical miles (~5.5km) and the landward extent as the area in which there are physical features, ecological or natural processes or human activities that affect, or potentially affect the coast or coastal resources.

The approach used will depend on the context and what needs to be under the plans jurisdiction . For example, the zone’s seaward extent could coincide with the limits of local fishing grounds and inland it could extend 5km, as long as the land is less than 10m above sea level. Alternatively, it may be that boundaries are set more directly using administrative boundaries, especially if the ICZM initiative is derived at a local or regional level where it can only be responsible for administrating the plan within their administrative boundary. Thus, in summary, common sense rather than complex statistics are need to define the coastal zone for an ICZM plan.

Suggested reading www.theukcoastalzone.com/geocoast/Volume1/ki ng_green.pdf www.monae.org/documents/Seaward%20limit%2 0New%20Zealand.pdf www.fao.org/docrep/008/a0266e/a0266e07.htm http://pdf.dec.org/pdf_docs/Pnacs564.pdf www.fao.org/docrep/008/y5880e/y5880e09.htm

Old castle, Tabarka, Tunisia Credit EB

THE “MANAGEMENT” OF ICZM

What is the “Management” of ICZM? Natural coasts do not need management! Natural coasts function in a sustainable way and respond to accommodate changing physical forces like storms and tsunamis. Natural coasts are considered to be dynamically stable: they are not stable in the unchanging sense, but change within limits to accommodate external changes. However, where coasts are not natural, they do need management.

Human activities can interfere with the natural

Coast, Essaouira, Morocco Credit EB

functioning of coasts, for example reduced fish populations through fishing, or building sea defences to prevent erosion. Such interference disrupts the natural functioning of the coastal system and thus the coast changes in response to these perturbations, often in a way which is perceived as negative by society.

Humans use the coast to obtain a set of goods and services, from shrimps for food to recreational swimming. ICZM aims to maximise these goods and services to optimise economic gain from the coast, in a sustainable way. Management refers to

the process by which we manage people’s interactions with the coastal system to maximise these goods and services. It is thus the human response to changing coasts by which we attempt to enhance or maintain constant provision of goods and services, or in some cases mitigate against their loss, for example through habitat reconstruction for conservation, or development of alternative livelihoods.

Why is Management needed?

Management, within the context of ICZM is not a simple issue, partly because the coast is a complex and interlinked system and changes in one aspect can have ramifications across the system. For example, construction of a sea wall can lead to the degradation of a nearby seagrass bed that is used as a nursery area by young fish before migrating to an offshore reef area, where they are fished.

Thus, construction of a sea wall can have a negative impact upon fisheries many kilometres away.

Management thus needs to account for the interlinkages in the system, and to propose management measures which maximise the array of interlinked goods and services.

Coupled to the complexities of accounting for the inter-linkages in the coastal system, we must also be practical in ICZM about the financial and manpower resources that are available for management. A management plan that cannot be implemented within the available resource constraints is of no use to anyone. Management resource constraints take many forms, from the obvious aspects such as the cost of building sea defences or sewage works, to the less obvious such as the time and effort by local stakeholders in engaging with the development of the ICZM plan.

All management resources are limited, and should be a key consideration in developing actions within ICZM. When is Management used?

In theoretical terms, management should be used when there is any loss, degradation or conflict in the coastal zone. Because we have so few natural coasts and increasing levels of exploitation of goods and services, then management should be used at nearly all the world’s coasts now to ensure sustainable and optimum use. However, in this case theory and practice are very different things.

12

It is naive to think that management of coasts does not happen without ICZM. All countries already have statutory organisations involved in managing the coast, for example Ministries for Fishing, Tourism and Environment. However, such organisations tend to have a sectoral remit and focus, meaning that many of the complex inter-linkages in the coastal system are not strongly considered in decision making. Such a sectoral approach can lead to what has been described as “death by a thousand cuts”.

The move towards management in the ICZM sense, which considers the inter-linkages in the system, tends to happen when one or more factors come together.

• A realisation by higher-level government authorities that sectoral management is not working.

• A realisation or vision that alternative approaches exist and that things do not need to be business as usual.

• Stakeholder individuals or groups lobby and put pressure on political and governmental actors.

• The availability of external, maybe donor-led, funding to try to improve or enhance environmental or societal conditions of certain coastal areas.

Some long-term ICZM initiatives have been initiated through a few people meeting over a cup of tea, or a small local level conference, and deciding to try to do something within the first enabling stage of ICZM. From a small start success can breed success and lead to much higher level ICZM outcomes.

Who needs to be involved?

At the early stage the approach to management in ICZM is to engage with relevant statutory management authorities to ensure their support for the ICZM process and possible management actions. This is a prerequisite to longer-term success for implementing management actions.

With adequate statutory authority support, the focus can then shift to relevant non-statutory stakeholders, especially those in the local coastal area.

Where do I start?

Maximising coastal goods and services in a sustainable way is a big management task. It has been proposed that management is used to provide four stages of outcomes within ICZM: 1. Enabling conditions stakeholder engagement,

identifying institutional responsibilities, developing mandates in implementing authorities and identifying resources available for management.

2. Changes in behaviour more sustainable land use practices, coordinated actions by user groups or successful conflict mediation.

3. Rewards and harvests this is where the benefits of the previous two stages are felt through improvement in aspects such as Quality of Life or Wellbeing, improved equity and access to coastal resources and increased accountability and transparency in planning.

4. Sustainable coastal development this in the final end-goal of ICZM in which both environmental and societal improvements are consolidated and the coast moves towards maximum goods and service provision in a sustainable way.

When intoducing management practices, the key is to start small! You should target one, or a few, of the relevant enabling conditions significant to your area. Success in one aspect will tend to synergise wider engagement and more ambitious outcomes.

Suggested reading www.crc.uri.edu/download/Olsen_Frameworks.pdf www.seftoncoast.org.uk/partnership.html www.pap-thecoastcentre.org/

Coastal, Nador lagoon, Morocco Credit EB

Context and Issues for ICZM in the Region

NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Supporting • Nutrient Cycling • Soil Formation • Primary Production • ...

Provisioning • Food • Fresh Water • Wood And Fiber • Fuel • ...

Cultural • Aesthetic • Spiritual • Educational • Recreational • ...

Regulating • Climate Regulation • Flood Regulation • Disease Regulation • Water Purification • ...

Source:MEA, 2005 Resources and ecosystems assessment Institutional and stakeholder analysis Resource use conflict resolution Stakeholder engagement & participation Definition of management plans Definition of policies and programmes Implementation of management plans

NRM

An economist would define sustainable development as maximising the net benefits of economic development, maintaining quantity and quality of natural resources indefinitely in time1, i.e. for future generations. Since this can be achieved only by managing natural resources wisely, proponents of all disciplines (economics, sociology, environmental sciences, etc.) have begun elaborating on this need, suggesting everything from theories to practical tools.

Natural Resource Management (NRM) refers to the relatively broad range of practices and tools available to control the exploitation of natural resources, either renewable (fish, water, timber etc.) or non-renewable (oil, construction materials etc.).

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES

ICZM

What is Natural Resource Management?

The idea that the natural resources of our planet are limited dates back to the classical economists of the 17th century, notably Malthus, but only recently, with the emergence and wide adoption of the concept of sustainable development have these potential limits and the need to better manage natural resources been subject to more accurate analysis.

Institutional endorsement & strengthening Monitoring of ecosystems & resources Evaluation & adaption of measures Multidisciplinary scientific research Institutional coordination & integration

The term “natural resource” is increasingly being integrated within, and often replaced by, the notion of “ecosystem service”. This acknowledges that our planet does not only produce materials/products that we can extract/harvest to satisfy our needs but also provides a series of services, more or less apparent but always essential to human wellbeing.

Why is NRM needed?

The recently completed Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) has shown that: • approximately 60% of the ecosystem services are being degraded or used unsustainably (e.g. fresh water, fish stocks) as a consequence of actions taken to increase the supply of specific products, such as food.

• the current degradation is increasing the likelihood of abrupt, and potentially irreversible, changes in ecosystems with important consequences for human wellbeing (e.g. collapse of fisheries worldwide, climate change) • the harmful effects of ecosystem service degradation are contributing to growing inequities and disparities, causing poverty and social conflict2.

1 D.W.Pearce, 2 Millennium

These points hold particularly true for coastal ecosystems, which can be very fragile despite their exceptional productivity in terms of both tangible goods and environmental services. In the coastal zone, NRM shares numerous objectives and principles with ICZM, to the extent that an operational distinction between the two is often difficult to make.

The fundamental challenges of ICZM are related to governance objectives, process and structures (i.e. setting fundamental societal/policy goals and redefining institutional structures and processes). On the other hand, NRM is faced with the difficulty of translating sound scientific knowledge into management decisions. It is especially at the interface between science and society that ICZM and NRM overlap considerably. When the two work in synergy, ICZM creates the appropriate institutional framework to harness scientific knowledge for decision-making and support the identification and application of NRM practices, methods and tools (see below).

Conversely, NRM contributes to ICZM by providing reliable scientific information substantiating the

R.K.Turner, 1990. Economics of Natural Resources and the Environment. Harvester Wheatsheaf.

Ecosystem Assessment, 2005. Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Synthesis. Island Press, Washington, DC.

16

CONTEXT AND ISSUES

debate over contentious issues and giving legitimacy to particular policy options.1 When is NRM used?

Rather than managing resources, as the name suggests, NRM manages human activities to make sure they respect, as much as possible: • the natural regeneration capacity of renewable resources • our capacity to find suitable substitutes for nonrenewable resources or use them more efficiently • the capacity of the environment to assimilate the by-products of our activities (i.e. waste and pollutants).

The origin of most resource-use problems lies in the open access nature of the goods and the consequent lack of ownership. Experience shows that in these conditions resource users tend to rush to get as much as possible before anybody else does, eventually resulting in overexploitation and loss of the resource for everybody (the so called “tragedy of the commons”). The open access nature (public domain) of most coastal resources and the wide range of human activities these attract (tourism, fisheries, 1Olsen,

agriculture, industry etc.) result in strong competition.

Lack of governance, corruption and the pursuit of short-term profits often exacerbate the problem.

Therefore, very careful management of human activities is needed to maintain the health and functional integrity of ecosystems. Ideally, the ICZM process creates the governance structure required to identify and implement appropriate NRM practices and tools before this competition for resources results in the overexploitation of goods, the degradation of ecosystem services and the exacerbation of social conflicts over resource use.

Who needs to be involved?

Stakeholder participation and consultation, although difficult to achieve, have been recognised as key factors for success in resource management. Resource use patterns generally result from a combination of habits, traditions, cultural norms, social interactions and economic drivers. Therefore, institutions, civil society, NGOs and the general public need to engage in a dialogue to find common solutions and compromise on their respective positions for sustainable management solutions to be found.

S., Tobey, J., Kerr, M., 1997. A Common Framework for Learning from ICM Experience. Ocean Coastal. Manage. 37, 1550174

A Colors and flavours of natural resources, Istanbul, TurkeyCredit EB

NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Where should I start?

There are several elements that contribute to and can affect the health and productivity of natural resource production systems. These can be divided in three main categories: 1. Biotic: all the biological components (e.g. plants, animals, micro-organisms) of different ecosystems (e.g. wetlands, forests, estuaries) 2. Physical: including chemical characteristics of ecosystems (e.g. hydrology, chemical processes and cycles, climate, natural hazards) 3. Social: including cultural, institutional, economic, regulatory and policy aspects related to man The level of exploitation of a specific natural resource stems inevitably from the unique interaction existing between these three elements. Ideally, we should gain solid scientific understanding of these elements and their interaction before adopting suitable management solutions. In reality, this is rarely possible and this is one of the reasons why NRM and ICZM are both cyclical processes, starting from scientific uncertainty and inappropriate institutional structures to build towards increased scientific understanding and institutional integration coordination through a process of trial and error.

Starfish, drying on a fishing boat, Tunisia Credit Uccrow

Coastal resource management will only come incrementally, through cycles of analysis, experience and learning over decades. Each cycle is characterised by a series of steps: resource assessment, management planning & policy development, monitoring & evaluation and adaptation based on lessons learnt.

NRM methods, practices and tools in support of these steps include: • Assessment methods and tools used to evaluate and monitor the state of the resource in support of the decision-making process (e.g. economic valuation, GIS) • Management options to limit or regulate human activities regarding use of specific resources (protected areas, community-based management) • Policy instruments serving as guiding principles or setting the framework for appropriate management (e.g. property rights, economic incentives, environmental standards) • Participatory methods to facilitate the dialogue between users and find common solutions (scenario development, conflict resolution).

Unfortunately, despite considerable progress made in use of these methods and tools, the momentum is often lost in the first cycle due to lack of institutional support or inadequate capacities to evaluate the results obtained and adapt the approach consequently.

ICZM can provide support to NRM in both areas by facilitating institutional endorsement and the creation of a monitoring & evaluation framework. In addition, traditional resource management approaches tend to focus on maximising selected economic benefits of an individual resource (e.g. a single fish stock), failing to take into account the complexity of ecosystem functioning and jeopardizing ecosystems services that are not immediately obvious. This is not exclusively a technical problem arising from the complexity of analysing multiple resources simultaneously but also an institutional problem linked to the sectoral approach used in resource management. Therefore, while NRM focuses on identifying solutions adapted to multiple resources and uses (Integrated NRM), ICZM creates the institutional integration and sectoral coordination required to support their implementation.

Suggested reading www.cbd.int www.unesco.org www.ramsar.org www.fao.org www.feem.it www.nostrum-dss.eu www.icarda.cgiar.org/INRMsite www.millenniumassessment.org www.pap-medclearinghouse.org

17

CONTEXT AND ISSUES

18

NRM in a complex human and ecosystem mosaic Port Said and Lake Manzala, Egypt Context The city of Port Said, was one of three cities constructed at the time of the excavation of the Suez Canal which started in 1859. It was given the status of free zone by presidential decree issued in 1977 and will lose this status in 2012. In view of this considerable change, a number of measures have been taken by the government to diversify development of the area that will no longer be able to rely solely on trade. One measure was to promote agricultural development through reclamation of large areas of land, notably in the wetland area of the coastal lake, Manzala, very close to the city. In 2006, the population of the Port Said governorate was 570,768 people, with 23.3% involved in agriculture, 30% in the public sector, and 13.6% in other activities.

The overall objective of the SMAP III ICZM project is to formulate an ICZM plan. It has been an opportunity to rethink the reclamation approach and its environmental implications, reviewing past management of natural resources in the Port Said governorate and proposing a strategy for the future with the help of a robust cost-benefit (C/B) analysis.

The project performed a stocktaking review of the key sectors and initiatives developed in the recent and less recent past, drawing essential information that should be used for further design and development of an ICZM integrated approach. The following sections summarize this review and illustrate the complex question of natural resources management within the Port Said area.

Stocktaking review Lake Manzala is the largest of the Nile Delta lakes1.

It is located in the north-eastern part of the Nile Delta between Damietta and Suez, and therefore spans three governorates. It is a shallow brackish water lake, with a depth ranging between 0.7 and 1.5m.

The area of the lake has been dramatically reduced as a result of successive phases of land reclamation, as the chart shows. Due to difficulties in nearby traditional farming areas, the number of people depending on fishing for their livelihoods has increased greatly to about 100,000 today.

Unsurprisingly, statistics indicate increased numbers 1

of people living below the poverty line (from 8.8% in 2004 to about 10% in 2006) and illiteracy levels that are much higher than the Governorate average.

Lake Manzala is connected to the Mediterranean sea through two main outlets. On the western and southern shores, 3.7 billion cubic metres of water flow annually into the lake from nine large drains and canals. One of the largest, Bahr El Baqar drain, transports water from Cairo. This effluent is highly contaminated with untreated agricultural, domestic and industrial waste. Water analyses show that surface waters, sediments and biota of the lake contain heavy metals (e.g. Cd, Hg, Zn, Pb, and Cu), various hydrocarbons and industrial chemicals like DDT and PCB. Surface Area Of The Lake in km2 (1900 - 2004)

2000 1698

1500 905

1000

770 412

500 0

1900

1984

1988

2004

The other 4 lakes are from west to east Mariut (63km2), Edku (126km2), Burullus (410km2), and east of Manzala Bardawil (650km2)

Meeting to discuss farmers irrigation, Port Said governorate, Egypt Credit EB

NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Nutrients from the drains have created eutrophic conditions in the southern part of the lake, altering the aquatic biota and causing a less diverse but highly productive ecosystem. It has also changed the lake from a saline to relatively fresh water basin. The impact of these changes on fishery has been dramatic.

The lake’s important bird colonies (100 to 250 species) have also adapted to human-induced changes in their environment: large declines in herbivorous species were recorded between 1980 and 1990, whereas the fish-eating Cormorant is much more abundant than before. This is attributed to nutrient loading in the water of the lake.

An experimental wastewater treatment plant named Lake Manzala Engineered Wetland Project (LMEWP) was completed in 2004 to treat 25,000 m3/day of water lifted from Bahr El-Baqar Drain which discharges an estimated 3 million m3/day into Lake Manzala. This UNDP-managed initiative was primarily a demonstration project to assess the suitability of engineered wetlands as a low-cost way to treat sanitary sewage from cities, towns and villages in the desert fringes of the Nile Valley and Delta where ample land can be made available.

Lake Manzala, Egypt Credit NM

Land reclamation Land reclamation started in Port Said over 20 years ago with two projects on either side of the Suez Canal: South Port Said Plain (west) and Tina Plains (east). To date, however, the outcome is modest. Of the 125,000 feddans (50,000ha) of land reclaimed, only 17,000, less than 15%, had been cultivated in 2004 according to satellite images, and more recent

(and optimistic) estimates do not surpass 30%.

The two projects were completed and handed over between ten and twenty years ago. In the South Port Said Plain, land was allocated mainly to high school and university graduates, many of whom had no farming background and/or training. Many others had limited financial resources. The result was that most of them either abandoned the land, rented it or sold it to professional farmers. However, even with this, surveys and land use maps show most of the land is still barren and the area cultivated still suffers from extremely low productivity. In the Tina Plain, part of the land was sold by auction to the highest bidder. The prices were as much as double the estimated price, but investors rarely chose to cultivate the land, preferring to divide it into smaller parcels and re-sell it. The smallholders often converted the farms into basins for fish production.

Land reclamation is normally considered a costly investment with low returns in the early years.

However, the results here are particularly disappointing. They can be attributed to a number of reasons: the selection criteria of beneficiaries, harsh living conditions, inadequate services and living facilities, lack of infrastructure, low capability of beneficiaries (both technical and financial), and lack of ties between the beneficiaries. Any attempt to improve this situation has to take all these points and others into consideration.

Water resources and water quality The main source of freshwater to the region is the Ismailia Canal. It provides drinking water, while the Al Salam and Al Sheikh Gaber Canals are used principally for irrigation. Al Salam feeds the reclaimed areas west of the Suez Canal and Al Sheikh serves the areas to the east. This water is a mix of freshwater from Damietta Branch of the River Nile and land drainage from the Bahr Hadous and El Serw drains.

The mixing ratio is 1:1, but the water has a salinity which is much higher than freshwater. FAO considers that water with more than 2g/l creates high soil salinization risk. Water salinity in these areas ranges from 0.6g/l to 60g/l for irrigation water, and from 2g/l to 108g/l for drainage water, almost thirty times the FAO limit.

Compounding the problem is a national policy, in what is after all a water-scarce country, to maximize

19

20

CONTEXT AND ISSUES

the reuse of drainage water by mixing it with canal water. Thus, many irrigation canals may be contaminated with pollutants from various sources.

Port Said governorate is at the tail end of the water system, receiving a mixture of fresh and drainage water, and this is a key factor affecting water quantity and quality.

Sanitation services in urban areas do not exceed 60%, while in rural areas the figure is as low as 5%.

Most treated and untreated domestic wastewater is discharged into agricultural drains. Levels of coliform bacteria reach 106 MPN/100ml in some drains of the Eastern Delta. The Bahr El Baqar drain greatly contributes to the deteriorating water quality of Lake Manzala. According to estimates, its mixture of treated and untreated waste water from Greater Cairo carries with it 1530kg of heavy metals per day.

Unfortunately, because of the relatively good salinity of the Bahr El Baqar drain (800 ppm) this water is mixed in some pumping stations to cover the shortage in canals supplying irrigation water.

Soil quality Soils are generally marine deposits and subject to salinization. Heavily salt effected land units account for 43% of the total area and well over half is salt effected to some extent. Soil fertility analysis shows that all surface soil samples are phosphorus deficient, while 70% have high levels of potassium. Organic mater and total nitrogen are rather low. This confirms the observations made by a large number of researchers that reclaimed land has a number of limitations which restrict its usefulness for agricultural production. In the South Port Said area, 4,124 hectares are not suitable for cultivation (23%), 4,616 ha are marginally suitable (20%), and only 11,507 ha are suitable (57%).

If low quality water is coupled with marginal soils and relatively inexperienced farmers owning these lands, the results cannot be guaranteed. Moreover, all soil samples are contaminated with cadmium, 86% with copper, and 63% with lead, showing the effective transfer of harmful pollutants from irrigation water to the irrigated soils.

Fishery and aquaculture Lake Manzala is considered the most productive lake in Egypt, contributing about 30 % to Egypt’s total catch. Average fish production is about 60 000 tons per year. With an estimated area of 41,269ha

(2004), this equates to about 1.5 tons of fish/ha, which is a very high productivity. This may be partly due to the fact that this figure includes the production of some forms of aquaculture like hosha (enclosure) practiced in the lake. Another reason is the inflow of nutrients from outlet drains that increase water productivity to a certain extent. Inflows from drains explain the change in fishery from primarily a marine one to a freshwater one. Fishermen now number about 100,000, with about 70% of them living in Matarya city around the fishing port. There are some 6,000 registered fishing boats. Lake Manzala’s fish have a reputation for chemical and microbial contamination.

Fishpond share of total land increased from 5% in 1984 to 10% or 9,322ha in 2004. In 2007, local government authorities demolished 880ha of fishponds in areas destined for agriculture. The average production level of established fish farms in Egypt is reported to be between 1,500 and 2,500kg/ha/year. Traditionally, fish farming in rice fields was based on the entry of wild fish fry with irrigation water. After the construction of the High Dam in Aswan and better control of Nile flooding, fish farming in rice fields became easier. In 1998, fish production was 12,440 tons from 1.5 millions feddan of rice fields, an average of only 8kg/feddan.

Many consider that great improvement can be achieved in this sector.

Note on salinization Most irrigation waters contain some salts. After irrigation, the water added to the soil is used by the crop or evaporates. The salt, however, is left behind in the soil. If not removed, it accumulates, sometimes forming a white layer of dry salt on the soil surface. This process is called salinization. Salty groundwater may also contribute to salinization. When the water table rises (e.g. from irrigation without proper drainage, or intrusion of seawater or brackish water in low-lying areas along the coast) the salty groundwater may reach the upper soil layers, where roots are. Soils that contain a harmful amount of salt are often referred to as salty or saline soils. Most crops do not grow well on salty soils.

Salty soils usually contain several types of salt, one of which is sodium. Where the concentration of sodium salts is high relative to other salts, a sodic soil may develop.

Sodic soils are not appropriate for agriculture and need treatments like gypsum, rich in calcium, which replaces the sodium. The replaced sodium is then flushed from the root zone by irrigation water.

Moreover, since irrigation systems are never fully efficient, some water is always lost in canals and on the fields. Part of this seeps into the soil. While this will help leach salt out of the root zone, it will also contribute to a rise of the water table. A high water table is a risk because it may cause the salts to return to the root zone. Therefore, both water losses and the water table must be strictly controlled, requiring careful management of the irrigation system and good subsurface drainage.

Historically, some degree of salt concentration due to irrigation has been usually accepted as the price for irrigation development.

NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Subsidence and climate change Almost 40% of the area of Port Said is below sea level making the whole coastal zone highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and related sea level rise. Sea water intrusion risk covers an area of about 115,000 feddans (46,000ha). An increase of 30cm in sea level would put an area of about 150,000 feddans (60,000ha) at risk. Tide gauge measurements at Port Said harbour have been collected and statistically analyzed for Sea Level Rise (SLR) over the last three decades. Results indicate a trend showing an average SLR of 5.3mm/year. This value includes the effect of both SLR and land subsidence.

Investigations have revealed that land subsidence in the Port Said area has been occurring at an average rate of 3.35mm/year over the past 7,000 years. The strenuous efforts dedicated to land reclamation in the South Port Said area (that used to be part of Lake Manzala) will face huge challenges in the near future due to progressive sea level rise and delta subsidence, especially given the implications of saline water intrusion this might cause.

Fish ponds in reclaimed land, Lake Manzala, Egypt Credit EB

Lessons learned Data quality and dispersion is an issue: abundant literature exists in all the sectors, but data are usually scattered across many agencies, especially in the water sector. Information is often quite different, sometimes contradictory, depending on the source.

Too many documents use out- and non-dated data,

relating to 10 or 20 years ago, a reality very different from the Port Said and Lake Manzala of today.

Efforts must be coordinated and recognized databases established to centralize data, identify gaps and check data quality. 25 agencies belonging to 7 ministries are involved in water quality monitoring programs, but most monitoring activities are not conducted on a regular basis. A great deal of data is collected about conventional parameters (like dissolved oxygen, acidity or biological oxygen demand) while limited data is available about key parameters such as pesticides, heavy metals and hydrocarbons.

Land reclamation policies should be assessed.

Although reclamation on both sides of Suez Canal started over 20 years ago, the outcome so far is very modest. A number of reasons have been suggested, but a thorough and integrated review of the process is still missing. As well as technical agronomic factors, key other aspects such as ecological impact, socio-anthropological considerations, socio-economic results, and the climate change/delta subsidence aspects should be covered.

Reclaiming land from a coastal lake (in this case Manzala) is different from urbanizing land in the desert. In Lake Manzala it has generated severe negative ecological and socio-economic impacts, especially for fishermen, and these impacts either eluded, or were ignored by, the developers.

Historically, Lake Manzala was a common fishing area managed by generations of fishermen.

Reclamation has cut off large chunks of their fishing grounds and fragmented them into plots of land or fishponds, sharply reducing their catches and incomes. Small fishermen could not convert themselves overnight into farmers or fish farmers, since the needed technical skills and investment were not immediately available. These once common and rationally exploited traditional fishery areas have passed into the hands of more powerful absentee landlords or speculators, with disastrous results.

Statistics related to poverty levels in the lake’s fishery community tend to corroborate this analysis.

Clear criteria for allocation of reclaimed land are also needed for future beneficiaries, including motivation, as well as assistance in the first years of their activities. This implies a multi-disciplinary team including socio-anthropologists working in close collaboration with the beneficiaries to regularly assess progress and difficulties.

21

22

CONTEXT AND ISSUES

An integrated approach is needed for land and water management. Soil management cannot be carried out in isolation from irrigation management, since good sub-surface soil drainage, land leveling, gypsum improvement and deep groundwater are essential pre-requisites for successful reclamation. A biological approach is needed to tackle salinity, selecting forage plant species that are more tolerant to salinity and sodicity. A review of all the existing crops cultivated and cultivation methods is advisable. Alternatively, a large-scale pilot area should be established for trialing treatments and testing different crops and other agricultural processes.

Taking into account the uncertain future of irrigated agriculture under such harsh conditions and the large amount of reclaimed land occupied by fishponds, more integration is needed between agriculture and various forms of aquaculture, including more trials of fish culture in rice fields. Some specialists consider that with adequate fish stocking and management, and with proper selection of rice pesticides, fish production in rice fields could increase from 20kg/ha to 80kg/ha. However, this would require cooperation, so far elusive, between the Ministry of Agricultural and Land Reclamation (MALR) which controls the land and the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation (MWRI) in charge of operating and managing the irrigation and drainage infrastructure.

Parallel to a better integration of the existing aquaculture in the irrigation network, efforts are needed to design aquaculture techniques like cages and enclosures, and test them along coastal zones, in particular in bay or depression overflow systems.

A more decentralized, bottom-up approach where land users participate in the management process should also replace the current top-down centralization. For this, landholder associations should be established in collaboration with the water users associations that already exist. The new associations could promote better management of their own lands through appropriate crop selection, rational fertilizer use, integrated pest management and prohibiting building on their agricultural land.

Discharge of polluted water into Lake Manzala and reuse of drain water have contributed to the spread of large quantities of harmful pollutants, including heavy metals and industrial chemicals, as soil analyses show. There is an urgent need to establish a regular and constant monitoring program to assess the quality

of water used for irrigation. This problem is not specific to Port Said governorate: water pollution should be a top priority nationwide. Addressing the problem calls for improvements to existing stations, new water treatment plants and the widespread use of low-cost treatments like engineered wetlands in remote areas. Last but not least, more importance should be given to research programmes focused on the transmission of the various pollutants through the food chain (from soil to humans).

The long-term effects of polluted water and contaminated soils and their impact on food should be a concern for all the public. A review of available literature, however, suggests scientists, technicians and bureaucrats are still debating the issue of polluted irrigation water and its impact on humans. Many more efforts should be devoted to opening the debate (and showing the reality) to schools, universities, the private sector and the public, in order to stimulate more governance initiatives for better enforcement of existing environment laws and a sharp increase in water treatment investment.

Although agricultural development remains a key sector for Egypt, the evident difficulties faced in areas reclaimed from coastal lakes, coupled with climate change considerations, should prompt development of new models to better evaluate the ecological services of these lakes, including their protective role against sea level rise. It could well be that alternative areas for land reclamation projects are a more promising.

Lake Manzala, Egypt Credit NM

NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

NRM in protected areas Kroumerie & Mogods, Tunisia Context The SMAP III project in Tunisia elaborated two Integrated Coastal Area Management (ICAM) plans of action for two quite different pilot areas, one in the Regions of Kroumirie & Mogods (K&M) and the second for Grand Sfax on the southern coast.

In the region of K&M, the focus is on conserving the outstanding marine and coastal biological diversity, ecosystems and land/seascapes. This is one of the most wooded regions in Tunisia with ancient oak forests populated by Barbary stags. Its wetlands are home to a remarkable variety of plantlife and birds, especially during reproduction and migration seasons. The large number of dunes between Tabarka and Cap Serrat testifies to the coast’s good state of conservation. The landscape is completed by cliffs, still largely unstudied. Marine habitats include rocks, Posidonia, sediments and around 15 species of coral, most notably Red Coral.

A bay in Kroumerie & Mogods Credit WWF

The region spans three governorates in north-western Tunisia, covers an area of 63,000ha and includes 72km of coastline. There are about 13,400 inhabitants living mostly in rural areas, with important migration to nearby urban areas. The area is relatively landlocked and there are serious constraints to agricultural development including inappropriate

soil conditions and the division of land among large numbers of smallholdings. Livestock is an important source of income, but also constrained by lack of fodder. Fishery development, too, is limited by harsh climatic conditions, although some destructive fishery techniques were used in the past to collect coral.

Due to its rich diverse landscapes and biodiversity, the Kroumerie & Mogods region is among the national priority coastal areas to be managed through new protected areas. This process started in 1998 with studies initiated by the Ministry of Environment.

The SMAP III project set itself four objectives to contribute to conserving this exceptional environment: • setting up a marine protected area • setting up zones of middle or reinforced protection on the terrestrial zone • monitoring the water resources • consolidating scientific missions to improve knowledge and monitor pressure-impact relationships Zoning The biosphere reserves defined in UNESCO’s MAB program are the model for most protected areas, involving a zoning plan to define various levels of protection: a core zone (strong protection, few activities allowed); a buffer zone (activities compatible with conservation); and a flexible transition area where stakeholders work together to develop sustainable exploitation of natural resources.

Practically, these zones are established with a lot of flexibility, a key strength of the biosphere reserve concept. IUCN, on the other hand, defines six categories of protected areas reflecting progress towards their management.

In the case of Kroumerie & Mogods, the zoning plan was considered the best approach to create workable solutions for managing this quasi-pristine coastal area. Zoning takes into account the current situation of the area (natural richness, habitat conservation, cultural and socio-economic aspects) and also its potential in terms conservation/rehabilitation of habitats, resources to be exploited more fully, and capacity to generate incomes for local population.

Ten zones of reinforced protection were proposed, six on land, for a total of 10,812ha, and four at sea with 1,368ha. These zones were discussed with key stakeholders during the various steps of the design.

23

24

CONTEXT AND ISSUES

For these terrestrial and marines areas, a number of activities are banned like mining, industry, construction of paved roads, hunting and use of fire.

A number of other activities are subject to special authorization like forest clearing and water extraction.

The same rules apply to marine protected areas.

Links with other parks Special links will be established notably with the adjacent El Kala national park in Algeria that offers an ecological continuum for several species, and with Galite island, another marine protected area in Tunisia. The new protected area will receive support from both the French Fund for Worldwide Environment (FFEM) and the MAVA Foundation, aiming to strengthen the regional capacity for marine biodiversity management and to consolidate exchange of information and of expertise between the existing marines protected areas in the Mediterranean.

An observatory on biodiversity and terrestrial and marine usages is also planned, as a tool for decisionmakers and managers of coastal areas. A dialogue could usefully be developed with similar other observatories around the Mediterranean. The Port Cros initiative in France could be particularly interesting. It aims to conduct complementary observations on four other Mediterranean sites with different human environments, one of which could be Kroumerie & Mogods.

Established in 1963, and with the longest experience in Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean, the national park of Port Cros, provides useful lessons for Kroumerie & Mogods and more generally for marine and terrestrial nature reserves throughout the Mediterranean region. Their experience shows that while real progress has been made in the natural sciences, nature conservation, environmental protection and awareness-raising over the last forty years, insufficient attention has been given to local governance. Rarely were local leaders and key local stakeholders involved in management of nature reserves, with the result that they felt dispossessed of their lands. Parks were often seen by locals as a constraint imposed from above, rather than as asset that enriched their communities.

The new National Parks law in France (2006) better integrates the human dimension and the interplay between nature, economic activities and urban

periphery. It also introduces local governance concepts into park management, with a committee including representatives from local and regional authorities, different economic sectors and park authorities. Scientists are now joined by economists, legal experts and sociologists, demonstrating a more holistic approach to park management. Decisions are made through negotiation, not top-down as had previously been the case, and the agreed activities take the form of voluntary charters, endorsed by all parties.

Kroumerie & Mogods Credit WWF

NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Management of the park The main management tools will be those provided under the forestry code and the new marine parks law, and will depend on the degree of application of the law. During the initial phase, the new protected area will be managed by an operational unit working closely with local authorities, and assisted by a management committee composed of representatives of various regional and local authorities and local stakeholders. A scientific committee will assist in designing a research and monitoring program, including ongoing assessment of the ecological impact of measures adopted.

The management plan for the park focuses on human and economic, as well as natural resource, aspects of the Kroumerie & Mogods region. Unemployment is relatively high, so local development is a priority, with measures to generate new income through ecotourism, promotion of local products and eco-labeling, and improvement of existing agriculture and fishery revenues. Farmers will be protected from the potential negative effects of wildlife in agricultural areas, like destruction of crops and pasture by wild boar.

Local governance and strengthened cooperation at the local level are also priorities, with measures for promoting consultation and resolving conflicts. A “House of the Coast� will provide information, awareness-raising and education services to the public and schools. The park’s mission specifically aims to manage land and sea in an integrated way, to work Wetlands in Kroumerie & Mogods Credit WWF

with the local Agenda 21, and prevent conflicts linked or due to human activities.

Lessons learned One of the key successes here is undoubtedly the involvement of local actors. Previously, management was mostly limited to local authorities. Now, local environmental NGOs are committed to the initiative and private sector interests are represented by tour operators, hotels, diving clubs and the like. It is important to communicate to the local population the approach taken to manage protected areas, and to develop awareness on natural heritage and the specific ecological interest of their areas. It is equally important to bring to their attention the potential economic benefits linked to nature conservation.

Environmental awareness and education has to be extended to schools.

The ICZM approach suggests particular consideration be given to the sea-land interface in its wider context (basin, watershed) and to the local development dimension in the institutional set-up needed to manage these protected areas. There was no law in Tunisia on marine protected areas. A law was prepared and adopted in January 2009 during a ministerial council and is now with the National Assembly for final approval and official publication. This law is probably not a direct consequence of the project, but here and elsewhere, local actions can and do contribute to creating the required momentum to accelerate the adoption of environmental laws.

25

COASTAL PROCESSES

What are Coastal processes?

The shape and appearance of the coast and all things in it, whether living or inanimate, are determined by the way sediments and energy interact in coastal areas. This interaction is described by the term coastal processes and creates many of the features we associate with coastal areas, such as beaches, mudflats and lagoons. The main forms of energy driving coastral processes are found in waves and tides.

Waves have been labeled as the driving force behind almost every coastal process. They are especially important at the coastal fringe because they increase in height as they move into shallower areas, eventually breaking at the shoreline as their speed and length decrease. Many factors affect waves, including the slope and depth of the seabed in the near-shore area, the wave fetch (the length of open water which the wave travels before meeting the coastline) and refraction (the way waves are bent around headland and along stretches of coast). These factors interact as well, for example longer waves experience more refraction than short waves.

Waves and coastal defences, Alexandria, Egypt Credit SH

Waves also create near-shore currents, such as longshore drift, which can be an important process in erosion. Understanding waves is complex, but important, since wave dynamics are a significant factor in determining the character of the coast. This is because waves can carry and deposit sediment (accretion) or remove sediment (erosion). Sediment can range in size from mud to larger pebbles and

stones. The action of waves can sort sediments, which is partly why there are different types of beach: mud flats, sandy beaches and shingle beaches etc.

The other main driver of coastal processes is tides.

Tides are a type of wave with a length of hundreds of kilometers. High tide is the crest and low tide is the trough of the wave. Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon, and, to a lesser extent, the sun. The combination of the movement of the earth, sun and moon create the tidal cycles that we see: an approximately 24hr daily tidal cycle, and a 29-day (lunar month) cycle of spring and neap tides.

The importance of tides varies depending on location on the earth’s surface and the resonance which creates amphidromic points (where the tidal height is nearly zero). Land form can also affect tides, for example the Mediterranean has small tides (up to 60cm on the south coast, but mainly 0-30cm) due largely to the narrow outlet to the Atlantic sea which prevents water moving in and out of the Mediterranean area very fast. Tides are also important as they create tide-driven currents which, like waves, determine the balance of erosion and accretion at the coast.

Why are coastal processes important?

Waves and tides are the main driver of the process of sediment movement around the coast. Most sediment in the sea originates from rivers (over 90%) and some are of glacial or biogenic origin. It is this sediment which helps to define the nature of the coast (e.g. beach or mud-flat), the problem of erosion and, less commonly, accretion. It also determines the type of ecosystem and so affects the biological productivity of the system. Thus the balance of waves, tides and sediment are the prime determinants of the physical and biological character of a coast.

These physical and biological characteristics almost entirely determine the opportunities for, and threats to, human activity at the coast, whether it is use of the space or exploitation of its resources. This is why goals of conservation and exploitation at the coast are not contradictory, since a naturally functioning coast both provides the best protection and opportunity for secure and sustainable human use of the coast.

Humans use and exploit the coast for their benefit and must, therefore, either live within the constraints posed by changes due to coastal process, or try to

28

CONTEXT AND ISSUES

modify the impact of the process to alter the natural changes and maintain the benefits derived from the coast. For example, breakwaters are commonly constructed to protect harbours. One effect of this is to reduce the wave energy and ensure a safe harbour for various activities and infrastructure (ports, ships etc.). However, assessment and design of such constructions needs to take into account wave and tidal processes on the coast to ensure the construction does not lead to unfavourable consequences, like harbour mouths silting up and accretion/erosion either side of the construction threatening other users, uses and infrastructure.

Who needs to be involved?

Due to their complexity, understanding coastal processes is very much in the domain of experts.

However, the impacts of coastal processes on activities and infrastructure have much wider relevance. Insight into present and future change from coastal process experts provides important information for stakeholder-based decision-making which can be initiated within an ICZM framework.

Where should I start?

Understanding coastal processes can be very technical and complex. However, for ICZM we only need to focus on how they might impact the options for human uses of coastal space and resources, whether through natural change or changes caused by humans altering coastal processes. Human-induced change is usually manifested through altered patterns of accretion and erosion.

The challenge for studying coastal processes is its dynamic nature. The coast is always changing, in the short term, with storms or other extreme events, and the long term, as coasts adapt to longer term cycles. Human alteration of coastal dynamics exacerbates and adds complexity to predicting how coasts will alter over time. However, without understanding the dynamism of coastal processes, planning for sustainable use of the coast is impossible.

The coastal landscape contains many clues that indicate changes taking place. Examples are sediment building up on one side of a headland, sediment type, grain size and sorting on a beach, and areas of relict dune fields in the coastal hinterland. With suitable expertise and site visits, the important process can often be recognized, providing the basis for defining detailed study and modelling goals. More detailed

studies often use mathematical modelling of wave, tide and sediment movement to predict future configurations and characteristics of the coast. Equally important is the use of old photographs, maps and aerial/satellite images that give insight into the dynamics and functioning of the coast and how it has arrived at its current shape and form.

Understanding more about the past development of the coast can provide insight into the present state and also possible predictions of future coastal change.

However, understanding and predicting the dynamics of coastal change is not simple. The sea is not static, and for example changes in direction and strength of wind and waves, or the occurrence of extreme events, mean that there is no typical situation for a model of sediment movement.

There are software packages to support modelling in coastal process. MIKE21 is a professional engineering software package for the simulation of flows, waves, sediments and ecology in rivers, lakes, estuaries, bays, coastal areas and seas. It is designed in an integrated modular framework with a variety of add-on modules and can be linked to GIS. Outputs can be used to help design breakwaters, harbours and return times of events like storm surges. However, all such mathematical models are only as good as the data which is put into them. A technical approach like this requires a large amount of physical monitoring data (e.g. current speeds, sediment load) and generally field validation of the generated model.

An appreciation of coastal process also provides insight into the possible impacts of climate change.

Using predictions about sea-level rise and increased storminess, we can estimate changes in waves and tides, for example, and the impact of these changes on the character of the coast or on coastal activities and infrastructure. In this way, areas prone to the effect of climate change can be identified, such as beaches with a sea wall at the back that are likely to experience coastal squeeze, unless action is taken to permit the beach to track backwards and upwards.

Suggested reading www.encora.eu/coastalwiki/Coastal_Hydrodynam ics_And_Transport_Processes www.encora.eu/coastalwiki/Geomorphological_ti me_scales_and_processes http://library.coastweb.info/322/1/Tyndall_Coastal _Working_Paper.pdf

COASTAL PROCESSES

Coastal erosion in the Bay of Algiers AMIS, Algeria Context The SMAP III AMIS project aims to support national efforts in promoting sustainable use of coastal resources in Algeria by developing an ICZM plan for the Wilaya (Province) of Algiers. The project has also contributed to improving planning and management of the coastal zone in the Province, including capacity building and technical assistance to the relevant Algerian institutions.

The Province of Algiers is the country’s largest sea hub and its most important center of domestic and foreign trade, and industrial development (zones of Semar and Rouiba Réghaïa). Its 64km of coastline can be subdivided in three main zones: East, West and the Bay of Algiers, each with its own environmental and socio-economic characteristics, needs and constraints.

Human Pressures on the Bay of Algiers Credit EB

The East Coast is predominantly industrial (especially Rouiba Réghaïa), but also shows high potential for tourism development thanks to the absence of tourism infrastructure and the presence of 4.25 km of low sand beaches (at the moment visited by 40,000 tourists per week). The zone suffers from surface and marine water pollution, coastal erosion, rapid urbanization and agricultural over-exploitation.

The central zone, the Bay of Algiers, is heavily urbanized and has only 2km of beaches. The bay is affected by untreated waste water from industry and urban areas as well as effluents from the largest harbour in the country. Most pollution is carried by the river El Harrach, with high concentrations of heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Cd, Hg and Zn).

The West Coast is mainly dedicated to tourism, a consequence of management plans dating back to 1986. It is not affected significantly by industry, although lack of land-use planning and uncontrolled sand-mining from its beaches, common features in the last two decades, pose real threats to the environment, mainly in the form of coastal erosion.

Study of Evolution of Algerian Coasts In recent years, uncontrolled urbanization of coastal zones and unsustainable use of natural resources have become a tangible problem for the whole Province. In many areas, sand extraction has completely destroyed dunes and illegal urban sprawl encroached on the beaches. As a consequence, the equilibrium of the coast has been totally upset, and many beaches suffer from serious erosion problems.

In some extreme cases, winter sea storms have destroyed hotels and other man-made structures, built too close to the beach.

In response to this, the AMIS project conducted what represents the first attempt at evaluating changes over time to the shoreline of the whole coast in the Wilaya d’Algers. It did so with two historical evolution studies starting from the same principles: • Georeferencing of the aerial photos acquired • Digitalization of coastlines for each year available • Use of the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) application The two studies differed in the type of georeferencing methodologies used. Results are comparable: the mean evolution values for the coast are of the same order, validating the final results.

The main purpose of this analysis was to create a coastal monitoring system for the Algiers area. In particular, AMIS aimed to: • develop a reliable method for improving the knowledge about, and management capability on, changes in shoreline • better understand causes of beach erosion in the study area

29

CONTEXT AND ISSUES

30

•

build up a reliable database about shoreline evolution over time.

The DSAS application The Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) is an extension that enhances the normal functionality of ESRI ArcGIS software, and enables users to calculate shoreline rate-of-change statistics from a time series of multiple shoreline positions. The extension was designed to aid in historic shoreline change analysis.

The system requires a baseline and shoreline data.

The baseline is the starting point for all measurements and is therefore one of the most important components of the shoreline change analysis process. Its shape and relative location to the shorelines impact the rate calculations determined by the transect/shoreline intersections. The baseline can be created either onshore or offshore from the shoreline data.

The shoreline data is retrieved by interpreting and digitalising aerial photos and/or high resolution satellite images (e.g. QuickBird) acquired in different years. In the AMIS project, shoreline positions were extracted from aerial photos taken during different flights made in 1959, 1972, 1980, 1999 and partially in 2003. Hence it was possible to compare five different shoreline positions.

The most useful statistical parameters returned by DSAS application are the End Point Rate (EPR) and the Linear Regression Rate-of-change (LRR).

The end point rate (EPR) is calculated by dividing the distance between two different shorelines by the time elapsed between them. The Linear Regression Shoreline changes 1959 2003 Credit AMIS

Rate-of-change (LRR) is used when more than two shorelines are available and is calculated by giving the mean shoreline movement rates on the overall period (i.e. between the oldest and the recent shoreline), taking into account variability of rates over the different time-steps available (in other words, it is the weighted average of the all EPR). It is important to underline that the analysis of shoreline displacement cannot be applied to rocky coasts, not usually subject to relevant movements, at least on a decennial time-scale.

The results of DSAS application are affected by shoreline position accuracy errors linked to operator inaccuracies during geo-referencing, image resolution and standard graphic errors. Moreover, this line is affected by the tide, and tide data are not normally available, especially for old photos, or not available for the instant each shot was taken. It is also important to note that the wave run up on the shore depends on the slope of the beach. All of these factors mean that the coastline photographed is in effect an instant coastline. Since aerial photos in the AMIS project were scanned at very high resolution (1200 dpi), satellite image have a 1m pixel dimension and images were digitalized directly with ESRI software, the error was set up at ± 1m.

Colour coding was used to graphically represent changes in the coastline measured with DSAS, with: • blue transects where EPR > 1m identifying beaches in accretion; • red transects where EPR < -1m identifying beaches in erosion; • green transects where -1 < EPR < 1m identifying stable beaches.

Baselines established for two municipalities Credit AMIS

Legend Years

1959 1980 1999 2003 Quick Bird

Legend

Baseline Haraoua Reghaia

COASTAL PROCESSES

DSAS results The results produced for the different sections of the coast (West Coast, Bay of Algiers, East Coast) should take into account that shoreline displacement depends on a range of different factors, such as waves, frequency of sea storms, sedimentary balance and human activity.

The coast evolution study underlined instability of different parts of the Province s coastline. A particularly critical situation was found in the West Coast and in the eastern part of the Bay of Algiers.

The West Coast (from the Mazafran river to Sidj Fredj) presents a critical zone near the Mazafran river mouth (Plage El Kheloufi) showing strong erosion (EPR 1959-1999 of about -0.5m/year and EPR 1980-1999 of about -1.5m/year). Erosion increased after 1980, probably due to a decrease in sediment supply from the Mazafran river and to the (illegal) extraction of sand from beaches and dunes for construction. Information sources for this period also testify to an increase of sea storms. The analysis for this stretch of coastline also shows the effects of defense structures. The area from Thalasso beach to Palm Beach had been subject to strong erosion between 1972 and 1980, and the construction of artificial coastal defense structures in the late 70s Zeralda - Staoueli Beach

EPR (m/y) 1959 - 1972

EPR (m/y) 1972 - 1980

reversed the process and allowed accretion to begin between 1980 and 1999.

In the eastern part of the Bay of Algiers, Plage Bateau Cassé (EPR 1980-1999 of about 0.90m/year) and Stamboul beach (EPR 1980-1999 of about -0.8m/ year) erosion is very serious. Results for the eastern part of the Province show a strong erosive trend between 1999 and 2003 causing the need for artificial defenses, such as breakwaters and groins, on the southern side of the Ain Chrob promontory.

Application of DSAS results Although the main aim of the DSAS study was to reconstruct past coastline evolution, the results can be arranged for other applications. The AMIS project has used the evolution rates to forecast future coastline position in 25 years and to develop beach vulnerability indexes.

Shoreline evolution forecast As noted above, the DSAS study traced shoreline evolution over the period 1959-1999 (or 2003) and calculated the corresponding EPR and LRR values.

In order to identify the future coastline position in 25 years, the following assumptions were made:

EPR (m/y) 1980 - 1999

EPR (m/y) 1999 - 2003

EPR (m/y) 1959 - 1999

El Kheloufi I El Kheloufi II

0.77 -1.24

0.03 0.58

-1.49 -0.46

-0.49 -0.45

Familiale Champ de tir

0.52 -0.08

1.11 -0.12

-1.37 -0.49

-0.26 -0.29

Complexe Touristiques Sable d’or

0.20 -0.25

0.46 0.32

-0.69

-0.13 -0.05

Azur plage Palm Beach

0.53 1.19

1.09 -0.02

0.56

0.72 0.65

Zone Militaire Quest Sidj Fredj

1.61 0.99

-1.14 -1.45

1.5 -0.29

0.72 -0.05

Thalasso

0.41

-1.09

0.18

-0.04

Mean LRR (m/y)

-0.04

EPR and LRR for beaches between Mazafran River and Sidj Fredj - Adapted from AMIS

EPR - The West Coast (El Mazafran river - Sidj Fredj) EROSION

EPR - The East Coast (El Marsa - Reghaia)

ACCRETION

EROSION

ACCRETION

EPR (Mean) 1959-1972

EPR (Mean) 1959-1972

EPR (Mean) 1972-1980

EPR (Mean) 1972-1980

EPR (Mean) 1980-1999

EPR (Mean) 1980-1999

EPR (Mean) 1999-2003

-.8

-.6

-.4

-.2

0

.2

.4

.6

Coastline evolution for beaches between the Mazafran River and Sidj Fredj - Adapted from AMIS

-3.5 -3 -2.5

-2 -1.5 -1

-.5

0

.5

Coastline evolution from El Marsa to Réghaïa Adapted from AMIS

1

1.5

31

CONTEXT AND ISSUES

32

â&#x20AC;˘

â&#x20AC;˘

Where coastline evolution is driven by human intervention (e.g. some defense structures have been built) it is better to consider the last time period available (1980-1999 and/or 1999-2003) because it is more recent.

Where coastline evolution is driven by natural factors it is better to consider the overall time period available (1959-1999), because more consistent with the overall dynamics of the area.

Beach vulnerability indexes for the eastern part of the Bay of Algiers Credit AMIS

1959 2003 1980 1999

The rates of shoreline change are assumed as constant, without considering possible future change in evolution rates.

Beach vulnerability to erosion On the basis of the DSAS results and values of coastline change, it has been possible to quantify beach vulnerability to erosive phenomena. Two indexes can be calculated: beach time loss (BTL) and beach vulnerability (BVI). These indexes consider that erosion of a narrow beach makes the beach more vulnerable than a broader one, so one important parameter to consider is beach width. This information was taken from QuickBird satellite images and from the Agency for Promotion and Protection of the Coast (APPL) database. The calculation and graphical representation of the two indexes were made on the GIS developed by the AMIS project.

The Beach Time Loss (BTL) index is a quantitative evaluation of the time (years) in which the regression of the shoreline will cause the complete disappearance of the beach. The index, which is applicable only to beaches affected by erosion, and not by accretion, is calculated thus: BTL = mean beach width / (LRR or EPR) The basic assumption for calculating this index is that the evolution trend calculated by DSAS is constant, without considering possible future change in evolution rates.

The Beach Vulnerability Index (BVI) is complementary to BTL and shows the vulnerability of the beach, since the shorter the time for the beach to disappear, the higher its vulnerability. The index is calculated as follows: BVI = (LRR or EPR) / mean beach width As for the BTL, the evolution trend (LRR or EPR) is assumed constant.

Vulnerability index classes 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

(Very Low) (Low) (Medium - Low) (Medium) (Medium - High) (High)

Value Range < 0.002 0.002 - 0.005 0.005 - 0.01 0.01 - 0.02 0.02 - 0.04 0.04 - 1

Beach time loss (year) Beach in accretion >500 500-200 200-100 100-50 50-25 <25

Results of Indexes Analysis of the results over the period 1959-1999 shows a high vulnerability index for the El Kheloufi I and El Kheloufi II beaches and the Tourism Complex beach in Zeralda municipality, in the western part of the bay.

Local authorities have already recognized the great instability of this part of the coast and authorized construction of defence structures. Plage Sidj Fredj Ouest is also particularly vulnerable: if the erosion trend of the last 20 years continues, it will disappear in 17 years. Between Sidi Fredj and La Mandrague, Plage Lido and Plage Stamboul will disappear respectively in 21 and 4 years on current trends.

Beaches in the Bay of Algiers are very vulnerable.

This is very critical because of the presence of many buildings close to the shoreline.

Identifying color

COASTAL PROCESSES

Lessons learned This first calculation of the coastal erosion in the Bay of Algiers produced precise and simple results (metres of erosion/accretion per year) presenting clear, unambiguous and user-friendly information to the national and local authorities, and to the public.

AMIS developed a robust GIS system that provided solid foundations for DSAS and relevant extensions such as beach vulnerability indexes and forecasting tools. By combining the two analyses, specific criticalities along the coasts of the Province of Algiers can be identified and assessed.

Coastal erosion in the Bay of Algiers, Algeria Credit EB

Using the spectral wind-waver model MIKE21NSW, AMIS also generated important information on wave-induced current and coastal sediment transport. Used in conjunction with erosion-related information, this enabled practical recommendation to be given to local authorities on a variety of coastal protection measures that could halt or slow down

further erosion in critical areas. This is particularly relevant since the Province of Algiers is an important urban, industrial and tourism hub where some coastal protection management measures, such as calculated retreat, are much less relevant and in some cases not applicable at all.

Along with the GIS development, calibration and development of all these models have been of great practical support for capacity building in several local institutions, and especially in APPL. It was also an opportunity to insist on the quality of the data to be collected and the importance of keeping databases updated using standardized formats.

Finally, the results of this research were used to develop several scenarios during preparation of the ICZM plan, helping to provide guidance on future urban development along the coast of the Province of Algiers.

33

INSTITUTIONS AND GOVERNANCE

What are Institutions and Governance?

Institutions can be defined as structures consisting of formal rules, informal constraints, norms of behaviour, conventions and self-imposed codes of conduct. When we think of coastal management we commonly think of institutions as being part of the government, for example an Environmental Protection Agency or Fisheries Management Service.

However, there are many other types of institutions involved in the coast, from non-governmental organisations which are legal entities (e.g. Friends of the Earth) to more dispersed organisations such as community groups and user-groups like diving clubs. Some institutions are likely to be exclusively locally focused, whereas others will have a regional, national or international outlook.

Any coastal area is likely to have a unique blend of institutions which are relevant to management of the coast, and this suite of institutions is not static. Some may be ephemeral and/or focused on a single issue (e.g. a local pressure group protesting about a specific industrial development). Some may change their views or policies over time. And of course government agencies may have responsibility for implementing new legislation.

The flag of Morocco Credit Kanduvisla

The collection of groups involved in the coast, and how they operate formally or informally and influence decision-making is known as governance. The increasing importance of this concept, with public authorities as the core part of governance, highlights

deep changes taking place within public procedures.

Contrary to the traditional model where only political authorities had responsibility for public affairs, governance stresses the multiplicity and diversity of actors who can play a significant role in the management of public affairs. It can be seen as a transfer of responsibilities between the State, civil society, the private sector and market forces when new actors are implicated in the decision-making process. The governance concept marks a radical change towards authority: â&#x20AC;˘ a switch from verticality to horizontality with exercise of powers weakening of the border private-public â&#x20AC;˘ integration of a wide range of actors who are not â&#x20AC;˘ all public or state representatives.

Good governance is based on the principles of effectiveness and efficiency, rule of law, accountability, participation and equity.

Why are they important?

A clear understanding of the legal and institutional arrangements governing coastal management, and the legal mechanisms used to implement it, is vital for the long term sustainability of ICZM efforts.

Generally, a number of government institutions and organizations have legal authority over various aspects of management of the coastal areas, with interests that often do not match and are sometimes in conflict. This mismatch arises because they have different responsibilities and their goals and objectives, though broadly similar, often differ in detail and approach. This often complicates implementation of ICZM. An initial assessment of existing regulatory frameworks will be necessary to evaluate the extent to which existing laws and institutional arrangements will promote or hinder ICZM implementation.

Implementing ICZM may also involve changing the way existing institutions operate, create new institutions, change the rights of users of coastal resources and introduce new mechanisms to regulate human activities within coastal areas and external activities that may affect the coast. This may require repealing or amending existing legislation and in some cases enacting entirely new legislation.

Legislation normally provides the mandate for the institution(s) concerned and defines responsibilities, the geographic area within which ICZM will operate,

36

CONTEXT AND ISSUES

and mechanisms for co-ordination. It also provides the legal basis for regulatory actions through which the ICZM programme is implemented by the authority or authorities concerned. That being said, legislation may not provide real insight into operational level decision-making and management, as the extent to which legal compliance is actually ensured is rarely total, nor, arguably can it be for matters such as banned fishing methods or no-take fishery zones.

Increasing emphasis is being placed on governance through non-regulatory measures - economic incentives, stakeholder and public participation where these actors implement activities and norms agreed with other actors (voluntary charters, conventions, bay contracts etc.) on the basis of their commitment, rather than constraints imposed by law.

From this perspective, these agreements take into consideration the aspirations of stakeholders better than a legal framework imposed from above.

When are institutions and governance important?

A policy cycle is often used to depict the steps and sequence of the ICZM management process, which includes 5 phases: planning, programme preparation, adoption of programme, operation and evaluation.

Although institutional and governance aspects should be present across all the various phases, it is particularly important at the pre-project and planning stage. At this time, it can be used to identify key partners and stakeholders, networks and information flows, and to decide on the appropriate institutional setting for the proposed activity. In the context of an ICZM strategy it will also help identify the appropriate lead institution.

Initiating an ICZM process within a territory also implies practices of good governance since its key principles include stakeholder participation and consultation, transparent management, and appropriate consideration of the socio-economic and environmental characteristics of the zone. Coastal governance must therefore take into consideration the social and ecological systems and their reciprocal interaction at the appropriate scale. It must also operate within specific performance objectives and contribute to a better overall regulation of the system.

Who needs to be involved?

An institutional analysis, or a review of the institutional context, aims to deliver an in-depth

picture of the current management regime. It is therefore essential that all relevant decision-makers and resource users are involved. This is essential for both strategic and tactical reasons. Policy, statutory and regulatory bodies must be involved as their support is ultimately needed to either promote and/or enforce compliance with management decisions. As the outcomes of management decisions will affect and perhaps constrain the activities of coastal resource users, it is important that society is involved in the process from the beginning. An institutional analysis carried out with the participation of all relevant decision-makers and stakeholders can also help build legitimacy and policy ownership which, in turn, can help ensure the future success of any management approach and/or strategy.

Where should I start?

Different methods can be used to analyse the institutional context, for example interviews with key decision-makers, group discussions with stakeholders and coastal resources users and/or by a review of existing literature on the topic.

The law and policy context may be summarised in a matrix format outlining the relevant piece of legislation or policy, its main provisions and a list of its key impacts. This can then be discussed with the resource users in order to assess the way in which the different laws and policies influence their activities. Various policy options may then be identified in order to streamline the management process and hopefully make it more effective.

The role of government is especially important when dealing with the coast due to the fact that the marine element is usually a common property resource. At the local level, a wide-angle approach should be adopted, ideally based on a watershed area and is likely to become the new norm for environmental management.

Suggested reading http://mirror.undp.org/magnet/policy/ www.verkeerenwaterstaat.nl/kennisplein/uploaded /RIKZ/200509/317590/ICZM_Trainingcourse_module_5_6.pdf http://corepoint.ucc.ie/FinalDeliverables/Publicati ons/CollaborativeWorking/A%20guide%20to%20 collaborative%20working%20on%20the%20coast. pdf www.medcoast.org.tr/publications/cam%20in%20 turkey.pdf www.nri.org/publications/bpg/bpg11.pdf

INSTITUTIONS AND GOVERNANCE

Institutional Context Cross-section of all SMAP III projects

linked closely to the issue of the Coastal Law (Loi du Littoral) now undergoing mandatory review.

Context When preparing an ICZM plan, it is important to take into account the legal and institutional framework that should constitute a solid foundation to develop and implement the ICZM process. The right institutional set up and context is essential to maximize key aspects of ICZM such as capacity building, ownership and sustainability of results, horizontal and vertical integration. The SMAP III projects have dealt with different institutional landscapes at varying stages of maturity regarding the sustainable management of coastal resources.

The institutional set up of the two projects was quite different. For Cap Nador, the grant beneficiary was EUCC, and the main national partners were Ecole Nationale Forestière d’Ingénieurs (ENI, National Forestry Institute) located in Rabat, the Commune of Boudinar located in the rural coastal zone under study, and FUED, an NGO located in Nador city, very active and specialized in studies related to development and environment.

This case study presents the key national partners or stakeholders of the eight SMAP III ICZM projects, summarizing the key institutional aspects of each country, examining how the ICZM process and results have been influenced by this context, and elaborating on what lessons can be learned from this overall analysis.

Morocco Credit EB

Morocco Morocco lacks the institutional framework for protecting the coast and wetlands, despite being a signatory of the RAMSAR treaty. The Cellule du Littoral (CdL), a non-statutory inter-ministerial body hosted by the State Secretariat for Water and Environment, was launched with the support of the French Agency for Development and the GEF-funded MedWetCoast project. It is the informal body in charge of ICZM in Morocco. Statutory recognition of the CdL as a government agency is pending and

Thanks to the commitment of these two local actors, stakeholder participation including rural communities was quite effective. Moreover, since a few members of FUED are officials working in Nador Governorate offices, the project was able to establish good working relations with the Governorate. The vertical link with the national CdL was facilitated by ENI, member of the CdL, and through technical support by the SMAP TA team. It was therefore relatively easy to reach consensus for the creation of a local CdL working under the General Secretary of Nador Governorate that would promote the ICZM approach and to implement the ICZM plan.

For the Moulouya project, the beneficiary was Tour du Valat, and the main national partner was the CdL. However, since the project office was based in Berkane, for operational considerations, IRATEO (Inspection Régionale de l’Aménagement du Territoire et de l’Environnemnet de l’Oriental, the regional branch of the environment inspectorate) was designated as local partner during the two first years of the project.

Collaboration between the two SMAP projects was quite active, because of their geographical proximity, the perception in both projects of the need for more governance in ICZM, the strong involvement of the national CdL in Moulouya, and the commitment of the General Secretaries of both Governorates, concerned by coastal pollution and inappropriate urban and tourism planning.

This momentum created suitable conditions for two local CdLs to be set up, in Berkane and Nador, composed of representatives of public authorities and local NGOs. In Moulouya, the local CdL will be the key instrument for implementing the Contrat d’Espace Littoral (CEL, literally “contract for the

37

38

CONTEXT AND ISSUES

coastal space”) produced by the project. The CEL is now in its third version, still under negotiation between local NGOs, the General Secretariat of Berkane Governorate and the State Secretariat for Water and Environment, testifying to the active negotiation around this voluntary agreement.

In spite of an incomplete institutional and legal framework for sustainable management of the coast, both projects have been able to initiate an ICZM governance process and two local “cells” have been established and could be really effective with more official endorsement. They achieved this through wide consultation with stakeholders, a robust and practical link with local authorities and an informal but efficient link with the national level.

The final signature of the Contrat d’Espace Littoral in Moulouya will be a first test of the sustainability of these local CdLs, and indeed the national CdL. Currently, Morocco is the only country in the Maghreb that still does not have a clear legal and institutional framework for coastal zone management.

The strenuous efforts of the CdLs and the capacity building and governance support provided by the SMAP programme in Nador, Moulouya, Essaouira and M’diq over the last three years, should prompt national authorities to consider how to address this shortcoming once and for all.

Algeria The AMIS project was implemented by a consortium whose main partners were CIRSA, an Italian research institute and grant beneficiary, and the Algerian Agency for the Protection of the Coast of the Governorate of Algiers (APPL) as main project partner. IMELS (Italian Ministry for the Environment, the Land and the Sea) was also an associate partner.

When the SMAP III tender was launched in the second semester 2005, the National Commissariat for the Coast did not yet exist, although it was referred to in law 02-2 of February, 5th 2002 related to the protection and promotion of the coast. APPL was established in 1998 by decree of the Minister Governor of the Algiers Governorate, with a legal status of EPIC (Government-owned firm with industrial and commercial characteristics) under the administrative authority of the Governorate (Wilaya) of Algiers. Its main duties are to assist the Wilaya for environment protection, support the communes especially during summer time, monitor water quality

on the beaches, and participate in awareness campaigns for environmental protection. In short, it is mainly an execution agency focused on public awareness and monitoring the coastal zone, supporting the communes and the Wilaya.

At the start of the project, APPL stressed a strong interest in capacity building for staff to manage GIS and field activities, like monitoring water quality, coastal erosion and pollution, which was closely related to their mandate. These aspects were duly covered at the expense of developing a real ICZM approach with regular debate and coordination with a wide range of stakeholders. To some extent, the EPIC status of APPL has also been a constraint, as they see information, including data collected by the project, as a service to be paid for. Exchange with other departments was intentionally very limited.

The Wali (head of the Wilaya) is the agent of central government and represents all the ministries at the provincial level. His work focuses on executing programs and decisions conceived by technical ministries, and only rarely on initiatives of a strategic nature, like ICZM. He is assisted by technical directors who, directly or indirectly, reflect the instructions of their minister for control of sectoral activities. This “two-headed” system constituted a handicap for ICZM development at the Wilaya level.

This complex institutional set up, the absence of a national leader, and the fact that ICZM was a totally new concept for APPL, who favoured immediate

Algeria Credit SMAP

INSTITUTIONS AND GOVERNANCE

results over process, led to a lack of communication with other stakeholders, and contributed to limiting visibility of the very good technical results achieved by the AMIS project. Fortunately, soon after the completion of AMIS project, its results were extensively discussed with a large number of participants from various institutions and Governorates during training sessions organized by SMAP III TA for the CNL.

Tunisia Credit SMAP

Tunisia The SMAP III project aimed to develop ICZM plans in two different and distant pilot areas, each with its own problems and specificities. In Kroumerie & Mogods, the main objective was to create a marine/coastal protected area and develop income generating activities linked to it. In Sfax, the ICZM plan for the South Coast of Grand Sfax focuses largely on urban planning, industrial development and biodiversity protection of the Thyna wetlands.

The main international partners were WWF (beneficiary) and MedCities, while APAL and Sfax municipality were the two main national partners.

APAL is a public utility, established by Law 95-72 promulgated on 24 July 1995. It is entrusted with implementing State policy in the field of protection and planning of the coastline, protection of the Public Maritime Domain (DPM) against encroachment and illicit occupancy, and approving any planning and infrastructure projects on the coastline prior to implementation. It must do this within the framework of consultation with the stakeholders. APAL has offices in several regions in Tunisia and was involved in both pilot areas.

Sfax is the major industrial and commercial city in southern Tunisia, situated on the north shore of the Bay of Gabes, with the Kerkenna islands in the east.

Sfax local authorities had been involved previously in the UNEP MAP Coastal Area Management Program in the late nineties, and had benefited from capacity building, notably in GIS. Other actors closely involved in the Sfax component of the project were the mayors of the seven local communes, Sfax University, Taparura (a project to de-pollute and rehabilitate Sfax) and several NGOs. Sfax shows much concern for its future and aims to become a Mediterranean metropolis based on sustainable development principles.

Throughout the project, Sfax Municipality showed strong commitment and ability to apply ICZM principles, developing a robust participatory approach, building inter-sector collaboration, developing scenarios, lobbying for external support and bringing its experience to bear at the national level, to shape national development plans and policies. In this regard, the presidential decision to close the polluting SIAPE factory was a big success for the Municipality and for the SMAP III project. In Kroumerie & Mogods, the institutional status and experience of APAL was useful for negotiating the zones for the planned terrestrial and marine park with the local stakeholders and the governorates concerned.

All in all, the institutional set up in the SMAP III Tunisia project, including APAL, a national agency with nearly 15 yearsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; experience in coastal zone management and a strong municipality, Sfax, with over ten years experience in ICZM, worked well, at both horizontal and vertical levels. MedCities, with its strong experience in matters institutional undoubtedly facilitated this, as did the permanent presence of the local WWF branch. Still, APAL recognizes that there is a need to update the Tunisian legal context to facilitate implementation of the ICZM approach.

Egypt The two SMAP III ICZM projects deal mostly with the management of coastal lakes located in the Nile Delta, Lake Maryout in the case of ALAMIM and Lake Manzala in the case of Port Said.

The institutional framework related to environment, coastal zone and water bodies in Egypt is quite complex with significant overlapping if not

39

40

CONTEXT AND ISSUES

conflicting mandates. Primary responsibility for lakes lies within the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources (MWRI), enacted by law 48/1982 specifying the ministry’s jurisdiction over the Nile river, water bodies, canals and lakes. MWRI with its Shore Protection Authority (SPA) is also responsible for shoreline management. According to Law 124 of 1983, management of fishing activities in lakes resides with the Fishing Authority, part of the Ministry of Agriculture. According to this law, it is also forbidden to discharge industrial waste water, pesticides or any similar toxic or radioactive compounds into the water (Article 15), and it is forbidden to fill in or dry up any parts of the lake (Article 20). Law 4 of 1994 "Law of Environment” assigns responsibility for protecting the environment and monitoring discharges from various activities into the environment to the Ministry of State for Environment (article 89). Recognizing the excessive development of the coastal zone and related impacts, the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) was also given responsibility to initiate and coordinate sea and coastal zone policies, including ICZM. Law 93/1962 enacts the Ministry of Housing to control and assign guidelines for wastewater discharge into the sewage network and water bodies in coordination with Ministries of Health and Water Resources. Ministry of Housing has a pivotal role especially if they have future plans for residential development around water bodies. The recentlyformed Ministry of Local Development with its development mandate and authority over governorates is also a key player. Finally, the Governorate is the highest local authority defining regional priorities and plans, where all the decisions concerning the governorate are debated.

ALAMIM ALAMIM’s main aim is to promote integrated management of the Lake Maryout area, afflicted by severe agricultural and industrial water pollution and uncontrolled urban development. The action targets Alexandria Governorate, the Regional Bureau of EEAA, relevant local and national authorities, industries, local communities and NGOs, private sector, and investors.

The project is coordinated by MedCities and includes several key Egyptian partners: Alexandria Governorate, EEAA, CEDARE, and NARSS, the Egyptian Governmental Agency for Remote Sensing with experience on GIS and environmental modelling.

Other European partners include Marseilles Municipality, the Ministry of Environment of the Catalonian Government, IHE and EUCC, all well known institutions very active on ICZM projects.

Through previous phases of SMAP, close links were established by MedCites with the Governorate of Alexandria, highly concerned by the serious environmental deterioration of the lake and of surrounding areas. At the outset of the project, development of lake Maryout was on the top of the city’s development priorities. Accordingly, ALAMIM worked closely with the Governorate to set up and institutionalize an integrated management system for Lake Maryout that would include a management unit for the lake within the Governorate and a monitoring unit in the regional office of EEAA. However, to ensure continued involvement of adequate competencies, a Lake Maryout Integrated Authority has been proposed. This would be composed of the 14 different authorities who claim to have a role in the management of the lake, under the leadership of the Governor or his representative.

The arrival, in late 2006, of a new Governor whose priority was business development, obliged the ALAMIM project to increase its awareness effort with all the stakeholders to promote environmental management, once again highlighting the dominant role of this decentralized authority in coastal lakes and coastal zone management.

Alexandria, Egypt Credit Alaasafei

INSTITUTIONS AND GOVERNANCE

Port Said The project aims to prepare an ICZM Plan for the area of Port Said (north-eastern Nile delta) and to define techniques and methodologies for its implementation and replicability. The project zone includes Lake Manzala (in principle the area located within Port Said governorate) and agricultural reclaimed land to the west and east of the Suez Canal.

The project targets farmers, fishers, industrial associations, Ministries, local administrators, decision-makers and NGOs. The main local partners are the Central Directorate for Irrigation Advisory Services (CDIAS) under MWRI as the governmental institution, and El Zagazig University as the research institution. The European partners are Sassari University (grant beneficiary) and CIHEAM-IAMB Mediterranean Agronomy Institute of Bari, also a university. Project partners therefore include three universities for only one governmental institution, while arguably in Egypt the main challenges are related to strategy and management issues.

Lebanon Credit IMAC

The institutional studies initiated by the project highlighted the conflicting priorities and interests of competing institutions. The Ministry of Housing, for example, encourages drying out some parts of Lake Manzala, severely reducing its fishery resources and fish farming potential. On the other hand, the Ministry of Agriculture encourages expansion of fish farming in reclaimed areas, which is forbidden by MWRI that considers fish farming a cause of serious damage to the environment and water quality.

The socio-economic and institutional studies conducted by the project rightly pointed out the

weakness of the current institutional landscape for an appropriate ICZM approach in Port Said. Main issues included conflicting land tenure policies, the need for more decentralization of technical ministries and the necessity to stimulate better local inter-sector cooperation by emphasizing win-win opportunities and added value for all partners. The study links this weakness to the fact that until recently, most of the activities in Port Said area were related to trade and business, agriculture being a relatively new sector that the government has been trying to promote to prepare Port Said for 2012 when it will loose its free trade zone status.

However, strategic matters were not extensively discussed with the relevant ministerial and local authorities, and the project gave more priority to technical issues related to agriculture, irrigation, fishery and aquaculture. This approach was adopted also to develop some ownership for the plan on the part of the local population namely farmers, fishermen and the water users association.

Lebanon The objective of Integrated Management of East Mediterranean Coastlines (IMAC) project is to launch a process of ICZM in the northern coast of Lebanon, by initiating long term mechanisms for the adoption of an integrated approach to development, endorsed by all stakeholders and duly supported at national level. IMAC targets municipalities in the area, line ministries, public institutions, as well as stakeholders from the private sector, academia and civil society.

The beneficiary is the University of Balamand from Lebanon and the other European partners are Adelphi Research, Fondazione IMC and Interdisciplinary Institute for Environment Research (DIPE-INIER).

No national, provincial or local institutions are included as project partners.

In common with other coastal nations, the legal and jurisdictional setting for the Lebanese coast is complex. Local municipalities, districts, governorates and at least nine national ministries, including Ministry of Environment (formulation of strategies, policies, programs and actions plans for coastal zone management), Ministry of Public Works and Transport (responsible of the Public Maritime Domain), the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR), the Ports Authority, the National Centre for Marine Sciences (NCMS) affiliated to the National Council for Scientific

41

42

CONTEXT AND ISSUES

Research (NCSR) - are responsible in one way or another for coastal zone management in Lebanon.

During preparation of its ICZM strategy, IMAC developed consultation with different coastal users, especially municipalities and civil society. The national level was mostly represented by the CDR, while the Ministry of Environment (MoE) was notable for its absence. Accordingly, the ICZM strategy developed by the project was mostly directed at municipalities, even though their institutional study clearly identified possible options for institutional management for the coastal zone in Lebanon through the creation of an autonomous national agency or extended prerogatives of an existing body like the National Council of Environment.

As in several other SMAP III projects, stakeholder participation, capacity building, horizontal integration, especially with the Union of Municipalities, worked rather well, but there was a gap in vertical integration, especially with MoE and with the Ministry of Transport and Public works. One reason for this might be the difficult security and political crises that erupted several times in Lebanon during the SMAP project.

Fishing port of Tripoli, Lebanon Credit IMAC

Turkey The Gokova Bay project aimed to prepare and begin implementing an ICZM plan for Inner Gokova Bay and Sedir Island, sited in the Gokova Specially Protected Area. The beneficiary is University of Mugla (Turkey), with three other national partners: the Environmental Protection Agency for Special Areas (EPASA), the Governorate of Mugla and the Municipality of the town of Akyaka. This setting is considered a perfect balance between research (one partner) and three institutional partners representing the national, regional and local levels of jurisdiction.

EPASA has gained significant experience in managing coastal areas since its establishment in 1988. There are twelve Specially Protected Areas (SPAs) in Turkey, nine of them marine protected areas. The Governorate of Mugla and Akyaka Municipality have been extensively involved in sector coastal management issues. However, the SMAP III project was their first experience in ICZM. The current institutional set up for ICZM in Turkey is not well defined. There are 13 national laws affecting management of coastal zones, and several ministries have competences related to the coast.

The most relevant laws for the project are: Coast Law 3621 (Ministry of Public Works and Settlement), Tourism Encouragement Law 2634 (Ministry of Culture and Tourism), Environmental Law 2872 (Ministry of Environment and Forestry), Special Provincial Administration Law n 5302 (Governorates) and Decree Law 383 related to Environmental Protection Agency for Special Areas.

The original Gokova project document prepared in 2005, however, identified the most important deficiencies for coastal zone management in Turkey as 1) the weakness of local scale management and 2) horizontal and vertical integration.

These supposed deficiencies did not occur at all, and the involvement and coordination between Mugla Governorate, Ula Sub-Governorate, Akyaka Municipality (regional and local levels) and EPASA (national level) has been praiseworthy. During the last year of the project, EPASA appointed one local representative with residence in Akyaka where the project office was located. All authorities participated regularly in the Integrated Coastal Management Advisory (PC & ICMA) Committee that held over 20 meetings during the project.

INSTITUTIONS AND GOVERNANCE

The Special Provincial Administration Law 5302 effective from March 2005 leaves a good part of governance traditionally managed from Ankara in the hands of local administrations, governorates and municipalities. Strong support is given to local governance, leaving more room for local authorities and civil society to develop their own vision, consolidating their ownership and responsibility towards the coast and its management. In Akyaka, a good example of this commitment has been the voluntary boat traffic agreement agreed under the SMAP III project and later transformed into local law by the Ula SubGovernorate.

Turkey Credit Gokoroko

In short, the initial institutional set up of the Gokova project, the existing legal framework, as well as a strong commitment of all the partners and key actors allowed a strong ICZM process to be developed with an excellent horizontal and vertical integration.

Lessons learned An appropriate initial project partnership is certainly very helpful to maximize the impact and sustainability of project activities. Too often the composition of partnerships is based on personal relations or existing professional networks rather than on the real issues to be addressed by the project.

The coast zone has become an increasingly disputed area and requires an upgrading of the legal framework in several countries.

Overlapping mandates is still a common situation, mostly at the central level, in many countries. This is an important constraint for the development of national ICZM strategies. However, the impact on most of the SMAP III ICZM projects has been

limited, since they have been mostly local projects where the role and decision-making power of local authorities has predominated.

National coastal agencies like APAL in Tunisia or CNL in Algeria may help limit overlapping or conflicting jurisdiction between ministries with a say in the coastal zone, but it does not resolve all coastal zone management difficulties definitively.

An in-depth assessment of the efficiency of such national bodies might produce interesting lessons learned for other countries.

In most cases, inter-sector or horizontal integration has worked quite well. Under the leadership of the local authority, the various actors, including the private sector, do feel concerned by their territories, leading them sometimes to act beyond their strict mandates. Conversely, the top-down approach still remains much more challenging, due in part to overlapping mandates at the national level. The complexity and rigidity of overlapping ministerial and departmental mandates, combined with competing interests and conflicts in the management of coastal zones, could lead to a lack of initiatives and continued degradation of coastal zone resources.

This highlights the important role governance could play in ICZM to mobilize actors at the regional or local level to develop their own vision for their communities and to realize it through charters and voluntary agreements.

The most successful projects were those where there was strong commitment, involvement and support from local authorities to promote an inter-sector approach and sustainable management of coastal resources. The increased commitment of local institutions, seen in many of the countries, to manage their coasts and future in sustainable way, should produce great achievements. These results will not go unrecognized and strong local initiatives will be in an advantaged position when it comes to negotiating at the national and international level.

In most cases, a bottom-up approach will facilitate the much-needed vertical and political integration.

Donors and other sponsors can support the establishment of informal bodies and networks that build momentum for better coastal management.

However, ICZM is a long process and soon or later the concerned government should take over and institutionalize the non-official organizations established.

43

44

CONTEXT AND ISSUES

Local Governance Cross-section of SMAP III Projects in Morocco (Nador, Moulouya) and Turkey (Gokova Bay) Nador, Morocco The coast of the province of Nador has the largest lagoon of the southern Mediterranean, and other sites of biological and ecological importance like Cap des Trois Fourches, the Nador watershed Gourougou. It is also home to three main urban centres: Nador, Beni Nsar and Mellilia.

The overall goal of the CAP Nador project is to promote sustainable development in the coastal area of Nador, through formulating an ICZM Plan of Action, with active civil society participation.

A range of initiatives has been undertaken to build and consolidate good governance at the local level.

The project involved a large number of stakeholders in the ICZM process in Nador, using individual interviews, focus groups and local forums in the communes.

The project helped the national CdL (Conservatoire du Littoral, coastal conservatory) to establish a local “cell” composed of local authorities and civil society.

It also helped the CdL network with local authorities and provided capacity building in the form of training sessions and participation in some working sessions related to the ICZM plan.

The project also opened a dialogue, rather than adopting a defensive stance, with the private sector, specifically with Mar Chica Med, a key actor that appeared during the final year of the project. This constructive approach allowed them to sensitize Mar Chica Med managers on the need to promote longterm initiatives to benefit the local population and to include environment and landscape management in their future development.

Moulouya, Morocco The Site of Biological and Ecological Interest (SIBE) of Moulouya estuary shelters important biodiversity features but is surrounded by areas that are now devoted to tourism infrastructure development, notably a 26,000-bed marina planned under the national plan for tourism development, “Plan Azur”. Other threats include agriculture encroachment, fire wood collection, dispersion of domestic waste and carelessness on the part of

visitors, whether local people or bird-watchers from outside.

The site is contested by several public entities including the Regional Forestry Administration, the Regional Inspectorate for Land Use and Environment (IRATE) and the Water Agency for Moulouya Basin.

Management of this rich estuary is further complicated by the fact that it spans two different governorates (Berkane and Nador) with very different traditions in land use, Nador influenced by its Spanish colonial past, Berkane by the French. No agreement has ever been reached between these actors.

This is why one of the key objectives of the SMAP project was to draft an ICZM plan that would provide

Gokova Bay from Akyaka, Turkey Credit TM

INSTITUTIONS AND GOVERNANCE

an operational way for more concerted management of the area. Another specific objective was to define a Contrat dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Espace Littoral (CEL, contract of the coastal space) constituting a moral commitment by all stakeholders to reach a common vision for their territory. The Contrat would also provide guidelines and technical elements for high-level decisionmakers, so as to impact national ICZM policies.

Micro-projects to improve community livelihoods and consolidate local participation were also developed.

Morocco, national level Despite a relatively inadequate national institutional framework for ICZM, progress has been made, notably by the CdL. Their work with the SMAP III

projects was instrumental in establishing two new local cells and consolidating those in Essaouira and Mâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;diq. So far, this constitutes a very good example of governance initiated without a strong legal basis and now needing recognition from central authorities.

An important national workshop was organized in Rabat in May 2009 to consolidate and validate the activities undertaken by the Cellule du Littoral and the results achieved, and to discuss measure for improving the legal framework for a proper management of the coast in Morocco.

Gokova, Turkey Gokova Bay is situated mid-way between the mass tourism centres of Marmaris and Bodrum on Turkeyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s south-west Turquoise coast. Akyaka is the principle town and is keen to promote sustainable tourism development. There are about 150 boat owners who are dependent on tourism, directly, through boat trips along creeks or to Sedir Island, or indirectly, through fish supplied to local restaurants and retail outlets.

Since the beginning of 2006, the Gokova project has been working with local residents and authorities to develop an ICZM plan. Within its participatory approach, the project has organized regular advisory committee meetings. One key topic was the preservation of the pristine freshwater creeks flowing through Akyaka town into the bay, with all stakeholders stressing this as a priority.

As a result, a voluntary agreement was debated and agreed with boat owners, specifying boat traffic rules, technical requirements for the boats, inspections, fees and penalties. On the basis of this voluntary agreement, a local law was drafted by the Sub-Governorate of Ula, refining details and specifying the implementing and executing bodies to ensure compliance. This law is now ready for implementation.

Lessons learned The voluntary nature of local CdLs and the CEL allow traditional institutional obstacles to be shed, facilitating cooperation between representatives of different sectors. The exchange of information is not hindered by administrative formalities and excessive bureaucracy.

The overlapping jurisdiction of national and provincial institutions over coastal territories makes

45

46

CONTEXT AND ISSUES

Essaouira, Morocco Credit EB

proper coastal management very difficult. This failure of the legal framework opens the way for voluntary agreements, such as the Contrat dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Espace Littoral.

As well as enabling a common vision for their territory, the Contrat could also provide guidelines for high level decision-makers and impact national ICZM policies.

Local initiatives are an example and an incitement for higher levels of governance. Equally, an activity initiated at the local level will be more sustainable if incentives exist at the central level. Shared site management prepares the ground for other, more important projects, supporting implementation of inter-sector policies at the national level.

New forms of governance require more creative support. Capacity building is needed for communities that have agreed to shared management principles, given the complexity of the ecosystems they intend to manage and the inter-sector strategies this implies.

Good governance implies strong participation of the actors at each level of the political and spatial structure. But the commitment of the local, and often poor, population also depends on the capacity to develop income generating activities. Immediate development needs prevail over conservation. Pilot activities that produce immediate and tangible results should run alongside more strategic long-term activities.

Public-private partnerships reduce the traditional separation between public and private sectors, both attempting to achieve tangible results for society.

They also empower local actors including local authorities, departments, associations, and civil society.

The plurality of voices (public and private sector, civil society etc.) implicit in shared management of coastal areas calls for negotiation and horizontal approaches rather than strict traditional vertical authority.

INSTITUTIONS AND GOVERNANCE

The Contrat d‘Espace Littoral (CEL) El Kala, Algeria Context Created in 1983, and recognized as biosphere reserve

by UNESCO in 1990, the National Park of El Kala is one of the biggest national parks in Algeria, situated in the extreme north-east of the country, on the border with Tunisia. It covers an area of 78,000ha and includes a marine area as well as stabilized dunes covering a stretch of about 40 km of coast. The park also hosts a mosaic of ecosystems, mainly evergreen sclerophyll (hard-leafed) forests, lakes, mountains, woodlands or scrubs, coastal and marine ecosystems.

Several wetlands inside the park are also Ramsar sites (Lakes Tonga, Oubeira and Mellah). Many highly symbolic species can be found here, like the Barbary Stag, the White-Headed Duck, or the Ferruginous Duck. There is also a remarkable cultural heritage, mostly from the Roman period.

The park covers about 50% of the El Tarf Wilaya (governorate) and includes about 9 communes, the largest of which is El Kala city. Around 120,000 people live in the park, but that number increases ten-fold during the summer season, from June to September. Tourism is prevalently local, but ecotourism might turn out to be a great opportunity for the region, attracting international tourists too, especially in collaboration with the Kroumerie & Mogods region in Tunisia.

A public beach in the Bay of Algiers, Algeria Credit EB

The project’s initial analysis identified agriculture, livestock, fishery and seasonal tourism as the most

important economic activities. Poverty levels are high, as is unemployment, at over 20%, comprised mainly of young people willing to emigrate. Informal activities, typical of border country, are prevalent.

The main concerns of the area are increasing urbanization in fragile spaces, anarchical use of water for agriculture, uncontrolled encroachment on the cultivated areas and lack of tourism infrastructure inside the park.

SMAP III El Kala-Moulouya is a cross-border project involving Moulouya in Morocco and El Kala in Algeria. The overall objective is to prepare an ICZM plan and, in El Kala, to develop a Contrat d’Espace Littoral (CEL, literally “contract for coastal space”) for coastal sensitive wetlands areas.

A CEL is a voluntary agreement, inspired by the Bay Contracts initiated about 10 years ago by the French Ministry of Environment in line with the French law on Water and the European Directive on Water. The Bay of Toulon was the site of the first bay contract in the Mediterranean basin, and the fourth one in France.

Unlike a coastal law that is essentially defensive, bay contracts are action-oriented, promote integration between terrestrial and marine components, and focus on environment protection alongside economic development. It includes many elements that mirror the ICZM approach, including thorough baseline analysis, collation of existing plans and documentation, an action plan with costs, identification of relevant key stakeholders and the formation of a committee.

Again, in common with ICZM, wide stakeholder participation is encouraged, with partners including local politicians, state representatives from national and local levels, the private sector, associations, scientists and users of the bay. Financial partners are also usually involved.

The SMAP III project in El Kala Coastal wetlands management through an ICZM approach drew inspiration from the Bay Contract concept for its Contrat d Espace Littoral (CEL), effectively introducing a new form of governance in the El Kala coastal zone. Adherence to the Contract is voluntary: signatories commit their own institution to apply agreed principles within their respective domain, with due consideration to their prerogatives and to local specificities, in an integrated process.

47

48

CONTEXT AND ISSUES

First steps CEL preparation should have begun with a stakeholder analysis, leading to the formation of local technical and institutional workgroups. For various reasons, some of them beyond the projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s control, the stakeholder analysis was not conducted in full, but workgroups were formed. The groups met to review diagnostic data and discuss a variety of themes, pinpointing and describing the main challenges to be addressed in the project area and the different approaches to tackle them. A workshop was organized to summarize the findings and agree on the specific objectives to propose for the ICZM plan.

In order to develop an inter-sector approach in developing the CEL and the related ICZM plan, the Wali (Provincial Governor) established an intersector committee that was charged with drafting the final structure and content of the CEL. For administrative reasons, this committee was set up only in late 2008, early 2009, and it took in total 14 meetings to agree on the final content outlined below.

The first difficulties were encountered during national negotiations on the CEL, due, as is often the case, to competition and overlapping competences between various departments, an entrenched sectoral approach and a lack of understanding of other actors prerogatives.

Understandably, there was some suspicion towards this new instrument, cutting across the usually wellseparated areas of competences and jurisdiction.

Another difficulty resulted from the choice of the National Park of El Kala as technical coordinator of the project, a choice contested by some since they would effectively be judge and jury, and by others, especially residents, who viewed it as an obstacle to local development.

All of this made it difficult to hold a dialogue and to accept the principle of this CEL, a non-legal but binding document, something completely new in the Algerian institutional context. Adhesion came step by step, each party weighing up the potential risks and returns of adopting or rejecting this CEL. The municipalities understood that the park of El Kala would be more receptive to economic aspects and exert efforts to create job opportunities, naturally with due consideration for the environment. Some concessions were granted by the park to a few private operators to grow eels in some lakes, for example.

However, park authorities included in the agreement certain measures to minimize negative impacts on the ecosystem of these Ramsar sites and to apply CITES rules to the marketing of the eels produced.

Conversely, the park expects the municipalities to improve solid waste management. An immediate result was the decision at the provincial level to establish an inter-communes service to collect solid waste within the municipalities of El Kala and Berrihane.

Another key discussion point was the malfunctioning of existing water treatment or filtering stations.

Representatives of the water department, environment department and the communes had different evaluation criteria for the efficiency of water treatment stations and different interpretations of the pollution load discharged into the environment after treatment.

As a result, it was agreed that a lot of work was needed to improve waste water collection and treatment and this was selected as main objective of the CEL. Agriculture and local authority representatives argued for more agricultural development, namely plasticulture for growing vegetables, with limited concern about the impact of the plastic, fertilizer and pesticides on Ramsar sites. To encourage farmers not to use pesticides, some locals have introduced the idea of a local agricultural eco-label.

Lac Tonga, a Ramsar site, El Kala national park, Algeria Credit EB

INSTITUTIONS AND GOVERNANCE

The Contract The zone covered by this CEL stretches over 70 km of coast and is rich in a variety of ecosystems including wetlands, lakes, forested areas, coastal dunes, and marine habitats. This zone also includes many historical sites. Administratively, this corresponds to three coastal communes. For reasons of ecologic continuum, it incorporates important areas located outside the national park itself, marking the importance of effective buy-in from the municipalities.

The key principles adopted by the signatories were: • Improved living standards and new sources of income are a priority for the El Kala area • Socio-economic development and exploitation of sites and natural resources must not be at the expense of the environment whether marine, lake or terrestrial • The CEL should be seen as complementary, and not an alternative, to existing national or El Tarf Wilaya (governorate level) programs • Signatories commit to integrate the actions necessary to achieve CEL objectives into the 5year development plans of different sectors.

El Kala city and fishing port, Algeria Credit EB

These principles are based on two very significant results achieved during the project: the validity of the initial diagnosis of employment as a top priority, since the El Kala park was perceived as limiting job and business opportunities; and the success of the many inter-sector meetings that took place, with participants keen not to compete with national or

on-going provincial programs, and committed to applying the CEL within their own sector.

Five main objectives were defined for the CEL in El Kala: 1. Reconcile urbanization with protection of terrestrial and marine areas 2. Exploit natural resources sustainably (forests, fishery and marine resources, lakes) 3. Reduce impact of domestic pollution: a. Ensure adequate management of solid waste b. Improve collection and treatment of waste water 4. Manage beach tourism rationally 5. Promote agriculture and the rural resources of El Kala Wilaya The link between urbanization and protection, evident from the third objective, is worth highlighting. This implies that urban development should not be based on expansion, real estate promotion and speculation, but rather on principles of the “sustainable city” that respects and promotes the value of its cultural richness and environment.

The second objective articulates the challenge the park is facing: to allow sustainable exploitation of natural resources so as to create jobs and income for the population. This explains why controlled exploitation of red coral is allowed, rather than completely forbidden, although its risk is recognized.

While it was not selected as a priority for this first CEL, all participants stressed the importance of restoring, preserving, and promoting the numerous historical sites and traditional handicrafts of the area.

Coordination and follow up of implementation of the current CEL will be managed by a committee established by the Wilaya (Governorate) and chaired by the Wali (Governor) or his representative. The committee will be composed of Department Directors, representatives of NGOs, the Commissariat National du Littoral (CNL, the national coastal authority), Chambers of Agriculture and of Fishery, Forest Directorate and universities.

In its first draft, the overall objectives of the contract were complemented by specific objectives, required activities and task leaders, and it was mentioned that signatories would focus principally on objectives 2 and 3 for the first three years. However, this first draft was amended during the last meetings of the inter-sector committee and the final version includes

49

50

CONTEXT AND ISSUES

only the 5 key objectives listed above, leaving the coordination committee to decide on measures for implementing and monitoring the CEL. It was also decided to keep open the adhesion to this CEL to any stakeholder in the zone covered by it.

At the end of the first three years, the CEL will be renewed as it stands or in a different form, taking into account results achieved and difficulties faced.

The CEL was signed in El Tarf on the 5th of May 2009 at the end of the final workshop of the SMAP III El Kala project. Current signatories are the National Forestry Directorate, the Regional Director of the CNL, El Tarf Wilaya (governorate) departments of Environment, Tourism and Fishery, the Presidents of local communes of El Kala, Souarekh, Ben M hidi and Chatt, and the Director of El-Kala National Park.

One result of this CEL will be funding in the new 5-year budget of El Kala national park for some of the activities designed to achieve CEL objectives.

The park has also volunteered to act as coordinating body for ICZM actions.

Lessons learned An in-depth analysis, with a detailed description of the site, is vital for initiating either a Bay Contract or a CEL. This acts as a quite detailed baseline that should allow measurable changes over the time. Too frequently, the focus is limited to natural resources whereas a thorough socio-economic study, including a robust stakeholder and legal framework analysis, is needed.

Three years, the duration of the CEL in EL Kala is a rather short period to get tangible results, but certainly a good option considering the novelty of this concept within the complex Algerian institutional landscape.

Complex scientific data and indicators assembled to assess multifaceted ecosystems should be deciphered into readable information for members of the committee, decision makers and the public. This is especially true when attempting to promote local ownership. The simple dashboard adopted within the El Kaka ICZM plan is an appropriate tool to measure progress, success and difficulties met by the CEL.

The El Kala CEL constitutes a new form of governance in a challenging context. As such, it merits regular monitoring and support by an external, independent authority to assess progress, identify training needs and provide technical assistance.

At the local level, within a community where many officials and members of the public know each other, the voluntary agreement brings with it a relatively strong moral incentive. Indeed, the institution or NGO that refuses to commit itself might be considered by others as less courageous or unwilling to join forces to reach challenging shared objectives.

There could be a real risk of discredit for not signing such voluntary agreements!

The CEL may help to solve overlapping prerogatives among various levels of administration, even within the park. This is also true for Moulouya in Morocco.

The CEL is chaired by the Wali, giving it more power, but there is a risk this new form of governance might be re-appropriated by the government. A kind of hierarchy could also emerge within the committee, tainting spontaneous expression of opinions, difficulties and conflicts, especially for NGOs and representatives of civil society.

El Kalaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pristine coastline, Algeria Credit EB

TOURISM

What is tourism in ICZM? Tourism is dependent on an unspoilt, natural and unpolluted environment. In many Mediterranean resorts the population more than doubles during the summer tourist season, and local government is hard pressed to provide the services required. As a result bathing water becomes polluted, the sea is overfished, natural systems are altered, and disposal of waste and sewage is difficult. Tourism must be concerned with protection, conservation and restoration of the natural environment. In this regard, it shares the objectives of ICZM, which include maintenance of the benefits from protecting, preserving and restoring coastal zones.

Saidia beach, Morocco Credit EB

From a policy perspective, a key planning deliberation is how to make tourism a sustainable industry, since it is dependent for its very existence on quality natural environments, human environments, resources and cultures. Sustainable tourism is often equated with nature or eco-tourism, but sustainable tourism development means more than protecting the natural environment. It means proper consideration of host peoples, communities, cultures, customs, lifestyles, and social and economic systems. It is tourism that truly benefits those who are on the receiving end, and that does not exploit and degrade the environment in which they live and from which they must earn a living. It is tourism that enhances the material life

of local communities, without causing a loss of traditional employment systems, acculturation or social disruption.

Tourism is a key issue in many coastal areas where ICZM initiatives are developed. It brings with it constraints and opportunities that can be assessed and managed using ICZM tools and processes.

Equally, ICZM includes, for example, consideration of public and private property rights, issues of displacement and lost economic opportunity of indigenous residents. Such considerations, applied systematically, can help ensure equitable access to opportunity for social and economic development from tourism.

Why is tourism important?

In the Mediterranean region tourism could reach 350 million arrivals by 2020 largely focused on seaside summer holidays and a mass tourist market. Of the total 46,000 km of coastline, 25,000 km is urbanised with environmental damage. Environmental impacts of tourism in coastal zones arise primarily from construction or improvement of facilities (such as hotels, marinas) and infrastructure (transport, waste water treatment) and from recreation (golf courses, water sports, theme parks).

Tourism can have positive implications, such as economic growth for peripheral regions, but on average only about one third of income remains within the local economy. External interests, such as international tour operators, are the main beneficiaries. Negative impacts arise from increased pressures on natural resources, including land, water, food, energy and construction materials. There are threats to local cultural and social structures, as well as to wildlife.

Why is ICZM important for tourism?

ICZM promotes equitable and sustainable uses of, and benefits from, coastal resources, and overcomes coastal issues unique to tourism, such as visitor numbers overwhelming the environment, conflicts with other industries (e.g. aquaculture, sand mining, fisheries, manufacturing) and the strain on existing resources and infrastructure.

Tourism development is often considered solely within a local area, and broader scale national and

52

CONTEXT AND ISSUES

Resort construction, Morocco Credit EB

regional contexts are absent. This tends to lead to short-term economic gain, but long-term environmental degradation and resulting economic decline. If tourism is managed as a single sector enterprise, it will develop with little or no concern for the factors that determine its success: a vibrant local environment naturally, socially and economically. It will also develop in competition with other sectors with an interest in the coastal zone (e.g. Energy, Ports, Industry, Aquaculture) and competition within the tourism sector itself will lead to exacerbated pressure on the coastal system ( access to the coast for tourist beaches, marinas).

To minimize negative impacts, tourism must be managed sustainably - environmentally, socially and economically - to limit tourist development to the carrying capacity of the region, and to promote models of tourism that have an acceptable level of societal and environmental impact, while maximizing the economic return from infrastructure investment.

ICZM is the appropriate tool to achieve this as it advocates an integrated territorial approach that seeks, over the long-term, to balance the benefits from economic development and human uses of the coastal zone.

All coastal areas produce or support multiple products and services. Sectoral solutions 'transfer' the problem

between sectors. There is a need to bring sectoral activities together to achieve a common management framework. ICZM can provide a mechanism to anticipate possible environmental impacts of tourism development and resolve conflicts between multiple activities on the coast. This is particularly important where tourism development will result in significant alterations in the coastal landscape, for example loss of agricultural land, and deterioration in landscape aesthetics.

As a development planning tool, ICZM contributes to the viability and sustainability of tourism in a number of ways.

• ICZM ensures equal access to coastal areas and suitable sites to meet market demands, while avoiding risks from natural hazards (tidal surge, erosion) • Opportunities are provided for mediation and negotiation between sectors competing for access to coastal areas and resources • Integrated development planning ensures tourist developments are supported by an adequate public infrastructure (waste management, water supplies, transport links, administration). It also encourages nesting of sectoral activities to support tourism, such as recreational facilities.

• Integrated approaches encourage diversification of the industry to attract different markets.

TOURISM

Who needs to be involved?

For a viable and sustainable industry, tourism development should be managed within the carrying capacity of the region, and should promote models of tourism that reconcile economic returns with impacts on society and the environment. The development of a tourism plan using principles and practices of ICZM should involve: â&#x20AC;˘ Representatives of political and administrative authorities at all levels (local, regional, national) â&#x20AC;˘ Tourism professionals in the public and private sectors (public tourism bodies, professional associations, owners and managers of tourist enterprises) â&#x20AC;˘ Representatives of civil society (NGO, community leaders, residents).

El Arish, North Coast, Egypt Credit TM

Where should I start?

Participation is a key factor. The stakeholders involved must feel, and indeed be, implicated in a dynamic, long-term partnership. For this to occur, a strong, well-structured, institutionally-based and cross-organisational management must be built. It must have the resources (financial and human) to allow action, autonomy and responsibility, with support of public authorities, the private sector and local people. A common vision of tourism development must develop, based on the views and interests of each of the parties, with a balanced distribution of the positive impact of tourist development between visitors, industry professionals, their personnel and local people that offers added value. This vision, and the plan that develops from it, should be supported by a high-quality information system. The plan should include monitoring of its implementation, involving the stakeholders

themselves, forging long-term relationships.

Competent authorities need to draw up and implement a consistent policy on the key areas impacting the quality of visitor experience (public transport, cleanliness, police, etc.). They should also use incentives, such as tax concessions, aids and subsidies, information and promotion, prizes to encourage private sector initiatives to improve tourism quality.

ICZM principles address the three aspects needed to ensure sustainable management of resources: procedural, the methods and procedures that might be used to best advance sustainable management; strategic, concerning long-term goals and the sustainability of natural systems; and local, focusing on specific areas and problems, tailoring of management to local conditions and encouraging public participation in formulating management policy. Applied to tourism development ICZM principles will complement tourism specific tools, such as recreational carrying capacity, that is the maximum number of people that may visit a tourist destination at the same time, without causing destruction of the physical, economic, socio-cultural environment and an unacceptable decrease in the quality of visitors' satisfaction. More general planning tools like environmental impact assessment, economic analysis and risk management, mainstays of ICZM, are also useful for sustainable tourism development.

Suggested reading www.ecotrans.org/2007/html/about.html www.papthecoastcentre.org/about.php?blob_id=48&lang=en www.planbleu.org/themes/tourismeUk.html www.coastlearn.org/tourism/index.html

53

54

CONTEXT AND ISSUES

Sustainable Tourism and Local Governance Gokova, Turkey Context Sustainable tourism development requires the informed participation of all relevant stakeholders, as well as strong political leadership to ensure wide participation and consensus building. The SMAP III Gokova Bay project is managed by the nearby University of Mugla and includes the Municipal Authority of Akyaka, the Sub-Governorate of Ula, the Governorate of Mugla and national Environmental Protection Agency for Special Areas (EPASA). It is one of very few SMAP projects to include local, regional and national authorities.

Gokova Bay is situated mid-way between the mass tourist centres of Marmaris and Bodrum on Turkey s south-west Turquoise coast. Akyaka town, the Inner Gokova Bay and Sedir Island are among the most important historical, cultural and natural areas in Mugla Province. The area hosts a local population of some 8,000 people with 1,500 in Akyaka town itself. The number of businesses in the district is 122 and overnight capacity is approximately 4,000 in hotel beds and camping. The restaurant capacity can host 3,500 people at the same time. There are 6 natural beaches in the Inner Gulf Gokova used by

around 100,000 visitors per annum. Although the absolute numbers of visitors is not large by tourism standards, in relation to the local population, the number of visitors during the season is large.

Sedir Island is an important archaeological and cultural island with extensive ruins including an enormous amphitheatre and old city wall. It is famous for its Cleopatra Beach made up of rare ooids (round calcium carbonate particles) purportedly from Egypt.

Legend has it that Cleopatra refused to step on any land other than Egypt, so Mark Antony imported Egyptian sands to Turkey so she could visit. The island is visited by approximately 100,000 domestic and foreign tourists every year.

As well as hotels, restaurants and other business interests associated with the tourist industry, there are some 150 boat owners who are directly, through boat trips along the freshwater creeks that flow into Akyaka or to Sedir Island, or indirectly, through fishing supplied to local outlets, tied to tourism.

The issue The bay and principle town Akyaka have been promoted as a quiet and picturesque area with no high-rise hotels, and any new construction has adhered strictly to the traditional architectural style of the region. There is a strong drive supported by Akyaka hotel, Gokova, Turkey Credit EB

TOURISM

local stakeholders to maintain the unique character of their destination and avoid developing into a mass tourism centre by preserving their local character and flavour whilst still being a destination that provides a quality experience.

However, development of the tourism industry in Gokova Bay is not without its problems and its conflicts of interest between scientists, who inform the decision-making process but often have a interest in conservation aspects, and policy-makers who wish to develop tourism opportunities but in a sustainable and sensitive manner. This last point in its turn leads to conflict between the policy makers and tourism

Threats

55

and hotel operators who wish to maximise on opening new areas of tourism activity ranging from ecotourism and mass tourism. The overall vision held by all stakeholders that all have stewardship over the area is very important.

However, there is a perception that the tranquillity and uniqueness of the town and surrounding area is under threat as its reputation draws in ever-increasing numbers of visitors, especially overseas visitors through travel companies that place their own demands and expectations on a largely local industry.

It leads to a vicious circle situation whereby the

Mitigating actions proposed by Working Groups

1

ECONOMIC VIABILITY

Definition of the destination tourism carrying capacity Promoting and Marketing of Akyaka and Gokova Bay as a protected area Developing soft marine sports (windsurf, kite surfing, diving, etc.)

2

LOCAL PROSPERITY

Developing activities connected with natural products and alternative medicine plants Developing of Bird watching ecotourism Integration of tourism with agriculture and fishery activities

3

EMPLOYMENT QUALITY

Organising specialised training courses for young people, for the local tourism operators and travel agencies (environmental management, local art crafts, local cuisine , etc) Developing innovative jobs (fishing tourism, agro-tourism)

4

VISITOR FULFILLMENT

Management Plan for ecotourism activities (Ecotourism standards) Creating a ìconsortiumî of the accommodation sector operators (offering an unique call centre) Defining the visitors profile (customer satisfaction surveys )

5

SOCIAL EQUITY

Involving the local NGOs in the general environmental management and awareness raising campaigns for sustainable tourism development Creating specific programmes for young people, motivating them to stay in Akyaka

6

LOCAL CONTROL

Introduce a mechanism of visitor payback Integrating various institution (national, regional and local operating in the area) activities and actions Integrated management of protected areas ( villages, NGOs, users, decision makers, national bodies)

7

COMMUNITY WELLBEING

Involving more and more the Faculty of architecture in Mugla University Creating a †Centre of Education on sustainable tourism and ecotourism Evaluating needed and feasible services for the community (how can ecotourism contribute to them?)

8

CULTURAL RICHNESS

Valorising traditional handicrafts and other economical activitiesí (traditional fishery) Defining specific Architecture/Construction principles

9

PHYSICAL INTEGRITY

Integrated approach in surrounding towns related to architecture and environmental management Protecting Nature Developing natural renewable energies (solar and wind energy) and organic agriculture

10 BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

Developing programmes for nature and Biodiversity Interpretation Creating Showroom with multimedia opportunities Creating Biodiversity pathways

11 RESOURCE EFFICIENCY

Evaluating Biodiesel production from canola Energy Audit of the tourism sector (assessment of the ecological footprint of Akyaka)

12 ENVIRONMENTAL PURITY

Creation of a Union of Municipalities and of a committee for the sustainable tourism development Creating a Special Environmental Protection Zone Integrated management of solid wastes and wastewater

56

CONTEXT AND ISSUES

reputation and natural beauty draws in ever increasing numbers of tourists, and this threatens the very features that attract people in the first place. An added risk is surrounding areas wanting to develop their own tourism economy in order to cash in on the opportunity, seen to be richer and more lucrative than the traditional economies of agriculture and fisheries.

Sustainable tourism Since the beginning of 2006, the project has been working with local residents and civil society to instigate an array of eco-friendly efforts to secure the sustainable future of the region from environmental, social and economic perspectives.

A combination of instruments have been applied to support small-scale fishermen, protect natural areas and species, administer the area's historic ruins, expand recreational opportunities while limiting damage to beaches and regulate the quality of coastal waters. Project actions have been focussed on: • Conservation of biological and cultural diversity, • Sustainable use of ecological resources, • Support for local economies through increased local revenue, jobs for local populations, and use of local supplies and services, • Community empowerment by sharing participation in management local ecotourism activities, • Increased environmental and cultural awareness.

Tourism formed a backdrop for all project actions and was a key issue for all project partners. The Municipality of Akyaka, in particular, was interested in exploring ways to develop eco-tourism and to make tourism in the Gokova Bay area more sustainable generally. The Mayor requested support from SMAP III TA and a workshop was held with an international expert in Sustainable Tourism.

The workshop was attended by the staff of Akyaka and other municipalities, all of them part of the local population, and by the Gokova Bay ICZM project team. Working group sessions led to the identification of a wide range of threats to sustainable tourism for Gokova Bay (see table) as well as mitigation measures to address the issues.

These mitigating actions encompass the core principles of ICZM in looking for holistic and integrated solutions that realise commonly held goals.

Thanks largely to the active support of the project partners, a number of activities have already been

implemented to realise these goals, including: • Creation of a waste-disposal system for tourist yachts and limited boat traffic on certain tributaries of the creek • Natural walking paths along the water so people can enjoy the area in a more eco-friendly way • Using centralised facilities to promote environmental consciousness among locals and visitors to create a culture that both benefits from and protects nature.

• Developing brochures, booklets and other printed material to make visitors and locals alike aware of the natural and cultural heritage of the area.

• Sourcing innovative methods and learning from the experience of others for addressing specific problems. They learned, for example, how smallscale fishermen handle illegal fishing practices in Foça (a district near Izmir in Turkey) and adopted it as a model for local fishermen.

• Creating a system for the tourist-carrying Blue Cruise boats to properly empty their bilge and septic tanks. For the past two and a half years, these boats have been emptying their waste into the municipality's sewer system before leaving on voyages. Testing is carried out to ensure and illustrate the effectiveness of this activity to users and administrators alike.

• Working towards and attaining the EU beach Blue flag status.

• Working with local boat owners to implement a boat traffic management scheme to both protect the environment and enhance the visitor experience through avoiding congestion.

• Providing alternatives to beach tourism for tourists, such as nature trails with information boards, a

Bay and camp site, Akyaka, Turkey Credit EB

TOURISM

Challenges Tourism planning and development has not been without its problems and/or challenges. Despite a robust consultative process, management of boat traffic in the confined waterways of the local creek required a local voluntary agreement to be made into a local law defining details and the implementing and executing bodies to ensure compliance.

Amphitheatre, Sedir Island, Gokova, Turkey Credit MLT

•

variety of water sports including kayaks, small boats, and various forms of surfing.

Developing a strong archaeological programme at Sedir Island, with informative educational materials to communicate the importance of the site.

Public participation has been a cornerstone of the campaign, which has included public meetings, conferences, workshops and panels on the area's natural life - including a special educational effort targeted at children - and the impacts of sea pollution, fishing and coastal erosion. An important feature of this approach has been the inclusion of NGOs who often give a well-organised voice to local and wider concerns. Discussions with all interested individuals and groups have ensured wide acceptance and stewardship.

The Akyaka Vision This emphasis on participation has led to the development of the Akyaka vision enacted by the Municipality. “Akyaka is where people respect nature, preserve its architectural structure, focus on sustainable and alternative tourism and take common action in unity and solidarity.”

Any changes to the Akyaka Vision require the democratic and widespread participation of the local population. The basis of any important decisions affecting the future of either urban or regional development projects, is public participation, Kent Konseyi (consultative council), non-governmental organizations, universities and professional associations. Inclusion of women, young people and children is also encouraged during the decisionmaking process. Through this vision the Municipality promotes sustainable tourism by protecting natural and cultural values, supporting projects that adhere to these principles, together with the organizations in the tourism sector.

The Municipality of Akyaka has a strong mechanism for internal dialogue amongst stakeholders, but it does not have robust direct links with other communities within the Gokova Bay area to promote a strong, bay-wide integrated development plan. In addition, the knowledge-holders who inform the local decision-making process often hold a bias towards their preferred forms of development, or actively resist development. This can become a barrier to innovative forms of diversification, for instance international water sports competitions, which are perceived by some as bringing undue pressure on status of the local environment. Finally there is the issue of an absence of a formal monitoring and assessment to determine whether the vision and process are succeeding in the eyes of the stakeholders who could possibly hold different views as to what constitutes success.

In these respects the presence of an externally funded (European Commission) ICZM project has proved very beneficial, firstly because the project itself includes partners from a wide group of institutions ranging from local (Municipality of Akyaka) to regional (sub-Governorate and Governorate) to national level (Environmental Protection Agency for Special Areas. This adds weight, credence and autonomy of action to the management and decisionmaking process. Secondly, the university managing and implementing the project is seen to be a neutral body with no vested interest in any one sector or outcome. It is an authoritative body whose knowledge is held in high esteem. Its staff are often from the area or have local experience and are known and respected within the community.

Stakeholder involvement, through meetings instigated and chaired by the project, has allowed for negotiation and arrival at an accepted consensus on many issues that were, or could have been, contested. Sometimes this has been with the “benefit of the doubt” given because of the perceived authority and neutrality of the University, but in all cases it has allowed breathing

57

58

CONTEXT AND ISSUES

space for management actions to be put in place and for stakeholders to make more informed decisions on the value of certain approaches.

Lessons learned The approach and application of management actions demonstrate that, even for a sectoral issue like tourism, the principles of ICZM provide a structure and process. The ICZM approach at Gokova Bay exhibits the importance of a broad overall perspective (thematic and geographic) which will take into account natural and anthropogenic activities that impact on coastal areas and respect local specificity so that the process is responsive to the practical needs and aspirations of the local population. This has been important to provide a forum and a process where local voices unite to match that of other stronger and more powerful interests and individually more powerful voices that might wish to pursue a direction in their own interests (e.g. wealthy hotel owners who may live outside of the local area and who want a more mass tourist direction but who by virtue of living elsewhere not be impacted by its consequences).

The approach has meant involving all the parties concerned in the management process by means of agreements based on shared responsibility. The project has been an opportunity to bring together a variety of stakeholders representing various sectors and opinions, initiating a dialogue, exchange of experience and creating an opportunity to discuss the different options for tourism development. The use of interactive workshops for all stakeholders with local and external expertise and regular public forums has meant that decision-makers and project managers have been in touch with opinion at all levels.

The support and involvement of relevant administrative bodies at national, regional and local level and the building of appropriate links between them for improved policy coordination is, again, a feature of the ICZM approach. The project management has been able to facilitate dialogue, understanding and cooperation between different authorities to work together to tackle problems (e.g. the problem of boat traffic in local creeks was a problem at the municipal level that was ultimately solved through actions instigated and implemented at sub-Governorate level).

The project was able to produce a comprehensive action plan, but there is a strong requirement to put into place from the start a monitoring and evaluation programme to assess progress towards goals and accrual of benefits as expected.

In a sector that involves a wide range of stakeholders representing a variety of organisations and institutions at different vertical levels and across horizontal planes, the role of a neutral and competent body to reconcile or at least facilitate agreement and dialogue was critical.

Kadin Creek, Akyaka, Turkey Credit MLT

TOURISM

Mediterranean coast) and Essaouira (Atlantic coast) will be described emphasizing how tourism investments have influenced the projects and how the projects have coped with their consequences.

Hotel complex under construction, M’diq, Morocco Credit NM

Mass Tourism in Coastal Areas Cross-section of SMAP III activities in Morocco: Nador, Moulouya and CdLs in M’diq & Essaouira Context Tourism is a strong economic driver in the Mediterranean. Most countries on the southern shore of the Mediterranean, notably Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco, are important actors in the international tourism market, while others such as Algeria and Libya have opened to tourism only recently. The Kingdom of Morocco is a very popular tourist destination but the bulk of the tourism has always had a cultural focus (imperial cities etc.).

In the light of this, in 2001 the Ministry of Tourism launched a national tourism development plan, “Plan Azur”. It aims to increase considerably the number of tourists visiting the country to enjoy the beauty of its Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts, as has been happening for decades in Tunisia and Egypt. This has opened an era of very large investments along the coast, with six mega-projects for new hotels, apartments, marinas and golf courses scheduled for completion by 2010. Some doubts have emerged recently1 with several key investors reported to be pulling out as a result of the global financial crisis.

All the SMAP III projects implemented in Morocco have had to deal with this wave of tourism development and they have done so in different ways. It seems interesting to provide an overview of these cases to derive some lessons on the relationship between ICZM and mass tourism. The cases of Nador, Moulouya, M’diq (all on the 1 “Nuages

sur le Plan Azur”, Jeune Afrique, n.2525, 31 May 2009

Nador The province of Nador is home to the largest lagoon in the southern Mediterranean. Lack of integration and proper management in this coastal area has led to problems, notably disputes over the land tenure system, pollution from urban sewers, landfills, industrial effluents and agricultural runoff, coastal erosion, and anarchic urbanization. Fisheries and fish-farming production has decreased during the past few years due to degradation in the water quality of the lagoon. The Nador Project worked in close consultation with all stakeholders (fishermen, institutions, municipalities, citizens etc.) with the aim of developing an ICZM plan for the lagoon of Nador and surrounding areas (Cap de Trois Fourches and Boudinar).

Tourism was never an important part of the economy in Nador and the area is virtually unknown to the international tourism market at the moment. But in 2008 “Mar Chica Med” a public interest company fully owned by the Moroccan Government was created with the aim of transforming Nador lagoon into a major international tourism destination. It should be noted that this is not part of the Plan Azur but was developed separately from a royal initiative.

After almost two years work in Nador, the coordinators of the Nador Project suddenly had to deal with a new powerful actor, Mar Chica Med. Following preliminary discussion with the director of the state-owned company, it became obvious that Mar Chica Med was not just another stakeholder to be consulted; it was the only one that really counted.

Mar Chica Med had a tourism development plan to implement and the power to impose decisions on all other institutions in the territory without having to bother consulting anybody. Decisions were taken by the company and all other institutions had to adapt their plans to these decisions.

Mar Chica Med’s arrival was greeted with mixed feelings from the local institutions and population.

The prospect of economic development was welcome but exactly what that implied in practice and what

59

60

CONTEXT AND ISSUES

the state-owned company actually had in mind was not entirely clear. Nevertheless, the company started off with very visible actions like cleaning the lagoon from solid waste (mainly plastic bottles) which was a real nuisance and considerably reduced the esthetic value of the lagoon. In addition, it advertised plans to open a new connection between the sea and the lagoon improving water circulation and quality.

This was particularly well-received by fishermen.

In conclusion, Mar Chica Med is mainly seen favorably now.

The Moulouya Project started when work in Saidia was well underway and it immediately turned out to be one of the most controversial issues to be addressed by the project. During the first project meeting, representatives of the tourism sector welcomed the FADESA complex as the best thing that could happen to Saidia because of the employment it would create.

On the other hand, local environmental groups indicated FADESA as a real disaster for the region and claimed it was destroying the SIBE of Moulouya and the beach.

The project had to adapt to this situation and the only possible way was to offer Mar Chica Med collaboration by sharing all the information collected during the project and by highlighting issues which required attention in light of the future tourism development. For example, contamination of lagoon waters was controversial because the studies contracted by Mar Chica Med suggested water quality was within safety standards while the project had found of particular concern the contamination of sediments. Sediments trap pollutants but release them if these are dredged and Mar Chica Med had planned a large dredging intervention.

Further analysis and site investigation showed that the FADESA complex was not actually being built on the SIBE but really close to its borders and that most of the area is below sea level and very prone to flooding. In fact, based on a recent study by University Mohamed V, in 2050 approximately 25% of the coastline between Saidia and the Moulouya river delta could be lost to flooding and approximately 50% could be lost to erosion as a consequence of sea level rise. The FADESA complex was apparently flooded during construction as a consequence of a storm, demonstrating that the site had not been properly investigated before development.

Unfortunately, the project closed shortly after the discussion with Mar Chica Med had started but the on-going dialogue was left in the hands of the local Coastal Cell (CdL) hosted within the Governorate of Nador.

After initial difficulties, the Moulouya project realized that the only way forward was to make the best of the FADESA complex and engage in a dialogue with the managers. In fact, the SIBE neighboring the complex could be a major source of revenue for local entrepreneurs willing to offer alternative recreational

Moulouya The El Kala/Moulouya project has one component in El Kala, Algeria and a second one on the delta of the river Moulouya. The delta is designated under Moroccan law an Area of Biological and Ecological Interest (SIBE) but it is also very close to a very popular destination for local tourists called Saidia, famous for its long wide beaches. An area close to the city of Saidia has been chosen for development under the Plan Azur and has become the symbol of Plan Azur in Morocco, as it was the first allotment to be started and completed (June 2009).

The Spanish company FADESA was awarded the contract to develop the area by the Moroccan government. The company went bankrupt in 2007 (as a consequence of the economic crisis faced by the Spanish housing sector) and was bought by a Moroccan company which is now managing the site.

Fishing in the river Moulouya, Morocco Credit NM

TOURISM

opportunities to visitors (horse rides, birdwatching etc.). It remains to be seen whether the opportunities will compensate for the threats to the area.

M’diq M’diq is a well-known destination for local tourists (the royal family has one of its mansions in this area). Over the past few years, it has experienced very rapid development of the tourism infrastructure to cater for international and local guests (hotels, apartments, marinas etc.). Approximately 95% of the coastline in the province of M’diq has been occupied with hotels or tourist complexes causing the almost complete disappearance of the existing sand dunes and wetlands.

The boom in the construction of second homes and hotel complexes in M diq mirrors very closely what happened on the Mediterranean coast of Europe in countries like Spain and Italy. Speculation gets out of control, house prices grow exponentially and national or international investors rush in to have their share. Clearly, the original aesthetic value of the area (sand dunes and wetlands) and its cultural attractions (traditional fishing villages) are now lost.

In addition, recent studies have estimated an average erosion rate of 1m per year, meaning that some beaches could be completely lost in only a decade.

Nador lagoon from the fishing port, Morocco Credit NM

Everyone, including the local provincial government, was concerned by the consequences of these very rapid changes and required assistance to develop an

ICZM Plan for the province. The need for an ICZM plan emerged too late in the day to control the process of environmental degradation but it revealed useful nevertheless in that it helped the Province and other institutional actors to identify the short-term and long-term socio-economic consequences of this development. Issues like the exodus from rural areas to find better paying jobs along the coasts, the risk of urban degradation due to population growth, exacerbation of social conflicts, and the need for appropriate infrastructure (waste disposal, water resources etc.) were discussed for the first time and management actions proposed.

As was the case in Nador and Mououlya, the ICZM process initiated in M’diq could only be adapted to the local situation to make the best of what resources and opportunities were available.

Essaouira Essaouira is a very famous international tourism destination which has managed to preserve its charm as a fishing village intact over many decades. This was possible because the whole of the city is surrounded by highly mobile sand dunes which have made expansion of the city beyond its ancient high walls very difficult. The city is also at the northern limit of the natural distribution range of the Argan tree (Argania spinosa) which is found only in Morocco and is protected by UNESCO. Thanks to all these assets, the province of Essaouira is the target of a number of tourism development plans including one site identified under the Plan Azur. Very recently, in February 2009, an Emirates investment group signed an agreement with the Government of Morocco for the development of a tourism complex over an area of 270 hectares close to Essaouira. Even before this latest tourism investment was announced the decision-makers in the provincial authorities of Essaouira had expressed concerns about the prospect of tourism development in the area and ask for support in the development of an ICZM plan.

The local department of tourism planned to develop a sustainable form of rural tourism in the region.

Nevertheless, this was in apparent contrast with the vision of mayors of the local municipalities consulted.

They complained that, due to the land tenure system linked to the Argan forests, they were unable to fully utilize their territory, seeming to imply that they would welcome some form of development.

61

62

CONTEXT AND ISSUES

The process initiated in Essaouira was of a pilot nature and could not fully resolve the conflicts apparent in the area linked to tourism, the Argan resources and the need to create opportunities in rural areas. When the Emirates investment was announced it came as a surprise to everybody, including the local administrators, somehow diminishing the value of the results achieved with the ICZM process.

Lessons learned An anonymous prayer says â&#x20AC;&#x153;God, please, help me change what I can and accept what I cannot.â&#x20AC;? ICZM plans have to be developed starting from a clear and realistic vision of what can be changed and what cannot. In most cases described above, the large tourism investments were beyond the control of the local stakeholders. So, the ICZM plans had to start by accepting this and trying to exploit the potential advantages these developments could bring.

Countries in search of economic development opportunities have a tendency to underestimate the value of their resources (especially environmental ones) and sell them off in exchange for the prospect of economic development and creation of employment. Often these expectations are disappointed and the benefits felt at the local level are temporary. This is especially true in the tourism sector where most transactions occur in the country of

residence of the visitor and not at the tourist destination.

Countries have to be careful that investments are made in areas which are ready to host them (from an environmental, infrastructure and human resources point of view), that the investor is held accountable a long time after the investment has been completed and, most importantly, that new investments respect the national and local planning framework. In other words, no investment should be able to supersede the existing plans and avoid all the legal hurdles (Environmental Impact Assessments, Feasibility Studies etc.) required before approval can be granted.

Tourism has great potential to foster economic development while preserving environmental resources. But developments have to be planned and controlled rigorously in the context of a wider longterm strategy. ICZM provides an ideal context in which these conditions can be met as long as the ICZM process is initiated before the situation is already compromised (e.g. Mâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;diq). The Plan Azur in itself is a very positive initiative as it was based on careful evaluation of development sites and investment requirements. Nevertheless, its overall value has been considerably diminished by the additional large investment initiatives that have been launched by the government outside the Plan Azur framework.

The new tourism resort, Saidia, Morocco Credit EB

Tools and Approaches for ICZM

GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS)

What is a GIS? A geographic information system (GIS) allows us to view, understand, question, interpret, and visualize data in many ways that reveal relationships, patterns and trends, in the form of maps, globes, reports and charts. GIS is used to capture, store, analyze and manage data and associated attributes about features of the Earth.

The system usually takes the form of a computerbased database where each feature is spatially located according to single co-ordinates (a position in X, Y or in Latitude/Longitude) with attached information that describes each features. Information relating to similar types of features can be grouped together to make up different layers of a GIS, for example separate layers for population statistics, biodiversity data, environmental data and physical geography.

A GIS greatly increases the potential to make complex spatial analyses across multiple layers of information (e.g. which areas of wetland are most threatened by encroaching human population and/or pollution) and present the outputs of the analysis in different ways (cartographic, statistics, in 3D) thereby answering complex requests that were not accessible using traditional cartography.

The Corniche, Alexandria, Egypt Credit MLT

Today GIS often refers to any information system capable of integrating, storing, editing, analyzing, sharing, and displaying geographically referenced

(geo-referenced) information. It is a tool that allows users to create interactive queries (user-created searches), analyze the spatial information, edit data, maps, and present the results of all these operations.

GIS is often used today without actually being named as such. One example is Google Earth, which implements geo-referenced data bases, viewed as a virtual sphere, and offers users a suite of tools for their requests (e.g. find me a restaurant, measure the distance between two points).

Why is GIS Used?

Geographic Information Systems can integrate and relate any data with a spatial component, regardless of the source of the data. GIS is used to analyze, follow changes and understand biological, chemical, physical, social, economic and political features of the Earth that have an influence on its function and appearance. In a coastal setting, the territory is an area of interface and interactions that often becomes a centre of competition between users and/or policies that ICZM attempts to resolve. Within this restricted space, where fragile ecosystems rub shoulders with particularly strong anthropogenic (man-made) pressures, the attempt to reconcile economic development with safeguarding natural systems is a source of conflicting interests and heated debate.

GIS has much in common with ICZM: both are interdisciplinary and facilitate the interpretation and integration of data. GIS is then a tool of choice to understand, monitor, anticipate/plan and illustrate/communicate management choices in the medium and long term.

Understand the situation at any one time: cartographic representation of data clarifies components of the territory and their relationship to each other (e.g. which dwellings are located less than 200 m from the coast and not connected to the sewage system? where are the main coastal wetlands, registered as Sites of a Biological and Ecological Interest at the national level?). People and organizations implementing ICZM use this understanding of the coastal space to determine the constraints and potentials of development activities affecting the area, their nature, their interactions, and the laws which control them.

Monitor GIS makes it possible to quantify some of the dynamics and evolution of processes over time

66

TOOLS AND APPROACHES

and incorporate this into descriptions of the territory (e.g. what changes can be expected in wetlands over the next 10 years from which sectors? Which sectors will benefit from these changes (residential areas, industrial, agricultural)?

Anticipate /Plan : GIS makes it possible to simulate future scenarios and to take into account the risks associated with changes in the coastal space according to observed natural or anthropogenic dynamics (e.g. which urban zones will be affected by an increase of x cm in sea level in 50 years according to observed measurements from Mediterranean shores? where will the coast remain accessible to the public if urban development continues at its current rate?)

Illustrate / communicate: cartographic (charts, static or animated, numerical applications, models in 3D) and associated data (descriptive, qualitative or quantitative, such as indicators) can be presented to audiences in a variety of ways. Choosing the appropriate mode of presentation for each different audience, communication can be tailored so that the information and alternative scenarios are easily accessible to them. GIS facilitates information sharing through its ability to: â&#x20AC;˘ Automate processes and manage diversity of information. â&#x20AC;˘ Integrate and present multi-disciplinary information, by supporting visions from different sources but which lead to a shared vision of the same space. â&#x20AC;˘ Contribute to decision-making by making information and its analysis readily available and by producing simulations and projections of change.

When is GIS used?

GIS is used when the multiple processes affecting the coastal space cannot be managed by a simple system of traditional charts. GIS also meets a need for regular updating of data. Like other components of IT (information technology), GIS is simply a tool which helps the processes of investigation and planning, and complements, rather than replacing, the need for dialogue between the various actors of the coastal space on their needs, aspirations and expectations.

GIS is thus a tool for integration which should be employed early on in a management process so as to include all the actors and organisations with

knowledge relating to the coastal area. Their own understanding and information is incorporated within the database so that the complexity of issues is fully accounted for. GIS can then be used as an aid to decision-making by illustrating future scenarios under different management strategies. GIS does not in itself determine solutions to management problems.

Who needs to be involved?

National organisations should be involved in the collection, dissemination and standardisation of data (quality control) for the coast, through base maps, photographs (aerial or satellite) and other data bases on principal networks (road network, hydrographical features etc.). These largely empirical data need to be interwoven with local visions and understanding of the coast, with other actors (research centres, NGOs, communities, nature conservancy associations etc.) producing data relating to their own vision.

Effort must be made in particular to ensure the active participation of locally-elected representatives since they are the key decision-makers for developments at the local level. Among its other benefits, GIS will provide them with tools for communication, largely accessible to any citizen, giving greater transparency to their action and supporting the debate necessary for any process of ICZM. Where do I start?

The process of implementing a GIS requires successive phases of needs definition, identification of actors, inventory of necessary data and its structuring, followed by a choice of the dataprocessing platforms (hardware and software). Usercentred views on the data, reflecting the interwoven nature of the application, are then defined for the final stage of communication. In the countries of the Mediterranean, basic national reference frames are seldom accessible in numerical form, and so the time required to produce high quality geo-referenced data should not be underestimated. Quality data that is exhaustive, up-to-date, valid and geo-referenced is essential to help the decision-making process.

Suggested reading www.netcoast.nl/coastlearn/website/fr/gis/index.htm www.csc.noaa.gov/?bin=7 www.gisig.it/coastgis/ www.littoral.ifen.fr/ www.geolittoral.equipement.gouv.fr/ www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/gisfiles/ www.geo.ed.ac.uk/home/gishome.html

GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS)

Cross-section of SMAP III Projects: AMIS (Algeria), ALAMIM and Port Said (Egypt) Context Almost all SMAP III ICZM projects have used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and/or Remote Sensing (RS) technology in support of their activities. The purpose and application method of these IT tools have been very different from case to case and their comparative analysis seems the most appropriate way to pinpoint the potential advantages and risks associated with the use of these technologies in the context of ICZM. The comparison between 3 different SMAP III ICZM projects presented here aims to describe the rationale behind the use of GIS/RS tools, evaluate if the objectives have been achieved and highlight the spectrum of functions that these technologies may serve in the ICZM context (e.g. assessment, monitoring, planning, scenarios development, communication). Equally, risks or recurrent pitfalls in the use of these technologies will be emphasized to the benefit of future users.

Algiers, Algeria Credit Optimumcom

The GIS database developed by the AMIS project aimed to support the APPL (Agency for the Protection and Promotion of the Coast) of the Wilaya (Governorate) of Algiers through: a) Integrated WebGIS development as a support tool for decision making process; b) Enhanced environmental monitoring (e.g. monitoring of coastal erosion), and c) Know-how transfer and capacity building in the area of ICZM support tools and models

implementation (e.g. decision support systems or DSS).

GIS and RS were used by the Port Said project to analyze the area of Lake Manzala (largest brackish lake in the Nile delta area) surrounding the city of Port Said. The aim was to verify land cover changes over time (large areas of the lake have been lost to agriculture and urban expansion over recent decades), to map soil types and to evaluate the suitability of reclaimed land for cultivating different crops with and without specific interventions to improve its suitability.

The aim of the ALAMIM project was to develop a GIS database to support decision-making to be used by the Environmental Monitoring Unit for Lake Maryout, an office within the Governorate of Alexandria. In particular, the project wanted to a) customize a comprehensive user-friendly GIS to manage all lake Maryout GIS, RS and monitoring data from one system, and b) develop a web-based platform to share the spatial data with all stakeholders through the Internet (http://gis.cedare.int/alamimweb/index.asp).

AMIS, Algeria Outputs The project ultimately produced a series of userfriendly GIS-based tools to monitor a series of important coastal features and one Decision Support System (DSS) capable of developing scenarios of sustainable coastal development. In particular: • Coastline, a tool that allows the user to compare different coastlines at different moments in time (e.g. from year to year) to verify if there has been erosion or accretion • Beaches and sand dunes, a tool used to estimate the volume of sand which disappears each year from dunes or beaches in selected pilot areas • Urbanization, a tool to measure and compare in time land covered by buildings and other artificial structures and land covered by natural features (forests, arable lands, lakes, parks etc.)

• Population, a tool that displays statistics on the number of inhabitants in coastal areas to highlight areas under particular pressure from human activities • Decision Support System (DSS) for coastal planning: a multi-criteria analysis method used to take decisions based on the maximization of benefits for a specific coastal area by finding a

67

68

TOOLS AND APPROACHES

compromise between socio-economic and ecological information. In other words, the DSS is useful to develop scenarios of sustainable development based on the priorities attributed by the users.

Observations The GIS database and tools addressed the institutional mandate of APPL very precisely with regard to coastal management and protection. These tools can really prove very effective in enhancing APPL’s capacity to fulfill its objectives.

APPL is one of many actors with overlapping management mandates in the coastal zone of the Governorate of Algiers. During the course of the project, APPL clearly showed that the GIS database was perceived more as a means to increase the organization’s political influence rather than a management tool. The added value of the GIS database in the eyes of APPL seemed to lie in its ownership rather than in the kind of information it could provide. This bears two main risks: 1. APPL will resist information sharing with any other organisation in order to maintain its competitive advantage 2. despite the concrete efforts made by the project to create local know-how, keeping the database up-to-date and functional will not be seen as a priority by the host organization.

Consultation with other stakeholders during the development of the system was very limited, so the contribution of the GIS database to the ICZM process in the Wilaya d Alger (Governorate of Algiers) is uncertain. Nevertheless, the DSS was used effectively towards the end of the project in consultation with local municipalities and the environmental department of the Wilaya demonstrating that using GIS tools can considerably enhance the decision-making process.

The GIS system seems very effective in providing monitoring tools for physical changes in the coastal zone, less so for socio-economic components. The APPL GIS system is able to address management questions like: Which areas are most affected by coastal erosion? But if the management question is: Which areas will suffer the greatest economic damage from erosion? or How many people are at risk from flooding and where? APPL will probably not be equipped to answer.

A WebGIS was planned initially but was not implemented for bureaucratic reasons. The main obstacle was local authorities’ resistance to publish information considered sensitive (pollution sources) or even classified (position of potential military targets).

Port Said, Egypt Outputs The analysis conducted by the project using RS and GIS technology proved very useful both for assessing the changes that occurred over time and the soil types, and for developing scenarios of agricultural production for planning purposes. The most important information of decision-making relevance deriving from use of these technologies is: • land area covered by natural vegetation (aquatic and terrestrial) in Port Said • change in lake surface between 1984 and 2004 • change in land area used for agricultural purposes (1984-2004) or reclaimed but not yet cultivated (2000-2004) • change in land area covered by fish ponds (19842004) • change in urbanized land area (1984 2004) • elevation of the land of the Governorate of Port Said (to evaluate climate change implications) • soil maps covering soil types (clays, sands), characteristics (salt content, organic matter), and level of contamination from heavy metals (e.g. lead and cadmium).

The main conclusion of planning relevance deriving from this analysis was that only 60% of land in Port Said is suitable for agricultural purposes and certain crops would grow better than others given the characteristics of the soil. Land amelioration measures have also been suggested to increase the portion of land suitable for cultivation.

Port Said, Egypt Credit NM

GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS)

Observations The GIS system is very well adapted to respond to the management questions of the Governorate of Port Said which is evaluating extension of agricultural production in the region. This was possible because the specific management challenges faced by the decision-makers were clearly raised by the Governorate of Port Said (major stakeholder) both during the project design and the first project phases.

Accordingly the end-user needs were considered both in the setting up of the system and in the output production (maps etc.).

This kind of analysis has the potential to resolve the longstanding controversies between the Ministry of Agricultural and Land Reclamation (MALR) which has control over the land and the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation (MWRI) in charge of the irrigation infrastructure. These controversies are mainly related to land reclamation. This is in line with the purposes of horizontal integration and reduction of institutional conflicts promoted by ICZM, but GIS outputs have not been specifically used for that purpose. Other key variables of the conflict, such as economic return and market factors, social acceptability of intervention to reclaim land, and the existing legal framework on the subject, were not specifically analyzed with GIS.

Lake Manzala, Egypt Credit NM

The outcomes of the GIS analysis have been used extensively as a decision-making tool within the Governorate of Port Said and the Regional Office of MALR in Port Said. They are being used by the Governorate as important value-added tools for

improving rural development strategies by considering: 1. detailed information on soil types, their spatial distribution and abundance, their capability and suitability used to address the crop production and promote alternative cash crops 2. new criteria for crop selection based on the above 3. priority zones to promote improvement measures It s worth mentioning that although these variables (soil types, pollution level, other factors of degradations) were of course well-known before the beginning of the project, their spatial dimension was not at all clear and GIS played a key role in filling the gap.

GIS was used for consultation and communication purposes mainly with the key institutional stakeholders (Governorate, Regional MALR Office).

On the other hand, the GIS tool was not used as a participatory tool with resource users (e.g. farmers and fishermen associations) on claims that the outputs remain too complex to be used in the field with local stakeholders.

Socio-economic aspects were not integrated in the GIS. This was mainly due to the nature of the socioeconomic data which was available only at the Governorate administrative level, without further details. These limited the effective linkage with other more detailed environmental data available.

The GIS outputs represent a very focused standalone analysis with a specific aim. This is in line with the research objectives of the University of El Zagazig that produced it. Several training sessions on data processing and system development have been organised by high qualified experts of the University in order to improve the capacity of the GIS Units within the Governorate of Port Said. The know-how transfer to the end users should ensure, in principle, the effective and efficient use of the system for future monitoring.

ALAMIM, Egypt Outputs The GIS developed by the project was able to assess and describe the current situation and visualize trends in recent years (2002-2007) regarding land cover and land use around Lake Maryout (Urban, Transportation, Utilities, Vegetation, Water, Wetlands, Barren Land and related subcategories of

69

70

TOOLS AND APPROACHES

land use/cover). Two units were established in the Governorate of Alexandria and the local section of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) where the GIS systems were installed. Training courses were conducted to familiarize the staff with the GIS system, how to update it and how to analyze data and produce reports for decision-making. A WebGIS and GIS & RS Atlas were developed in order to spread knowledge and information to other interested users.

Observations A specific needs assessment mission was undertaken at the beginning of the project to evaluate the needs of the Environmental Management Unit and the EEAA section in the Governorate. Nevertheless, needs assessment remained very focused on technical aspects (software and hardware) rather than the goals the GIS systems was supposed to achieve in the context of these organizationsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; institutional mandate.

The WebGIS developed under the project is a very useful initiative for dissemination purposes but it cannot be used as a substitute for real stakeholder participation in defining GIS objectives and management applications. In fact, the project failed to exploit the GIS outputs to facilitate stakeholders understanding of the current state of the lake and initiate the discussion on resource use conflicts, which would have led naturally to a participatory planning process. The project acknowledges this as a shortcoming in implementation.

The project identified the main issues of concern for the management of Lake Maryout as: deteriorating water quality (heavy metals and other industrial pollutants), declining area of the lake, spreading of vegetation (a sign of nutrient enrichment of lake waters) and declining fish production. The GIS developed is able to describe changes in lake surface and, partially, pollution and vegetation, but it is not clear how this information will be used to support management decisions. On the other hand, the GIS is certainly not equipped to provide any management relevant information on fisheries. This is rather disappointing given that all the other elements of concern (pollution, vegetation etc.) seem to have a negative impact on fishery productivity and the social and economic implications of this are of extreme management importance (apparently 100,000 people depend directly or indirectly on fishery in Lake Maryout for subsistence and income).

Data availability considerably constrained the capacity of the project to produce the desired system.

Approximately 50% of the data originally considered necessary was found to be non-existent, unavailable or not appropriate to be used in a GIS (i.e. not georeferenced or not at the appropriate scale).

Lessons learned A GIS developed and used in a resource management context has to be more than an electronic map or atlas. Maps are useful for displaying information but the added value of GIS lies in its ability to make advanced spatial analyses, estimate costs, evaluate risks and model the system under study. In other words, GIS applications have to be able to respond to specific management questions and, as such, they have to be tailored the individual needs. This was clearly the case in at least 2 of the projects described above (AMIS and Port Said) but less so for others.

Data availability and/or data access are both major meaningful obstacles to the development of useful GIS tools. These problems have been faced by all projects and, in some cases, have considerably restrained the efficacy of the outputs. Nevertheless, it has to be noted that when objectives are clear, specific data requirements can be better focused and the data collection campaigns organized to fill the gaps (e.g. soil sampling in Port Said). Where objectives are vague the tendency is to cover everything and the final result is a GIS reflecting data availability and not data needs.

The emphasis on developing a GIS system is generally too heavily focused on the technical aspects

Lake Maryout, Egypt Credit MLT

GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS)

and not sufficiently on the participatory ones. In the ICZM context GIS adds considerable value as a participatory tool. Consultation with decision-makers is necessary to define the goals to be achieved with the IT tools and, following their development, the outputs are very useful to engage resource users in a discussion on conflict resolution and resource management. This opportunity has not been fully exploited by any of the SMAPIII ICZM projects.

Data sharing is considerably constrained by the protectionist approach to data management adopted by most data producers (environmental agencies, universities, research institutes etc.). These include public organizations that, in theory, should provide free and unlimited access to information. This is true on the southern as well as on the northern shore of the Mediterranean. Managed in an exclusive way by a single organization, GIS might turn out to be a tool that prevents dialogue between the various actors Coastal waters near Tipaza, Algeria Credit NM

of the coastal space, rather than promoting it. This could hinder the process of integration which is at the heart of ICZM. No individual organization has access to all the information required for integrated planning. Pooling of information is the only way to achieve better decisions.

Too often, the links between physical and biological changes (e.g. coastal erosion and water pollution) and their causal factors and/or socio-economic effects are not emphasized in GIS tools. Ultimately, decisionmakers need to try to identify and eliminate the root causes of a change and/or mitigate impact on man.

If the GIS system is not able to provide useful information to address these management questions, its use remains limited. The integration of socioeconomic information into a GIS is often difficult because of the non-spatial nature of the data but these difficulties have to be overcome for useful management tools to be developed.

71

INDICATORS

What are Indicators?

Indicators are measured or observed parameters (quantitative or qualitative) which are selected for a regular use to describe existing situations (state of a system) and/or track changes over time (progress of a process). Normally, indicators are defined in different ways depending on the specific context and function for which they are used.

In practice, indicators are approximations of reality (”proxies”) that provide us with easily digestible information on the events taking place around us, whether they are related to the state of an ecosystem, the economy of a country or a weather forecast.

For example, we generally use the coliforms (group of bacteria related to E. coli) content in waters as an indicator of its level of contamination from human waste. This does not mean water has no other potential biological contaminants but we cannot check for them all everywhere and it was decided to use the presence of coliforms as the most suitable indicator for water safety.

To avoid confusion with terms, it is also important to define what an indicator is not: • Data: are raw figures collected systematically by an operator or instrument. Data has to be appropriately re-elaborated before it can be used to calculate the value of an indicator.

• Statistics: are tables of figures describing real phenomena following precise definitions (e.g. a table displaying population density in coastal governorates in Egypt in 2005). In most cases, statistics also need to be re-elaborated before they can be used to calculate the value of an indicator.

• Index: a parameter providing a summary of the information contained in several indicators, appropriately aggregated. GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is an index derived from the combination of a series of economic indicators (i.e. consumption, investment, government spending and import-export balance).

It is clear from the definitions above that it is one thing to define an indicator (e.g. concentration of heavy metals in marine water) and another to calculate its value, which requires, in turn, the necessary data to be appropriately collected and elaborated.

Why are indicators used?

Indicators are used to simplify the complexity of the real world and allow us to quantify one or more of its elements in order to communicate easily understandable information to intended final users (e.g. general public, decision-makers, and managers).

Regardless of our willingness or not the get involved with indicators, we are surrounded by them every day in all aspects of our lives (weather forecasts, financial information at work, prices at the market, grades in school etc.). Therefore, the questions we should ask when approaching indicators is not Why should I be using indicators? but How do I use indicators to get my message across in an understandable and reliable way?

When are indicators used?

Indicators are useful tools and must be treated as such. Whatever context we are working in - but particularly in sustainable development and ICZM where the economic, environmental, social and governance spheres need to engage into a dialogue - it is advisable to leave the tool in the box until it is needed. This means we need to understand the scope of the problem(s) to be addressed, discuss and clarify purposes, define specific objectives, plan required activities, assign responsibilities, locate funds etc. before indicators get into the picture.

Given the importance internationally attributed to indicators nowadays, they are all too often perceived as an additional, inevitable element of our work.

This approach is counterproductive in two ways: it raises indicators to the level of objectives (instead of a tool to achieve an objective), and contributes to the (false) perception that they are a detached element which needs to be somehow integrated in the rest of our work. On the contrary, if introduced with the correct approach (see below Where should I start?) after analysing, discussing and defining our problem, objectives and activities, indicators are the natural consequence.

Who should be involved?

The stakeholders involved are all organisations (ministries, agencies, NGOs etc.) that are expected to hold the information required to calculate the indicator s value. As can be imagined, this covers a very large number of organisations of different types, and it varies also depending on the scale of the

74

TOOLS AND APPROACHES

required information (e.g. city, province, country, region). The list can be very long: national institutes of statistics, line ministers and associated statistics offices, specific government agencies (e.g. Agence pour la Protection et lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;AmĂŠnagement du Littoral, the Coastal Agency in Tunisia), local administrations, individual funded projects which have collected data on specific topics, universities, research institutes, health services, public transport companies, professional associations...

Digging for information we often find that what we are looking for is available but not accessible.

Experience shows all organisations, including public ones, share a common resistance to share data or other sources of information. Therefore, early identification and engagement of the key data holders is recommended to create a collaborative environment and facilitate data access.

Where should I start?

A fundamental pre-requisite to the identification of indicators is an in-depth analysis and understanding of the system we are dealing with (i.e. the economic, social and environmental elements and their causeeffect relationships) and the clear and unambiguous delimitation of the boundaries of our area of interest, both geographically (i.e. a city, a country, the planet) and conceptually (e.g. groundwater, energy efficiency, traffic, a combination of all). This requires a team of experts in different topics to engage in a discussion with the aim of defining these elements as unambiguously as possible. This exercise requires strong guidance because experts with different backgrounds tend to get wrapped up in their particular topic losing track of the overall aim. It is therefore advisable for a neutral coordinator/moderator to support this process by constantly reminding the participants what they are trying to achieve.

Once the system is well understood, it is generally very simple to identify suitable indicators from the very numerous indicators available at the international level. Note that if we start from these lists without a clear understanding of our needs we tend to become confused and feel overwhelmed by indicators.

Once identified, a large amount of constituent elements needs to be defined for each indicator before it is fit for use (unit of measure, data availability and sources, data collection and analysis methods etc.).

Defining all these elements is a resource-intensive task and this is one reason why there are often very

practical choices to be made as to the number and nature of the indicators to adopt. Unfortunately, this step is often overlooked, undermining the possibility to use the indicators in practice.

The definition of the indicators should be left to relevant organisations (possibly public) that have direct experience with the collection and analysis of the data required to calculate their value. The costeffectiveness of obtaining data to calculate an indicator has to be carefully evaluated before embarking on a monitoring programme. In fact, the use of indicators shows its advantages only in the long-term. Experience shows that continuous and consistent monitoring of the values of indicators is needed to make the exercise worthwhile.

Suggested reading http://elearning.smap.eu/indicators www.un.org/esa/sustdev/natlinfo/indicators/isd.htm www.oecd.org http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu http://ioc3.unesco.org/icam www.escwa.un.org www.planbleu.org/methodologie/indicateursSmd d.html

Fish Credit Pale

INDICATORS

Indicator Selection Port Said, Egypt Context Port Said is an important commercial city located at the Mediterranean entrance of the Suez Canal, in the north-eastern part of the Nile Delta. The city has been a free trade zone since 1977 creating generations of Port Said citizens who only lived on trade through the so called Import Licenses that are part of the Free Zone Law. The city will lose its status of free zone in 2012 and, in view of this considerable change, a number of measures were taken by the Governorate to shift the character of Port Said from a mere commercial avenue to a comprehensive development region, including: • incentives towards agricultural development through the reclamation of large areas of land • industrialization by designating as industrial zone a peripheral area of the city of Port Said • promotion of a new port for container traffic • plans to promote national and international tourism

Fish Credit Feikje

The city is surrounded by a wetland area called Lake Manzala, still the largest of the brackish lakes in the Nile Delta area despite the drastic reduction in surface

over the last two decades (from 35,000ha in 1984 to 8,808ha in 2004). The reduction is mainly due to land reclamation for agricultural purposes (cultivated land has increased from 4.9% in 1984 to 8.1% in 2004). Nevertheless, the high salinity and clay content of the soil in reclaimed areas make cultivation very difficult and aquaculture in fish ponds is still considered more profitable by locals, despite government effort to discourage this activity in favor of agriculture. Urbanisation has also taken its toll on the lake as the metropolitan area of Port Said has grown by 80% over the last 20 years, twice as much as in other rural cities in Egypt.

Not surprisingly, the quality of the water in the lake is poor because it receives wastewater from many sources including the Bahr El Baqar canal, one of the most polluted in the entire country as it drains the Greater Cairo area. Recent efforts to divert or treat the polluted water discharged in the lake have only partially addressed this problem.

It is important to note that the lake itself hosts a complex community of farmers and fishermen which depend entirely on it for their subsistence.

Unfortunately, the latest statistics indicate an increase in the number of people living below the poverty line (from 8.8% in 2004 to 10.1% in 2006) and pockets with very high illiteracy rates (up to 50%) compared to the average in that Governorate (16%).

Finally, almost 40% of the area of Port Said governorate is below sea level making the whole coastal zone highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and related sea level rise.

The SMAP III Port Said Project "Plan of Action for Integrated Coastal Zone Management in the area of Port Said (Egypt)” is managed by NRD University of Sassari (Italy) in partnership with the International Center for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (CIHEAM-IAMB), Irrigation Advisory Service Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation (Egypt), El Zagazig University Center for GIS Studies and Service (Egypt). The Project aims to prepare an ICZM Plan for the Area of Port Said (north-eastern Nile delta) and create the basis for its later practical implementation through an integrated and interdisciplinary approach with the direct involvement of the relevant stakeholders (national and local competent authorities and local communities).

75

76

TOOLS AND APPROACHES

Different levels of indicator use

OUTPUTS ICZM PROJECT ACTIVITES

ICZM Process

OUTCOMES

EFFECTS

INDICATORS of PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

ENV. & SOCIOECONOMIC INDICATORS

INDICATORS of ICZM PROCESS

Indicators for ICZM The Port Said Project included plans for a monitoring system (Action 9 of their original working programme) but, as often happens, it had difficulties tackling the selection and use of suitable indicators.

In November 2007 a workshop was organized in Port Said to discuss indicators and two international experts were invited to facilitate it. The workshop proved very effective thanks to the possibility of working on very concrete/practical problems already well defined by the project team. During the course of the workshop a methodology to identify suitable indicators slowly emerged with everybody’s contribution.

The main issues discussed during this first two-day workshop included: • the need to decide, before anything else, if we are trying to identify indicators to monitor the on-going project, the ICZM process initiated by the project, or the effects of the ICZM process on the wider environmental and socio-economic context (see above). This was an essential difference, not immediately clear to the participants, but in the end it was agreed that there was a need for suitable environmental and socio-economic indicators • identifying the main challenges affecting the general area of interest. This was achieved with

•

•

a brainstorming session where ideas were freely exchanged and then ordered to define a limited group of main challenges. The principle challenges identified were Water, Land use, Socio-economic development, Ecosystem and biodiversity conservation, Fisheries and aquaculture, and Climate change. Other challenges were identified but were considered more relevant to the governance aspect (i.e. sectoral integration, cooperation between public and private sectors, legal framework, environmental awareness and data management). These can be seen as some of the possible responses that we can put in place to address specific environmental and socioeconomic issues. the need to visualize cause-effect relationships within the system. Each of the challenges was analyzed in great detailed by answering two questions: What components make up the particular challenge? and What are the elements (physical, ecological, social, economic) influencing each one of these components? The final result was drawn as a flowchart highlighting the links between the different components of the system identified (see below). the need to be pragmatic in defining boundaries for each challenge because we are confronted with various limitations (budget, time, know-how and human resources) and cannot cover

Problem Tree for Fishery Activities

National Income decreases

Decrease in fish production in the lake

Unbalanced fish pattern in lake

Limitations of fish species

Fish unsuitable for human consumption

Fish wealth degradation

Bad fishing process

Degradation of lake Interference of key and strong person

Fish farms not licensed

Gates of water necks not enough

Weak penalties

Shortage of water flows to the lake

Many obstacles to get licenses High numbers of unlicensed labourers Management of the lake

Use of unsuitable nets High number of unlicensed boats

Weak role of Police

No refreshment of lake water

Weak role of civil society and private sector

No system for waste recycling

Discharge waste in the lake

Insufficient studies on environmental impact

Absence of treatment plants

High pollutants from Bahr El Baqar drain Lake area decrease

No stake to measure

Drying parts of lake Manzala Random building extension

Mismanagement of fishing process

Absence of development of fish methods

No exchange experiences Weak environmental awareness

Use part of lake for agriculture Conflicting laws

This flowchart was produced by Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation - Irrigation Advisory Service (partner to the Port Said Project) on the basis of a preliminary draft prepared during the brainstorming session held at the first workshop in Port Said.

EFFECTS PROBLEM CAUSES

78

TOOLS AND APPROACHES

everything. For example, for Water we might decide that we want to address issues related only to Lake Manzala (excluding coastal waters and groundwater) and that we consider only the lake area falling under the administrative boundaries of the Governorate of Port Said (this is not what was decided during the workshop but it is an example of a potential alternative choice). â&#x20AC;˘ translating challenges into specific objectives (short- or long-term). For example, if water pollution in Lake Manzala is one of the main issues within the water challenge, we can decide to define the specific objective â&#x20AC;&#x153;Improve water quality in the lake". At this stage, participants agreed to check what references exist at the national or international level that set goals in line with our objective. For example, Egypt is signatory to the Ramsar Convention for the conservation of wetlands and has international obligations with regard to the protection of areas like Lake Manzala.

From the detailed flowchart prepared for each challenge/objective the participants could easily identify which indicators were needed to monitor the main elements of the system and, therefore, to evaluate our ability to achieve the objectives. Clearly it was impossible to complete the work initiated in only two days and the project team left with a clear set of guidelines for continuing with the work and the agreement that a second workshop would be held to verify the progress and results.

As planned, in April 2008 a second workshop was held in Cairo to work on indicators, again facilitated by an international expert. The guidelines for indicator identification and selection had been applied very effectively by the project with very interesting results.

Two teams worked separately on the analysis of the main sectors of interest identified during the first workshop in an effort to produce a list of potentially useful indicators. In particular:

Lake Manzala Credit NM

INDICATORS

•

•

CD-IAS produced very detailed problem and objective trees analyzing the cause-effect relationships relevant to the following components: water, fisheries, land use and environment. The trees were the result of brainstorming sessions conducted consulting with experts and stakeholders. The results are of particular interest and weight because of their participatory nature.

El Zagazig University analysed the same sectors with the help of the DPSIR model and produced a list of potential indicators. Detailed indicator fact-sheets were produced for the indicators for which data was available. Data gaps due to lack of data or lack of access to existing data were also identified.

The work on indicator selection started by trying to answer the question What is the aim of the ICZM Plan you will be developing? The answer proved very useful and provided the basis for the worked that followed. The main objective of the ICZM Plan is to be solid, convincing and, as a consequence, easy to sell to a donor agency to obtain funding for implementation. In effect, the Port Said Project had clearly stated that the ICZM Plan was going to be presented at the national level (Prime Minister) to demonstrate its validity and replicability in other areas in Egypt. A valid and well-structured Plan has a better chance of getting funding for implementation and is less likely to remain locked in someone’s drawer.

The participants created a list of criteria which make a “quality” Plan in the eyes of a potential donor: 1. Aims at improving living standards (i.e. Human Development Indicators) 2. Complies with national policy 3. Is based on a scientifically solid evaluation of the current state of things 4. Is financially sustainable in the long-term 5. Is based on successful case studies (national and international) 6. Includes a participatory process 7. Is based on outcomes of the demonstrative pilot actions (with reference to the actions planned by the Port Said ICZM Project) 8. Is replicable 9. Is cost-effective 0. Is based on the creation and subsequent selection of potential development scenarios

This very interesting list of criteria finally provided the basis for selection of the indicators. If the indicator was useful to support the plan by monitoring its quality, it was kept, otherwise it was excluded.

Participants left the second workshop with a clear vision of what they wanted to achieve and comfortable with the notion that the selection of indicators is ultimately a practical choice based on what we really want to achieve instead of the consequence of the default application of some of the many list of ICZM indicators available.

Lessons learned The project team initially perceived the work on indicators as something detached from their ICZM planning work, the two workshops helped the project correct this view and visualize the important connections between the work on indicators, the process of integration of information and the drafting of the Plan.

The project team was really at a loss at the start because of the confusion created by the many lists of sustainable development indicators available.

Where to start? How to make sense of these endless lists? Starting from available lists only contributes to the confusion. Instead it is better to start from analyzing the existing needs and conditions and then moving on to decide which indicators can be of use.

The distinction between thematic issues and governance issues is important for the purposes of defining a monitoring framework. The specific function of the indicators can be clearly delimited and governance responses easily distinguished from the environmental/socio-economic context to which they are applied. Although extremely important and relevant, for the purpose of clarity and simplicity it is advisable to address governance issues separately if the project decides to adopt specific indicators in this area.

We need both outcome and output indicators.

Outcome indicators are describers of the current situation (baseline), justifications for the proposed action and long-term monitoring describers of trends in the socio-economic and environmental conditions.

Output indicators are tell-tale signs of performance or cost-effectiveness of the Plan. The two types of indicators are not incompatible; they simply need to be used in the Plan in the right place and with the designed purpose.

79

SPATIAL PLANNING

What is spatial planning?

Spatial planning refers to methods used by management organizations to influence the allocation of land or water resources for different forms of development. Often these organizations will belong to the public sector, but other interest groups, including non-governmental organizations, may engage in their own spatial planning exercises to promote their own view of future development agendas. Spatial planning can be applied at various geographic scales and include different forms of land-use planning: environmental plans, community based plans, urban planning, regional planning and national spatial plans. It is generally recognised that spatial planning is a much wider concept and activity than the more narrowly focused activity of land-use planning.

The main characteristic of spatial planning is that it is closely linked to economic, social and environmental development policies. Spatial Planning is used to implement economic, social, cultural and ecological policies of society by: â&#x20AC;˘ guiding the allocation of land and water resources to support development of different economic activities, and â&#x20AC;˘ providing a spatial framework for strategic investment in infrastructure to support planned development.

Coastal agriculture, Morocco Credit EB

Three forms of spatial planning specifically impact coastal management: 1. Terrestrial spatial planning has a long and often

sophisticated history as an essential governance instrument to bring order and establish political priorities about the use of land.

2. Marine spatial planning is a specific tool for analyzing and allocating marine components of the coastal zone among competing activities.

Marine spatial planning is a marine equivalent to terrestrial spatial planning, used not just to develop urban or rural areas rationally, but also to protect environmental and cultural values. However, whereas terrestrial spatial planning has for centuries been an integral part of national law in many European countries, marine spatial planning is a novel, emerging form of legality implemented so far mainly in connection with marine protected areas, shipping lanes and traffic separation schemes.

3. Integrated Maritime Spatial Planning (IMSP): The EU Blue Book on Maritime Policy sets out guidelines for IMSP, which covers inshore and offshore areas. IMSP combines the tools and procedures of terrestrial spatial planning with the principles of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM). IMSP treats coasts and seas as constituent parts of an integrated system in terms of both ecology and socioeconomics. Through intensive stakeholder involvement and the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), IMSP extends terrestrial spatial planning and principles of ICZM to the open sea. Because of the many interconnections between land and sea, IMSP considers terrestrial and marine space as equally important.

Spatial planning is a powerful tool that supports sustainable coastal management. It helps to deliver development objectives through the integration of land and water uses, investment and public services.

Good practices in spatial planning include: integration among governmental agencies responsible for different economic sectors; and adaptive approaches to evolving policies and social priorities, participatory approaches to the inclusion of stakeholders in planning processes, and balanced use of economic, social and environmental information.

Spatial planning in marine areas seeks spatial solutions for the conflicting placement of for example navigational areas and lanes (which have to guarantee safety and ease of navigation), tracks for electric

82

TOOLS AND APPROACHES

cables (which have to be straight, and clear of shipping lanes), and conservation interest like networks of marine protected areas (which have to protect species and habitats). Unlike land, marine areas have three dimensions: the sea surface, the water column and the sea floor. Marine spatial planning has evolved to avoid conflicts of use and to allocate these three-dimensional marine spaces or ecosystems to specific uses to achieve ecological, economic, and social objectives that are usually specified through a political process. For example, marine aquaculture is an important development activity in the Mediterranean that is supported by national polices and economic incentives. Spatial planning for the development of marine aquaculture needs to consider whether a marine area is suitable for the development of specific forms of aquaculture and whether there could be conflicts with other uses, such as navigation.

Off-shore energy development is placing increasing demands on marine areas. This can take the form of oil and gas exploration and production, or wind farms. With oil and gas development there will be zones surrounding the development where other activities are prohibited for safety reasons. In the case of wind farms, spatial planning is being used to allocate areas that will not create adverse visual impacts for tourism and other coastal activities.

Spatial planning is also being used to develop multiple use strategies and management guidelines where the wind farms and activities such as aquaculture can co-exist.

Why is spatial planning used?

The many resources on the coast are not arranged consistently in terms of space. They are highly variable, some with sharp boundaries and some with gradual gradients of change. Uses of, and activities that develop around, these resources reflect these underlying spatial patterns. For example, certain offshore areas are used as fishery grounds, and tourist developments tend to cluster around sandy beaches.

When resource use rates are low, then space is available. However, as resource use increases, so does the competition for the same space from different resource users, as do the negative impacts for some users (e.g. beach seining for beach tourism). With increasing use of resources, levels of their use need to be managed (e.g. fish quotas) and access to them arranged in a way that maximizes overall use but minimizes conflicts between users.

Many forms of development seek exclusive use of an area or a resource. This can be counter-productive and lead to inefficient and unequitable results. Spatial planning is particularly useful when it allows for the multiple-use of specific land or water areas. Multipleuse allows different economic and/or social interests to use the same area or specific resource at the same time or at different times, and allows a greater range of benefits to be attained by more people. For example, a beach can sustain many different forms of use if well managed. However, if it is allocated to a single use that degrades the natural system, such as massive tourism investments on the beach (marinas, hotels etc.) , many other potential uses are destroyed.

Spatial planning has to consider the potential resources and sustainable uses of coastal areas and the unique environmental systems that make coastal areas very different from upland areas. Natural Resource Management principles combined with spatial planning can help sustain and enrich a societyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economic and social welfare. In coastal areas in particular, spatial planning that considers assessments of natural and man-induced hazards is vital. Poor planning and environmental management, such as building settlements along eroding coastlines or in flood plains, can put people, their property, as well as private and public investment in danger.

Many activities competing for the same space in Port Said, Egypt Credit EB

SPATIAL PLANNING

Ideally each of these stages should incorporate a strong element of consultation and participation from all interested parties in order to ensure buy-in and ownership of the process and final outcomes. A shared vision of, and strategy for, spatial development is needed from the start.

Wind farm, Essaouira, Morocco Credit EB

Who should be involved?

Spatial planning is primarily a tool used by public authorities to aid in decision-making for planning development at the local, regional or national level.

Depending on the area under observation, experts of different types (e.g. architects, marine experts) are involved in the technical aspects. In order to develop realistic spatial plans that correspond to the needs of the environment and the people that use it, all of the stakeholders (economic sectors, residents, civil society etc.) must be involved in the process from the outset.

Where do I start?

The essential aim of spatial planning is the optimal packing of resource users into the space, bearing in mind the differentials levels of resources in space, promoting multiple use and reducing conflict between users. The challenge, however, is that there is no single optimal â&#x20AC;&#x153;packingâ&#x20AC;?, and a final spatial plan is developed through a process negotiation and consensus to find a near-optimal but widelyacceptable spatial arrangement.

From a technical viewpoint, a spatial plan is developed in four stages: goal and objective setting; scoping and data collection, forecasting, analysis and generation of spatial options. An assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the past spatial development, based on the current situation and projected trends, provides the basis for identifying future options.

However, spatial planning has an important human element over and above technical considerations.

Spatial plans aim to distribute selected activities in space, while taking into account the human and natural resources and existing infrastructure available to sustain those activities, as well as potential risks and obstacles, such as flooding hazards within specific geographic areas. The plans may also restrict certain activities to specific zones to promote multiple use with minimal conflict. As well as developing individual plans, spatial planning activities often involve preparing spatial development guidelines to support strategic national, regional or more local plans.

Spatial planning in the Mediterranean The Mediterranean became the first region to adopt a Management Plan (Mediterranean Action Plan MAP) in 1975, under the UN Environment Programme. The MAP is to be implemented through the Barcelona Convention in 2008. The Conventionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recently adopted ICZM Protocol requires contracting parties to establish a common framework for integrated management of the Mediterranean coastal zones. However, the actual competition between jurisdictions and historically greater focus on terrestrial planning has meant there is a lack of true coastal (i.e. both marine and coastal hinterland) spatial plans.

Suggested reading www.communities.gov.uk/archived/publications/l ocalgovernment/planningtogetherlocal www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2009/02/091 63825 http://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/spatial_plannin g_en.html www.jncc.gov.uk/pdf/Tyldesley%20Marine%20sp atial%20planning.pdf www.coastalpartnerships.org.uk/_assets/uploads/d ocuments/meetings/document14.ppt http://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/policy_docume nts_en.html www.plancoast.eu/files/handbook_web.pdf http://corepoint.ucc.ie/FinalDeliverables/Publicati ons/BestPracticein_ICZM/Spatial%20planning%2 0and%20ICZM.pdf

82

84

TOOLS AND APPROACHES

Spatial Planning Sfax, Tunisia (SMAP III Tunisia) Context The SMAP III ICZM project in Tunisia has elaborated two Integrated Coastal Area Management (ICAM) plans of action for two quite different pilot areas, one in the Regions of Kroumirie & Mogods and the second for Grand Sfax on the southern coast. In the latter, the focus is to integrate environmental aspects into proper spatial planning for urban development and the economic development of the Sfax region.

Grand Sfax is the area covering a group of municipalities around the city of Sfax.

The ICAM plan of action for Grand Sfax focused on key challenges, such as: • chemical pollution from the SIAPE factory (phosphate production) and other industrial sites in Sidi Salem and along the Gabès road • decontamination and re-qualification of the southern coast of Grand Sfax • rehabilitation of the salt mines • setting up a nature reserve in the Thyna site and in the archipelago of Kerkennah • promotion of sustainable tourism linked to the marine and coastal nature reserves • promotion of sustainable fishing practices.

Thanks to experience gained in previous projects such as the Coastal Action Plan for Sfax and the Taparura project, a large de-pollution initiative in the northern area of the city, the area had solid foundations on which to build its Plan.

A number of complementary studies were commissioned to address the major problems of Grand Sfax and their causes, as well as the legal aspects of ICZM and the economic valuation of the management alternatives identified. The studies confirmed that the dominating concern for the area of Grand Sfax continues to be pollution from industrial activities, with discharges often far exceeding the limits prescribed by law (3300 times the limit for phosphates, 90 times for phosphorus, 20 times for cadmium). This is accompanied by nutrient enrichment of coastal waters causing algal blooms, harmful for marine species of commercial importance and for bathers on nearby beaches. In addition, sea level rise linked to climate change is estimated at 0.5cm/year (3 times higher than the world average) causing great concerns for the future of existing beaches and property on the coast.

ICZM and urban spatial planning Sfax is situated in an area with a wealth of natural resources and beautiful landscapes. The city has a very lively economic base and arguably has been the unwilling victim of its own strategic position on the coast. Since the 1950s it has been the object of a series of industrial and port developments that have completely blocked its access to the seafront. Over the years, these changes slowly interrupted the city’s functional connection with its coastline and caused it to slowly turn landwards. A new visitor to Sfax today has no idea he is on the coast unless someone tells him. Access to the sea in any form is blocked by high walls surrounding commercial port areas and industrial development zones. Cities like Algiers (Algeria) or La Spezia (Italy) and many others in the Mediterranean have suffered a similar fate.

In recent years Sfax has worked considerably to reopen its coastal boundary allowing the city to project itself seawards. These efforts required careful spatial planning in order to promote multiple use of limited resources (including space) and reduce user conflicts.

With the ICZM Plan developed under the SMAP III Tunisia project, Sfax has tried to create of a vision of development that allows the city to translate spatially its desire to turn over a new leaf and reestablish its connection with the Mediterranean.

Clearly the ICZM Plan had to take in due consideration the existing spatial planning efforts conducted at the national (e.g. National Spatial Management Plan, SDNAT) and local level (e.g.

Salinas, Sfax, Tunisia Credit EB

SPATIAL PLANNING

Sfax harbour, Tunisia Credit EB

Grand Sfax Spatial Management Plan, SDAGS).

The spatial management plans fix the fundamental orientations of the areas concerned. They organise the use of space and the distribution of selected activities in that space, while taking into account the human and natural resources, the existing infrastructure available to sustain those activities, and potential obstacles, such as flooding hazards.

The latest Spatial Management Plan for Grand Sfax (approved in 1999) had the following objectives: • Promotion of the city’s image through de-pollution of its urban environment • Enhance the value of the coast through a process of reconciliation of the city with its marine component • Tourism development at sites of particular value (e.g. archipelago of Kerkennah) • Limit the urban sprawling of Sfax and upgrade the existing infrastructure to adapt it to the current demographic situation of the city.

In preparation for the ICZM Plan for Grand Sfax, the project contracted external consultants to conduct a study of the southern part of Grand Sfax. The focus on the southern part of the city is due to the fact that the northern part has already been managed by the large Taparura project now nearing completion. The objective of the study was to develop a Spatial Management Plan for the Southern Coastal Zone of

Grand Sfax in line with ICZM principles and capable of visualizing in space specific actions for adding value to the area.

The consultants contracted for the study produced spatial planning proposals which were evaluated carefully over three different meetings with representatives of the Municipality of Sfax and other institutional stakeholders, including other municipalities. In line with the objectives of the SDAGS, the southern coast of Sfax is expected to: • contribute to the metropolitan role of Grand Sfax (second largest city in Tunisia and important economic hub for the country) • attract investments focused on clean technologies and cultural and recreational activities taking advantage of the synergies between the port, the logistic platform and the airport • be fully rehabilitated and reintegrated in the texture of the city.

Thanks to the analysis of different potential development scenarios the project realized that achieving these objectives was strictly dependent on de-pollution of the area. The coast is currently occupied by a large industrial complex (SIAPE) owned by the Tunisian government which recently agreed to relocate the facility elsewhere. Clearly this large area will require de-pollution interventions, but it offers a great strategic opportunity for Sfax.

85

86

TOOLS AND APPROACHES

Three main categories of action have been envisaged under the ICZM plan: 1. Activities already planned in the context of previous planning exercises and, therefore, completed or currently under completion: these include all activities related to de-pollution like the transfer of the municipal solid waste discharge currently located in this area.

2. Preparatory and mitigation activities in view of the transfer of SIAPE activities (between 2009 and 2011): these include activities aiming to prevent further degradation of the area due to unregulated discharge of liquid and solid waste in the oueds (dry river beds) and to anarchic urban development in areas which still maintain an aesthetic value (e.g. Thyna and Ain Fallet).

3. Long-term activities requiring substantial preparation and appropriate funds: these include all activities related to the dismantlement of the SIAPE complex, treatment and containment of polluted soil and re-conversion of the area along the objectives mentioned in the SDAGS. In particular the area is likely to see the development of a new commercial area, the rehabilitation of the fisheries sector and the port facilities. The plan also envisages the creation of: • recreational facilities such as archeological site of Thyna, opening visitor access to the salt mines • an urban corridor between the airport and the city, developed as a multifunctional service centre • an urban park and green corridors in the area of Ain Fallet (in front of Thyna) to improve the connection with the seafront.

To implement all these interventions a public private partnership (PPP) was suggested in the form of a company with mixed ownership. This approach has already been successfully adopted in Tunisia, both in the capital (management of Lake Tunis) and in Sfax (Taparura project).

Interestingly, during the last review meeting at the Municipality of Sfax, stakeholders agreed that any spatial development option needed to be supported by a robust socio-economic justification before being presented to decision-makers for endorsement. To obtain this, socio-economic studies have been launched. They also emphasized the importance of adopting a coherent spatial vision to structure the area of Grand Sfax on the basis of functional connections between the different components,

supported by an appropriate hierarchical structure of the road network.

Lessons learned Spatial planning requires a shared vision of the future to be developed. Sfax started many years ago (before the SMAP III Tunisia project) creating the vision of a sustainable city open to the Mediterranean and to the world, not an introverted and polluted one. Over the years, many proposals have been made on how to best achieve this, reallocating space to different uses. However, regardless of the available options, the vision remained the same throughout and indeed guided the process. It is thanks to this vision that the Tunisian government has accepted to relocate important industrial facilities and what was thought impossible only a few years ago is now reality.

The application of the principles of ICZM over a long period of time (at least a decade) has had a role in this, improving communication between local and national governments and reinforcing shared goals.

Experience shows that when local administrations or organizations take charge of their future (as the city of Sfax did) sooner or later their achievements are recognized at the higher level and this puts them in a advantaged position when it comes to negotiation at the national and international level. The opposite approach, which involves expecting changes to come from above or “kicking responsibilities up the institutional ladder” never pays.

The commitment of the people working in and with the Municipality of Sfax has been remarkable. The vision has clearly not been the dream of one person at one moment in time, but something deeply felt by all inhabitants of the city. The vision of a new Sfax was put on paper as early as 1999, and since then the mayors and other decision-makers who have governed the city have kept faith with this vision and brought the agenda forward. This is certainly unusual, and not just in the southern Mediterranean.

There seems to be a perverse mechanism that concentrates polluting and potentially harmful activities in specific areas along the coast. In economic terms it could make sense to concentrate activities requiring access to the same natural resources and the same services (e.g. a port) in one place. Nevertheless, these hot spots create profound transformations in the socio-economic tissue hosting

Thyna wetlands, Sfax, Tunisia Credit EB

them and can influence the spatial development of a city or an entire region.

Despite all the (often overlapping) spatial planning efforts routinely performed by governments at different levels, development seems to be guided by drivers that spatial plans are unable to contain or control. This is partially because planners have not carefully identified or evaluated the importance of the drivers of change at the time the plan was conceived. As an example, the population growth in a city has to be carefully estimated based on past and on-going socioeconomic trends. This allows authorities to evaluate

the need in housing capacity and plan spatially the future areas to be urbanized. Failing to do this opens the way to speculation on the value of land because of unexpected increases in demand for housing and provides an incentive to illegal urbanization.

Sustainable development has a strong spatial component which often goes unnoticed. Spatial planning allows a visualization of the functional, social, economic and environmental connections between the elements of a system and supports integration of all these elements in the decisionmaking process.

ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS 000

What is Economics in ICZM? Economics is a social science concerning the study of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. It involves assessing human behaviour and choices in order to make better decisions regarding the allocation of limited resources that have competing uses. The overall aim is thus to maximise benefits to society, which is, in theory, completely aligned to the goal of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM).

In its widest sense, economics relating to ICZM covers several alternative approaches that use different types of value-based approaches to support decisionmaking, as shown in the figure below. Financial analysis focuses on prices actually paid in markets to assess cash flows and the financial viability of companies, organisations and projects. Economic impact analysis is concerned with establishing the contribution to, or effect on, local, regional and national economies of expenditures, jobs and incomes from alternative projects and programmes. Socioeconomic analysis assesses the social, economic, political and cultural aspects of individuals, organisations and communities, with a particular focus on livelihoods and wellbeing. Finally, economic welfare analysis is the main component of economics that helps guide the optimum allocation of scarce resources to maximise benefits to society. An increasingly important strand of welfare economics is environmental economics, which recognises that the economy and the environment are connected.

There are three core aspects of environmental economics, each of which have significant potential relevance for implementing ICZM. These are: 1. environmental valuation: identifying and valuing

environmental costs and benefits 2. market-based instruments: changing how the markets work to account for environmental values 3. Green National Accounting: changing the way development is measured by accounting for changes in environmental stocks.

Why is Economics important?

The coastal resources of the Mediterranean region are under significant threat especially from overexploitation, uncontrolled development and dredging, conflicting uses and pollution. This results in considerable loss of value over the longer term at a local and national level. A key contributory factor is poorly-managed coastal resources, exacerbated by a lack of management resources, inappropriate decisions being made because the true economic and socio-economic value of the environment is not fully considered, and the wrong economic incentives in place because environmental values are not reflected in market prices. Economic approaches can all add a powerful and important dimension to ICZM to help rectify these problems.

Financial analysis can be used to help ensure ICZM management bodies and coastal businesses are financially viable with an appropriate stream of sustainable revenues. Economic impact analysis can help ensure that the development options selected maximise long term revenues and jobs, and leverage the most regional investment. Socio-economic analysis can help inform decisions to make sure that the poor and vulnerable are catered for. Economic welfare analysis can help ensure that alternative projects, programmes and policies provide the greatest long term net benefit to society from a national perspective. Typically Cost Benefit Analysis is used

TYPICAL VALUES

TYPICAL TOOLS

Financial values

Market values

Profit & Loss, Budgets

Economic impacts

Expenditure, jobs

Input Output Models

Socio-economics

Livelihoods, wellbeing

Indicators

Economic welfare

Producer & consumer surplus

Cost Benefit Analysis

90

TOOLS AND APPROACHES

to assess overall costs and benefits, and the option with the greatest net benefit is selected. In addition, through an improved understanding of environmental values, new market-based instruments can be adopted to change the way market incentive structures work (e.g. introducing tourism user charges and environmental taxes).

Economic studies are increasingly being undertaken in the Mediterranean region to inform coastal zone management, and new market based mechanisms are slowly being adopted. According to the World Bank and METAP (2002), coastal degradation in Tunisia may cause a loss of 0.2-0.3% GDP, for example through impacts on tourism and fisheries.

Another example comes from Morocco, where a study identified potential market-based instruments to raise revenues for an environmental fund and improve environmental management and infrastructure relating to the coastal zone and associated aspects such as water, air, solid waste and landscape (Maktit, 2007).

When are Economics used?

Economic approaches can be used at many stages of decision-making but particularly when: • undertaking option appraisals to assess alternative ICZM projects or programmes • considering policy reform relating to the coastal zone • considering sustainable financing of natural coastal assets and coast related environmental infrastructure (e.g. waste treatment plants) • determining the level of compensation for environmental damages.

The specific economic approach(es) used will depend on the nature and objective of the issue being evaluated. Note that when undertaking an Environmental Impact Assessment, it is usually necessary to incorporate an economic and/or socioeconomic impact assessment as part of it.

Who needs to be involved?

It is usually government organisations (such as the Ministries of Environment, Transport or Tourism) or national and local agencies that commission economics studies. Increasingly non-governmental organisations such as WWF commission such studies to highlight the benefits of improved decision-making.

Studies are generally undertaken by consultants, universities, NGOs and research institutions. Those that commission and undertake the study ideally

need some experience and training in economics, or at least access to an appropriate level of expert advice.

Where should I start?

Firstly, it is valuable to understand the different roles and outputs that alternative economic approaches provide. One should then ensure any planned economic study has clearly defined objectives.

Finally, it is important to select appropriate techniques to use and involve people with the right skills.

Data requirements are often extensive, meaning that a broad range of stakeholders should usually be consulted to obtain relevant data and opinions, generally using questionnaires, surveys and/or focus groups. For the more complex approaches and analyses where more rigorous results are required, it is sometimes necessary to use economic modelling and econometric analysis to predict regional economic impacts and understand the relationship between different variables. Costs vary considerably depending on the nature and extent of the study.

Suggested reading http://go.worldbank.org/XBSSSHXD30 www.adb.org/Documents/Guidelines/Eco_Analysi s/default.asp www.jncc.gov.uk/page-4065 http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/mna/mena.nsf/Attac hments/Sustainability+of+ICZM/$File/ICZMskye.pdf Lebanon’s cultural heritage is a significant asset Credit IMAC

ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS

Valuation of Coastal Resources IMAC, Lebanon Context A core objective of Integrated Coastal Zone Management is to balance the economic and societal benefits that can be derived from a multitude of activities that depend upon and impact upon the coastal zone. This case study1 demonstrates how economics, and in particular, environmental economic approaches can help improve ICZM through gaining a better understanding of the value and contribution of different activities in the coastal zone.

The northern coastal zone of Lebanon has about 80km of linear seashore constituting about 35 percent of the Lebanese coastline. This part of the Lebanese coast is considered to be the richest in terms of natural and cultural heritage sites but at the same time is one of the most at risk from degradation and pollution.

Governance of the coastal zone is complex and fragmented, with numerous actors having a stake.

The north coastal zone comprises two Governorates (Mohafazat) under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities (MoIM). The Mohafaza of Akkar is the farthest north and includes a number of coastal villages with no institutional set up as yet.

The Mohafaza of Northern Lebanon comprises six districts (Casas), including four coastal cities (Minieh, Tripoli, El Mina and Batroun) and 17 coastal villages administered by municipalities.

Casa Cadastral Boundaries and Population Density of the Mohafazat

The seafront public domain, defined as being the shore up to the winter high tide mark, which includes beaches, is not under municipal jurisdiction. The seafront, ponds and salt marshes are under the Ministry of Transport and Public Works (MoTPW).

The establishment and management of public beaches is the responsibility of the Ministry of Tourism (MoT). However, either through presidentialministerial decrees or illegal infringement on public maritime domains, a plethora of private resorts and beaches has greatly reduced the access to some public beaches. The MoTPW also has jurisdiction over ports, whilst the fishing sector is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA).

The northern coast is predominantly sandy, with pebble beaches, rocky terraces and micro-cliffs. It is characterized by three bays, El Abdeh, Qalamoun and Chekka, along with three main headlands at Tripoli/El Mina (including the Palm Island nature reserve), Anfeh (an old Phoenician port and with salt marshes), and Ras Es Shaqaa (whose nature reserve status is still being debated). The vast agricultural plain of Akkar narrows down to become a thin densely populated coastal corridor, interspersed with river deltas and overlooked by plateaus and mountains.

The ecosystem of the northern coastal zone has a high level of biodiversity and functions as an important wave barrier protecting the coastline from erosion and natural hazards. The Lebanese marine

N

W

E

S

El Aabde El Minié

Akkar

Tripoli

Chekka

Minieh-Dennieh Zavye El Kouro Battoun

Zghana

Enfé

Tripoli

Amioun Batroun Bcharré

Becharre

Resident Population per km2 by Morphological Area

Source: Adapted from the UoB, Department of Engineering GIS; and NPMPLT (2004).

1

d< or = 50 100> or = d>50 250> or = d>100 500> or = d>250 1000> or = d>500 d>1000

Based on University of Balimand(UoB)/Doumani (2007) Economic Valuation of the Lebanese Northern Coast. Integrated Management of East Mediterranean Coastlines (IMAC). Funded by SMAP III/European Commission.

91

92

TOOLS AND APPROACHES

ecosystem comprises over 1,250 species of phytoplankton and macro-zooplankton which help support over 1,685 species of fauna, of which 50 are commercially important fish species. Also, some 300 migrating bird species are catalogued, with Palm Island providing an important protected bird breeding location.

The problem The northern coast of Lebanon only has a limited resource base which is being utilized and damaged by a complex mix of stakeholders in many different ways. As a result, the natural asset base is being eroded and the long-term benefits that can be gained from the coastal resources are dwindling. The root causes of the problem appear to be a combination of factors such as: • the true value of the coastal resources are not fully recognized • negative environmental impacts are ignored and not fully accounted for in the market-place and decision-making, and • the current institutional arrangements and decision-making processes are not integrated, coordinated, transparent and strong enough to deliver what is in the best long-term interests of all the stakeholders and the region itself.

Coastal resource issues include spatial encroachment, resource over-extraction, and resource pollution and degradation. Key drivers and actors include urbanization, tourism, private and public recreation, industrial activities and clusters (e.g. Chekka for cement and Selaata for fertilizers), resource use extraction (e.g. ground and surface water supplies, fishing and the dying salt extraction activity), trade and economic growth (e.g. ports of Tripoli and Selaata), natural assets (e.g. Palm Island and Ras es Shakaa) and cultural assets (e.g. Anfeh and Kelhat).

Direct resource damage and over-consumption is exacerbated by municipalities, tourism developers, industries and the agriculture sector that also cause a range of indirect negative environmental impacts (externalities). These include, for example, air pollution, solid waste pollution, and water-related pollution, from sewage, industrial effluent, pesticides, fertilizers and landfill seepage.

The project methodology In light of the above, a study was undertaken by the University of Balamand, Lebanon (Doumani, 2008) to develop an economic baseline of the current coastal environment in northern Lebanon to feed into the

formulation of an ICZM strategy. The study had three core components: 1. a municipal assessment to explore human capacity and finances relating to environmental management 2. an environmental valuation (contingent valuation questionnaire) study to estimate the direct and indirect values of coastal resources based on a household survey, and 3. an assessment of sectoral economic activities in terms of contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) in the coastal region.

For the municipality assessment, the 2004-06 current and actual budgets were sought from the Mayors.

Out of the 21 coastal municipalities, 18 municipality budgets were obtained, translated, and transcribed into spreadsheets to perform the analysis and derive aggregate revenues, expenditures and cash/accrual deficits-surpluses. In addition, a questionnaire was used to obtain specific information on human resource capacity relating to the environment, as well as the population and provision of various services.

For the coastal valuation study, a structured contingent valuation questionnaire was designed to survey faceto-face more than 400 Northern Lebanon coastal households. The questionnaire drew upon the UN Millennium Ecosystem Assessment categories of Ecosystem Services (provisioning, regulating and cultural services) and used an “open ended” willingness to pay (WTP) question to find out how much households were willing to pay to preserve the coastal zone of North Lebanon. Additional

Beirut Lebanon, after the war, 2006 Credit Timot

ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS

questions enabled socio-economic household profiles to be derived.

The cedars of Lebanon, not just of symbolic value Credit IMAC

a. b.

c. d.

For the sectoral economic assessment, a range of techniques were used to collect information, for example through faceto-face interviews, telephone calls, review of Ministry of Finance (MoF) Value Added Tax (VAT) data, professional directory searches, and several rapid surveys (e.g. for boat construction, boating, salt extraction and fisheries). The analysis then involved: estimating turnover, budget and outputs of the various private and public coastal entities applying the Ministry of Economy and Trade (MoET) input/output coefficients to derive the gross value added of the public or private entities determining numbers employed estimating worker wages and salaries.

Following completion of the draft report, SMAP III TA provided an opportunity for the University of Balamand project team to have a one-day workshop with international economics experts. Due to political tensions at the time in Lebanon, it was decided that the workshop would best be run via an initial series of questions and answers submitted via email, followed by a video conference.

The purpose of the workshop was to resolve a number of key questions such as: • how robust the results of the coastal resource valuation are • whether they can be applied elsewhere in Lebanon as benefit transfers • whether the study derived a complete value of the coastal resources • how the costs of coastal degradation can be evaluated • how the results can best be used for ICZM decision-making.

Study results The municipal assessment highlighted that the municipalities’ financial base is eroding and is dependent on public transfers from government and utilities that are diminishing. The total net deficit reached US$ 38.8 million and 23.3 million respectively in 2004 and 2005. Reduced central financial contributions are being slightly offset by an effort to increase collection of previously unpaid household bills and taxes. Actual wastewater network and sidewalk maintenance fees collected by municipalities (which could be considered as the most representative environmental fees), are barely collected, with an annual average of US$ 2 per capita in 2005 for all coastal municipalities. Unfortunately, an adequate property tax regime, whose revenues usually help finance the provision of a number of important municipal services and investments, is still non-existent in Lebanon due to vested interests.

The ability to raise revenues remains constrained, because municipalities do not have the authority to increase or introduce new taxes, and, with the exception of Tripoli, are not authorized to borrow funds from elsewhere.

Municipality expenditures absorb a staggering 70 percent of actual expenditures, which leaves marginal amounts for maintenance (8 percent) and capital investments (9 percent). As a result of the financial burden, the social and economic infrastructure, service provisions and preservation of the environment are lagging behind. Furthermore, in the absence of decentralization and due to their continued financial support, the central government still has an important say in local social, economic, policy, urban planning and environmental issues.

In the coastal resource valuation study the mean willingness to pay (WTP) value to preserve the coastal zone through some form of ICZM was US$ 41 per household per annum (2005 prices). Based on the questionnaire responses, the average WTP value for each household could be split fairly evenly between protecting four categories of value: 1. direct consumptive uses, e.g. fisheries 2. direct non-consumptive uses, e.g. recreation, transport/trade 3. indirect values, e.g. regulatory services such as waste assimilation and carbon sequestration 4. environmental health, e.g. reducing ill-health from pollution.

93

94

TOOLS AND APPROACHES

The WTP represents 0.5 percent of household income on average and could be considered as an upper bound environmental tax that could be introduced to preserve the coastal and marine resources. Converted to an overall value for the North Lebanon population gives US$ 5.9 million (equivalent to PPP$ 6.9 million and ¤ 4.4 million) per annum, or US$ 231 million over 50 years and discounted at 3 percent.

The sectoral economic assessment revealed that the northern coastline partial GDP was conservatively estimated at US$ 292.5 million in 2005. The contribution of each sector, when re-aggregated according to national accounts, is shown in the pie chart below.

6.8

1.7

7.5 12 57.5

of fish caught and the value of coastal tourism. The value may also include an element of what is known as “non-use value” (i.e. benefit from knowing the resources are protected without actual use of the resources), which is separate from direct and indirect use values.

Similarly, the sectoral economic study does not derive a true value of the GDP that is derived from coastal and marine resources. Rather it provides a useful breakdown of the relative importance of economic sectors within the coastal region. In reality, some sectoral activity may be 100% dependent on coastal resources (e.g. fishing), others may be significantly dependent (e.g. tourism), but others such as some industries may have little dependency.

On the other hand, some (e.g. industry and agriculture) may have a significant impact on the quality of the coastal resources, for example through pollution.

14.5

Industry

Energy and water

Services

Agriculture

Government

Transport

Potential use of the coastal resource values for benefit transfer studies elsewhere in Lebanon (e.g. to a national level or to other regions) is possible, but should be viewed with caution. It is potentially acceptable if the context is similar in terms of what the values specifically relate to, that is to say the nature and extent of the environmental change and the populations affected by such changes are similar in the context to those in North Lebanon.

The sectoral assessment also revealed the significant power and leverage of three majors industries along the coast (plastic pipes, cement and EU-exportoriented fertilizers). The production process for this last industry is actually banned in the EU and is having a devastating environmental impact in the Batroun region.

The coastal value could be used to assist with a cost of degradation study for Lebanon, but it should be borne in mind that such studies usually include more accurate valuations of impacts to human health and quality of life, as well as impacts on natural resources.

Workshop Outcomes The workshop session resulted in numerous key points and caveats regarding use of the study outcomes, which are outlined here. The coastal resource valuation study determined a value which represents how much households in Lebanon are willing to pay for some form of coastal zone management to help protect existing coastal and marine resources. It does NOT represent the actual economic value of the coastal and marine resources.

This would need to include, for example, the value

A variety of potential uses for the coastal resource valuation was proposed, including: • raising public awareness • informing the environmental costs and benefits components of cost-benefit analyses to improve decision-making when considering alternative projects or policies • helping to justify additional expenditures for ICZM activities • supporting the creation of environmental taxes and user fees.

ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS

Use of rsults to-date The original IMAC-UoB-Doumani (2007) document was instrumental in moving ICZM thinking forward in north Lebanon, and has led to a cascading effect in terms of new policy notes that will help engage policy makers in managing the coastal zones in a sustainable manner. The refined results (i.e. following the expert workshop) were used for the production of a complementary document funded

by EC SMAP III and METAP-World Bank on the Northern Coast of Lebanon Cost of Coastal Zone Environmental Degradation (CCZED, forthcoming in 2009). This includes remedial investment scenarios to avert some of the environmental degradation along the coast.

Beach hut near Beirut, Lebanon Credit Timot

The report was presented at a national event at the Ministry of Environment on March 12, 2009, presided over by both the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Finance. The World Bank

Country Environmental Analysis and the next 5year Country Partnership Strategy (due in early 2010) will extensively rely on the CCZED (2009) results and methodology. In addition, the outcomes feed into three proposed new policy notes covering Wastewater Treatment, Solid Waste and Coastal Reserves.

Challenges and Lessons learned The themes covered in the IMAC-UoB-Doumani (2007) report were new to Lebanon, requiring much innovation in terms of rapid and cost-effective survey techniques.

The time and resources needed to do such studies thoroughly and in a robust way should not be underestimated. Careful planning and budgeting is essential, as is drawing on experience to determine the most cost-effective ways of implementing the various survey and analysis methods.

95

96

TOOLS AND APPROACHES

Considerable care is needed when designing a stated preference survey such as a contingent valuation questionnaire survey. The final values derived relate directly to the phrasing and framework of the questionnaire and the willingness to pay questions.

Once the questionnaire survey has been undertaken, it is too late to change it! In this study, several iterations of the questionnaire were used to help simplify it. When applying a complex questionnaire with new concepts such as in this case, it is worth undertaking focus group discussions and piloting the questionnaire survey to test the understanding of people who are to be targeted.

In addition, it can be advisable to involve other environmental economic experts early on in the design process to help ensure the questionnaire is asking the right questions in the right way, in order to elicit the value wanted and to overcome some of the many potential biases. This enhances the reliability and validity of such questionnaire surveys.

In order to obtain the full value of coastal resources, it may be necessary to undertake several different valuation approaches to ensure that all the values are included. This may include market-based approaches (e.g. for fisheries and tourism), replacement cost approaches (e.g. for coastal defense and carbon sequestration benefits) and stated preference surveys to assess non-marketed values such as recreation consumer surplus (the value of enjoyment over and above what visitors pay for) and non-use values (values gained by the public without necessarily using an environmental resource).

Great care is needed not to double count the range of values being assessed. This again highlights the importance of correctly designing the stated preference surveys to ensure you are not obtaining willingness to pay values that cover other separately assessed values.

When undertaking this study, it was clear that the current context may have had an impact on the results, but this was difficult to address. For example, there had recently been an oil spill (the 2006 Jyeh oil spill that affected the north shores and Island Palm Nature Reserve), and the recent war will have affected peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to pay.

Obtaining detailed and accurate quantified information from organizations relating to

economic and financial data can be extremely difficult, time consuming and costly. Invariably one ends up with incomplete datasets and uncertainty over the accuracy and validity of the information received. It is important to attempt to obtain such data through a variety of means (including your contacts!) using experience in dealing with local authorities, and to be persistent in requesting it and undertake what checks you can to validate the data. Relying on a dedicated team at the University of Balimand was instrumental in gathering data and information.

In this study, there was no simple solution to validate and double check the figures provided by the public, private and informal sectors regarding their budgets/turnovers/outputs and especially payrolls.

Therefore, the coastline economic activity figures should be considered with caution.

The study has revealed the importance of knowing exactly what the objectives are for determining economic values for the environment, such as for ICZM. Knowing how the numbers are to be used will dictate how you go about framing the environmental valuation approaches and questions.

Understanding the socio-political situation and how plans, policies and laws are actually applied is critical.

It may be that the right laws and approaches (e.g. environmental taxes and fines) are already established, but that they are simply not implemented or are not implemented effectively. In this case, the municipality study was valuable in highlighting how things currently work in this respect. It may be pointless trying to develop a new environmental tax or charge when the existing ones are ineffective.

The wealth of information derived from the municipal budgets could be used to improve the financial programming and targeting of municipalities significantly, but such changes are unlikely to be made without significant political will.

It would be interesting to replicate this innovative approach and method with adequate financing and improved planning to produce national and more robust results.

More technical detail on the techniques discussed here is available in the SMAP Environmental Economics e-learning course (http://elearning.smap.eu).

STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION

What is Stakeholder Participation?

Stakeholder participation (SP) includes a variety of methods and tools for raising awareness, identifying objectives, agreeing criteria and policy, and building adaptive capacity to resolve coastal issues, mindful of the multiplicity of views, interests and values that may be held by different groups. In the coastal zone stakeholders can generally be assigned to one of four groups: 1. Those with legal responsibility for managing the coast, e.g. different levels of government 2. Coastal industries whose activities are, or need to be, controlled, e.g. tourism, aquaculture, chemical industries 3. People who live on the coast or use coastal resources, whether individuals or communities.

Often this group can include NGOs who represent various interests (e.g. biodiversity, fishermen) 4. Those involved in a coastal management activity, such as agencies assigned by the first group to implement decisions, information providers (e.g. universities, NGOs)

Theater heping children understand coastal issues, Berkane, Morocco Credit EB

Why is participation important?

Management of the coast is inextricably linked to managing society’s use of the coast. The success of coastal management depends on the support and participation of the many individuals and organisations from both public and private sector that have a direct interest in actions or decisions (stakeholders). A need for coastal management usually arises from development pressures such as

conflicting uses of coastal resources, urbanisation, access, pollution and environmental degradation and competing industrial development (e.g. tourism vs. aquaculture). Problems can also arise where there is misunderstanding/competition/conflict between the people who make and implement decisions and those affected by them. In many cases, technical questions are only part of the issue, and other elements, such as differing perceptions of the problem, may present a greater barrier to successful resolution.

When is it used?

Any management activity is fundamentally a negotiation process between stakeholders that should be initiated from the start and maintained not only during the project/initiative but in the long term through appropriate organisational and institutional arrangements. Stakeholder participation is not a onetime activity in a programme. When used throughout the process to engage people, organisations, NGOs and government in ICZM, there is an increased chance of success because the final plan will: • reflect consensus opinions reducing conflict • promote participation in its implementation • ensure coordination and cooperation between stakeholders Who needs to be involved?

In principle, all stakeholders should be involved.

Development, be it social, economic or environmental, has to be understood as an inherently political process of people claiming basic rights to manage the resources their lives depend on. Managing complexity not only requires commitment by stakeholders in management processes and decisions, but must also include the larger political and economic context. The biggest challenge is to design a process whereby all stakeholders, big or small, develop a stewardship (sense of shared responsibility) in coastal issues and are willing to make their use of the coastal zone sustainable. Although there may be a cost to such action in terms of reduced levels of income and/or access to resources, the benefits of good stewardship include better decision-making, reduced reliance on regulation, a more positive role for people and organisations, and greater inclusiveness.

Where should I start?

Although building understanding and relationships within and between stakeholders is important,

98

TOOLS AND APPROACHES

ultimately the power to overcome and resolve coastal problems lies with the political and social structures that can create the institutional setting for management to exist. Therefore, the participation process needs to develop both trust between organisations and communities, and leadership to influence the start of a transparent and sustainable management system.

This process should be underpinned by a number of principles: • Accountability: a transparent and auditable process to all involved • Effectiveness: agreed prioritization of issues with timely interventions • Equity: dialogue and building consensus based on equally valued contributions • Flexibility: including opportunity to revise activities and re-visit issues • Governance: a transparent process of decisionmaking • Inclusiveness: providing for all views to be represented increasing the legitimacy and credibility • Learning: providing a means for a learning approach • Legitimacy: democratic, transparent, accountable, equitable processes • Ownership: generating ownership for decisions • Engagement: bringing together and promoting engagement by all stakeholders • Partnership: networks between stakeholders developing shared power and responsibilities • Societal gains: creating trust to overcome stereotypical perceptions and prejudice The principle tool for stakeholder participation is always stakeholder analysis which has four stages: 1. Stakeholder identification to identify primary (those directly affected, either positively or negatively by the project), secondary (those with a role in implementing ICZM) and key (those with power to influence the outcome of ICZM) stakeholders.

2. Assessment of stakeholders' interests to identity the possible interest that these groups or individuals may have in the project.

3. Assessment of stakeholder influence and importance to determine: (i) the political, social and economical power and status of the stakeholder; (ii) the degree of organization of the stakeholder; (iii) the control of the stakeholder over strategic resources; (iv) the informal influence of the stakeholder; and (v) the importance of the

stakeholders to the success of the project 4. A participation strategy in relation to the involvement of different stakeholders to engage them in a sequential process that leads from information sharing, to consultation followed by collaboration or partnership, and empowerment or ownership.

Different methods can be used to gather information required for the stakeholders analysis, including: • Surveys and interviews with primary stakeholders and collaborating organizations.

• Stakeholder workshops to discuss the project, share ideas and exchange views.

• Community mapping to identify problem areas.

Issues of coastal governance are typically complex and perceived subjectively by each stakeholder, so it is important to first build shared values, vision and targets through extensive consultation. Tools such as problem and objective analysis, situational analysis and strategy analysis can facilitate this process.

A second action, utilising communication and dissemination tools, is to develop activities to raise public awareness concerning the values of coastal resources, threats that are already affecting the sustainable supply of goods and services, new business opportunities, and potential socio-economic gains arising from organisation strengthening, institutional arrangements and financial mechanisms at local level.

Suggested reading www.planbleu.org/publications/cahiers3_imagine _uk.pdf www.lmmanetwork.org www.idrc.ca www.charmproject.org/cms/CHARM%20Archive /Documents/CHARM%202006%20CZM%20and %20CoManagement%20Assessment%20Manual.pdf www.unescap.org/drpad/vc/orientation/M6_intro.htm www.csc.noaa.gov/cms/human_dimensions/ www.fao.org/docrep/W8440e/W8440e22.htm www.training.gpa.unep.org/content.html?id=109

STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION

Stakeholder Consultation Process SMAP III ICZM: (CdLs) of M’diq and Essaouira, Morocco Context The Cellule du Littoral (CdL) is a non-statutory interministerial body hosted by the State Secretariat for Water and Environment, under the competence of the Ministries of Energy, Mines, Water and Environment of the Kingdom of Morocco. Statutory recognition of the CdL as a government agency is currently pending and linked closely to the issue of the Coastal Law (Loi du Littoral) which is undergoing the mandatory review.

Morocco hosted 2 SMAP III ICZM projects (Nador and El Kala/Moulouya) and the CdL has had direct involvement in both of them. Despite its voluntary nature, the national CdL is very active and has promoted the creation of local CdLs in the Provinces of M’diq (Mediterranean coast) and Essaouira (Atlantic coast) which have demonstrated specific interest in the concept of ICZM to address the existing coastal environmental degradation problems.

A description of the context in M’diq and Essaouira can be on page 61.

The picturesque port of Essaouira Credit NM

The participatory process The local CdLs in M’diq and Essaouira needed support to prepare a local action plan to protect and promote the coast through a process of consultation and coordination.

The participatory process was organized around three workshops for each local CdL to demonstrate how a methodology for developing a local coastal action plan can be applied.

The first workshop took place in March 2008. Its objective was to assess current conditions and identify the main issues to be addressed (state of the environment). Key members of the local CdL presented their findings on specific sectoral topics (e.g. coastal processes, tourism development) and an international facilitator animated a brainstorming session during which each participant was asked in turn what s/he considered the most important problems or causes of concern for the coastal areas. In this way, the key issues were identified and subsequently categorized into two groups: thematic issues (e.g. coastal erosion and sand mining) and institutional issues (e.g. lack of sectoral integration and limited environmental awareness).

99

100

TOOLS AND APPROACHES

Leaving institutional issues aside, participants were asked to rank the thematic issues by priority and select only the first four to be further analysed. The process of analysing baseline conditions for each of the four priority issues was tested and instructions provided to the participants to continue the work in preparation for the next workshop.

The second workshop took place in June 2008.

Following a brief review of the baseline conditions for each of the four priority issues, the participants started to work on identifying strategies to address them. The group was asked to identify and select main strategies or lines of action, related specific objectives, and potential actions/projects necessary to achieve these objectives. These were tested at length with all participants and instructions provided to continue the work in preparation for the next workshop. It was decided to apply the whole procedure only to the top two priority issues to place the emphasis on the quality of the final result rather than on quantity.

The final workshop was held in November 2008 and took the form of a formal presentation of the local ICZM action plans to all CdL members and other high-level officials.

The workshops in Mâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;diq involved both members of the CdL (functionaries of local authorities) and local pressure groups (NGOs, Associations, Universities).

In Essaouira the workshops involved mainly representatives of the CdL, with few representatives from the main economic sectors: fisheries, agriculture, tourism etc. As a consequence, participation was not as wide as desirable for the development of an ICZM Action Plan. This was acknowledged from the outset, however, and considered necessary in order to achieve the objective in the available timeframe (9 months).

The real purpose of the exercise was demonstrative in nature, the focus being on the process of consultation and plan development rather than on the output (the local action plan). The CdL members have become familiar with the process, accept it as useful, and will apply it subsequently with a wider audience of interested parties.

The participatory tools Consultation can be a very lengthy process because of the often contrasting views of different stakeholders. The process becomes endless if not

properly facilitated and guided. Participants always tend to steer the discussion to familiar ground be it technical, political, legal or academic and this tends to divert attention from the true/real purpose of the consultation process. A neutral facilitator is, therefore, essential to maintain the focus of the debate and streamline the process effectively towards a consensus on concrete outputs (e.g. an action plan).

The facilitator often uses participatory tools which help to structure the debate towards the intended goal. The use of these tools becomes indispensable if s/he cannot be present during the whole process, as was the case here. The facilitator, an international expert, illustrated and tested the tools with the participants during the workshops, and then left the members of the CdL to complete them by the following workshop.

Two local consultants (one for each site) supported this process effectively by conducting frequent meetings with individual members of the CdL to verify the progress made and provide support where needed. Specific guidelines were provided to the local consultants by the facilitator to guide the process in between the workshops. Five main tools were used to structure the consultation process.

Strategic analysis of themes A table was used to guide the discussion on the baseline conditions for each of the four key issues identified during the workshop. For each one, the

Tourist complex under construction in Mâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;diq, Morocco Credit NM

STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION

Analysis of objectives / actions This was a table showing the basic structure of the plan, starting from strategies all the way down to individual actions. Detailed instructions were provided along with this table to explain the logic structure behind table completion. The ultimate objective of the Action Plan was to manage the existing or predictable causes of change identified in the state of the environment with the aim of creating a desirable future. Following this logic, participants were asked to base the identification of strategies/objectives/actions exclusively on the information collected for the state of the environment.

Argan trees, near Essaouira, Morocco Credit NM

participants were asked to answer the following questions: 1. Why is this a cause for concern?

2. Who is concerned?

3. Where are the areas concerned (geographically)?

4. What are the root causes of the issue?

Questions 1 and 4 are essential to outline the causes and effects of the issue and show participants the links between environmental degradation and its socio-economic consequences. This is important to help focus the analysis of the state of the environment on key causes and effects instead of providing unnecessary information on items of no interest. For example, marine pollution is caused, among other things, by discharge of wastewater at sea without appropriate treatment and has the effect of causing health problems and reducing potential revenues from fisheries or aquaculture activities. Therefore, the analysis of the state of the environment will focus on the nature of the pollution and the entity of its causes and effects, identifying the areas where these are specifically felt.

State of the environment template Participants left the first workshop with a better understanding of the cause-effect relationships at work in their province and were asked to fill in a template with summary information on the state of the environment for each key issue identified.

CdL members allocated responsibilities for different key issues among themselves based on their individual areas of expertise and set off to work on the template before the next workshop. Contributors were also asked to include a problem-tree highlighting the causeeffect relationships for the issue under analysis.

The instructions to complete the table were rigorously structured in a step-by-step approach with simple, practical instructions on how to proceed from one step to the next.

1. Identify lines of action: Lines of action were identified based on suggestions from participants during the 2nd workshop. Usually this is achieved by developing scenarios describing potential future outcomes and identifying the most desirable. Unfortunately, scenarios could not be developed in this case due to lack of time (this would have required a dedicated workshop).

2. Identify specific objectives for each line of action: The facilitator suggested participants convert causes and effects in the problem-trees in objectives. For example, “poverty in rural areas” can be transformed into “reduce poverty in rural areas”. This helps keeping the focus on the facts identified in the state of the environment analysis and transform a problem (negative) in to an objective (positive).

3. Analyse constraints and strengths: Translating objectives (realm of theory and ideas) into projects (realm of concrete action) is often a difficult step.

Identifying constraints (barriers to achieving an objective) and/or strengths (factors supporting its achievement) is an effective way of overcoming this difficulty. For example, if the objective is to increase the access to freshwater resources, a possible constraint is the limited knowledge of the underlying water lenses of the area.

4. Identify concrete projects: Once constraints and strengths were listed it was relatively simple for participants to identify actions that could eliminate constraints and take advantage of strengths.

Continuing the example above, we could envisage launching a study to map the water lenses.

101

102

TOOLS AND APPROACHES

Sewage outlet close to hotel complex in M’diq Credit NM

Selection criteria for potential projects Aspreadsheet was developed specifically to score each project systematically against predefined feasibility criteria. Only the highest scoring projects were kept and further developed. This process was not intended to exclude some projects but only to prioritize them in order to focus the efforts on those most likely to succeed. Both CdLs ended up with approximately 60 projects in total for only 2 key issues. It was agreed only the top 15 projects in terms of feasibility score would be selected.

Project fiche A one-page project fiche was developed for each project selected including information on stakeholders costs, action plan, sources of funding etc. The fiches were annexed to the action plan intended as individual project promotion sheets for both national and international donors.

As mentioned, the development of the two ICZM Action Plans was highly demonstrative in nature. It proved extremely useful to keep open the debate on coastal issues following Morocco’s ratification in January 2008 of the ICZM Protocol for the Mediterranean and while the Coastal Law was under review by the National Government. The work of the local CdLs created important precedents, demonstrating the value of an integrated and consultative planning approach and led to the organization in May 2009 of a National Conference on the Coast.

that considerably contributed to the quality of the final result (e.g. limiting the key issues analysed to two, and prioritizing projects by feasibility)

Lessons learned Consultation is a two way process, you listen to what stakeholders have to say but you also try to show them things from a different prospective, to create synergies, resolve conflicts, build a common vision and show the links between different sectors. Tools like those used here are essential for structuring a new common perspective of the way things are now (diagnostic) and could/should be in the future (plan).

Working with institutions and administrations, it is generally necessary to find creative ways of obliging the participants (often technicians or sector specialists) to take off their “technical hat” and put on their “citizen hat”. This is particularly important in the first phase of identification and prioritization of issues. If this is not possible, the risk is a technical Action Plan will be developed, without the necessary aspects of socio-economic sustainability and quality of life. Scenario development is one way to achieve this goal. Unfortunately, time constraints made it impossible to apply in this case.

A successful consultation process is one that balances participation with analytical tools. If the first is given too much emphasis, we fall into an endless debate.

If we exceed with the second, we have nice tools but no substance. This balance is not easy to achieve and requires strong leadership (the facilitator and other supporting figures) and very concrete targets to be achieved. Time constraints in this case helped to maintain the focus and make practical choices

This case study demonstrates that the first step or cycle of an ICZM process can be limited both in geographical, participatory and thematic terms and still be useful. Nevertheless, the limits of the exercise need to be acknowledged and the results obtained appropriately disseminated and adopted by the institutions concerned (i.e. local or national authorities responsible for planning in coastal areas). If the results obtained are given visibility and successfully

STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION

adopted, this creates the conditions for a more active participation and a second, more ambitious cycle of the ICZM Process.

From Stakeholder Participation to Governance Nador, Morocco

The relatively rigid or step by step approach adopted in this case may look very inappropriate to a consultation process which requires considerable flexibility and open dialogue. In reality, participants prefer to be given clear instructions because it makes them feel more comfortable with the process and helps them structure their thinking in a very focused way. In addition, the rigidity is only apparent because stakeholders can go back to the drawing board any time they find inconsistencies over which they cannot find an agreement. The end result is often surprisingly detailed and well-structured even for those who have produced it.

Context Nador Province, in Morocco, is home to the largest lagoon in the southern Mediterranean, many sites of biological and ecological importance, such as Cap des Trois Fourches and the Nador watershed Gourougou, and three main urban centres, Nador, Beni Nsar and Mellilia. Lack of integration and proper management in this coastal area has led to problems, notably disputes over the land tenure system, mainly in the 24km of coastal dune belt separating the lagoon from the sea, pollution from urban sewers, landfills, industrial effluents and agricultural runoff, coastal erosion and anarchic urbanization.

The voluntary nature of the local CdLs enabled them to overcome traditional institutional obstacles and facilitated communication and cooperation between representatives of different sectors. For example, the exchange of information was not hindered by administrative formalities and excessive bureaucracy.

In any case, the motivation has to be kept high by a local facilitator using a well defined methodology and working toward specific goals.

Coast day 2007 in Nador lagoon, Morocco Credit EB

Participation was based on two consultation models: direct participation based on working groups, workshops and individual meetings, and indirect participation based on e-mail exchanges. This cyclical consultation process allowed participants to follow each step closely and return several times on aspects on which they could not find a consensus.

The lagoon and the wetlands surrounding it are valuable not only because of their biodiversity but also because of their economic value, supporting such activities as small-scale fishing and fish farming.

However, fisheries and fish-farming production has decreased during the past few years due to degradation in the water quality of the lagoon.

The Nador project aims to promote sustainable development in the area by developing an Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan of Action with the participation of civil society. Raising awareness about ICZM is another objective, as are promoting communication and collaboration between users of the coastal zone, and strengthening the capacity of the Cellule du Littoral, the unit in the Department for Environment responsible for developing a national ICZM strategy.

Public and stakeholder participation was considered vital to meeting these objectives. A range of activities were conducted to better understand the interests and visions of the various groups and to encourage their participation and sense of ownership Stakeholder interviews In order to determine the priority issues to be addressed, 17 key stakeholders were selected for individual semi-structured interviews on their specific area of competence but also on their interaction and possible conflicts with other groups, their vision for the project areas, and their potential role in designing and implementing an ICZM Plan. The interviews

103

104

TOOLS AND APPROACHES

followed a structure that allowed comparative analysis, identifying professional and organizational constraints, existing networks, relations, conflicts and potential synergies between groups, and their attitude towards the coast. Interviewees were also invited to present ideas on possible ways to improve environment management in relation with the coastal zone.

Concepts like integration, governance, sustainable tourism and sustainability were found to have different meanings for each stakeholder group. For example, sustainable fishery management means one thing for a Nador fisherman, another for the National Institute for Halieutic Research (INRH) and another still for the project itself. Importantly, the interviews also enabled individuals to express their points of view freely something they would not dare to do in public and to hear the opinion of some key stakeholders who for whatever reason were unable to attend focus groups or stakeholder forums.

Interviews were also the main source of information about sectors for which no focus group or stakeholder forums could be organized. Tourism was one such sector. All the interviewees consider this a promising sector for both urban and rural development in the province of Nador. Sectors like fishery and agriculture perceive economic opportunities linked to tourism development, and more specifically to eco-tourism.

However, only mass and beach tourism has a clear development strategy, while eco-tourism and cultural tourism, whether rural or urban, completely lack any clear vision. These points were addressed in the ICZM plan which included capacity building for relevant provincial departments.

Focus groups The objective of the focus groups was to analyze all the relevant key sectors for the area, to find agreed solutions to the problems identified and to suggest different scenarios to the decision makers. Different kinds of focus group were organized: sector focus groups (e.g. fishery); inter-sector focus groups bringing representatives from different sectors (e.g. fishery and tourism); and usage focus groups (e.g. people using the Nador lagoon, or issues like solid waste).

A focus group needs careful preparation and should be based on individual interviews to identify main topics and problems that will be proposed to the

group. Care should be taken to prevent the discussion straying off topic, considering at all times how the information collected will be used and by whom.

The facilitator must be flexible, creating a convivial atmosphere, and not assuming a position of leadership. He or she should not judge, either positively or negatively, the answers and comments received. S/he should listen carefully, observe and raise open questions related to problems or theme agreed before the focus group. Frequently throughout the session, s/he should summarize what has been said, to stimulate the debate and encourage the creativity of the participants to propose unusual alternatives.

For a sector focus group, it is important to have representatives from the whole sector: for fishery, for example, from small fishermen to retailers, processors, administrations, associations and the private sector. This also provides an opportunity to note the relations between the sector and the environment. For example for the fishery administration, pollution was restricted to material contaminating fish, while small fishermen were more â&#x20AC;&#x153;completeâ&#x20AC;? and complained also about the effects of eutrophication on fish species. Other environmental issues like erosion, biodiversity, dune erosion and changes in landscapes were not considered a problem for them, whereas they were a significant concern for tourism development and for the water sector.

Focus groups are also useful for highlighting conflicts.

In this, the fishery focus group was emblematic.

Small fisherman and INRH disagreed about the status of fish stocks, with INRH considering that there was no overexploitation, while the fishermenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s long experience and declining yields suggested there was.

Small fishermen and the fishery administration expressed conflicting opinions on boat registration, the location of the new fishery harbour and the digging of a new channel in the lagoon. The fishermen also suggested a fishery observatory should be created to compile information related to the coastal zone of the province. They expressed great interest in tourism projects and willingness to develop ecotourism activities like visiting the coast or bringing tourists to the fishing areas to show them fishing practices, provided they were involved in the consultative committee. In summary, the fishery focus group highlighted the important role that fishermen should play in the management of coastal resources taking into account their in-depth

STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION

knowledge of the biological resources, but also as a group open to exploit new opportunities such as tourism development.

The focus group on solid waste involved representatives of the local administration, many municipalities and several associations. Solid waste was considered a major problem by all participants, and especially by tourism developers. Contrary to the fishery focus group, discussions did not show significant conflicts between participants. All stressed the need for a more structured process including collection, recycling and landfill. The 12 communes of Nador set up an inter-municipality group to improve management.

Litter: an issue for authorities and citizens. Nador, Morocco Credit EB

Stakeholder forums A stakeholder forum is organized for public discussion, participation and consultation, a process closely related to local democracy. The objective is not decision, but participation from new actors who meet in a neutral non-institutional space to discuss problems related to the local area, suggest unexpected topics, and review possible impacts of projects proposed by a single decision-maker. The forum aims to create favorable conditions for controversy to allow political authorities to develop procedures that will bring them closer to the local population and the problems they face. It is also an opportunity for individuals and groups to become more adept at expressing their views, and to listen to those of other participants, helping them to see the problem in its various aspects.

Here also the role of the facilitator is important to create a positive atmosphere encouraging all the participants to express themselves, and their differences with other points of view.

The first local forum was organized in the remote, rural commune of Boudinar, about 10km from the coast, and very different from the Nador lagoon. The local population was asked to identify key issues, classify them, and provide suggestions as to how to solve them. The key issues were isolation of the commune, erosion, insufficient socio-cultural support, and land tenure. Within the socio-cultural aspects, the participants made several proposals to increase the role of women in socio-economic life.

In Beni Chicker, another rural commune located in Cap des Trois Fourches, forum participants listed a number of problems, but refused to classify them.

They gave two reasons for this: firstly, all the problems were important; and secondly, they considered this procedure non-democratic, since the various sectors were not equally represented. The problems mentioned were land tenure, no landfill, no programme to integrate women into economic life, lack of schools, degradation of farming land, poor management of water resources, isolation, and lack of involvement of civil society in most projects.

In summary, the stakeholder forums showed different groups were willing to work together to agree on a common vision, a crucial step for the acceptance and endorsement of the action plans. Such plans must incorporate the views provided during the participatory process; it is largely the population that decides what they want for their territory, and they who prioritize these needs and aspirations.

Governance implementation The Focus groups and forums can be seen as the first step of a governance process that creates support of the local population and other actors for a territorial project, helping create the momentum needed for further legal development. This new governance approach required new structures in harmony with it, and so a workshop on governance in the presence of local authorities was organized in Berkane in June 2008. It was decided to establish a local Cellule du Littoral, working under the authority of the General Secretary of the governance. In the absence of a national law for the coast, this decentralized â&#x20AC;&#x153;cellâ&#x20AC;?, composed of representatives of local institutions and associations, would act as a coordination body

105

106

TOOLS AND APPROACHES

between different projects, stimulate networks for civil action, and create synergies between the local, provincial and national levels. The unit would facilitate development of new projects integrating environment and local development, ensuring relevance to local needs and more efficient and effective use of public funds. Governance is a network process leading to decision-making that is more in harmony with the different actors and creates appropriate conditions for developing new territorial charters or voluntary agreements, such as those set up in another SMAP III project in Morocco (Moulouya) and Algeria (El Kala).

Lessons learned The presence of a sociologist supporting the Nador project enabled them to give sufficient importance to stakeholder opinion and participation, and not to focus only on the collection of scientific data.

Compared to other ICZM projects, the participatory approach was greatly facilitated thanks to the strong involvement of a local NGO, a key partner of the Nador project. Reports and presentations throughout the project also helped obtain and maintain stakeholder buy-in.

The in-depth interviews highlighted very diverging opinions on certain topics, for example the tourism investment project, Mar Chica Med. It was quite difficult for the project to integrate such diverse opinions into the ICZM plan. The need for refined analysis tools emerged clearly. The integration matrix,

which proved useful for developing scenarios around the new investment, does not seem to have resolved all integration issues.

The various tools used to increase stakeholder participation have sparked off a culture of dialogue, especially between managers and users of coastal resources, more transparency in the administration process and generated new governance solutions. It was largely due to this that the local Cellule du Littoral was conceived and established, and conditions are right for further such voluntary agreements.

Naturally, such sustained interaction can create expectations in the different groups. When these expectations are not met, there can be disappointment or at least less than ideal conditions for further participation. For this reason, when working with populations living in precarious conditions, more importance should be given to micro-projects with immediate and visible results rather projects that plan for the future.

New developments can occur during implementation of the ICZM project, and it is important for the project to be sufficiently flexible and to integrate this new development in the project cycle.

When inviting stakeholders, the language in which the meeting will be held should be specified clearly.

When rural groups are involved, as in stakeholder forums, the discussions should take place in Arabic as far as possible.

Training sessions with stakeholders, Nador, Morocco Credit BK

INTEGRATION TOOLS AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS

What are Integration Tools and Information Systems?

The coastal zone is a difficult area to manage due to many competing needs that exist within complex and dynamic natural, social and economic systems, and within an equally complex setting of jurisdictions and legal mandates. Remits of government agencies often lead to a situation where the act of one directly impinges on others. For any issue, information is required from all sciences and from the legal and institutional contexts to address five different dimensions of integration: 1. between sectors 2. between levels of government 3. between administrative boundaries (including national boundaries, particularly when nations share an enclosed or semi-enclosed water body) 4. across the land-water interface 5. between disciplines This is to ensure that decisions are made from all available information and that a holistic assessment and evaluation can be made.

An Information System (IS) to promote this goal makes information available to support environmental administration and planning tasks.

Integration tools are methods that bring together information from multiple sources to provide a holistic picture of the coastal setting and upon which decisions are made. Often three types of integration are identified: Systems Integration, Functional Integration and Policy Integration. Each has its own set of tools.

Systems integration ensures that social, economic and environmental (bio-physical) aspects of all relevant interactions and issues are identified. Tools for systems integration facilitate analysis of issues by interpreting information in context.

• Stakeholder Analysis is used to identify actors, their relationships to each other and economic interests, as well as their perspectives on coastal issues.

• Problem and Situational Analysis is used to interpret what individual disciplines can tell about the coast to help understand the negative aspects of an existing situation, the underlying problems and causes, and how to identify and implement solutions. This helps break the coastal issue into

component parts suitable for analysis using tools such as the DPSIR (Driving Forces-PressuresState-Impacts-Responses) framework.

Functional integration focuses on ensuring that management interventions are consistent with management goals and objectives and do not counteract each other.

• Objective Analysis is a methodological approach employed to (a) describe the situation in the future once identified problems have been remedied; (b) verify the hierarchy of objectives; and (c) illustrate the means-ends relationships necessary for solutions to be achieved.

• Strategy Analysis identifies different approaches to achieve solutions and selecting the most appropriate strategy to meet the goals and aims of projects.

Policy integration concerns the need to incorporate management procedures with development policies, strategies and plans.

• Institutional Analysis leads to understanding of how a resource is managed both in terms of the people involved and the law and policy frameworks within which they have to work.

• Gap Analysis identifies both knowledge gaps that prevent the formulation of solutions and also gaps in capacity and capability in implementing authorities to execute solutions.

Computer based Decision Support systems (DSS) have been developed with the intent to make scientific knowledge about complex systems more accessible horizontally between disciplines/sectors and vertically from data providers to managers and decision makers.

A balanced management perspective is needed in which inter-sectoral relationships are fully understood, trade-offs recognized and anticipated, benefits and alternatives assessed, appropriate management interventions identified and implemented, and necessary institutional and organizational arrangements worked out.

Why are these tools important?

Management is more than just acquisition of data for making decisions. Data needs context to become useful information that can be integrated to provide a broad understanding of coupled human-environment systems. An Information System supports a more

108

TOOLS AND APPROACHES

effective approach based on distributed systems and group decision-making.

The concept of integration is not new and has been applied in other environmental settings to overcome surprises from sectoral approaches that often result in unplanned impacts and consequences. Integration Tools are not focused on acquisition of primary data but on retrieval of and access to information from distributed sources within the framework of ICZM to provide a joined-up analysis. The outcome of integration is creation and application of new knowledge derived from a broad spectrum of disciplines and sectors to arrive at innovative solutions to coastal issues.

When are these tools used?

Information is required to support all stages of the management of coastal issues. The importance of a tool that facilitates discussion and brings together stakeholders with different objectives should not be overlooked at the early stages of development.

Integration Tools are primarily concerned with taking outputs from the Information System and bringing them together as outcomes that describe a future scenario that can be used to inform decision-making.

Who needs to be involved?

To develop a process of ICZM, it is necessary to work and coordinate with the organisations and institutions of all information providers, decisionand policy-makers and stakeholders to identify coastal issues and identify the gaps that prevent their immediate resolution.

The construction of an Information System and use of Integration Tools is a means to bring together the appropriate mix of people to achieve integrated management of the coastal zone: • The scientific community and other information providers who provide measurements of events or phenomena. They need to be able to use their results to suggest and advise on the selection and use of indicators that can be utilised by nonexperts to assess, evaluate and monitor specific problems or applications.

• Policy-makers, decision makers and coastal managers who use information to work within existing legal mechanisms, or create new ones (following principles such as precautionary principle, preventive action, polluter pays, rational and equitable resource use, and public involvement) in order to address coastal problems.

•

Other stakeholders (NGOs and civil society) that have an influence and/or interest in coastal issues and hold relevant information (data, perspectives) pertinent to the issue.

Where should I start?

The key on-going challenge in relation to the nature of information and integration required for coastal zone management lies not in the provision or content of information itself, but in the way it is presented to those who formulate and implement policy and take management decisions. This is the ultimate goal of any system to support the process of information management and is preceded by a number of preparatory steps.

• Generic: base-layer information from all disciplines that give other data meaning in terms of their location, ownership and responsibility.

• Base: task-specific information of, for instance, land-use and shoreline change, socio-economic survey data relevant to the coast.

• Integrating: parts of the system which draw together base, generic and contextual information in order to enable analysis for the purposes of management.

• Organising: technologies needed to inter-operate and connect different parts of the system.

• Information Service: highly synthesised information including indicator sets and tools that aim to provide an overview of strategic information to decision-makers.

Contributing disciplines must provide more than just information on the state of the coastal environment, identifying indicators for assessing environmental change and/or developing mechanisms for monitoring and predicting the effect of policy and management options. Information systems must also facilitate analysis of issues, help the user to ask the right questions and then provide signposts to where appropriate data can be found.

Suggested reading www.fao.org/docrep/W8440E/W8440e00.HTM www.netcoast.nl/coastlearn/website/intro/index.html www.iasonnet.gr/abstracts/prem.html www.pap-thecoastcentre.org/index.php?lang=en www.planbleu.org/indexUK.html

INTEGRATION TOOLS

Integrating Sectoral Information Nador, Morocco Context A description of the SMAP III ICZM project in Nador can be found on page 103.

A range of activities (e.g. interviews and workshops) was conducted to better understand the interests and visions of the various groups involved in developing an ICZM Plan for Nador. Unfortunately, this approach resulted in a sectoral analysis of current state of the environment and planning of potential actions.

Acknowledging this shortcoming, the project requested support to identify a method for facilitating integration of information from different sectors in support to a more comprehensive and cross-sectoral planning approach.

Integration Matrix Traditionally, analysis of local conditions, a preliminary step indispensable to any kind of planning, is performed by sector. This is perfectly justifiable given the fact that information is usually collected on specific themes by sectoral specialists (e.g. marine water, fisheries, forests and social conditions). Integrating information from these different areas is essential for a comprehensive vision of the system’s complexity from an environmental Nador mountains, lagoon and city Credit EB

and socio-economic perspective and in order to plan interventions appropriately. However, it is not easy to obtain this global prospective and there is a surprising scarcity of tools available in scientific literature on how to achieve this practically.

Following several months’ work on data collection and needs assessment in different sectors in the Nador Lagoon and surrounding areas, the Nador Project recognized the need to integrate all this information but was not able to address the problem. An international ICZM expert was called to support the project in this task in view of the preparation of the Local Coastal Action Plan for the area. After a review of the state of the art in different sectors, the use of a double entrance integration matrix was suggested and tested with the participants (see below). The fundamental idea of the matrix is to be able to evaluate the influence of each factor or theme on all the others and for each cell (i.e. potential interaction): • define a qualitative description of the nature of the influence or connection • attribute a score on a scale from 0 to 3 to quantify the intensity of this connection (0 means no influence, 3 means intense influence) The matrix was completed by the Nador Project during a workshop in which all sectoral experts participated. It took some time for the participants

109

110

TOOLS AND APPROACHES

to find an agreement on the headings of the matrix (i.e. the themes) and the content of the cells (i.e. the nature of the interactions between themes) but eventually the matrix assumed a final agreed form.

The scores attributed were then used to identify the factors which have more influence or are more dependent on the others. Adding the scores by line provides influence scores (i.e. the level of influence of one factor on the system), while adding the scores by column provides dependence scores (i.e. the level of dependence of one factor from the system).

To everybodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s surprise, filling in the matrix did not require new information to be elaborated. It was simply a matter of re-organizing and focusing the existing information found in the sectoral studies already available to the project. In other words, existing information was simply reallocated in each individual cell of the matrix to look at things from a different and more strategic/integrated angle. In same cases, sectoral experts realized they did not highlight in their studies the potential links with other themes (e.g. how does coastal erosion effect fisheries and aquaculture activities?) and so the need for further analysis was identified.

Regardless of the actual scores, the tool was useful to define priorities which could be later translated into objectives and activities of the ICZM Plan under development. In fact, faced with limited resources (human and financial) and the need to prioritize the most important areas of interest or concern, this matrix provided a relatively simple way to attribute Water Water quality quantity

Water quality

Water quantity Soil degradation Land use Socio-economic devt Fisheries

*

Polluted drainage water not fit for re-use and contaminates groundwater Score : 3

indicative priority scores. Intuitively, themes with a high influence score will need to be addressed immediately as they have the potential to cause a large range of direct and indirect effects on other themes.

Lessons learned Relatively simple tools can be very effective in structuring the discussion between stakeholders and provide a new perspective on the system under study.

Integration is an abused concept often mentioned in scientific literature, but very limited guidance exists on how to achieve integration practically at the planning level.

Qualitative assessments are very valuable even if they lack the rigor generally attributed to figures.

They allow analysis of the importance of different environmental and socio-economic elements and their connections even in the absence of quantitative information which, in most cases, is not available.

If the analysis highlights very important knowledge gaps in how elements interact, these can be the focus of further analysis.

As for many participatory tools of this kind, the value added by the matrix is less on the outcomes of the evaluation and the actual scores attributed (which are relative and subjective) and more on the process of attributing scores. In fact, the process forces technical experts to see things from a different angle adding enormous value to the planning process.

Soil degradation

Land use

Socio-economic Fisheries Development

Polluted irrigation water compromises land productivity Score : 3

Use depends on quality of water Score : 2

Human health Quality of food products Cost of drinking water supply Score : 3

Score : 3

* * * * *

Scoring: 0- no connection/influence 1- low influence (rarely-very localised) 2- intermediate influence (sometimes-somewhere) 3- heavy influence (alwayseverywhere)

INTEGRATION TOOLS

we cannot expect to implement all projects unconditionally. This process was not intended to exclude some projects but only to prioritize them in order to focus the efforts on the most likely to succeed.

Feasibility analysis was an important tool to prioritize areas of intervention.

Essaouira harbour Credit NM

Feasibility Analysis Cellules du Littoral (CdLs) of M’diq and Essaouira, Morocco Context For a complete description of the Cellule du Littoral (CdL) and the areas of M’diq and Essaouira, please see page 61.

Feasibility analysis was one of the integration tools used to support local CdLs in M’diq and Essaouira in preparing a local coastal zone action plan. Support was given by SMAP III TA for three workshops and a series of smaller meetings held between March and November 2008. The workshops focused on: 1. assessment of current conditions and identification of the main issues to be addressed (state of the environment) 2. identification of main lines of action, related specific objectives, and potential projects necessary to achieve these objectives 3. a formal presentation of the local ICZM action plans to all CdL members and other high-level officials.

The whole process of plan development had to be considerably shortened because of time constraints and this limited the full analysis to only two main topics identified as key issues. Despite this selflimitation, the number of potential projects identified was very consistent for both CdLs (approximately 60 each). This meant screening the projects to identify the most feasible in the short-medium term, knowing that resources (human, financial etc.) are limited and 1

The feasibility analysis A specific matrix (developed on a simple MS Excel spreadsheet) was developed to facilitate the project screening. This matrix allowed to attribute a score on a scale from 0 (none) to 3 (very high) to every potential project identified in relation with a series of feasibility criteria. All the scores attributed to a project were summed and divided by the maximum possible score to obtain a feasibility index in percentage (from 0% for a project scoring 0 for all criteria to 100% for a project scoring 3 for all criteria).

The matrix also allowed the attribution of a weight (from 1 to 3) to each criteria so that the participants could decide if one criteria was more important than others. Changing the weights clearly influenced the overall score for each project.

General project feasibility criteria (applicable to projects in any context) included: • Prevention or mitigation: Does the project work at the structural, technical or mitigation level?

This distinction refers to the so called DPSIR Model1 where societal responses (like our potential projects) can be made to influence the drivers of change (need for water for agriculture, need for fish for protein), the pressures on the environment (discharge of wastewater at sea or cutting of trees for wood) or the deriving impacts (health problems due to polluted coastal waters or landslides due to excessive tree cutting).

• Relevance: The project does address directly the issues raised by the analysis of the current state of the environment?

• Indicators: Do we have indicators (and the data that goes with them) to evaluate the expected outcomes of our project?

• Transversality: Does the project contribute to achieving more than one objective in different sectors, issues or areas of interest? In other words, can it contribute to the integration of different sectors?

The Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) model was adopted by the European Environment Agency (EEA) as a tool to support decision-making, by pointing to clear steps in the causal chain to the creation of an impact. Social and economic developments exert pressure on the environment and, as a consequence, the state of the environment changes. This leads to impacts on e.g. human health, ecosystems and materials that may elicit a societal response that feeds back on the drivers, on the pressures, on the state or impacts directly, through adaptation or curative action.

111

TOOLS AND APPROACHES

112

• • • •

Participation: Is the project based on or would it need wide participation of the beneficiaries?

Institutional coherence: Is the project in line with the existing development goals, plans and legal context at the national and/or local level?

Partners: Have we identified the partners needed to implement the project successfully and have partnerships been agreed?

Funding: Are there potential lines of funding (national or international) available for this kind of project?

Following a discussion with the members of the CdL, it was agreed that additional criteria incorporating the main concepts of ICZM were necessary to complete the project screening process.

Therefore, some integration criteria were added acknowledging that some of these overlap with the general criteria: • Institutional integration: Does the project call for cooperation and coordination between local administrations from different sectors and/or between different administrative levels (e.g. municipality, province, state)?

• Sea-land interface: Does the action take into consideration interactions and interdependencies between the land and the sea in the coastal zone?

Do the competent authorities and the stakeholders of both domains participate in the project?

• Economic, social, environmental integration: Does the project take into account the links between the environmental and the socioeconomic aspects?

• Stakeholder integration: Does the project envisage the identification, information and active engagement of all stakeholders as an essential complementary element?

At the end of the screening process a total of 10 to 15 projects with scores between 60 and 80% was included in the priority list and further developed into full description sheets to be used for reference or to “advertise” the projects to potential donors. It was agreed to come back to this list regularly in the future and review the scoring to verify if the feasibility conditions have changed and new projects can be put in the priority list.

Lessons learned Consultation processes are often labeled by decisionmakers as useful but inconsistent because of the difficulty of coming to agreements on practical issues.

Providing tools such as the feasibility analysis matrix tested with the CdLs is a useful way to structure the discussion and anchor it to practical considerations.

This added considerable credibility to the final Plan increasing its chance of being adopted by local authorities and finding funding to implement it.

The process the participants had to follow to score each project for each criterion proved more important than the scores themselves. In fact, the process steered the discussion towards ways in which projects could be improved in terms of feasibility (without changing their main goals). In some cases, the need to take a step backwards was recognized, when a project required some preliminary studies before being well defined and implemented. For example, we can decide to increase people’s access to groundwater by building new wells but we cannot do anything before we characterize the water-lenses in the area.

It is important to note that prioritization was not based on the maturity for implementation of the project rather than on the basis of their importance.

In fact, some projects might be extremely important but still require considerable time to reach a point where all parties can agree on it, preliminary studies are available, and funding has been secured.

Scenario development SMAP III Tunisia (Sfax component) Context The SMAP III ICZM project in Tunisia elaborated two Integrated Coastal Area Management (ICAM) plans of action for two quite different pilot areas, one in the Regions of Kroumirie & Mogods and the second for Grand Sfax on the southern coast. In the latter, the focus is to integrate environmental aspects into proper spatial planning for urban development and the economic development of the Sfax region.

The ICAM plan of action for Grand Sfax focused on key challenges, such as: • chemical pollution from the SIAPE factory (phosphate production) and other industrial sites in Sidi Salem and along the Gabès road • decontamination and re-qualification of the southern coast of Grand Sfax • rehabilitation of the salt mines • setting up a nature reserve on the Thyna site and in the archipelago of Kerkennah • promotion of sustainable tourism linked to the marine and coastal nature reserves • promotion of sustainable fishing practices.

INTEGRATION TOOLS

Supported by the strong involvement of the Sfax authorities, the project has developed wide participation during its three years of work, with about 2,500 people attending more than 100 meetings, working groups, workshops and seminars.

SIAPE phosphate factory Sfax, Tunisia Credit EB

strategies to manage the future development of their own territories. The sense of ownership of stakeholders is therefore reinforced.

The scenario development process For the coastal manager, reconciling the interests of a complex array of institutions and organisations involved in one aspect or other of the coast is not an easy task. A first step is to begin a process of engagement and dialogue with the community and the public and private sectors to understand how they wish to see the coastal environment protected, used and managed in the future, in effect to determine the scenario that different stakeholders hold for their coastal futures.

The purpose of developing a future scenario is to provide guidance to policy- and decision-makers of the community and the public and private sectors, as well as to provide a platform to facilitate cooperation and communication among different coastal users.

Development of an ICZM plan includes five phases, two of which specifically include work on scenarios: 1. data collection 2. complementary studies and diagnostics 3. elaboration and selection of scenarios 4. identify priority actions for the selected scenarios 5. elaboration of the ICZM plan

The scenario approach is a prospective analysis corresponding to the description of a future situation and of the various steps needed to move from the original situation to the future situation. This participatory approach makes it possible to develop a shared vision, the result of compromises between the key actors responsible for deciding on the

The steps needed for developing a scenario are: • Description of the initial situation • Selection of hypothetical scenarios • Identification of the steps between present and future • Study of the potential evolution • Description of the final situation

113

114

TOOLS AND APPROACHES

Scenarios developed A great variety of sector and inter-sector scenarios were developed. Three are illustrated below, but others included ecosystem conservation, polluting activities or industries and landscape management following removal of polluting activities.

Salinas scenarios 1. management measures to maintain and integrate the activities within the urban context 2. their removal and reallocation of the land for alternative activities Phosphagene Slag Heap scenarios 1. removal and containment on other sites 2. containment on their current site and development of the site.

Coastal management of the concerned zone 1. APAL as manager 2. establishing a semi-public company Sector scenarios were developed within their respective thematic studies and can be classified in three categories: trend scenarios, in line with past activities (all were rejected by the group); containment

scenarios, aiming to de-pollute contaminated sites and contain polluted soils; and voluntary scenarios, aiming either to de-pollute the sites with removal of the polluting activities (such as landfill), or to redevelop the sites, as in the case of Salinas.

Inter-sector scenarios were also based on the analysis conducted and used prospective strategic tools to determine the various possible alternatives with the ultimate aim of identifying two sufficiently contrasting scenarios from which the best suitable development option for Sfax would be selected. The most significant example of inter-sector scenario was the one Environment vs. Development of the Southern Coastal Zone of Grand Sfax including the Kerkennah islands.

The approach adopted by the project was structured in two parts: 1. Analysis of previous studies including a review of the scenarios approach included in: â&#x20AC;˘ the Euro-Mediterranean context through the 3 phases of SMAP

Area of intervention Scenarios

Spatial management

Governance (relations with public and civil society)

Maximizing strengths and resources

Depollution and rehabilitation

Financing

State control of environment & pollutants

Promotion of sustainable economic activities

Sustainable development

Competent planning & management authority

Create suitable fora for dialogue

Develop nature tourism

Outlaw polluting activities

Public Private Partnerships

Establish local environmental observatory

Promote nature tourism and creation of a economic and commercial zone

Industrial upgrade

Competent planning & management authority

Create suitable fora for dialogue

Develop nature tourism

Upgrade polluting installations

Public Private Partnerships

Establish local environmental observatory

Promote nature tourism and creation of a economic and commercial zone

Natural reserve

Classic municipal management

Create suitable fora for dialogue

Create a nature reserve

Clean up & rehabilitate polluted areas

Public funding

Reinforce capacity of monitoring agencies

Promote nature tourism and creation of a economic and commercial zone

Urbanization

Competent planning & management authority

Integrate SC in decision-making

Develop nature tourism

Clean up & rehabilitate polluted areas

Public Private Partnerships

Establish local environmental observatory

Extend urban development of the city

Organic option

Competent planning & management authority

Create suitable fora for dialogue

Develop nature tourism

Outlaw polluting activities

Public Private Partnerships

Establish local environmental observatory

Establish local environmental observatory

INTEGRATION TOOLS

•

the Mediterranean context including Blue Plan strategy aiming to reconcile development and environment protection • The national context within the Rivages de Tunisie managed by APAL • The ICZM approach 2. Numerous working sessions including an important workshop in July 2007, during which the software Think Tools was used to: • Analyse the situation (determining the most important factors) • Determine the development options and areas of intervention • Define the objective to reach • Describe the most efficient scenarios • Evaluate these scenarios against objectives and deadlines Three objectives were selected and their feasibility evaluated at various points in the future (2011, 2016, 2020) with 2007 as the reference point.

1. the southern zone should contribute to reinforcing the metropolitan role of Grand Sfax 2. the area must become an attractive economic hub, combining harbour/logistics platform/airport with two other sub-objectives: the creation of an area dedicated to culture, eco-tourism and recreation; and the establishment of a clean, high-tech industrial zone 3. the zone is rehabilitated and perfectly integrated into the city The five scenarios analyzed are outlined in the table on the previous page. In the end it was felt that the first two scenarios were not sufficiently contrasted.

The economic analysis recommended the Industrial upgrade scenario, which was considered a first step towards the sustainable development scenario.

Lessons learned Scenario development, particularly inter-sector and so involving the various different sectors, is a very useful and efficient tool for integration. Because scenarios are built on the studies performed, developing them with a range of actors help to disseminate the results of the studies that otherwise too frequently remain within a restricted group of experts and project managers. Scenarios are increasingly developed with more - and more diversified - actors. To make this possible, the scientific and technical content of supporting studies needs to be “translated” into attractive, easy-to-read

information designed for non-technical and public consumption.

Software like Think Tools makes it perhaps too easy to produce multiple scenarios. There is a risk excessive time might be devoted to producing scenarios that are not in line with the key objectives and development options. Software must be a support, not a source of distraction. Only the scenarios that meet the key objectives should be developed and discussed among the participants. This is something a facilitator should bear in mind ensuring participants stay focussed on the key issues.

When assessing scenarios that are “candidates” for final selection, each should be supported by a costbenefit analysis. This again shows the need for extensive background research on the economic valuation of the study area. The inclusion of economic analysis in participatory scenario development leads managers to take more interest in the studies conducted and thus promotes collaboration between decision-makers and stakeholders.

Scenario development proved to be an efficient step of the process leading to the preparation of the ICZM plan for Sfax.

115

CONCLUSION

119

ICZM process

Morocco Credit EB

The role of ICZM Coastal areas constitute an inherently dynamic and complex zone of interaction between land, atmosphere and fresh and marine waters that provide a wide range of resources to an equally diverse range of users. Coastal areas and their resources are critically important to the development and future of coastal peoples and nations. ICZM is an overarching process designed to provide a holistic and integrated picture of the coast. It does not replace the tools, methods and approaches of sector competences and planning, but helps each sector to refine its planning taking better into consideration the interaction of its activities

with those from others sector. Such an approach can help avoid situations where actions taken by one sector compromise those taken by others.

A common misconception of ICZM is that it is a tool for environment rather than for sustainable management of the coast. Optimising the balance between socio-economic development and environmental sustainability can be a powerful way of enhancing economic, environmental and social capital with little or no risk. The environment, and its conservation and protection, are critical factors for the welfare and economic security of coastal peoples and must be seen as synonymous with sustainable development goals rather than inimical to them.

The role of demonstration projects The SMAP III ICZM projects were primarily exercises in establishing a process of ICZM. Their final output was an action plan, or roadmap, for implementing an ICZM strategy. Integral to all the projects was the inclusion of a wide range of actors from citizens to public administrations. Almost inevitably, the stakeholders involved had difficulty grasping the ICZM approach, especially the concept of integration, making it hard for administrations to incorporate principles and practices of ICZM within a unitary planning process. A more practical method would be to set up demonstration projects to make concepts like integration more tangible. Ideally, such projects would include activities that contribute to improving stakeholdersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; wellbeing, seeking to reinforce the idea of ICZM as a means to reconcile environment with social and economic development.

Vertical and horizontal integration Several SMAP III projects (Turkey, Algeria, Lebanon and Egypt) have shown that in developing an ICZM plan and strategy, a project action (e.g. a boat traffic agreement or charters) can bring together civil society and provincial and local authorities for the first time, to work on a shared inter-sector issue, effectively managing to achieve wide horizontal integration.

Vertical integration remains a much more challenging issue, however, and this has been seen particularly when using ICZM to address tourism planning: large tourism investment projects are still decided at the central level with very limited, if any, consultation with the local authorities. Poor vertical integration can cause inappropriate spatial planning, and also a sense by local authorities, NGOs and population that

120

their land, traditions and economic opportunities do not belong to them, effectively disenfranchising local actors from an ICZM project.

Moreover, the lowest (local) level a vertical ladder is usually not well prepared to manage the needs and impact of large infrastructure developments (such as solid and liquid waste management) in either social, economic or environmental terms. Still, some local actors such as small-scale fishermen are usually nimble enough to quickly understand the job and income opportunities offered by new investments regardless of their impact on environment.

Continuation of the ICZM process It is usually the case that once external support and funds come to an end the ICZM process quickly follows suit. The development of charters or voluntary agreements within and between stakeholder groups has been found to be a successful instrument to reinforce ownership of the ICZM process and to enhance its sustainability. Voluntary agreements can be excellent vehicles to promote ICZM through a new form of governance, but they must be monitored regularly by an external authority, and accompanied by capacity building and technical assistance to ensure their durability. It is important that such supportive actions have financial and administrative backing. Embedding and up-scaling the outcomes of individual projects into the development of national ICZM initiatives should also be promoted in order to reinforce the role of ICZM within new forms of governance. It was found, for example, that the proposal to create a marine park in the K&M region in Tunisia accelerated the preparation and approval of a new law related to a marine park.

ICZM tools, approaches and methods The ICZM toolbox ICZM is a process and is not a one-tool method or a â&#x20AC;&#x153;quick fixâ&#x20AC;? to address the challenges of coastal zone management. As such it can be viewed as an instrument that collects, collates and organises information from diverse sources to provide a holistic picture of the coastal zone to assist planners and decision-makers to make informed choices in the management and development of human activities.

The advantage of this is that it allows each sector or discipline to utilise its full suite of tools and methods and for their outputs to be translated and made available to users who might not be experts in those

specific fields. The principle tools for ICZM are, therefore, those that assist in the operation of the planning cycle, bring together information, develop skills to handle multi-sourced information, and disseminate and communicate its messages.

Indicators & Monitoring Monitoring and evaluation is an essential part of any ICZM process as it creates the basis for learning from experience in an effective way, and for applying this knowledge to the planning cycle. Nevertheless, there is often confusion about the level at which monitoring and evaluation should be applied. There are at least three levels in the context of ICZM: a. Monitoring a specific project: required to evaluate if project outputs have been produced, activities undertaken, budget spent etc. Indicators could, for example, be the number of people trained and the number of interviews held. b. Monitoring the ICZM process itself: required to verify if the institutional, legal, technical and financial conditions are in place for ICZM. Indicators could include the existence of a appropriate legal framework, the existence of participatory procedures etc. c. Monitoring impacts on the wider environmental and socio-economic context: required to evaluate the capacity of a project or ICZM process to bring about tangible socioeconomic and environmental improvements.

Tunisia Credit EB

121

All three are important but they have different functions. Therefore, the objectives of an M&E framework have to be clearly defined before its setup and indicators must be selected based on actual project objectives rather than a standard list of sustainable development indicators available.

The transition from analysis to planning Thematic studies are a familiar task with methods and results which are difficult to contest because they are based (as far as possible) on measured facts.

Disputes on suitability of methodologies and/or accuracy of information may arise between experts but are not generally a matter of concerns for

To be effective, a participatory planning process has to find the right balance between participatory tools (focus groups, scenario development, conflict resolution etc.) and technical tools (e.g. environmental analysis, cost/benefit analysis, integration matrix, indicators).

Often projects focus on one aspect to the detriment of the other, inevitably reducing the quality and credibility of the final result. Participation without objectives, guidance and structure produces endless talking without an aim, while structure without participation produces nice theoretical frames without content or meaning for the resource users. To achieve this balancing act, clear guidance is needed during the participatory process, possibly by an external facilitator.

Turkey Credit EB

stakeholders. On the other hand, planning is a matter of taking decisions based on agreed objectives and here the results of analyses and courses of action are a matter of opinion, open to criticism by anybody with a vested interest. This is why consultation is essential for planning purposes.

While much has been written on the ICZM planning process, more guidance and tools are needed to facilitate the transition from data collection to analysis and from analysis to planning. Sometimes there is little apparent connection between these 3 phases. In most of the SMAP III projects, the gap between these phases was only too apparent and a lot of the support provided by SMAP III TA had the specific objective of ensuring the data and information collected would lead to accurate analyses and later be used as a concrete basis for planning.

Sectoral studies often lack a clear management focus.

This leads to a set of results that are missing management-relevant information, because results are discussed with decision-makers or other local stakeholders only after studies have been completed.

Ideally, there should be a preliminary consultation stage where management issues are defined and agreed, studies are then targeted to these issues and final results are brought into the discussion to start identifying management options. This approach is much more effective and facilitates the transition from studies to planning.

Tools for Integration Integration is mentioned frequently in coastal zone and watershed management, rural development, etc., but very limited guidance exists on how to achieve data integration practically at the planning level. Preliminary analysis of the current

122

environmental and socio-economic situation is invariably undertaken by sector, e.g. fisheries, forestry and industry. Integrating all this information to obtain a coherent vision of the situation is not easy. From a planning perspective, data integration requires the comprehensive analysis of the interconnections between the bio-physical and the socio-economic components. Nevertheless, the tools are not readily available and data integration is mostly left to the creativity of planners and managers with tools like integration matrix, flowcharts and scenarios.

Another approach to obtain an integrated vision is to start by imagining the future we wish to see for ourselves (for example a family picnic on the beach) and analyze all the enabling factors required to allow that vision to become reality (a beach, access to the beach, transport infrastructure to the beach etc.). By doing this we start by our goals and analyze the sectors needed to achieve it rather than, as usually happens, analysing the sectors and trying to obtain a coherent vision by collating the information.

GIS is a tool often cited in ICZM for presenting the outcomes of integration of information. As a tool to assist decision-making, GIS is as good as the quality and relevance of the data collected, and as useful as the clarity of the management purposes that it was designed to serve. A manager should always bear in mind that the overall cost and time required to develop a GIS application remain relatively high. It is always necessary to evaluate if the investment in a GIS is cost-effective with respect to the management goals.

Management goals can and should include the use of GIS outputs for consultation: thematic maps can be a powerful participatory tool.

The role of stakeholders in ICZM Stakeholder participation is always stressed in ICZM and has been widely applied by most of the SMAP III projects, especially at the beginning of the project with a formal stakeholder analysis. However, very few have integrated this participation through the different stages of the ICZM cycle so that interaction, inputs and feedback can be elicited for developing a local ICZM process. This is partly due to the increasing challenge of reconciling the diversity of stakeholder views as the ICZM process develops.

Two solutions were found to overcome this: firstly, the use of scenarios with their SWOT analyses,

allowing actors to feel the realism or unrealism of proposals, pinpoint key difficulties and identify the best approaches to address them; and secondly, the active involvement of a committed local NGO that allocates the required time to consult and work regularly with the stakeholders.

Capacity building in ICZM The ICZM approach brings with it certain management challenges as it attempts to transcend normal disciplinary, sector and administrative boundaries. This is compounded by the highly technical nature of much of the information and knowledge necessary to underpin the process.

Often, capacity building is focused on endeavours to develop technical expertise in the user community (local people, managers and decision makers). However, this rarely facilitates adoption and acceptance of the technical messages that should inform managerial and decision-making processes, as they are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of technical information and its “expert mysticism”. Rather, what is needed is a capacity building process that enables those involved to use the “take-home” messages that emerge from a technical analysis and, further, to do this in an integrated manner where information derived from multiple and diverse sources becomes holistically combined and analysed. The experience of SMAP

Egypt Credit BK

123

is that where this is achieved, as in Algeria, institutions can become stronger and more effective.

Communication and dissemination in ICZM Tied implicitly to capacity building is two-way communication between experts and users. Experts must communicate and disseminate technical information to the users, and equally the user community must communicate its needs, aspirations and expectations to the experts, so that they can provide the knowledge base to inform decisions, activities and actions.

Communication is a highly technical and expert field in its own right and should be included from the outset and not as an afterthought towards the end of a project. In practice, however, it still tends to be equated with â&#x20AC;&#x153;brochures and documentariesâ&#x20AC;?, very superficially, and its potential for improving project outcomes is not generally appreciated.

Specific expertise is largely lacking in ICZM initiatives, and indeed in many development projects, meaning that communication tools and techniques, potentially very useful for promoting stakeholder engagement, vertical and horizontal integration and a wider understanding of the aims, actions and implications of the ICZM process, are often neglected.

Development of an ICZM plan The vision ICZM plans have to be developed starting from a clear and realistic vision of what can be changed and what cannot. This distinction has to be made very early in the process to avoid wasting time on studies or planning activities that have no chance of implementation. ICZM planning has to start by accepting the unchangeable elements and trying to exploit the potential advantages these could bring.

The role of data in ICZM Many projects are constructed and operated in a traditional science-study structure with a linear sequence: collect data, analyse, interpret, discuss and conclude (= final plan). In practice, this often means that too much time is allocated to data collection studies and the final stages take place towards the end of the project timeframe, more often than not in a rushed manner. ICZM should be an iterative, cyclical process with all the abovementioned stages running more or less concurrently in an evolving process, where the best use, analysis and interpretation is made of data as it becomes available and informed management decisions are made on that basis. An important component of this analysis should be identifying pertinent data gaps.

Decisions can evolve and be fine-tuned as more data is available and more detailed analysis and interpretation can be made. The lack of data should not become a barrier and an excuse for the absence of management activity.

Multi-disciplinarity and ICZM Ultimately ICZM is an approach that seeks to improve the quality of life of human communities who depend on coastal resources, while maintaining the biological diversity and productivity of coastal ecosystems.

The primary driving force is human-centric, supported by the environment, rather than being enviro-centric constraining human activity. This caveat demands a strong socio-economic analysis of the coastal zone as well as the more traditional natural science analysis of coastal processes and resources. Sadly, ICZM projects remain largely dominated by natural scientists who often skew the analysis towards enviro-centrism, leading to project recommendations and actions that are often inherently unsustainable. They cannot be implemented because they do not match the social and economic aspirations of coastal communities at local and national levels. Including in the ICZM

124

project team experts who can drive a strong social and economic analysis is critical to the projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s longer term impact and benefits.

Structuring an ICZM plan Although issues and problems faced in the coastal zone often require technical approaches, on their own technical solutions are unlikely to solve an issue.

They are merely one component of an integrated response that includes elements to address all of the environmental, social and economic facets of the issue. Technical information collected by all disciplines must be presented, communicated and disseminated to managers and decision-makers in a form that does not require a high degree of technical or discipline-specific knowledge. An ICZM plan needs to: a. make available the outcomes of research and technical expertise b. provide a analysis that allows different technical outcomes to be brought together in order to understand all components of an issue c. allow analysis to determine the consequences and implications of research/technical information for coastal users and uses in terms of risk, vulnerability and their future sustainability d. present a discourse that clearly outlines the implications and consequences of any issue, so that the present situation and likely future circumstances are apparent, thereby plainly defining the aims that management is seeking, or seeking to avoid e. provide a means to prioritize coastal problems in relation to those that are most important and/or solvable for the coast and its users f. define the objectives for technical inputs to mitigate and/or alleviate collectively all the individual components of an issue g. scrutinize the balance between socio-economic and environmental concerns, providing a means for cooperation and coordination between agencies and the inclusion of multiple stakeholders h. identify means to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of management activity.

ICZM and the institutional context Institutional analysis The right institutional set up and context is essential to maximize key components of ICZM, such as capacity building, ownership and sustainability of

actions, and horizontal and vertical integration. An institutional analysis really helps to focus attention on the key players, identifying their mandates, effective roles and needs, and strengths and weakness.

The aim should be to adopt the best strategy to actively involve the most appropriate organizations in the ICZM process.

The value of a bottom-up approach There is a tendency to believe change can only occur if national administrations take responsibility for it, i.e. a top-down approach. The SMAP III experience has tended to show the opposite is true: a bottom up approach can instigate and perpetuate an ICZM process and prepare the ground for national adoption.

When local administrations or organizations take charge of their future sooner or later their achievements are recognized and this puts them at an advantage when it comes to negotiation at national and international levels. When the results of local actions demonstrate their own validity, others will adopt them naturally. Conversely, vertical integration through a top-down approach appears to be much more challenging, due largely to overlapping mandates between implementing national authorities and agencies, and a consequent lack of ownership.

The complexity and rigidity of excessive overlapping ministerial and departmental mandates, combined with the competing interests and resulting conflicts in the coastal zone, may lead to inaction and continued degradation. This highlights the important role governance could play in ICZM to mobilize all relevant actors locally or regionally to develop their own project through charters and/or voluntary agreements.

Egypt Credit EB

125

Tunisia Credit Kolthoorn

Donors and other sponsors can contribute to launching informal bodies, creating and building momentum towards better management of the coast. However, ICZM is a long process, and soon or later, the government should take the necessary steps to institutionalize non-official organizations and take the process forward.

The regional approach Although often promoted as a regional instrument, in practice ICZM is implemented more at a local scale rather than nationally or regionally. Arguably, the bottom-up approach receives little support and successful initiatives and lessons learned in a local context fail to produce an impact within a wider national, or international, context. To reverse this situation, “champions” should promote the ICZM approach by developing networks at a regional sea level (i.e. involving actors from both north and south Mediterranean) that have the ear of national and regional authorities. The expected ratification of the Mediterranean Action Plan ICZM Protocol, supported by further programmes with technical and communication/awareness support (such as SMAP and now Horizon 2020) should facilitate such a process. Individual projects are unlikely to be able to do this on their own.

Issues related to ICZM ICZM and climate change One way to promote ICZM is to link it with issues, such as climate change, that transcend local and national levels. However, within the context of individual, short term projects, it is difficult to develop

the temporal and spatial scale of data and analysis necessary to demonstrate the added value of adopting an ICZM approach for such issues.

ICZM and maritime spatial planning While ICZM is a process that promotes and advocates a “joined-up” approach to terrestrial and marine planning, a very terrestrial focus is common in all administrative and technical groups associated with ICZM projects and initiatives. As a result, many of the forcing factors that shape the opportunities and threats to human activities and development in the coastal space are absent from many of the analyses, and the plans produced are often inherently untenable and unsustainable.

The private sector in ICZM In many areas coastal pollution severely constrains development and sustainability but the issue, although observed and measured, is largely neglected. The sources of pollution are in the main either industrial (chemical) or municipal (sewage). Although municipalities are included in ICZM projects, the issue of waste management is often associated with higher administrative levels and/or the private sector.

What is clear is that without support and the inclusion of the private sector in projects to establish a wider stewardship of matters concerning environmental quality, these problems will not be resolved and will remain serious constraints to coastal development.

A cross-cutting technical assistance scheme such as the one in the SMAP programme, not bound to any specific group or interest, can contribute to raising awareness, preparing favourable ground for future developments, such as Horizon 2020.

REFERENCES

SMAP III ICZM Projects (Call for proposal Europe Aid 121336/C/G/MULTI) SMAP III ALAMIM: Alexandria Lake Maryout Integrated Management (ALAMIM), Egypt SMAP III AMIS: Algerian Coast Management through Integration and Sustainability (AMIS), Algeria SMAP III EL KALA/MOULOUYA: An ICZM approach for sensitive wetland areas El Kala/Moulouya, Algeria and Morocco SMAP III GOKOVA: Preparation and implementation of the Integrated Management Action Plan in collaboration with stakeholders for the inner Gokova Bay and the Sedir islands within Gokova Specially Protected Area, Turkey SMAP III TUNISIA: Integrated Coastal Area Management (ICAM) strategies for the Kroumirie & Mogods Region and Grand Sfax, Tunisia SMAP III IMAC: Integrated Management of East Mediterranean Coastline (IMAC), Lebanon SMAP III NADOR: Reducing Conflicts of Coastal Natural Resources Use in the Nador Area of Morocco SMAP III PORT SAID: Plan of Action for an Integrated Coastal Zone Management in the Area of Port Said (Egypt) Natural Resources Management: Port Said, Egypt SMAP III PORT SAID, ICZM Plan, Costs & Benefits Assessment And Environmental Impact Analysis by Dr. Sultan Abu Ali, Dr. Adel Yasseen, Dr. Ibrahim El Shennawy, Dr. Dia El Din El Quosy, Draft Final Report, March 2009 SMAP III PORT SAID, Action 2: Intersectoral Analysis In Coastal Zone Areas: Legal/Institutional Framework, Irrigation Advisory Service Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation & Mr. Abdel Kader Mohamed AbdelHafez ElKady, June 2007 SMAP III PORT SAID, Action 3: Intersectoral Analysis In Coastal Zone Areas: Socio-economic Aspects Irrigation Advisory Service Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation & Prof. Mohamed H. A. Nawar Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, December 2007 SMAP III PORT SAID, Action 4: Intersectoral Analysis In Coastal Zone Areas: Environment Perspectives Of The Port Said Area Compiled and edited by Salah A. Tahoun University of El Zagazig November 2007 SMAP III PORT SAID, Action 5: Intersectoral Analysis In Coastal Zone Areas: Land Resources Final report

by Prof. Dr. Fawzy Hassan Abdel-Kader, Dr. Rafaat Kamal Yacoub, RS/GIS Lab Department of Soil and Water Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, El-Chatby, Alexandria University, February 2008 SMAP III PORT SAID, Action 6: Intersectoral Analysis In Coastal Zone Areas: Water Resources, Irrigation Advisory Service Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation & Resources Technology Bureau (RTB), October 2007 Natural Resources Management: Kroumerie & Mogods, Tunisia SMAP III TUNISIA, Rapport final de l’étude des dispositions institutionnelles et définition des mesures détaillées de protection et gestion de l’aire protégée marine et côtière de Cap Negro, Okinaos, July 2008 SMAP III TUNISIA, Rapport final Plan de gestion intégrée de zones côtière (GIZC) pour le Nord Ouest de la Tunisie (Kroumerie et Mogods) WWF (2008) La gestion intégrée de la Zone Côtière de la Région du Kroumerie et des Mogods: résultats du projet SMAP III Tunisie, World Wildlife Fund, 2008 BRL (2009) Etude préalable à la définition du périmètre optimal du parc national de Port-Cros, BRL, March 09, www.portcrosparcnational.fr Coastal Processes: Bay of Algiers, Algeria SMAP III AMIS, Integrated Coastal Management Plan for the Wilaya d’Alger, Volume I to VII, 2008.

NOAA (1999), Community Vulnerability Assessment Tool http://www.csc.noaa.gov/products/nchaz/startup.htm NOAA (2007), Assessing Risk to Ecological Resources http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/ Thieler, E.R. (2005), User Guide & Tutorial for the Digital Shoreline Analysis System. DSAS version 3.2.

Extension for ArcGIS v. 9.0, Part of USGS Open-File report 2005-1304 Orford, J. (1987) Coastal processes: The coastal response to sea-level variation, in: IR.J.N. Devoy, ed., Sea Surface Studies - a Global View, Croom Helm, London, pp. 415- 463 UNESCO (2003) Coping with beach erosion, www.unesco.org/csi/

UNESCO (1997) Methodological guide to integrated coastal management. IOC Manuals and Guides. http://www.unesco.org/csi/pub/info/info410.htm Varnes, D.J. (1984) Hazard Zonation: A Review of Principal and Practice, Commission of Landslide of IAEG, UNESCO, Natural Hazards, No.3, p61 Institutions and Governance: SMAP III projects, Regional SMAP III ALAMIM, Stakeholders Analysis, Final Report, ALAMIM team and consultant Eng. A.G. Kafafi, April 2007 SMAP III AMIS, Integrated Coastal management Plan for the Wilaya d’Alger: Pilot Zone of RéghaiaHeaoua Municipalities, The AMIS Project: Assumption, Description, Logical Framework, Volume I, 2008.

World Bank (2005), Arab Republic of Egypt - Country Environmental Analysis (1992-2002), World Bank, Water and Environment Department, April 2005 SMAP III TUNISIA, Project Proposal, WWF SMAP III TUNISIA, Rapport final Plan de gestion intégrée de zones côtière (GIZC) pour le Nord Ouest de la Tunisie (Kroumerie et Mogods), June 2008.

SMAP III NADOR, Project Proposal, EUCC, The Coastal Union SMAP III GOKOVA, Project Proposal, Mugla University, Faculty of Engineering SMAP III GOKOVA, Integrated Coastal Zone Management and Action Plan for the Inner Gokova Bay and the Sedir Island (draft), May 2009 SMAP III TA, Overview of Institutional and HRD Issues within the 8 SMAP ICZM Projects by Etienne Baijot, October 2006 SMAP III PORT SAID, Action 2: Intersectoral Analysis In Coastal Zone Areas: Legal/Institutional Framework, Irrigation Advisory Service Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation & Mr. Abdel Kader Mohamed AbdelHafez ElKady, June 2007 Institutions and Governance: El Kala, Algeria SMAP III EL KALA/MOULOUYA, Project Proposal, Fondation Sansouire SMAP III EL KALA/MOULOUYA, Draft Plan de gestion intégrée de la zone côtière d’El Kala, Tour du Valat, Parc National d’El Kala, Okianos, March 2009 SMAP III EL KALA/MOULOUYA, Contrat d’Espace Littoral, May 2009 Tourism: Gokova, Turkey SMAP III GOKOVA, Integrated Coastal Zone Management and Action Plan for the Inner Gokova Bay and the Sedir Island (draft), May 2009 SMAP III TA, Action Plan for the Development of Akyaka by Sustainable Tourism Principles, by Alessio Satta, April 2008 Tourism: SMAP III Projects, Regional Impact de l’élévation du niveau de la mer due aux Changements Climatiques sur le littoral de Saïdia, Maria Snoussi, Université Mohamed V, Rabat (PowerPoint presentation) Anfuso. A. Mart1nez del Pozo J.A., Nachite D., Benavente J. & Macias A. (2006), Morphological characteristics and medium-term evolution of the beaches between Ceuta and Cabo Negro (Morocco). Environmental Geology 52: 933-946 (DOI: 10.1007/s00254-006-0535-3) Geographical Information Systems: SMAP III Projects, Regional SMAP III AMIS, Integrated Coastal management Plan for the Wilaya d’Alger: Pilot Zone of RéghaiaHeaoua Municipalities Volume V, The Geographical Information System (GIS) for the Wilaya d’Alger, 2008 SMAP III AMIS, Integrated Coastal management Plan for the Wilaya d’Alger: Pilot Zone of RéghaiaHeaoua Municipalities Volume VI, Management Tools towards the ICZM, 2008 SMAP III PORT SAID, Action 5: Intersectoral Analysis In Coastal Zone Areas: Land Resources - Third Progress Report by CGISSS University of EL Zagazig & Prof. F. Abdelkader Faculty of Agriculture,

Alexandria University, July 2007 SMAP III PORT SAID, ICZM Plan, Costs & Benefits Assessment And Environmental Impact Analysis by Dr. Sultan Abu Ali, Dr. Adel Yasseen, Dr. Ibrahim El Shennawy, Dr. Dia El Din El Quosy, Final Report, March 2009 SMAP III PORT ALAMIM, GIS System - Final Report submitted to CEDARE by Dr. Mamdouh Mohamed El-Hattab, 2009 SMAP III PORT ALAMIM, Web Mapping Solution (ALAMIMWMS) Technical Notes submitted to CEDARE

by Aymen A. Solyman, 2009 SMAP III PORT ALAMIM, Development Of Land Use / Land Cover GIS Data & Change Detection from Quick Bird Satellite Images 2002-2007, GeoMap Consultants, 2009 Indicators: Port Said, Egypt SMAP III TA, Technical Assistance to the ICZM Project in Port Said, 2nd Indicators Workshop: Results & Recommendations by Nick Marchesi, Pescares Italia Srl, April 2008 Spatial Planning: Sfax, Tunisia SMAP III TUNISIA, Stratégie de Gestion Intégrée de la Zone Côtière Sud du Grand Sfax: Rapport de Synthèse Global et Plan Directeur de Gestion Intégrée, Rapport Final by CHARFI Faïka & EL HABAIEB Abderrazak, September 2008 SMAP III TUNISIA, Strategie de Developpement du Grand Sfax: Rapport de Synthèse, Plan d’Action Prioritaires, Phase V (Version Finale) by CHARFI Faïka, May 2005 Environmental Economics: IMAC, Lebanon SMAP III IMAC, Coastal Zone Municipal Assessment; Coastal Zone Direct and Indirect User Value; Coastline Economic Activity by Fadi Doumani, April 2007 Stakeholder Participation: CdL M’diq and Essaouira, Morocco SMAP III TA, Rapport de mission, Stakeholder participation CdL Morocco, B. Kalaora, June and November 2008 SMAP III TA, Elaboration d’un Plan Local GIZC Pour Les Prefectures Littorales de M’diq-Fnideq et Essaouira: Instructions au group de travail pour l’identification des objectifs et actions du Plan Local GIZC, Nick Marchesi, Pescares Italia Srl, June 2008 Stakeholder Participation: Nador, Morocco SMAP III NADOR, Project Proposal, EUCC Integration Tools and Information Systems: CdL M’diq and Essaouira, Morocco D. Nachite, E. Baijot, N. Marchesi & F. Zyadi, Le Plan d’Action local GIZC pour la Baie de M’diq: une expérience dans un cadre de decentralization, article presented during Round Table - La Gestion Intégrée des Zones Côtières: du Concept à la Pratique, 29 January 2009 SMAP III TA, Renforcement des capacités de la Cellule Locale du Littoral d’Essaouira, Plan d’action GIZC Local Pour le Littoral d’Essaouira, Rapport Definitif by Prof. Bendahhou ZOURARAH, February 2009 SMAP III TA, Renforcement des capacités de la Cellule Locale du Littoral de M’diq - Plan Local Gizc Pour La Prefecture Littorale de M’diq-Fnideq, Rapport Final by Prof. Nachite DRISS, February 2009 Integration Tools and Information Systems: Sfax, Tunisia SMAP III TUNISIA, Project Document, WWF SMAP III TUNISIA, Stratégie de Gestion Intégrée de la Zone Côtière Sud du Grand Sfax: Rapport de Synthèse Global et Plan Directeur de Gestion Intégrée, Rapport Final by CHARFI Faïka & EL HABAIEB Abderrazak, September 2008