SIMPLE Goals and Objectives
SIMPLE enables local governments to manage their entire territory from “ridge to reef� SIMPLE encourages local governments to integrate all nonurban areas into their land use plans. This has not been common practice in the past, simply because it was not mandatory and appropriate methods and tools were not available. A typical rural town consists of between 40% to 60% public land. A key approach therefore involves including forest land use planning (FLUP) in the Comprehensive Land Use Plan. The forest lands will be surveyed and protection and production zones will be identified as desribed in the FLUP guidelines. For the coastal areas, this means foremost the delineation of the 15km municipal water zone. This includes not only resolving boundary issues but also the delineation into water use zones. Protection and production purposes have to be balanced just as in the forest areas. The establishment of Marine Protected Areas is often an important result of coastal planning. Ridge-to-reef planning and management will also help to include climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction measures in the land use plan. Mapping the risks and hazards is the prerequisite to draw up proper conclusions where to locate people, infrastructure, agriculture or nature protection areas. The core of every land use plan is the delineation of allowed uses in various zones in both public and private lands. The Zoning Ordinance (ZO) as the legal instrument must be enforced to reach compliance of citizens
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