A) CONSERVATION AND PROTECTION OF FRAGILE AND/OR RARE ENVIRONMENTS -
through legislation and/or purchase such as the British National Trust or the French Conservataire du Littoral, especially of estuaries, wetlands and dune areas.
B) PROMOTION OF 'NON DESTRUCTIVE' USES OF THE COASTAL ZONE
which enhance its quality and attractiveness to visit, such as educational and recreational uses through the establishment of natural parks, trails and footpaths and information centres.
C) ELIMINATION OF WASTE DISPOSAL OPERATIONS
D) PROTECTION AGAINST EROSION IN CRITICAL AREAS
includes actions to stabilise beaches and dunes and a range of methods to counteract erosion, from managed retreat to newer forms of sea defences.
E) EXPLOITATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES
determination of appropriate on and off-shore areas and regulation of these activities.
F) REGULATION OF NEW DEVELOPMENT ALONG THE COAST
especially marinas and other constructions which affect the dynamics of the whole coast.
G) PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT OF MARICULTURE
H) DETERMINATION AND REGULATION OF ACCEPTABLE FISH CATCHES IN THE DIFFERENT FISHING GROUNDS
I) EVALUATION OF NATURAL HAZARDS
organisation of preventive and corrective actions to minimise damage.
J) PRESERVATION OF HIGH QUALITY SOILS FOR AGRICULTURE
K) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT
before permitting new works and development and monitoring during and after implementation.
L) INFORMATION AND EDUCATION
programmes to promote awareness in the general public of the need to protect this vital and delicate zone and to promote cooperation in conservation and management actions.
5.1.4. The planning system is therefore only one system of control operating within this zone. A complex legislative and procedural framework exists to tie it in with other systems which aim to control and regulate the many other activities as discussed in chapter two. Whilst these systems operate independently of each other it is apparent that they are inextricably linked in that policies formulated and decisions made in one sphere can have a direct effect on another.
5.1.5. Local authorities have become increasingly aware that activities taking place at sea or on the sea bed, which are currently outside their jurisdiction, are causing conflict between different interest groups and between the organisations which carry the responsibility for the regulation of such activities. These conflicts have been fuelled by the growing number and diversity of developments and their capacity to affect the whole range of resources in evidence in the coastal zone. These increasing pressures have prompted many of the organisations to question the manner in which the coastal zone is presently managed. Chapter three illustrated the diversity of these agencies and outlined the nature of research undertaken by them, within their own specialist fields.
5.1.6. Chapter four described how the Ideas behind coastal zone management have been investigated and researched in a number of countries throughout the world, in the last twenty years, in this country also, concern about the management of activities taking place in the coastal zone has been evident for some time (appendix E identifies key dates for coastal planning), although this concern has not been translated into action on the ground. Growing development pressures in the 1980’s brought to light many instances of the inability of the current system to adequately protect some of the more sensitive sites, as discussed in chapter three. These pressures gave fresh impetus to the growing body of opinion which advocated an integrated system of planning and management as the only way to satisfactorily achieve a balance between conflicting requirements in the coastal zone.
5.1.7. Since this time, a small number of research projects have been carried out in an attempt to further the debate and identify the circumstances necessary for effective coastal zone management in the United Kingdom. A considerable amount more is currently in progress. Much of that which has so far been completed has been undertaken by one organisation in particular, the Marine Conservation Society. The need for some form of planning or management framework to deal with conflicts and protect the marine environment is seen as a matter of urgent concern. The importance of an appropriate regime for controlling activities taking place at sea was stressed earlier and has been addressed at the global scale (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). The next section describes some of the recent work undertaken by this organisation and highlights the major issues. The British Association for Nature Conservationists have also produced a critique of current management practices (BANC, 1991).
5.2 PREVIOUS RESEARCH INTO CZM
5.2.1. in 1990, a paper was presented at the Marine Forum for Environmental issues which summarised the Marine Conservation Society’s view of the situation at that time (North Sea Report, 1990). This paper acknowledged that, whilst the need for integrated coastal and sea use management had been recognised in many countries, the U.K. had not in practice achieved any progress in this area. The absence of any such progress and the adoption of "a local rather
than national perspective to planning, fragmentation of policy and legislation, and inappropriate boundaries for planning" were ail identified as areas of concern. These shortcomings have hindered the provision of a comprehensive framework for development which would allow a balance to be struck between different uses of the coast.
5.2.2. it was concluded that, whilst progress was being made in terms of research, there was an urgent need to translate theory into practice and move towards implementing some of the concepts behind Coastal Zone Management. Such moves are essential in order to provide a national perspective of the region and to ensure the best possible maintenance of its value and diverse benefits. Given that increased use of the coastal zone in the future is inevitable, the article recommended the following action;
"i) The idea of a ’coastal zone’ comprising land, the intertidal zone, and inshore waters, should be recognised as a discrete unit, requiring special consideration and should be viewed from a national perspective, ii) The U.K. Government should anticipate and support the idea of a national coastal and sea use management plan and work towards the drafting and implementation of such a plan".
5.2.3. In pursuance of these aims the Marine Conservation Society, in conjunction with the World Wide Fund for Nature, published later in 1990 the results of an ongoing research project which aimed to identify the problem areas and investigate where and how the planning and management of the coast could be improved (MCS,1990). The outcome of interviews with more than forty individuals directly involved in coastal activities, to assess their concerns, formed the basis of a subsequent questionnaire. This questionnaire identified seven different types of activity: coastal engineering and industry, marine recreation, navigation and communication, nature conservation, waste disposal and pollution, fisheries and aquaculture and mineral and energy extraction. Several hundred were sent to individuals working in local and national government, non-government bodies, specialist interest groups and research organisations. The subsequent report was based on an analysis of over two hundred responses, few of which came from government departments.
5.2,4 The report claims to be the first of its kind to address the concerns of a wide range of interests. The trends were identified to give an overaii impression of the kind of issues which needed to be addressed, and the urgency required in doing so, in order to improve pianning and management in the coastai zone. Whiist the respondents obviousiy brought up specific issues of reievance within their own fieids, it aiso emerged that there were wider considerations which were common to many interests.
5.2.5 The most wideiy expressed was the lack of a national policy or strategy for use of the coastal zone. A strategic overview to provide some direction in the iong-term was wideiy considered to be required as a matter of urgency. The second major area of common concern was the lack of a planning regime for areas of sea. The eariy introduction of such a regime was considered to be cruciai to heip baiance conflicting uses and demands currentiy being made on the marine environment and to open up the area to wider pubiic debate. The need for such a system stemmed from the dissatisfaction with the current method of deaiing with the marine environment, invoiving numerous government agencies (appendix B) and the absence of any integration in deaiing with coastai activities which affect both iand and sea. The report provides exampies of probiems which have occurred in each of the seven different areas thus highiighting the inadequacies of the current arrangements.
5.2.6. Having identified the principai areas of concern, the document goes on to deveiop a set of guideiines to provide a framework for a Coastai Zone Management Plan for the United Kingdom which is considered essentiai to tackie the probiems. Strategic planning and an integrated approach to planning and management, based on the principai of environmentaiiy sensitive use, are cited as essentiai prerequisites and are evident in pians introduced in other countries. The recommendations made (Tabie 5), taken as a whoie and not viewed in isoiation, are considered vitai ingredients of an effective and successfui system.
TABLE 5 ; RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A PRACTICAL AND EFFECTIVE SYSTEM OF