Robert W. Knecht

‘Integration’ in the US coastal zone management program

The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which the existing US Coastal Zone Management (CZM) program represents Integrated Coastal Management (ICM). The actions taken at Rio de Janeiro in June 1992 as part of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) could eventually impact the policies of the US in such a way as to encourage better integration of US coastal and ocean management efforts.

Growth in capacity for integrated coastal management since UNCED : an international perspective

Abstract This article reviews progress achieved in the implementation of the concept of ‘integrated coastal management’ (ICM), a central concept in Chapter 17 of Agenda 21 . A number of signs indicate that a growth in capacity for integrated coastal management has taken place since the 1992 Earth Summit. Among the developments discussed are: (1) the ICM concept has come to be embraced as a central organizing concept in a number of the post Earth Summit conferences and in international agreements formerly lacking a coast and ocean emphasis, such as the Biological Diversity Convention; (2) the ICM concept has been further interpreted and operationalized in several efforts by international entities to develop ICM guidelines; and (3) a number of new training and teaching programs in ICM have been established.

Perceptions of the performance of state coastal zone management programs in the United States

Evaluative data on the performance of state coastal zone management (CZM) programs in the United States typically have not been available, though the U.S. coastal management program is more than 20 years old. This article reports the results of a mail survey on perceptions of the performance of CZM programs by three samples of coastal interests: coastal program managers (N = 23), coastal interest groups (N = 200), and knowledgeable academics (N = 36). Perceptions of performance were solicited on four major coastal management issues: protection of coastal resources, management of coastal development, improved public access, and reduction of losses due to coastal hazards. While all three samples perceived the importance of various coastal issues in the same way, there were considerable differences among the three samples on their perceptions of program performance. In addition, there does not seem to be any significant relationship between program structure and perceived program performance. In general, coa...

Guidelines to assist policy makers and managers of coastal areas in the integration of coastal management programs and national climate-change action plans

In response to potential commitments and obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), many nations are preparing national climate change action plans that identify management strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the potential impacts of long-term climate change. The successful implementation of these plans and their management strategies within individual countries will depend to a large measure on the extent of their integration into the implementation of other national and sectoral management plans, including coastal management plans. This document provides guidance on integrating coastal management programs and national climate-change action plans.

Implications of the earth summit for ocean and coastal governance

Abstract The Earth Summit (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)), held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992, was unique in the history of international conferences. Never before had so many heads of state participated in such an international negotiation. UNCED was also unique in both the breadth of environmental and development issues addressed and in the nature of the cross‐cutting dimensions that were examined (for example, from poverty, population growth, and the role of indigenous peoples to unsustainable patterns of consumption (in the North), the role of women, and technology transfer). The chapter devoted to oceans and coasts was the longest and, in some ways, the most comprehensive, of the 40 chapters making up the action plan (Agenda 21) that was approved at Rio. This article provides an overview of the events leading up to the Earth Summit, describes the principal outputs of the conference and their potential effects on ocean and coastal governance, discusses the main tens...

Perceptions of the performance of state coastal zone management programs in the United States. II. Regional and state comparisons

A mail survey of coastal user groups, academics, and state coastal zone management program managers was conducted to determine the perceptions of the performance of state coastal zone management programs relative to the protection of coastal resources, the management of coastal development, the improvement of public access, and the management of coastal hazards. Information on the perceived importance of the selected issues to each of the 24 states being studied was also solicited. Findings on the perceptions of various categories of interest groups, academics, and program managers with respect to the overall performance of state coastal zone management programs in the four issue areas were presented in an earlier article, “Perceptions of the Performance of State Coastal Zone Management Programs in the United States”; (Knecht et al., 1996). The present article draws on a subset of these data—the responses from the coastal user groups and the academics—and presents the findings at the regional and individu...

Coastal and marine resources management for the Galapagos Islands

This report was prepared by the Marine Policy and Ocean Management Center of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution with the cooperation and assistance of the Government of Ecuador and with funds from the William H. Donner Foundation, the Tinker Foundation and the Pew Memorial Trust.

Measuring progress on UNCED implementation

Abstract This introduction to the special issue on Earth Summit implementation calls attention to the significance of the review of progress achieved in the implementation of the oceans and coasts agenda of the 1992 Earth Summit (the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)) conducted by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development in April 1996. It poses major questions facing the Commission, introduces the major themes discussed in the special issue and makes some assessments on the nature and pace of UNCED implementation. Almost four years have passed since the momentous Earth Summit was held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. In April 1996, the institution created to monitor and provide oversight on the large and complex blueprint for change adopted in Rio, the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), considers the progress that has been achieved in the area of oceans and coasts. This is, then, a very propitious time to take stock of what, if anything, has changed in the way in which nations, international institutions and communities manage the worlds oceans and coasts. Four years is a very short time in the implementation of almost any program, and in this case particularly so, with more than 2500 prescriptions for action emanating from the Earth Summit—prescriptions aimed at national governments, local communities, international organizations, groups and individuals—all important actors in implementation. Nevertheless, the CSD review provides a focal point, an agenda focusing event, for the interested community to pause and reflect on what has changed since Rio. In this vein, we asked key individuals around the world to share their perspectives on what has been achieved since Rio, what is likely to be achieved still and on what is lacking in the implementation of the multi-faceted oceans and coasts agenda of the Earth Summit—including the prescriptions of Chapter 17 of Agenda 21, as well as those of the Climate Change and Biodiversity Conventions. The papers in this special issue thus present a set of perspectives on what has been accomplished, as well as what remains to be done. The papers vary in their content and approach—some represent fully fledged research appraisals of implementation in a particular area, others are reports of ongoing implementation activities and some are personal commentaries on the UNCED implementation process.

The management of Ocean and coastal resources in Colombia : an assessment

Funding was principally provided by the William H. Donner Foundation, as well as the Direccion General Maritima y Portuaria of the Armada Nacional in Colombia, the Pew Memorial Trust, and also by NOAA, National Sea Grant College Program, Department of Commerce, under Grant Nos. NABO-AA-D-00077 (E/L-1) and NA83-AA-D-00049 (E/L-1).

Central Considerations in Initiating and Operating Programmes in Integrated Coastal Management

Integrated coastal management can be defined as a continuous and dynamic process by which decisions are made for the sustainable use, development, and protection of coastal and marine areas and resources. First and foremost, the process is designed to overcome the fragmentation inherent in both the sectoral management approach and the splits in jurisdiction among levels of government at the land-water interface. This is done by ensuring that the decisions of all sectors (e.g., fisheries, oil and gas production, water quality) and all levels of government are harmonized and consistent with the coastal policies of the nation in question. A key part of ICM is the design of institutional processes to accomplish this harmonization in a politically acceptable manner.