Environment and development in coastal regions and in small islands

 Integrated coastal management planning strategies

Part 3        Practical planning

Chapter 3.1 Classification of coastal zone development plans

Principles of classification and choice of criteria

One method of studying and analysing the great number of planning systems currently in use is to look at what characteristics they have in common and to use these as a basis for their classification.

Administrative characteristics determine: whether it is possible to initiate and regulate the planning process and make decisions and comply with them; the potential for cooperation with administrative and governmental plans at local, regional and federal level; and the responsibilities of participants and leaders.

Material and technical characteristics indicate: the availability of relevant working structures and organizations and the professional level of personnel; whether the infrastructure is well-developed; and whether the equipment is up-to-date and available.

Time characteristics define the duration of a plan and the terms of certain stages.

Cooperation characteristics characterize: the level of involvement of the local population; vertical and horizontal communications; the coordination of activities at every level; intersectoral interactions; and the possibility of including the interests of all participants in the planning process.

Financial characteristics define currently available and potential financial resources, occasional and constant sources of financing, amounts, terms, types and forms of funding.

Thus coastal zone management plans can be classified according to several criteria that then form a basis for description of the plans.

A general classification is shown in Table 5.

Classification is usually considered as a tool for better understanding the planning processes, but in reality, most coastal zone management plans use several of the criteria presented in the table. For example, a plan can be made for the purpose of fund-raising, while at the same time being integrated and strategic and covering a certain territory.

Each variation on the criteria shown in Table 5 as a basis for classification has its advantages and disadvantages.

Time-scope: short-term and long-term plans

Long-term, strategic planning  is the most scientifically-based type of planning in that it makes use of forecasts and projections to develop and implement its objectives so that efficient long-term functioning of its management subject is ensured and prompt adaptation to changes is possible.

In practice, strategic planning is a coordinated activity of a group of managers who are responsible for making decisions and plans intended to achieve the set strategic goal. A number of concepts, procedures and methods that allow an organization in general, or an individual manager, to think and act strategically contributes to the success of this activity.

A strategic plan is a scientific forecast of the behaviour of an object of planning as a single unit in the long-term.

Important characteristics of strategic plans are:

• they are used as a tools for implementing a policy that is set by the relevant authorities;
• they represent goals and directions for development;
• they determine stages of development of a system (object of planning) as a whole and of its individual components (subsystems);
• they serve as criteria for economic and social development.

Strategic planning does not reject general, methodological approaches to planning, but adjusts them to specific objectives.

The distinctive features of strategic planning methodology are a systematic approach, self-developing interactive planning and that it is adaptable and self-correcting.

The process of strategic planning should include all the participants of the development process: the local population, natural resource users, professional ecologists, administrators and other stakeholders. To this end a team of representatives of interested social groups must be formed at the very early stages of the strategic planning process, when the development concept is being discussed.

Short-term, (quick response planning) is carried out within the strategic planning system. Its purpose is to make specific detailed plans to implement short-term tasks that may be important and urgent, but are not of strategic importance. For example quick response planning may involve recovery or planting of mangroves or road construction in sand dunes, that is, detailed planning of clearly defined tasks that step-by-step advance towards a predefined goal.

Legal status

Formally, the effectiveness of a plan depends on its legal status, which in turn influences the content of the plan and its method of implementation. Examples of plans that have thorough legal backing are city development plans and plans that deal with water resource use. Many other types of plans do not require special legal backing.

Plans that have been legally approved usually have a broad range of implementation tools. However the developers of such plans have less freedom of action regarding both the structure and the content of the plan.

Level of integration

A plan that deals with some specific aspect or sector of the coastal zone is called an object or sectoral plan. Examples include plans for the management of natural resources (fish, recreation, mineral), coastal protection construction, landscape conservation and plans for business development such as tourism.

There are also integrated plans of coastal zone management that are intended to coordinate strategies of development of various sectors or to combine different approaches towards resolving conflicts arising from multifunctional use of the coastal zone.

Nowadays integrated plans are widespread and are used when it is necessary to coordinate different factors relevant to coastal zone management within the framework of a joint decision-making process. These plans are developed in response to a number of management problems, the most usual being the conflicts between different stakeholders, that cannot be settled by simple object plans. These conflicts often arise from differences in social, environmental and economic points of view. There are various methods of settling these conflicts zoning, political and legal methods. In many cases the most effective option is an integrated plan of coastal zone development. Integrated planning is now the most widespread approach to settlement of complicated and conflict situations. Integrated planning creates structures or management systems that focus the efforts of different stakeholders to achieve common goals relevant to the whole territory (for the whole object of planning)

Different levels of responsibility and understanding of the diverse problems of the coastal zone can be linked together in integrated planning through the reconciliation of different positions. Information exchange, common training and education programs contribute to strengthening of integration mechanisms.

Integration can be vertical (uniting different administrative levels) and horizontal (uniting different sectors), or a combination of both.

It is very important to ensure that the structure of integrated planning not only determines the priorities of coastal zone development, but also controls the process of implementation of plans and management instructions.

Chapter 3.2 Planning as a multi-level process

Territorial classification of plans

Plans are usually classified on the basis of the territory covered. There are four or five levels of planning: international, national, regional and local (sometimes a sub-local level is included)

Coastal zone development plans that operate on different scales are rather different. As shown in Table 6 depending on the territory covered, the contents of a plan vary from broad declarations of intent made by international organizations to detailed projects of infrastructure development or construction. However, all these plans, whatever scale they operate on, have the same basic elements or characteristics of planning: they determine the direction of development and describe the successive steps to be made.

However, goals and spheres of planning are very different at each level and so are the roles of plans in coastal zone management (see Table 6)
 

Analysis of coastal zone management in Spain, Portugal and some other European countries shows that the effectiveness of management to a large degree depends on how many different levels of management – federal, regional, and local control adjacent water areas. When the role of local authorities is limited industrial interests predominate and environmental problems develop because improvement of the environmental situation on the local scale is beyond the competence of federal authorities.

The existence of different levels of planning does not mean that all of them must be applied to every coastal area. Indeed, efforts to draw up detailed plans for the extremely lengthy Russian coastline would be inefficient in most cases. The danger when there are too many detailed plans is that the general management context and the planning logic might be lost. However an approach based entirely on general national or regional planning cannot take into account specific characteristics of individual sections of the coastal zone that might vary considerably. It means that this approach does not provide for proper identification of objects of planning, which is typical for lower, more detailed, levels of planning. It should also be noted that interests and goals at different levels of planning are not the same.

The answer to this dilemma is to combine all levels of planning through the development of well-structured programs that identify management priorities at the national, regional, local and sub-local levels.

Planning at the national level

Whichever level of the hierarchy predominates in the planning process, integrated planning always needs to take into account the national context and priorities. These priorities are set out in relevant legislation and official guidelines. These guidelines usually constitute part of the national strategy of coastal zone management which itself is a form of integrated development plan.

However, it is important to emphasize that official recognition of a plan is a prerequisite for successful coastal zone development. This recognition shows that the community has sufficient experience and understanding of the issues concerned with coastal zone management, and shows that high-level decision-makers consider the coastal zone as a priority object of management.

Outside Russia coastal zone management was considered as a separate area of state management as early as the 1970s. The coastal zone was regarded as a combination of natural and economic systems that represented an independent object of management. A specific approach to siting industrial facilities within the coastal zone and planning social and economic development which was different from the continental approach was applied.

Some countries have special legislation that regulates use of the coastal zone; other countries have developed systems of coastal management (policy, plans, management programs and coastal development monitoring systems)

Any approach to coastal zone management and planning should be based on acknowledgement by all participants of the management process (at every level) of the fact that the coastal zone is a complex object, and its natural, cultural and historical properties are part of the national heritage.

Analysis of world wide experience shows the current trends:

• Legislation banning building of any kind within the coastal belt usually 100 to 300 metres (sometimes up to 500 metres) inland from the coastline. Within 2 km from the coastline all major building must comply with official land use plans (ratified by interdepartmental authorities);
• Different approach to management of different sections of the coastal zone on the basis of official definitions of the boundaries of the coastal zone (maritime and land) – combination of zones with intensive economic growth and “zero” growth;
• Strengthening of coastal legislation, government protection of coastal zone resource management within set limits;
• Abandonment of the sectoral approach and promotion of integration of coastal zone economic development policy with the policy of coastal zone environmental protection and natural resource management;
• Coordination and agreement on the interests of participants in coastal zone development at various levels of management (international, national, regional and local), taking into account the interests of the local population.

Regional plans for coastal zone development

A region is a territory with common natural, social, economic and cultural characteristics. It is usually considered to be the basic administrative and economic unit of a country.

Today the importance of regional planning is steadily increasing. Regional plans for strategic development are broadly recognized as the backbone for regional development.

Characteristic features of regional planning are its: focus on the long-term and medium-term perspective; objectives to achieve key regional goals that determine the survival and progress of the region; coordination of development goals according to available resources and the  ability to take into account both positive and negative factors of regional development so that positive factors are reinforced.

The most important characteristics of regional planning in developed countries are the:

• advisory role of the plan – as opposed to the directive plans used in the USSR;

• planning process is democratic – the involvement of all stakeholders in the process is considered to be the most important factor that determines the success of a plan.

• plan is not only an official document but also a public one; relevant documents are available to a broad range of people - development plans are published in popular form and illustrated by schemes and diagrams;

• plan covers only basic strategic goals and directions of regional development without elaboration of all the parameters of development.

The planning process at the regional level depends on a number of factors, the following being the most important:

1. The rank of a region within the territorial hierarchy, or, in other words, the scope of the territory covered by a plan (for example, the object of planning could be the coastal zone of north-west Russia, the Barents Sea, or the Murmansk region); the higher the rank the more stable and predictable are the development trends, the less effect random factors will have and the more reliance there will be on internal resources;
2. Potential for development (combination of social, natural, material and technical, informational, and environmental potentials of a region);
3. The type of region.

The type of region is defined on the basis of several parameters. Well-known American planning expert John Fridman identified the following types of regions: core, ascending, corridors, newly developed and descending or problem regions.

In core regions development is focused on information activities (science, education, management, policy), service industries (trade, tourism, hotel industry), and high-tech industries.

Development of ascending regions depends heavily on the transfer of mass production industries from core regions. Reasons for this transfer include lower production costs (natural resources and rent are cheaper) and “economizing” on environmental protection.

Corridors of development use their advantageous geographic position – for example, one between two core regions.

Newly developed regions depend on development of new territories, for example, development of off-shore oil deposits.

These types of regions are developing, or “growing” regions. Descending or problem regions may suffer from depletion of natural resources, an unfavourable geographic position or climate, high production costs, outdated production policies, technologies and facilities, anthropogenic or natural environmental disasters.

The different types of regions with uneven distributions of resources and production require different management strategies which, nevertheless, need to be coordinated with each other through an efficient national policy.

The correct choice of a strategy makes it possible to concentrate efforts and resources on the realization of feasible development goals. On the whole, regional strategic planning is a special type of planning which produces strategic decisions in the form of forecasts, projects, and programs that ensure efficient and sustainable functioning of a region in the long-term.

A methodological approach to regional planning relies on sequential development stages.

1. The first stage is the study of internal and external factors that influence regional development – a kind of diagnostics of its state; identification of its competitive advantages, its role and place in territorial division of labour, and identification of negative trends. This stage includes inventory of natural, material, intellectual and other resources that are available in the region or that can be easily attracted.
2. The second stage is the development of a long-term development concept and the choice of a general development scenario. The concept of a coastal zone development plan is a document that determines subsequent targets and elaborates a development strategy. This concept is based on a general vision of coastal zone development in the region: scale, rate, proportions and direction of development. The vision determines the purpose of development.
3. The third stage is development of certain target programs within the framework of a general strategic plan.

The place, role and function of regions in the territorial division of labour are identified, and strategic priorities are defined in the course of elaborating a regional plan.

A program means a well-coordinated system of scientific, social, economic, organizational, technical and other measures that ensure implementation of the set goals.

All these measures should be evaluated from the perspective of financial costs, effectiveness, methods of implementation, and long-term social, economic and environmental consequences.

Local and sub-local level of planning

The Local level of an integrated coastal zone management plan further elaborates an already developed strategy of development, use and protection of a certain section of the coast.

A plan of this type is usually drawn up to ensure that the local context is taken into consideration when higher level plans (for example, regional ones) are implemented, and also as a condition of their final ratification, particularly in complicated conflict situations which require consultations at local level, in compliance with the requirements of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) public hearings.

Plans at local and sub-local levels are extremely diverse. The following results and problems to be solved by means of local and sub-local integrated planning are typical:

• identification of coastal zone environments and resources threatened with deterioration or in need of rehabilitation and protection;

• assessment of coastal resources (ecological, landscape, recreational etc.)identification of especially vulnerable ecosystems and landscapes, or rare species endangered with extinction, and, consequently, working out measures for their rehabilitation and conservation;

• management of natural risks (erosion, floods, sea level rise, landslides);

• regulation of access to coastal resources (organization of car parking areas, ensuring that tourists walk along designated tracks);

• study of requirements and opportunities for recreation, including type, location and accessibility of recreational objects, as well as support and improvement of recreational potential;

• division of responsibilities in short-term management (who pays, when and for what)

The Sub-local level of planning deals with the development of a certain part of the seashore. It is sub-local plans that determine, in detail, the allocation of coastal resources, which are outlined in higher-level plans. Sub-local plans deal with such issues as road construction, landscape design, ensuring proper drainage and specification of details concerning buildings.

Sub-local planning is based on methods that are applied in architectural design (including landscape design) and engineering design.

Information that is used for sub-local planning can be very diverse and depends on the specific management goals for that coast. For example, if the primary management goal is stabilization of coastal dunes then information on the reasons for the coastal zone degradation should be collected. If the purpose of planning is to provide for recreation (for example, car parking areas, picnic zones), it is necessary to gather information about the types of soil, vegetation, and drainage, to study geomorphologic, social, and economic characteristics, to carry out market research to determine potential demand.

Another typical feature of sub-local planning is that natural zoning of the coastal zone area is used for planning purposes – as opposed to the higher-level plans that section a territory according to administrative principles.

Chapter 3.3 Object plans in coastal zone management

A characteristic feature of object planning is its focus on one or a few topics or results that might have a territorial scope or legal basis. Object plans are drawn up by ministries and state committees, for example, a plan for developing the fishing industry. Such plans can also be developed and implemented by private companies involved in coastal resource use, and by NGOs dealing with the social or environmental problems of the coastal zone. Various coastal zone problems and opportunities need to be specified within the framework of detailed object plans. Object plans in coastal management can be classified as shown in Table 7.
 

There are differences between object planning and territorial planning:

1. Territorial planning is focused on a certain territory and takes into consideration its specific features, while object plans (especially at higher hierarchical levels) may have no territorial boundaries. National programs are too large-scale to be focused on certain locations, the more so if a country (or its coastal zone) covers a large number of ecosystems.
2. Object planning is sectorally specific while territorial planning tends to consider different sectors jointly and integrate activity within different sectors into a single plan.
3. Object plans that focus on a certain sector or problem are often poorly coordinated with plans for other sectors that have some influence on it.
4. Object plans are usually better provided with information than territorial plans. They make use of mathematical models of the system. Territorial plans also make use of models, but to a lesser extent as the large number of parameters that need to be taken into account make the models very intricate and cumbersome.

5. The sector-orientated approach typical of object planning often discourages potential outside stakeholders and favours those who are directly involved in this sector.

Application of object plans

Table 7 shows that object plans are widely used in coastal zone development planning. They are particularly effective if there are no open conflicts between users of coastal zone resources or if these conflicts have already been settled. Under these conditions object plans can be developed and implemented successfully. Object plans can also be effective in coastal areas that have only one user (because there is no possibility of conflict)

Integrated management plans may rely on object plans to fulfil their objectives. High-level international and national plans should not be highly detailed so their implementation is ensured through a hierarchy of more specific object plans.

Object plans can also be used as predecessors of an integrated plan. In some cases authorities are unwilling to develop an integrated coastal zone strategy unless plans that deal with certain problems or branches of industry are first successfully implemented. In this way object plans form the basis for integration as a sum of all the sectoral strategies. This approach has its hidden dangers: applied consistently it can deepen the differences between sectors and thus in the long term lead to the escalation of conflicts between coastal zone users.

Many plans applied in coastal zone management may be used as examples of object planning but examples of integration of object plans with other levels of planning are scarce. Without coordination with other types of planning object planning will always be narrow and lop-sided. Vertical and horizontal integration of plans helps to alleviate the particular drawbacks of this type of planning.

Chapter 3.4 Process of drawing up a coastal zone management plan

A variety of procedures can be used to draw up a coastal zone management plan. The choice of a certain procedure depends to a considerable degree on the type of plan and the desired result. For example, the procedure used to produce an object plan at regional level is different from the procedure applied in compilation of an integrated plan at sub-local level. Nevertheless, there are several steps commonly used in producing both integrated and object plans.

Drawing up a successful coastal plan requires information from two sources: (i) expert technical information about environmental issues including data concerning anthropogenic pressure on coastal ecosystems; (ii) local people and users of coastal resources should be interviewed. It is conventional, but not always wise, to divide information into “technical” and “social” factors. Users of coastal resources often have profound technical experience and knowledge and the opinions of technical experts can be more or less subjective. This division is useful in that it distinguishes between data obtained through different channels.

Information from users of coastal zone resources (including the local population) is obtained through questionnaires, forums and public meetings. Sources of technical information, on the contrary, are reports and surveys prepared by consultants, experts and scientists. The consensus approach which is now the most promising approach to planning is based on integration of coastal zone management experience and is an attempt to use public consultations in the decision-making process. There are three principle reasons why this approach is so useful:

• If people, organizations, firms and authorities that have some influence over coastal processes are involved in the planning process and plans take account of their opinions, this reduces tension and facilitates implementation of the plan.
• It interested parties are involved in the decision-making process it is more probable that they will participate in its implementation, which makes future plan implementation more economical and more likely to be successful.
• The involvement of relevant state agencies in the decision-making process increases the probability that they will provide financial or advisory support for implementing the plan.

The consensus approach to planning generally uses the following steps:

Identification of the problem: What are desired results? What needs they are expected to meet?

Choice of planning approach: Who is responsible for the planning process? This step is accomplished by the authorities, so it is part of the administrative decision-making process. Participatory programs and planning structures should supplement each other so that all interested parties are well represented and have an opportunity to participate effectively in the planning process.

Identification of purposes and tasks: This requires the participation of all interested parties. At this stage a method for evaluating the progress of plan implementation should be worked out (substantiation of implementation criteria) Tangible results such as weakening of negative influences on the coastal zone ecosystem can easily be measured and evaluated, but some results are not so easy to assess – for example the degree of satisfaction of the local population with certain factors or improvement in the aesthetics of part of the coastal zone. So parameters of plan implementation status should be negotiated with all stakeholders at public consultations, discussions and meetings.

Data gathering and analysis: This covers all types of relevant information: biophysical, social and economic. As already mentioned, information can be obtained through participatory programs, this method is particularly useful in situations where there are no other sources of information.

Formulation of options and management principles: There are usually several different ways to achieve the same goal. So at this stage a set of alternative solutions to a problem is formulated. This process is most effective if a creative approach is used, such as brainstorming, discussion of the situation in groups, or the Delphy method. Each option will have its advantages and drawbacks, often not easily comparable. So at this stage it is important to analyze carefully all the diverse consequences of each option.

Choice of the best option and ratification of a plan: This is carried out by the relevant committee. The committee chooses an option (program) after consideration and evaluation of the options formulated in the previous stage. The choice depends on several factors: ease of implementation, available resources, public opinion, current state policy etc. Sometimes the ease of implementation factor is criticized because of its ineffectiveness in the long-term, but it may be important when a situation requires prompt action. The planning team needs to ensure that recommended management measures and principles are coordinated and consistent with other management plans; otherwise the plan will be difficult to implement. The life span of the plan is defined at this stage – all interested parties and managers should know when plan implementation status will be checked and results evaluated. The life span of a plan is usually between 1 and 5 years. After all these questions are settled the plan is submitted to the relevant authority for consideration and ratification.

Plan implementation:  This stage starts at the moment when the plan is ratified and covers its entire life span. It encompasses management of day-to-day activities within the framework of the plan.

Monitoring: The parameters and criteria identified to assess the progress of the plan at the identification of purposes and tasks stage are applied. New information, changes in state policy and public attitude can make these tasks and purposes obsolete.

Managers have at their disposal various tools for plan implementation including programming, staff training, involvement of the local population and other interested parties, public meetings, environmental impact assessment methodology, project monitoring and evaluation.

It should be noted that staff training and development of human resources are important components of plan implementation as they ensure that management teams are efficient. One person, however experienced, will not have all the skills and knowledge necessary for management. Building a team that has a common goal (implementation of a plan) is the answer. If one member of the team does not have enough experience in some field this can be compensated for by the skills and knowledge of other members. A team is a group in which everybody contributes to the common cause.

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