15.1. Environmental Impact Assessment

15.1.1. The notion of Assessing Environmental Impacts

The process of environmental impact assessment (EIA) is one of the most important steps in the coastal planning process. It is a procedure designed to identify the potential consequences for nature and the environment arising from development. This information is then used by decision-makers to assess whether or in what form proposed activities should go forward. Some assessments can be carried out on a broad scale in order to evaluate the consequences of an entire policy or programme consisting of many individual projects (known as Strategic Environmental Assessment), or on a smaller scale to evaluate potential impacts from the individual projects themselves.

EIA is now practised in many countries around the world, including all EU states following the Council of the European Union Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997 amending Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment. Specific EIA procedures vary between countries but there are certain core elements from which common issues arise. These include:

• Screening: the procedure for determining whether a particular proposed activity (project) will require a full EIA or a less rigorous environmental assessment procedure.
• Scoping: the procedure for determining which issues are likely to be important and should be examined in an EIA.
• Production of an Environmental Impact Assessment or Statement: the document which describes the potential environmental impacts of a proposed activity. It should also contain a discussion of possible alternative courses of development, including a non-development option, along with an analysis of their potential environmental impacts. In addition, the EIA/EIS should describe how eventual impacts will be monitored and any mitigation techniques that will be applied.
• Baseline Studies: a detailed description of present environmental and socio-economic conditions against which subsequent changes can be assessed.
• Review: a review of the EIA/EIS is undertaken and its acceptability assessed.
• Decision: a decision is made regarding whether or in what form a proposed activity can proceed.

15.1.2 The implementation of the Environmental Impact Assessment

The unique problems and pressures on the coastal zone should be recognised when deciding which developments require an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). Development inland might be considered benign whereas the same activities, if carried out in the coastal zone, may be likely to have severe impacts. A precautionary approach should be taken in the EIA screening process whereby if there are doubts about the potential for a proposed activity or programme to cause significant impact, an EIA should be undertaken.

 Alternatives to the preferred activity as described in an EIA/EIS should differ significantly. For example, alternatives should not only consider different locations of the same activity.
 

 The cumulative effects of development in the coastal zone should be considered in the EIA process. The EIA/EIS should demonstrate how the proposed activity fits with coastal policies, programs and plans by international, national, regional and local governments or governmental bodies.

 Public participation in the EIA process should be vigorously pursued at all stages of project planning:

• When specific new projects are planned, public hearings should be held to solicit  views at the earliest possible stage (i.e. scoping), before vested  interests take hold and certainly prior to taking any decision about whether to proceed;
• If needed, funds should be provided in order to allow affected groups to participate;
• Public opinion should be incorporated into the plans, and a mechanism for appeal should be available where this has not occurred;
• For particularly controversial decisions, a public referendum should be considered;
• Make all consultants reports, feasibility studies, safety studies, cost reports, etc. publicly and conveniently available;
•  Publish regular reports to keep people informed about the latest developments;
• Establish public advisory groups to allow continued involvement while the project is being carried out, or designate public representatives on formal committees.

15.2 Integrated Management of Coastal zones

15.2.1. The notion of Integrated Coastal Management

Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) is increasingly used as a tool to sustainably manage development in coastal regions. There are various terms used to describe this process (such as Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM), Integrated Coastal Area Management (ICAM) and so forth), each of which is defined or approached somewhat differently (Sorensen 1997).  For the purposes of the present Code of Conduct, the term Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) will be used generically to refer to the full range of approaches pertaining to both planning and management, as applied to both land and sea components of the coastal zone.
 

The ICM approach is meant to enhance development and planning models which treat single issues separately, or are implemented by individual administrative units. It is a continuous process, active before, during and after sectoral planning. The concept of integration therefore encompasses a wide variety of factors:

• Integration of planning and development by the full range of socio-economic sectors;
• Integration of approaches between different levels of government at the international, national, regional and local levels, and/or administrative units;
• Integration of economic, environmental and social issues.
• Integration of planning management across geographic components of the coastal zone, encompassing land and sea areas as well as inland areas which have a significant influence on processes, and taking account of different coastal landscapes and habitats;
• Integration of planning and approaches across various time scales from long- (50 years and more) to short-term (e.g. annual). Integration of the knowledge, understanding and views of different scientific disciplines, NGOs, and the public.

General Prerequisites for the Establishment of an Integrated Coastal Management System

The introduction of an ICM system requires certain conditions to be met. The political will to solve conflicts in the coastal zone must be present. A legislative, administrative, and regulatory basis for making and implementing decisions must be in place. Enforcement mechanisms must be available to ensure compliance.

The Benefits of Integrated Coastal Management

The benefits of the ICM approach are not always simple to define, primarily because relatively few such initiatives have progressed from planning to implementation(OECD 1996) , (Sorensen 1997)  and for those that have, a longer time-scale will be necessary to judge their effectiveness. It is easier to describe the problems that have arisen in the absence of ICM, including:

• Unnecessarily reactive management (responding after the fact to problems which should have been anticipated and avoided);
• Cumulative impacts (where the many small decisions made by different levels of government add up to major problems for the coastal environment);
• Transfer of problems from one sector to another;
• Predominance of short-term economic interests (often at the expense of nature and the environment, and in many cases having a negative long-term economic or social impact);
• Fragmented geographical planning (lack of co-ordination between managers of land and marine areas, managers of different economic activities, or neighbouring communities bordering a single coastal ecosystem).

Developing Coastal Management Plans

There is a series of steps generally considered to be essential in developing ICM plans, all of which require extensive consultation and co-operation amongst government agencies, Local Authorities, sectoral planners, NGOs, and others (OECD 1993),(UNEP 1995), (World Bank 1993) :

• Preparation of detailed and appropriate baseline information about the physical environment, coastal processes and ecosystems, cultural features, and establishing the geographical scope of the plan;
• Establishing a mechanism to ensure public participation in the process;
• Assessment of the role of past and present management in moulding the existing coastal landscape, and analysing the feasibility and desirability of new development;
• Assessment of existing management and legal structures and establishing the necessary institutional, legal and administrative framework for integrated management;
• Undertaking an audit of good and bad elements within the natural/human matrix and identifying priority issues;
• Setting clear objectives and priorities for planning and management as well as for all sectoral activities;
• Drawing up the initial plan and proposed projects, including proposed regulatory measures (including an enforcement system) and economic incentives to ensure wise use of resources;
• Environmental and strategic impact assessment of the proposed plan and projects;
• Public comment on the proposals, based on information which is made freely available throughout the process;
• Revision of proposals;
• Implementation of the plan;
• Monitoring and evaluation of the outcome;
• In-built mechanisms for response during emergencies arising between the various phases;
• Review and revision of plans as results become available, or as new circumstances arise which require changes in the plan.

Promoting socially and economically sustainable livelihoods for the local population is necessary for the long-term maintenance of coastal areas. In developing coastal management plans, there is a need to encourage innovative, low-impact economic activity. It must also be recognised that new sources of financing are often needed to cover the costs of switching to lower impact activities or to compensate local communities.

Classification and Vulnerability of Coastal Landscapes

For the purposes of management and planning, coastal landscapes can be divided into two major groups (Rigg et al. 1997).  The first consists of cliffed and rocky coasts, and the second can be described as coastal plains. The tidal range of coastal waters is another important factor in describing the nature of coastal landscapes. All coastal areas are vulnerable to development which affects natural habitat and/or interferes with natural processes. Generally coastal plains have been most heavily affected as they are often associated with rivers, estuaries and deltas where settlement by ports and harbours and other touristic and urban developments have been concentrated. Enclosure of tidal lands in these areas has greatly reduced the area of the zone and with it their natural resilience by introducing artificial barriers which may aggravate coastal erosion and other problems. Although when left to themselves dynamic habitats in most coasts are able to withstand perturbations in the environment such as storms and sea level rise. They are less resilient when constrained by human activities and uses.

The speed and volume of water exchange across the tidal zone is also important. In macro-tidal areas (>4 m tidal range) estuaries are subject to sometimes rapid flushing and as a consequence pollutants can be relatively rapidly washed out of the system. By contrast in micro-tidal areas (1-2 m) flushing rates are lower and there is a much greater risk of a build up of pollutants. This may be aggravated in areas where river flows are reduced because of damming, water abstraction and irrigation.

In general, it can be said that coastal plains are more vulnerable to environmental impacts than rocky coasts, and that coasts with micro-tidal regimes are generally more vulnerable than meso- and macro-tidal areas, particularly in relation to pollution and changes in hydrology of surface or groundwater (Rigg et al. 1997).  For the purposes of developing the Coastal Code of Conduct, it was not possible to tailor guidelines to specific coastal landscape types; such specific guidelines perhaps could be developed as part of future efforts to develop regional Codes of Conducts for European seas.

Economic Instruments and Incentives

The proper application of economic instruments and incentives can be an effective and economically efficient means to promote environmentally sustainable development in the coastal zone. They encourage rather than coerce changes in behaviour and they exert continuous pressure over time. However, there are many theoretical and practical limitations to this approach that policy makers should consider before deciding upon this approach or upon which instruments to apply. A few of the most important difficulties include: how to value nature and other non-monetary benefits derived from coastal areas; how to avoid a disproportionate impact on lower income groups; how to avoid undesirable market distortions and impacts on competitiveness; and how to incorporate the value of coastal resources to future generations.

Nevertheless, the use of economic instruments and incentives can help to internalise external costs such as damage to the environment, and induce companies or individuals to achieve environmental goals in a cost-effective manner. They are of special interest where regulatory instruments may not be applicable or deemed to be particularly harsh in certain cases. They may also spur innovative approaches to environmental problems. Finally, the potential for such instruments to raise revenues for re-investment into further measures to reduce environmental impacts and the loss of biodiversity should not be overlooked.

A range of economic tools are now in use, including:

• Eco-taxes: polluters are required to pay a tax on each unit of pollution emitted in order to raise the cost of polluting to the level of the social costs incurred as a result of these emissions.
• User charges: users of services and products (or nature areas) are charged a fee that covers the full cost of using that service or product.
• Subsidies: companies or individuals are given cash rewards for producing or using products or services which are beneficial (or less harmful) to the environment.
• Rights based instruments (e.g. emissions trading): rights to use or pollute environmental resources are provided up to a pre-determined limited. Excess rights can then be traded or sold.
• Tax incentives/Green investments: green investments are directed at raising investment funds for projects that are defined by the government as being environmentally friendly. Governments can encourage such investments by making approved investments tax-free.

15.2.2. Guidelines on Integrated Coastal Management

Coastal areas are characterised by natural processes (biological, physical, chemical), socio-economic developments and long term environmental changes such as accelerated sea level rise and increasing frequency of storms. The management of coastal areas should be focused on these processes and developments in an integrated manner.

The process of integrated coastal management requires an effective legal and administrative framework. In countries where these are not yet established, their development should be considered a high priority. The Model Law on Sustainable Management for Coastal Zones is in this respect a reference document

Before any plan is produced it is important to agree which issues will be addressed, and at what level of priority, through a process of discussion between the relevant sectors. The mechanism used to undertake this will be important since everyone with an interest should feel that their concerns have been taken into account. One method of achieving this is to use the data gathering process as a means of bringing the sectors together in a neutral forum which may help overcome the normal institutional barriers to meaningful dialogue.

National, regional and local authorities should ensure that all development occurs within the context of an integrated coastal management plan, in which areas are designated for certain kinds of development or as areas to be left free from development altogether (although even development-free areas may require some degree of managing). A zoning system designed to accommodate a diversity of uses could be helpful in this regard.

ICM Plans should attempt to establish the carrying capacity of the coastal and marine environment, taking into account the vulnerability of coastal landscape types and habitats, and ensure that development is not allowed to exceed this capacity. Techniques for assessing carrying capacity have been developed in recent years by UNEP in the Mediterranean. These techniques should be considered for use in other regions of Europe. ICM plans should specifically recognise the need to conserve nature as a precondition for all development, as this is the only way to ensure that development is truly sustainable. The principles for coastal development as described previously in the Chapter "Strategic Principles", should provide a fundamental basis for all coastal zone management plans.

The geographical scope of ICM plans should be large enough to encompass the ecosystem as a whole since one or a few municipal units is clearly not enough. Involvement and co-operation between neighbouring communities and countries should be encouraged, recognising the transboundary nature of most environmental issues. Co-operation and information exchange between coastal areas facing comparable threats should also be encouraged.

Public Participation in Coastal Management

Sustainable development and management of coastal region requires a combination of top-down and bottom-up approaches; public participation in the process is essential. In order to ensure adequate public participation in coastal planning, decision-making and management, authorities should:

• Make sure that the decision-making process is consultative and open to all parties who want to or should be involved, and encourage such parties to do so;
• Make funds available to those who would otherwise be unable to take part;
• Establish along the coast coastal forums for ongoing discussions;
• Ensure that all opportunities for public involvement are well publicised;
• Support education and mobilisation programmes in schools and universities and other community programmes;
• Hold community workshops and/or public meetings;
• Involve the public in solution-oriented activities and events;
• Involve the public in monitoring human activities along the coast, impacts on the coastline, and implementation of laws, agreements, or other decisions;
• Involve local businesses in programmes, and work with them to advertise the issues in their outlets;
• Using public service advertisements and other media outreach;
• Use innovative techniques for reaching different audiences and age groups, (e.g. Internet-based projects, displays and exhibitions, artistic events).

Techniques that can be used to assess public opinion include:

• Questionnaires and surveys
• Telephone hot lines
• Internet-based bulletin boards
• Citizens'Advisory Committees
• Public hearings and inquiries

The use of economic instruments and incentives to protect coastal resources should be incorporated into ICM plans. The effectiveness of such instruments should be regularly reviewed, and adapted as necessary to achieve the desired goals.

In setting values for the non-monetary benefits of coastal conservation, long-term considerations such as the potential for coastal ecosystems to act as a buffer zone from accelerated sea level rise and as a sink for nutrients, should be taken into account.

Emissions and products taxes should be set high enough to serve as a disincentive to buy or use products or services that are destructive to coastal ecosystems.

Existing subsidies for activities that are detrimental to the conservation of biological and landscape diversity should be earmarked and removed.

Revenues raised as a result of the application of economic instruments should be re-invested in activities that will promote the conservation of biological and landscape diversity. The establishment of a Coastal Zone Fund could be considered, for example. Green investments should be encouraged by making profits on such investments tax-free.

Any impacts on lower income groups that result from the use of economic instruments should be offset by a decrease in taxes or provision of subsidies for activities that benefit biodiversity.

Coastal and Marine Protected Areas

Establishing coastal and marine protected areas is an integral component of coastal management programmes. While the primary purpose of a protected area is to conserve natural resources, it does not necessarily require the cessation of all human activities within the area. A variety of uses may be permissible within a protected area, provided that sufficient controls exist to ensure sustainable use of resources.

The success of a protected area designation depends upon a variety of factors, including: definition of the area so that it can be managed as a unit; acceptance by local inhabitants; and the existence of appropriate legal, administrative and enforcement frameworks.
 

REFERENCES: Integrated management of coastal zones
 

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