A plethora of world wide political initiatives have contributed to the political profile and status of ICM. Among these are the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the World Commission Report (1987), Agenda 21 and the Convention on Biological Diversity (Rio, 1992), OECD Recommendations (1992), the Framework Convention on Climate Chance (FPCC, 1992), the World Coast Conference (1993) and the Jakarta Mandate (1995).

In Europe the coastal environment has been raised as an issue of concern by the Council of Europe since 1974. The Council issued a number of studies, documenting the decline of coastal environments, as well as recommendations and ministerial resolutions.

In spite of all this, until 1996 only one international programme had successfully developed in Europe: the Integrated Coastal Area Management (ICAM) Programme in the Eastern Mediterranean, co-ordinated by the PAP/RAC in the framework of the Mediterranean Action Plan and UNEP's Regional Seas Programme.

This changed dramatically in 1997 when the European Commission started its Demonstration Programme for ICZM. This EC-initiative goes back to 1992, when the European Council of Ministers unanimously adopted a Resolution inviting "the Commission to propose for consideration a Community strategy for ICZM". In its turn, this Resolution was a response to the Resolution of the European Coastal Conservation Conference 1991 (Salman & Tekke 1992).