Since the end of the 80-ies an increasing number of integrated planning and management initiatives started to develop in Western Europe at local and regional level. Significant initiatives took place especially in the Netherlands (Wadden Sea, coastal dunes, Delta region, see Van Dijk 1994), the United Kingdom (estuaries) as well as in Denmark and Sweden. The background to the ICM development in Europe has been summarised by Ballinger et al (1994).

International contacts increased due to the European integration process and an awareness developed that multidisciplinary networking would be important to solve planning problems, involving both governmental and non-governmental practitioners. At a European conference in Leiden in 1987, coastal managers, planners, scientists and ecologists from 12 countries agreed to establish a coastal network, resulting in the establishment of the EUCC in 1989.The EUCC quickly developed into the largest coastal network in Europe, its membership covering all European coastal states. With its 13 active National Branches and seven offices the organisation tries to bridges the gap between research, planning and policy and has been promoting integrated approaches to conservation and planning.

After more than a decade at the forefront of European coastal management it is interesting to review some of the achievements of informal international networking. The EUCC is not a typical NGO because it has a substantial number of governmental member organisations. Partly due to this and the excellent GO-NGO networking EUCC has been particularly successful in delivering studies, promoting integrated approaches in planning, implementing ICZM-focused projects, and developing information and communication tools.

In 1991 the EUCC and the Dutch Government (by then fulfilling the Presidency of the European Community) organised the European Coastal Conservation Conference that brought together high level representatives of the European Commission, the Council of Europe and of all coastal states of the European Community. In a Resolution the Conference asked the European Commission to prepare a Community strategy for ICZM. This has contributed to the development of ICZM in the EU.

Another example is the preparation of the European Coastal Code for which the objectives and concepts of the Biodiversity Convention provide the background and motivation. In 1993, EUCC launched the idea of a Coastal Code as a set of clear and realistic guidelines, recommendations and principles for all those involved in management, planning and development of coastal areas: local, regional and national authorities as well as commercial and other stakeholders in all economic sectors. The concept was included as a priority action in the Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy (1995) and then drafted in 1996-97 by EUCC staff under the auspices of the Council of Europe and UNEP. The final Pan-European Code of Conduct for Coastal Zones, approved by the Council of Europe Ministers in 1999, represents a comprehensive effort to put the principles of sustainable development into practice, at all levels of society. The Coastal Code has been particularly welcomed in Central & Eastern Europe, both by governmental institutions and Regional Seas programmes.

The active involvement of EUCC's membership in all European coastal states has facilitated the execution of a great number of studies including habitat surveys (e.g. coastal dunes, dune woodlands), a study on trends and impacts of economic development (Rigg et al. 1997), analyses of the ecological network of coastal and marine areas (ECMEN) and migration corridors (PECMEC), a map of European coastal landscapes and ecosystems (European Coastal Systems), studies on planning approaches and ICM-progress in European coastal states (e.g. Elburg-Velinova et al. 1999, Bridge 2000), ICM Regional Seas and Country files and the Coastal Guide on Dune Management.

Since 1994 EUCC has been actively involved in projects aiming at the implementation of integrated approaches to coastal planning and management, mostly in Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, NW-Poland, and SW-Ukraine. In 1998, a framework law for coastal management was drafted by a Russian team in collaboration with international EUCC-experts.

Over the last few years the EUCC is taking initiatives to stimulate the ICM-process in Central & Eastern Europe (CEE), the New Independent States (NIS) and the Eastern Mediterranean. In 2000 the EUCC was asked to serve as the ICZM expert network for the Baltic Sea by the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM). And in June 2000 the EUCC and the PAP-RAC (Split) convened the ICM-CEE-NIS Workshop (see below).