Regional Approaches

Coastal environments and in particular marine environments and their natural resources do not know national borders. National Integrated Coastal Zone Management, although adherent to national legislative and policy frameworks, has to account for such transboundary effects. Thus, a Regional Policy Consensus on Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) would be highly beneficial for all the countries. Trans-boundary environmental processes and economic globalisation play as much a role in ICZM as do respective domestic issues. A prerequisite for such an enhanced policy consensus is an improved Regional Information Exchange on ICZM.

Having been a regional ICZM Programme, ReCoMaP was ideally suited to support regionalisation efforts.

 

 

ReCoMaP's Support to the Regionalisation of ICZM

• Specific support to the Conceptualising of a Regional ICZM Policy Forum
• Specific support to the development of an ICZM Protocol to the Nairobi Convention
  
• General support to the negotiation and enactment of other ICZM-relevant Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEA)
• Support to Regional ICZM Communication Strategies and Information Networking, such as the Nairobi Convention Clearing House Mechanism (CHM)
• Support to national representatives to participate in ICZM-relevant regional and international meetings
• Organisation of exchange visits of ICZM stakeholders within and outside the Region
• Coordination and cooperation with Other Regional Coastal Projects and Programmes

 

A Regional ICZM Policy Platform for the Western Indian Ocean

To date, a recognised multilateral Policy Platform for Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) does not exist in the Western Indian Ocean. While issues of relevance to ICZM are covered in several regional and international conventions and are to a certain extent coordinated by respective secretariats connecting into the countries through focal points in key ministries, a specific Regional ICZM Policy Platform is believed to be much more efficient in covering this particularly complex development sector. ReCoMaP is supporting National Governments and National ICZM Committees in the region in establishing a Regional ICZM Platform.

 

One prerequisite for the efficient use of such a platform is the existence of formalised and functional national ICZM Structures as well as the existence of national ICZM Policies and respective ICZM Planning Processes. The achievement of these national prerequisites is thus one of the core pillars of the strategy of ReCoMaP. Another prerequisite of such a Policy Platform will be the legal status and official mandate given to it by an international body. With significant input from ReCoMaP, it has therefore been conceptualised that a Regional ICZM Policy Platform under a mandate from a specific provision in the ICZM Protocol to the Nairobi Convention will be the most appropriate and effective form of this entity.