1. Alghero, Italie, 19-21 mai 2008 Integrated Coastal Zone Management in Urban Areas A bottom – up approach Joan Parpal Medcities Mediterranean Workshop on ICZM Policies

2. The relevance of coastal urban coastal spaces in the Mediterranean Plan Bleu estimations in the period 2000 – 2025: The coastal regions of the Mediterranean will growth from 102 to 135 million people, the 96% of it in the south and east countries of the zone. This urban population will represent in 2025 the 77 % of the whole permanent population of the coast zones. The artificialisation of the coastal band will be of the 50% as average for the Region and bigger in some countries: Lebanon 100%, Spain 73%, etc. The tourism increasing will increase from 175 to 312 millions in 2025 being one of the causes of the urban sprawl. Many littoral conurbations are appearing through the transformation of coastal villages in small towns. (France, Spain, Italy and Tunisia) ICZM policy should take fully into account the coastal urban areas and build on their integrated management policy to ultimately prevent (and/or restore) the damages on the natural ecosystems.

3. Urban & coastal systems: mutual influence Impacts urban activities on coastal ecosystems: – coastal erosion and beach deterioration, – pollution of coastal waters, – losses of habitats and areas of natural interest, as wetlands and coastal lagoons, with reduction of biodiversity, – aquifers pollution nor salinity, – loss of the diversity of the coastal landscape, – excessive land occupation, – introduction of exotic species, – limitation of natural resources (energy, water, territory, etc), – risks of forest fires, etc. Feedback from ecosystems to urban systems: – tourism reduction, – groundwater resources decrease, – fishing captures depletion, – increase of diseases, – loss of city attraction for productive investments, – risks of floods, etc. ICZM can greatly affect the economic and social development in coastal urban areas.

4. A win-win strategy: the urban ICZM approach Given the existence, in the coastal urban areas, of close interlinks between the social and economic development and an appropriate integrated coastal zone management policy, an early and strong commitment of both the urban communities/stakeholders and the local authorities to an integrated coastal zone planning, and further management, is necessary and possible. Any urban ICZM approach should build on a strong public/private partnership. Such partnerships should be established at the very outset of the process, with a long term vision, a clear strategy and well-defined objectives. This will produce a city lobbying which plays an important role in the bottom –up process of decision making within the ICZ planning and following management.

5. The Urban Integrated Coastal Zone Planning - UICZP UICZP addresses development and not only environment protection or rehabilitation. UICZP builds on consensus on a long term vision, clear strategy and actions. UICZP is a component of a wider city/metropolis development strategy. UICZP entails conflict resolution with relevant stakeholders. UICZP aims at creating a strong city lobbying group for its implementation and future growth of the city. UICZP is a local process transparently undertaken with national authorities. UICZP benefits the wider nation.

6. Prerequisites and limitations Prerequisites: – Strong political support of local authorities to the process, – an initial political agreement with national authorities, – the existence of a core group of local stakeholders interested in developing the process together. Limitations: – a poor knowledge in urban societies on the coastal urban systems’ potentialities and risks; – the unsustainable demand of natural resources (water, land, energy,…), – the existence of strong unsustainable behaviors of certain economic sectors (tourism, industry, transport, urban developers), – the opposition of certain sectors (polluters), – the poor capacity and skills of the local administrations, – the lack of coordination and/or limited decentralization in the administrations, – the lack of public institutions to manage metropolitan areas, – the lack or poor quality of regulations, incentives, etc. on ICZM, – the limited financial resources for strategic projects: depollution systems, coastal works, infrastructures, public land, etc., – the influence of radical or/and unyielding attitudes, – etc.

7. Tools for UICZP Create a core group of local stakeholders, lead by the Municipality, committed from the very outset to implement the IUCZP, facilitate and reach consensus on strategies and create a strong local lobbing in favor to the IUCZP. Land use planning tools shall be used to define policies and actions to control and manage the demand for land. The effects of scenarios, strategies and actions on the local economic development play an important role in the decision-making process. Proper economic analysis should be thus undertaken to ensure that the integrated plans incorporate actions with clear economic benefits to the city and its local communities. The definition of environmental goals, strategies and actions should take into account that natural ecosystems are always “artifical” in urban areas. Nevertheless efforts should be put to maximize the re- integration of natural features in such areas. Regional and national authorities should be continuously informed and updated on the advancement of the planning process.

8. Traditional ICZM approaches applied to UICZP & M -A “Know, Imagine and Propose” method as the process of Assessment, Diagnostic, Vision, Scenarios evaluation, and definition of Strategies and Strategic Projects or Actions -Use of participated sectorial working groups, including public and private stakeholders, and reinforced through specific studies. -Facilitate stakeholders’ leadership of sectorial working groups. -Promote international cooperation to exchange knowledge, experiences, good practices to start the process, as with the CAMP or SMAP III programmes -Raise awareness on coastal sustainable development, ensure continuous communication on the Plan advancements. -Strengthen and consolidate the institutional capacity for the future management of the plan.

9. Integrated Urban Coast Management Successful examples of IUCZM are still quite rare. We could recall, amongst others, – the coastal lagoons in France where national, regional, local authorities and stakeholders act in a coordinated way, following specific legal frameworks, to manage the lagoons. – the Lake of Tunis is another example of mixed public and private co- management, – some UNEP MAP/CAMP projects where the ICZ plan has created a efficient integrated coastal management system. Any regional and national ICZM regulation should value and promote the role and inventiveness of local societies’ agents leaded by local authorities. Local initiatives should be nurtured and promoted by ad hoc regulations that do not create unnecessary barriers, but conversely facilitate the growth of such initiatives and their coordination with the national relevant authorities.

10. Essential elements for management Existence of a follow-up system with participation of public and private stakeholders with a minimum of institutionalization. Governmental commitment to improve the integration of local and national authorities with ad hoc IUCZM regulations and tools. Establish the future IUCZM management structure (institution) in the urban area (locally). Take fully into consideration local stakeholders interests and expectations. Demonstrate a balance of interest. Ensure transparency and reliability. Involve the local youth. Measure outcomes, identify milestones, asses progress and communicate any result and progress to the wider public. Coordinate data and provide access to information. Communicate the benefits that will derive from the process to the town. Ensure that the public in general understands that sustainability is for its benefit and that of the future generations.