The development of an ICAM approach requires on-going, progressive work spanning successive generations of action. Put simply, the ICAM process is triggered by a political will or option, proceeding to a strategic vision and an operational plan of action:

- The political will embraces a territory, in other words an area, people, and the nature-related rules which apply   between them.
- Strategy shaping ensues from the policies dictated. It represents a crucial phase in the ICAM planning process,   since it is at this stage that the decision to answer the main questions such as "how", "why", "where" "when" and   "who" is taken.
- The ICAM programme development stage crystallises out in the shape of plans used to design the implementation   of    the activities which have been identified and agreed upon.

Read on….

- Introduction
- Policies and strategies
- Plans

Introduction

The development of an ICAM approach requires on-going, progressive work spanning successive generations of action. The initial focus needs to be on the object of coastal management itself, following which an awareness needs to be built up around this object, and a dialogue established between the various players. At this stage it is then possible to encourage cooperation, followed by the coordination of activities. It will thus be possible at the end of the procedure to achieve the required level of integration. A point to be remembered is that an ICAM process does not seek to replace traditional forms of planning, but rather to improve them through the participatory approach which marks this process.

This overview shows that ICAM is an approach fuelled by a dynamic, on-going and repeated process intended to promote sustainable development. It is multi-disciplinary by nature, and embodies political and environmental as well as economic and social dimensions. It cuts across the decision-taking cycle in its entirety, intervening in various areas such as the gathering of information, planning, decision-taking, and monitoring management implementation in a given area. This type of approach applies participatory democracy, involving all actors from one end of the process to the other.

It is above all essential to distinguish between those matters which fall within the ambit of the management process, and the actual management plan itself. Indeed, the process corresponds to the overall approach to be set up, including amongst others the formalisation and implementation of the management plan. The former is therefore the tool which is adopted in order to create and provide optimal conditions for preparing and applying the latter. In other words, the plan is the result of following and applying the process.

This type of ICAM process proceeds in three main stages which correspond to the initiation, the preparation and the implementation of specific activities included in a management plan. The first stage largely depends on the existing political context designed to promote the main ICAM principles; the second stage involves planning the strategies to be adopted in relation to objectives to be established in the long term; and the third stage sees the activities laid down in the management plans being kicked off with.

Put simply, therefore, the ICAM process is triggered by a political will or option, proceeding to a strategic vision and an operational plan of action.

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Policies and Strategies

The decision to set up an ICAM process depends on the political will of the decision-takers. Indeed, the most important aspect to be borne in mind in committing to an ICAM initiative is the granting of the governmental decision. The decision to launch this type of initiative is both a political decision and a measure, since it demands effort, action and means in the face of the resistance it may run up against.

Since the 1980s, an international political culture has been developing around a three-pronged idea set out in the 1992 Rio Declaration: (English ; French): the vulnerability of the earth's resources, the inter-dependence of actors with regard to these resources, and their responsibility towards future generations in preserving them. The concept of sustainable development was taking shape, on a cross-cutting basis involving political, environmental, social, economic and cultural aspects.
Since then, and particularly in the Mediterranean, a supra-national regional sustainable development policy has been emerging, creating a common framework for ICAM related policies based on a set of principles, preferably in the shape of a charter or protocol specifying the minimum mandatory activities to be borne in mind by all Mediterranean countries. This type of common policy thus provides the riparian states with a national political framework adapted to their needs, with which to undertake and conduct their own ICAM process.

Over the last ten years in the Mediterranean, under the Euro-Mediterranean partnership, ICAM has constantly been brought to the fore by numerous international and national activities. Originally triggered by the general policy adopted for this purpose by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) these activities materialised in the setting up of the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) which stems from a pro-active policy choice, providing a flexible framework for an integrated ICAM approach. At the regional and trans-national level, implementation of the policy led to the setting up of an organisation intended to develop a common strategic vision and, building upon it, a common plan of action. As regards the European Union (EU), its sustainable development policy really took shape in 1996 with the launch of an ICAM demonstration programme, the 1999 assessment of which identifies the shape of the Commission's future ICAM strategy. In May 2002, a recommendation specified the implementing provisions for an ICAM strategy in Europe ( French ; English). Since then, Member States are invited to report to the Commission on the outcome of implementation of the recommendation by 2007 (5 years). Further decisions reflect the change in European Community policy, particularly the recent introduction of the Framework Water Directive (2000), which is based on land management, particularly in the coastal areas.

At national level, the general policy of any government is split up into sectoral policies aimed at establishing the framework for implementing its activities. These sectoral policies tend to be steered by the various different Ministries(industry, agriculture, fisheries, tourism, water, etc.), both land-side and sea-side. It is therefore important to have a good grasp of the (sectoral) policies established by these institutional bodies, as well as the instruments for their implementation (legislative, economic and institutional), within the general political context which governs them.

The question arises as to the nature of the political system (free economy or state-run, centralised or not), since it directly affects the type of regulation in force. Moreover, it is essential to know how to achieve the adequate level of political integration, an unavoidable factor in the success of an ICAM process.

The coastal area management process involves devising a policy which is dedicated to it, as well as the means for implementation and monitoring in order to assess the results it produces. However, depending on how the context evolves, it is recommended that the policy in its general framework and through its means of implementation should be revised, in order to ensure that the established aims have been satisfied or achieved through ironing out problems such as conflicts or shortcomings. Assessment of the political will to implement an ICAM process is therefore to be recommended, since it stems from new forms of governance to be promoted, whilst ensuring that existing legal and institutional frameworks are put to better use, or even further developed.

Political will embraces a territory, in other words an area, people, and the nature-related rules which apply between them. This point is crucial, since it is intended to delimit the area to be covered by integrated management. To this end, it is important to adopt a global approach to broader areas, allowing more far-reaching strategic frameworks and action plans to be developed, depending on how ambitious the approach is. This political backing is essential in terms of adopting an ICAM charter or protocol, and defining priority long-term objectives extending as far as the adoption of finalised strategies in the shape of an action plan. The political declaration of the intention to act is one of the pre-conditions at regional and national levels of application. It may, for example, take the shape of a regional white paper, or a national one in order to establish a framework for action for the coastal areas at national level.

It is essential to define the general political priorities for ICAM, but these may be diversely influenced by trends, data availability, provision of external funding, sectoral requirements, political demands, etc. As far as information is concerned, it is part and parcel of the decision-taking process, and is in itself a political instrument. Indeed, information which has been drawn up advisedly in a form which is both relevant and useful to decision-takers can serve as an effective instrument for communication and negotiation. It is helpful in the discussions which are an integral part of the political process.

As such, information in the form of indicators has an important role to play both in the preparation of an ICAM approach and in the long term monitoring of the effectiveness of its implementation.

The political contexts on which administrative structures are based vary enormously. This presupposes studying the type of governance in force, and thus the prior conditions required for promoting sustainable development and the ICAM concept. It is therefore advisable to work towards harmonising public policies, and tend towards a shared vision throughout the entire political and administrative structure, from regional (or federal where it applies) to local level. The various forms of political will, with the decision-takers' underlying motivations, are essential if an ICAM process with any prospect of success is to be established. It is therefore of the utmost importance that any local initiative should be supported at national level, with appropriate contacts being created.

Given the inter-weaving of the political levels involved in ICAM promotion, it is important that the objectives and plans resulting from the various policies established between the different administrative levels should become harmonised. It is therefore to be recommended that they be revised at all levels within the ICAM context. On occasion the parties involved organise discussion workshops on the subject in their concern to ensure the appropriateness of their policies

Strategy shaping ensues from the policies dictated. It is a crucial stage in the ICAM planning process, since it is at this stage that the decision is taken to answer the main questions such as "how", "why", "where", "when" and "who". The methodologies and instruments which will be used to implement them within a plan are selected in answer to these questions. It is therefore advisable to clearly describe who you are and what problems you are facing, which presupposes determining what you want to be and become in relation to a future vision.

Studying and defining an optimum strategy involves analyses, dialogue and negotiation, in order to facilitate local consensus on a vision of the future situation. It requires a pragmatic, consensual approach by adapting prospecting techniques. This type of prospective approach is based on the study and analysis of scenarios, the choice of which involves opting for objectives (results) and strategies (the path to be followed in order to achieve them) for short and medium term implementation. Scenario building takes place according to the situation on the ground and the people involved. Actors discuss how their own situation is most likely to evolve compared with the evolution of natural surroundings. Dialogue, mediation and negotiation are the key factors in facilitating cross-participation between sectoral and institutional actors and in analysing specific problems in greater depth. This in fact involves identifying acceptable scenarios and finally having players commit to a strategy for implementing the means (human resources, tools, funding) for preparing a management plan. The coordination of actors, institutions, and social groups is an unavoidable process in itself. It aims at facilitating collective discussion and the consensus-based definition of objectives. The introduction of these dynamics strengthens the notion of governance, which lies at the heart of the ICAM process.

Based on common agreement on extending trends it becomes possible to discuss the constituent parts of the desirable future for the long term. With the use of scenarios, a desirable future becomes a possible future. The long term makes it possible to look beyond conflict and progress to a common vision. Agreement on long term objectives precedes and authorises the definition of medium and short term management means laid down in a plan.

Strategy shaping varies according to the existing legislative and institutional framework and the structure of the problem being tackled. It is therefore impossible to describe it as a single process which can be reproduced and applied to all coastal area situations, for there is no one single solution for all of them. Experience has in fact shown that various strategies can be developed depending on the local situation, or even broader national or regional circumstances.

Moreover, the focus of the strategy shifts according to the operational and administrative levels considered. At local level, it needs to reflect local complexities. At national level, major or dominant sectoral policies (water management) may be emphasised. At this level, questions of an institutional nature related to the general political framework established may make up the core of a strategy, providing the necessary guidelines for the development of regional and local plans.

ICAM strategies should be developed at national level in each country and be integrated into the respective development perspectives and plans. For this purpose, Strategic Impact Studies (SIS) may prove particularly useful in the prospecting field for assessing the relevance and effectiveness of the measures adopted.

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Plans

The ICAM process is a series of declinations of political will into strategies, and strategies into programmes, perspectives or plans (sometimes projects), a collection of synonymous terms used to refer to the plans to implement the activities which they have identified and decided upon. The formulation phase of an ICAM programme is therefore finalised in the shape of plans (in the broadest sense of the term). These plans are defined at different levels- regional, national and even local- and may be linked to each other (even integrated) according to existing policies and strategies. Thus, under an integrated management approach towards sustainable development, the management plan may have a multitude of spatial and thematic dimensions on which the details of its preparation depend.

It is, however, at national level that they are almost systematically initiated. At local level it is unusual for an activity to stem from a purely local initiative. Frequently, these actions are part of a more global approach begun at national, regional or international level. Such is the case for their viability and continuity. Moreover, if need be their parameters may be defined by incentives or recommendations, directives or guidelines emanating from a higher level, regional or international. Thus, at European and Mediterranean level, the existence and implementation of political and strategic decisions at the regional level is expressed through programmes and plans drawn up under the aegis of institutions such as the EU with its ICAM demonstration programme and its European Spatial Development Perspective, and UNEP with its Mediterranean Action Plan and the Short and Medium Term Priority Environmental Action Programme (SMAP) .

Otherwise, plans (in the broadest sense) tend to take on their full scale and meaning within a national context, in getting to grips with the implementation of action subscribing to the objectives laid down by the political directions and guidelines established by the strategies adopted at this level. Thus, whatever the extent or level of implementation, they emerge as the preferred instruments for ICAM implementation. Moreover, the preparation of a plan takes account of the linkages between scales and levels of decision-taking, and needs to be realistic and progressive in taking account of problems, and of political will and local opinion. This type of plan must also contain as clear and comprehensive a description as possible of the recommended ICAM process of which it forms a part, and of the manner in which it should operate and be implemented.

Many national ICAM programmes are drawn up in this way. They may take the shape of master plans which address a given theme or issue deemed to be a strategic priority and focused on a specific objective. A management plan may also take on several shapes and dimensions and respond to various objectives. It should, however, be borne in mind that there is a risk involved in setting several objectives and thus overloading the executive institutions with a workload which exceeds their financial resources and capacities. The need to realistically strike a balance between the scale and priority objectives of a plan and the capacity of the local and national institutions involved, as well as the clout and commitment of the authorities concerned, should therefore not be underestimated. Finally, although this does not necessarily produce an ideal plan in the sense that it embraces the full range of coastal issues, the main point is basically to come up with a realistic plan which is likely to be implemented on the basis of a reasonable share-out of the available resources.

The main elements of a plan stem from a dynamic collaboration which has managed to integrate the main interests potentially at stake. Effective participation by the representatives of the main users and interest groups in the coastal area is also desirable in terms of discussions, negotiations and decisions which produce management plans which "fit". It is therefore important to follow an open and transparent process in order to achieve optimal consensus which will enable the management plan to be approved.

A plan comprises a set of actions contributing to the management of a territory, involving either the strengthening of existing institutions and the local authorities, or boosting the efficiency of existing planning programmes, in order to make up for any shortcomings and to fully respect the main ICAM principles

A management plan guides the long term development of the coastal area, whilst ensuring that resources are preserved and biodiversity protected. It also ensures that developments in one sector do not impinge upon or imbalance another sector. Coordination of the various planning measures introduced by administrations or other specialised bodies should therefore be regularly assessed in some relevant form to ensure that their actions concur. Projects bearing the ICAM stamp claim to focus on these aspects.

There are many real cases in the Mediterranean which are covered by planning activity, usually in the guise of land planning. However, fewer cases covered by ICAM initiatives actually form part and parcel of a genuine process and, for those which do, their degree of development varies widely. This state of affairs can be explained by the fact that in public policies it is relatively difficult to assimilate and apply the ICAM rules and principles which prevail in the implementation of this type of policy.

Of those cases worthy of note, the first to be flagged up should be the ones produced by MAP under its Coastal Areas Management Programmes (CAMPs) which began in 1985 in a certain number of states bordering on the Mediterranean. These programmes are intended to promote the ICAM process by encouraging beneficiary countries to take on board its principles and rules. They aim first and foremost at initiating the ICAM process over a period of two to three years (project stage) in order to create conditions favourable to its implementation, and to allow States to design a genuine management plan (post-project stage). The projects cover areas of varying size, determined according to the issue being tackled and the management objectives involved. They cover the following areas, by way of example : the national coastal areas of Albania, Malta and Syria, the coastal areas around Sfax in Tunisia and Algiers in Algeria, the bays of Izmir and Ishkenderun in Turkey and Kastela in Croatia, the island of Rhodes in Greece, the Fuka-Matrouh site in Egypt, etc.

The EU has based its approach and thinking on a selection of real cases covered by ICAM within its territory. Thirty five sites targeted by planning action or initiatives have been studied and analysed in order to draw up its policy and strategy on a well-argued range of recommendations. In this context, several sites such as Strymonikos and the Cycladic archipelago in Greece, Venice lagoon etc.have been assessed under the ICAM process applied.

At national level, many activities are underway which, without actually subscribing specifically to an ICAM policy or strategy as such, do at least display extended planning principles. The Master Plan for Water Management "SDAGE" in France is a case in point. Some cases have actually been used to support typically ICAM initiatives in the CAMP context. The development plans for the southern Adriatic coastal area and the Northern Adriatic and its hinterland can be flagged up here, as can for example the national master plan for the Israeli coast.

Finally, the local level also boasts a wealth of examples of management covered by national or regional level ICAM measures, for example the Water Development and Management Perspectives (SAGE) which are the local expression of the SDAGE recommendations, as well as the local management plans established under various statutes by the Coastal Conservatory in France , the protected areas management plans, whatever their status (nature reserves, national parks, listed sites, etc. Specific instruments such as GISs, observatories, route maps, etc. when provided for the management of such areas are usually implemented as a way of helping to manage the information required by the area managers.

Given the number of initiatives and achievements, the question arises as to the degree of performance actually attained. Indeed, each case is one of a kind, unlike the others. It is therefore very important if not essential to be aware of the factors (both positive and negative) which contributed to the prevailing and possibly future situation. Monitoring systems can provide some elements by way of answer to these crucial questions, but often this is not enough (or is ineffective?). Specific analysis of existing situations is needed in order to learn some lessons from past experience and to deduce principles of good practice for ICAM .

The strength and interest of such analyses lies in the possibility of extracting from them some useful recommendations for future ICAM projects.

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