Mediterranean ICAM Clearing House
A long-awaited site for exchanging information on the coastal management in the Mediterranean!

The Med Coastal Management Clearing House has been launched by the Priority Actions Programme Regional Activity Centre (PAP/RAC) of UNEP-MAP. The main goal of launching this site, which has been built with financial support of the European Commission, is to improve information on the Integrated Coastal Area Management (ICAM) in the Mediterranean.

Clearing House is a term deriving from financial circles, meaning an establishment maintained by banks for settling mutual claims and accounts. Today, this term has a broad meaning indicating an informal channel for providing information or assistance. Lately, it has been particularly spread in environmental protection field. In this context, the Mediterranean ICAM Clearing House represents a place where information on the coastal management in the Mediterranean is exchanged, and where ICAM can be defined as an adaptive process or resource management aiming to achieve a sustainable development in coastal areas.

The Med ICAM Clearing House offers information on the projects related to coastal management, and performed in the Mediterranean region in the last decade. If you are looking for an expert experienced in coastal management, or in some other related field, or an expert with relevant experience in a particular region, area, or project; or if you are an expert or a practitioner who would like to expand contacts, Experts Register is a place for you.

Under the topic Books, research reports & articles you may find the basic literature on ICAM, as well as a series of other publications kept in the PAP/RAC library. Most of PAP/RAC editions, as well as some others, are downloadable. All newly published articles on ICAM in the Mediterranean and in general, are regularly updated. An overview of legislation, institutions, policies, strategies, plans, and funding opportunities are also provided in PAP/RAC Clearing House. Finally, an extensive overview of tools, techniques and instruments that may be used in coastal management are given there.

The MED ICAM Clearing House provides special web features, such as a discussion platform, e-mail lists, a notice board, an on-line calendar of events and a help-desk.

The Discussion platform is open for exchanging comments, opinions and ideas, and your participation there is always welcome!

With this mechanism, PAP/RAC hopes to provide information, strengthen co-operation and networking among the coastal management community members, as well as to provide assistance to the improvement of the coastal management in the Mediterranean.