Information & Meetings
	Conferences & Events
	New Coastal Publications

Organisations
	New hyperlinks to websites

Policy
	A demonstration programme of ICM for CEE & NIS comes a step closer

Events recently announded

Please note:
The overview of the Coastal Guide conference and event  meeting list can be found at http://www.coastalguide.org/meetings/
 
 

New Coastal Publications
 
 

From the Harpoon to the Heat: Climate Change and the International Whaling Commission in the 21st Century By William C.G. Burns, (2000, 30pp.) Pacific Institute For Studies In Development, Environment, and, Security, 654 13th St. Oakland, CA 94612 USA, fax 510.251.2203, e-mail pistaff@pacinst.org, A PDF version can be downloaded from http://www.pacinst.org/climate/ This occasional paper focuses on the possible impacts of climate change on cetacean (whales, dolphins, porpoises) over the next century and beyond. Additionally, it assesses the prospects for the International Whaling Commission to develop an effective policy response, as well as the role of other institutions in protecting cetaceans from projected warming trends.

New hyperlinks to websites

ASF Atlantic Salmon Federation: international non-profit organization which promotes the conservation and wise management of the wild Atlantic salmon and its environment

Biodiversity in Central and Eastern Europe: a sampler with national biodiversity status information from 22 CEE and NIS countries

ENRIN Environmental and Natural Resource Information Network:  in Central and Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States

European Community Biodiversity Clearing House Mechanism:  contains information and links to documents and data sources/databases and person networks on: 

• Convention and biodiversity policy documents (global, European  Community, European, national)
• Biodiversity Networks of people and institutions
• Information on biodiversity
• Cooperation on research, funding and transfer of technology and capacity
• Information on events, including possibilities for announcing own events

Journal of International Wildlife Law & Policy research bibliographies on wildlife issues: this searchable bibliography focuses on law, science and policy issues related to small cetaceans (dolphins, porpoises and small whales), with over 2350 citations

NASCO North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization: international body with the objective of contributing through consultation and cooperation to the conservation, restoration, enhancement and rational management of salmon stocks 

Check out the other Website Links on the Coastal Guide
 

A demonstration programme of ICM for CEE & NIS comes a step closer

Representatives of eighteen coastal States and of the Regional Seas Programmes for the Eastern Mediterranean, Baltic, Caspian, and Black Seas have expressed their support to common Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) initiatives for their regions. 
A working group was set up, co-ordinated by the European Union for Coastal Conservation (EUCC), which will facilitate exchange of information, training, fund raising and other support and to take the initiative further. 
The aim is to prepare an ICM Demonstration Programme for Central & Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States (“ICMCEENIS”).

These are the most important results of the intergovernmental meeting in Split, Croatia 15-17 June, which was also attended by representatives of international financing institutions.
The meeting was hosted by the Priority Actions Programme Regional Activity Centre of the Mediterranean Action Plan in Split and was organised in co-operation  with the EUCC, the largest coastal organisation in Europe. It was supported by the Dutch Government, the Regional Seas Programmes and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The ICM approach is of particular interest to countries with economies in transition as it provides a mechanism for promoting sustainable development by facilitating sustained use and exploitation of resources without degrading the environment. EUCC’s project co-ordinator, Spanish born Ms Carolina Perez, said " this is the first time that high level government officials from all these countries have come together to discuss a vision and strategy for coastal conservation and development and to agree on a work plan."

The workshop follows a UNEP meeting of experts, held in St Petersburg in November 1998, that discussed the best ways of protecting and managing coastal and marine resources. It specifically recommended a demonstration programme be launched on integrated coastal management for Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Such a programme has already been initiated by the European Commission, mainly for EU Member States: 35 different integrated coastal management projects were carried out over a two year period. The new programme for the four regional seas can profit from the lessons learnt in the EU programme - e.g. that access to appropriate information is a pre-requisite for the integrated coastal management process.

"The aim of the new demonstration programme would be  to develop and implement integrated coastal management in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia by incorporating biodiversity issues into spatial planning strategies in coastal and marine zones" according to Perez. "It would provide technical assistance and promote access to appropriate information, for example by internet based long distance learning packages, to meet the needs of the developing projects."

The delegates from the coastal States and Regional Seas Programmes first analysed their problems and their needs. Across all the regional seas, common problems are a lack of institutional and legal frameworks, lack of expertise and the lack of appropriate knowledge in the right form and language. The most pressing environmental problems were erosion, industrial pollution, urban development, bio-resource depletion and tourist & port development. Without exception, all the countries recognised the urgent need of information, training, awareness raising, technical assistance, institutional strengthening, education, development of legislation and basic international support.

The meeting agreed on a set of criteria for choosing model projects, such as 

• the need to integrate sectors (e.g. find solutions that are beneficial to both nature conservation and tourism or fisheries and urban development) and different levels of administration  (e.g. local and national), 
• the practical approach of the projects, and
• the fact that they address issues of common interest within the region and between regions.

Funding for the pilot projects will undoubtedly be a problem but the representative from the World Bank suggested that loans (not popular with governments) and credits are available if good proposals are submitted. GEF funding could also be considered through their regional basin management programmes. Similarly, the mechanism for facilitating exchange of information and experience will have to come from various sources, including the regional seas programmes, bilateral programmes and local sources.

Mr Ivica Trumbic, director of the PAP/RAC centre and host of the meeting, remarked: “The intensive discussions of the past days highlighted the fact that the four seas share many urgent environmental and socio-economic problems that are best tackled by an integrated management approach. Biodiversity degradation, industrial pollution and inadequate spatial planning - to give some examples - were regarded as priority issues by all four regional seas. The most favoured solutions to these and other problems include training programmes for coastal managers and planners, information exchange, and technical assistance."

Representatives were from the eastern Mediterranean and part of the Mediterranean Action Plan,  the oldest of the regional seas programmes, including Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia (only Slovenia were not able to attend). Montenegro also attended. The Baltic sea  was fully represented by Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Russia which all co-operate  in the framework of HELCOM, the Baltic Marine Environment  Protection Commission. The Black Sea Programme was complete with representatives from Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Ukraine, Russia and Turkey, as was the youngest of the four Regional Seas Programmes, the Caspian Environment Programme, involving Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan. 

Summing up, the EUCC believes that this unique workshop, part of a long process which it is hoped will lead to a demonstration programme in Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States, reached its intended goals. For the first time, government delegates from all four regional seas sat down together to discuss common problems and common solutions. They recognised the usefulness of jointly co-operating together and saw how they would all profit from a joint demonstration programme on integrated coastal management. 

The meeting agreed that the next step would be for EUCC, together with the working group partners, to write a short vision on how a demonstration programme would look, combining the elements discussed in the meeting. This document would be used as a means to raise funds from grant-giving authorities. 

Further information:
EUCC: http://www.eucc.nl
Priority Actions Programme Regional Activity Centre PAP/RAC: http://pap.gradst.hr/
UNEP: http://www.unep.org
EU Demonstration programme for ICZM: http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/iczm/home.htm
Global Environment Facility GEF: http://www.gefweb.org
UNEP-Mediterranean Action Plan: http://www.unepmap.org
HELCOM: http://www.helcom.fi
Black Sea Environmental Programme: http://www.dominet.com.tr/blacksea/
Caspian Environment Programme CEP: http://www.caspianenvironment.org

Deadline for submitting contributions to Coastal Guide News No 14:
Wednesday July 12,  2000

COASTAL GUIDE NEWS is a biweekly newsletter published by the European Union for Coastal Conservation (EUCC) with financial support of Stichting DOEN, the foundation of the Dutch lottery "Postcode Loterij" and the Department of International Nature Affairs of the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries. For free subscriptions, comments or contributions to this newsletter, please contact news@coastalguide.org.

Members of the Coastal Guide News editorial team: Erik Devilee, Irene Lucius, René van Oers, Alan Pickaver and Albert Salman.
 

Established in 1989, the European Union for Coastal Conservation (EUCC) is an association involving the largest coastal network in Europe with 750 members and member organisations in 40 countries. For more information please contact EUCC International Secretariat, POBox 11232, NL-2301 EE Leiden, the Netherlands, tel.: +31-71-5122900, internet: http://www.eucc.nl
 

© European Union for Coastal Conservation