The role of federal government intervention in coastal zone planning and management

The European Commission has initiated a programme to investigate coastal zone management (CZM) throughout the European Union and to address the objective and targets outlined in the European 5th Environmental Action Programme. However, the emphasis is biased towards action at a national rather than European level. Elsewhere, the issue of delivering CZM at a ‘continental’ scale have already been investigated and addressed in a variety of ways. A detailed review of CZM in Australia was recently completed by the Commonwealth Resource Assessment Commission. The USA have had a federal programme of CZM for more than 20 years. In Canada, CZM has been evolving for a similar period of time. This paper considers these examples, attempts to identify the role of federal governments in CZM and proposes measures which the European Commission should take forward in order to develop effective CZM throughout the European Community.