The Voordelta integrated policy plan: administrative aspects of coastal zone management in the Netherlands

Coastal areas are densely populated and intensively used. At the same time they are highly productive fishing grounds and have important ecological value. Coastal zone management tries to find solutions to the conflicts characteristic to these areas. This paper presents an example from the Netherlands. As a result of the Delta project, in which three major estuaries and inlets were closed from the North Sea, large-scale ecosystem changes in the adjacent coastal zone or Voordelta were accompanied by far-reaching socio-economic developments. In 1988 the national government took the initiative of preparing a policy plan, in cooperation with regional and local authorities. The Voordelta Plan is aimed at a sustainable development of the area, ecologically and economically. It was prepared between 1989 and 1993. The paper describes administrative aspects of coastal zone management in the Netherlands (the process of decision-making, including public participation) and analyses the final policy and process outcomes. It shows the ‘pros and cons’ of non-legal planning structures and important prerequisites for successful interactive policy-making.