Commentary—Integration of policies: a requirement for coastal zone management

Effective coastal zone management covers and aligns (i.e. integrates) the various policies affecting a particular coastal area. It seeks to bring together the many governmental and non-governmental bodies that have a stake in the area concerned. Policy makers should begin, the author argues, by determining to what extent they have already integrated policies and parties, in order to be able to develop realistic new initiatives. To build support for these initiatives, they will need to develop a positive end-game vision, and contrast it with an extrapolation of current policies. Finally, the new initiatives will need to be implemented in two phases. In the first phase, try-outs can be conducted, the necessary technical and organizational skills can be practiced and improved, and more scientific research can be done to strengthen the fact base for future policies. The experience thus gained can then be used in the second phase, when comprehensive planning begins in earnest.