The document ‘Integrated Coastal Zone Management: A Strategy for Europe’ of the year 2000 guided the EU coastal policy during the next decade. It defined 7 fields of activity, among them ‘Promoting ICZM Activity within the Member States and at the Regional Seas’, ‘Developing Best ICZM Practice’ and ‘Generating Information and Knowledge about the Coastal Zone’ (1).

Baltic sea region: “The EU is contracting party to the Helsinki Convention, covering the Baltic Sea. HELCOM Recommendations of specific interest to ICZM include: the Protection of the Coastal Strip (15/1 of 1994), the Preservation of Natural Coastal Dynamics (16/3 of 1995), the Implementation of Integrated Marine and Coastal Management of Human Activities in the Baltic Sea Area (24/10 of 2003) and the Development of Broad-scale Maritime Spatial Planning Principles in the Baltic Sea Area (28E/9 of 2007). In 2010, HELCOM set up a common working group with VASAB (Visions and Strategies around the Baltic Sea), to assist cooperation in the Baltic Sea on ICZM and Maritime Spatial Planning. VASAB adopted in 1996 Common Recommendations for Spatial Planning of the Coastal Zone in the Baltic Sea Region, and has been actively developing and supporting coastal management” (2).

Black Sea: “The EU is not a contracting party to the Bucharest Convention covering the Black Sea.  But the Member States Romania and Bulgaria are party to the Convention and participate in its ICZM activities. The Strategic Action Plan for the Environmental Protection and Rehabilitation of the Black Sea, adopted in 2009 establishes ICZM as one of its 3 key management approaches” (2).

Mediterranean: A milestone in the development of international legislation on ICZM was achieved by the adoption of ICZM to the Barcelona Convention. The ‘Protocol on Integrated Coastal Zone Management in the Mediterranean’, is the first supra-national (21 countries located in Europe, Africa and Asia), legally-binding ICZM agreement. The ICZM Protocol was signed in 2008. To date, ten countries and the EU have ratified it. Following the ratification by six countries until 2011, the Protocol entered into force. The ratification includes the European Union and is legally binding for all Member States. Formally, it addresses recent ICZM demands, provides a vision of sustainable development, defines the coastal zone, has legitimacy, a hierarchy of strategies and plans as well as a coherence of governance and actions. It is outcome focused, provides process guidelines for each stage and is interactive and expandable (3).

European ICZM case studies: To support and ensure the exchange of experiences and best practices in coastal planning and management, the project OURCOAST compiled systematic descriptions of 350 coastal management case studies from all over Europe in a joint database. OURCOAST focused in particular on adaptation to risks and the impacts of climate change, information and communication systems, planning and land management instruments, and institutional coordination mechanisms. It was a joint effort of the European Commission, Member States, coastal regions and networks to promote, support and implement ICZM in Europe (4).