A plan for coastal zone integrated resource management in a developing south west pacific island country

Description

The coastal zones of developing nations are subject to current and potential stresses of unprecedented magnitude. The health, nutrition and well being of the people of a relatively poor country such as the Solomon Islands, are directly dependent on the integrity and continued productivity of resources from these areas. The capability of government to manage effectively over the long term is the single most important prerequisite to the fulfillment of basic human needs and the ultimate achievement of sustainable development. The governments of many developing nations have begun to acknowledge the importance of these issues, but the unwillingness or inability of past colonial or current indigenous agencies to manage coastal resources and protect environmental quality has prevented effective coastal management in many cases. This thesis concentrates on the organizational and process oriented problems of coastal management associated with insufficient coordination of intra- and inter-governmental authorities and inadequate information management techniques. In this thesis an appropriate coastal management strategy, defined as Coastal Zone Integrated Resource Management (CZIRM) is introduced. Through the analysis of current coastal management programs in a number of different jurisdictions and the identification of a tool for user requirement specification, a plan for CZIRM implementation is developed.