One of the main goals of the PEGASO project is to build a shared Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Governance Platform with scientists, users and decision makers, linked to new models of governance.

To achieve this objective, a PEGASO document coordinated by the University of Nottingham, together with experts from the Priority Actions Programme/Regional Activity Centre(PAP/RAC), the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and IFREMER (Institut Français de Recherche pour l´Exploitation de la Mer), has recently been submitted to the European Commission. The analysis aims to set out the background to the ICZM Governance Platform, a key outcome of the PEGASO project.

The document discusses the contribution that the EU-funded PEGASO Project has made to taking the ICZM Protocol forward in the Mediterranean and Black Sea Basins, and in particular how it is helping to build a governance platform that will facilitate the realization of the Protocol´s coastal sustainable development goals and strengthen its links to the ecosystem approach.

The platform is not conceived as a governance mechanism but as a forum for the exchange of experiences and as a vehicle for establishing the conditions needed for the successful implementation of ICZM. Tools and methods developed by PEGASO to bridge the gap between science and decision making can be used to identify and resolve priority coastal issues throughout the Mediterranean and Black Sea Basins.

Sustainable coastal zone management remains a challenging governance problem. This document examines the requirements of the various policies for the design of an ICZM governance platform and how they could be approached and maps out the route to a more sustainable future and the role that a governance platform might play in overcoming the obstacles that remain.

For further info: Roy Haines-Young and Marion Potschin (UNOTT)

Photo: (c) Lourdes Lázaro (IUCN-Med)