OCEANS 21/ OCÉANS 21

 

SCIENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE USE OF OCEAN

AND COASTAL ZONES

 

Meeting of the Steering Committee and Advisory Committee

Seoul, Sunday August 13

Lunchtime

 

Working Paper

by

Adalberto Vallega

IGU Co-ordinator of Oceans 21

 

PREMISE

 

The paper objective

This paper aims at:

i.                     presenting how the Oceans 21 programme may be operated by the IGU Commissions/Study Groups;

ii.                   promoting the inclusion of parts of Oceans 21 in the 2000-2004 programmes of the IGU Commissions/Study Groups.

 

 

The geographical key milieu

Although being concerned also with deep ocean in some of its parts, Oceans 21 is essentially concerned with coastal areas, namely the littoral belts and coastal seas, from a multi-sectoral perspective. This means that the programme is concerned with the land-ocean interface, which has become one of the most crucial parts of the world.

 

 

Lack of scientific approach

The programme was designed with the aim of filling in some present lack in the scientific assessment, and with that of integrating the approaches from the natural and social perspectives. The IGU was regarded as a Union able to carry out such integration.

 

 

Components of Oceans 21

The Oceans 21 includes three components:

·         No. 5 research projects, included in the initial programme design;

·         A special area, i.e. coastal urbanisation, recently included;

·         The Dossier initiative.

 

 

 

POSSIBLE COLLABORATION FROM COMMISSIONS/STUDY GROUPS

 

Research Projects:

What is expected by the IGU Commissions/Study Groups

 

The framework of projects and sub-projects is presented in the following table.

 

As Annexes to this working paper, concise presentations of the individual papers may be found.

 

 

 

 

Sub-project

Acronym
Title

Project I—Achieving Inter-disciplinary in ICM Research

 

I.1

AEM

Approach to ecosystem management

 

I.2

AAM

Approach to aquifer management

 

I.3

ASLR

Approach to sea-level rise

 

 

 

 

 

Project II—Marine Scientific and Technological Information Systems for ICM

 

II.1

RMIS

Ocean information system

 

II.2

CMCS

Coastal management case studies

 

II.3

WCMP

World coastal management programmes

 

II.4

CGISDB

Coastal GIS Implementation and Data Bank

 

 

 

 

 

Project III—Methodology Development in Support of ICM

 

III.1

MGICM

Methodological guide to integrated coastal management

 

III.2

GKCMS

Guidelines to key coastal management sectors

 

III.3

GSCMI

Guidelines to special coastal management issues

 

III.4

GSCMA

Guidelines to special coastal management areas

 

III.5

CUSAM

Coastal use structure analysis and mapping

 

III.6

CAMZT

Coastal area mapping and zoning techniques

 

 

 

 

 

Project IV—Coastal and Deep-ocean Monitoring Systems

 

IV.1

DORD

Deep-ocean resource development

 

IV.2

CEIV

Coastal ecological impact evaluation

 

IV.3

COIV

Coastal organisational impact evaluation

 

IV.4

CSIV

Coastal social impact evaluation

 

IV.5

CMEV

Coastal management efficiency evaluation

 

 

 

 

 

Project V—Training, Education and Mutual Assistance in Marine Science for ICM

 

V.1

TWICM

Training workshops on ICM

 

V.2

NWICM

National workshops on ICM

 

V.3

TSP

Special training courses

 

V.4

DLC

Distance learning courses

 

V.5

MICM

Manuals on ICM

 

 

These kinds of products are expected from the operation of projects and sub-projects:

·                scientific events;

·                educational and training courses;

·                books (manuals and proceedings);

·                journals;

·                websites;

·                distance learning systems;

·                CD-Rom;

·                diskettes.

 

The Commissions/Study Groups are cordially invited to include projects or sub-projects in their 2000-2004 programmes.

 

 

Coastal urbanisation

What is expected by Commissions and Study Groups

 

As a result of the International Workshop Challenges on Growing Urbanisation of the World’s Coastal Areas (Hangzhou, China, September 27-30, 1999), the following subject areas were included in the collaboration between the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO and the IGU:

·                Urban development and planning of coastal areas, with special consideration of their sustainable development;

·                Education, training and public awareness on the coastal urbanisation and related issues.

 

The establishment of a network of large coastal cities and scientific organisations was considered as an essential goal.

 

Bearing in mind the key geographical importance of these subjects, it should be useful if some Commission/Study Group includes initiatives concerned with the Hangzhou workshop. The Final Declaration of this event may be found in http://www.polis.unige.it/igu-vallega.

 

 

IOC-IGU Dossiers:

What is expected by Commissions and Study Groups

 

Dossiers are meant as booklets (no more than 128 pages) dealing with coastal issues, and addressed to:

·         education (Dossiers-Education series);

·         managers, planners, decision makers (Dossiers-Management  series).

 

Dossiers will be published by IOC and will be presented as a joint IOC-IGU initiative in the framework of the Oceans 21 programme. They will be available in: (i) hard copy; (ii) electronic format (CD-Rom); (iii) http://www.nos.noaa-gov/icm.

 

Dossiers will be worked out in English. Translations into other languages will be made where needed and possible.

 

As a preliminary approach, these subjects may be considered as worthy of consideration: (i) The structure and issues of coastal management programme; (ii) Coastal biodiversity and environmental issues; (iii) Coastal cultural heritage; (iv) Urban waterfronts; (v) Seaport management;  (vi) Coastal fisheries; (vii) Coastal tourism and recreational uses; (viii) Coastal GIS.

 

The Commissions/Study Groups are cordially invited to work out Dossiers on the above mentioned or other coastal subjects. It should be noted that these booklets will be circulated in the work by an UNESCO organisation, namely the IOC, therefore making visible the authors, the Commission/Study Groups, and the IGU as a whole. In this view, contacts may be established with Adalberto Vallega

 

 

How to get details

Detailed information and materials on the programme may be found in:

http://www.polis.unige.it/igu-vallega

 

 

How to start

Please contact:

 

Adalberto Vallega

Vice-president of International Geographical Union

IGU Co-ordinator of the Oceans 21 programme

University of Genoa

Department Polis

Stradone S. Agostino, 37

16123 Genoa, Italy

 

Voice:++ 39 010 2095858

Fax: ++39 010 209 5891

E-mail: vallega@polis.unige.it

http://www.polis.unige.it/igu-vallega


Annex 1

 

Oceans 21 Programme

Project I

ACHIEVING INTER-DISCIPLINARY IN COASTAL MANAGEMENT RESEARCH

 

Background

The approach of Project I will be based on the following background concepts:

coastal system

 

bi-modular system, resulting from the interaction between the coastal ecosystem and the human community

coastal ecosystem

 

an evolving trophic web interacting with its abiotic niche

coastal organisation

 

the changing set of interactions between the ecosystem and human communities directed towards an objective

coastal use structure

 

the set of uses of coastal resources and the set of relationships between uses

coastal decision-making systems

 

the set of decision-makers concerned with, and involved in the organisation of the coastal system

coastal external environment

 

the set of natural and human elements and processes located outside the coastal system, with which the coastal system interacts, or expects to interact

 

The approach from Project I will be useful for both management and educational purposes. The educational implications will be dealt with by Project V.

 

Objectives

Project I will have the role of providing conceptual and logical backgrounds from which the other projects may benefit. In this sense it may be regarded as the basis for the development of Oceans 21 as a whole. It will contribute to the discussion about the building up of ocean science, intended as an effective inter-disciplinary approach to the ocean.  In particular, Project I will aim at:

i.                     designing and experimenting models for assessing, representing and simulating the interaction between the local ecosystem and local communities;

ii.                    designing logical background and methodological inputs for collecting and processing data on the coastal systems, focusing on the interaction between the ecosystems and human communities;

iii.                  designing logical background and methodological inputs to provide useful data for decision-making systems;

iv.                  exploring the literature on the above subjects and reporting on the state of the relevant key results;

v.                   considering case studies concerned with the above subjects and focusing on their utility for improving concepts and methods;

vi.                  convening discussions on the above subjects involving scientists, practitioners and decision-makers.

 

Key subject areas

To pursue the mentioned objective, Project I will focus on the following subject areas:

·                coastal organisation interacting with ecosystem diversity;

·                coastal organisation interacting with ecosystem productivity;

·                coastal organisation interacting with ecosystem resilience;

·                coastal organisation interacting with coastal aquifers;

·                climate change and coastal biogeochemical cycles interacting with coastal organisation.

 

Sub-projects

Project I will consist of the following sub-projects:

 

Sub-project I.1 – Approach to ecosystem management (AEM)

Sub-project I.2 – Approach to aquifers’ management (AAM)

Sub-project I.3 – Approach to sea-level rise (ASLR).


Annex 2

 

Oceans 21 Programme

Project II

MARINE SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL

INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR COASTAL MANAGEMENT

 

Background

Project II will be concerned with the information systems on marine and coastal contexts. Linkage between Projects I and II will be due to the fact that Project I will be concerned with the conceptual and methodological issues relevant to the integration between data from various fields, while Project II will be concerned with the organisation of data in order to sustain coastal management.

 

Basically, Project II as a whole will be implemented with the aim of contributing to the IOC-NOAA-University of Delaware website concerned with integrated coastal management (ICM).

 

Objective

As a key objective, Project II will aim at:

i.                     serving as a clearing house of marine scientific and technological information and data related to integrated coastal management;

ii.                    developing management-oriented a data banks.

 

 

Sub-projects

Project II will consist of the following sub-projects:

 

Sub-project II.1 – Ocean information system (RMIS)

Sub-project II.2 – Coastal management case studies (CMCS)

Sub-project II.3 – World coastal management programmes (WCMP)

Sub-project II.4 – Coastal GIS Implementation and Data Bank(CGISDB)

 


Annex 3

 

Oceans 21 Programme

Project III

METHODOLOGY DEVELOPMENT IN SUPPORT COASTAL MANAGEMENT

 

Background

Following the inputs from Agenda 21, Chapter 17, and subsequent materials addressed by inter-governmental organisations to governments, local authorities and coastal managers, the need to design guidelines and other technical tools tailored to the concept of integrated management has arisen and diffused.

 

The preparation of these materials presupposes that a well defined spectrum of concepts and logical background be adopted. Hence the close links between Project I dealing with theory and logical frameworks and Project III, dealing with decision-making processes.

 

In addition, it is necessary to set up management tools focusing on specific.

 

Objective

To respond to these needs, Project III will aim at providing methods and techniques consistent with the integrated management principles and dealing with issues considered by literature as pivotal to optimise coastal management, and felt by coastal managers as crucial for their daily work. In this prospect, a set of methodological and technical contributions will be provided aimed at:

i.                     assessing the coastal use structure and, lato sensu, the coastal system according to holistic criteria;

ii.                    representing and simulating the coastal use structure according to matrix- and GIS-based methods;

iii.                  mapping the coastal area involved in management programmes;

iv.                  zoning the coastal area according to management purposes.

 

Main subject areas

The approach will be concerned with the following framework of coastal processes:

 

Natural Processes—Ecosystem changes; Biogeochemical Cycles & Harmful Algual Bloom; Changing Biodiversity; Marine Hydrodynamics; River Inputs into Ocean Systems; Sedimentary processes and Coastal Erosion; (Coastal) Morpho-dynamics; Coastal Hazards; Hydrological Cycles; Sea Level Changes;

 

Social and Human Processes—Population Changes; Urbanisation and Industrialisation; Services Sector Development; Land Use/Cover Change; Changes in Fishing Technologies and organisation; Tourism and Recreational Development; Seaport Development & Effects of Engineering Structures; Navigation and Transport; Offshore Developments/Sea-use changes; Protection of Natural and Cultural Heritage

 

Approaches

Methods and techniques provided by Project III will be concerned with the approach to: (i) the coastal systems as a whole in order to implement holistic views and management patterns; (ii) a spectrum of selected sectors of coastal uses, which need to be dealt with by ad hoc measures; (iii) a spectrum of key issues by which coastal systems are affected due to the increased and expanded human pressure, climate change and subsequent biogeochemical cycles; (iv) coastal areas endowed with special management-relevant features.

 

Sub-projects

The following sub-project will be included in the Project III:

Sub-project III.1 – Methodological guide to integrated coastal management (MGICM);

Sub-project III.2 – Guidelines to key coastal management sectors (GKCMS);

Sub-project III.3 – Guidelines to special coastal management issues (GSCMI);

Sub-project III.4 – Guidelines to special coastal management areas (GSCMA);
Sub-project IV.5 – Coastal use structure analysis and mapping (CUSAM);

Sub-project III.6 – Coastal area mapping and zoning techniques (CAMZT).


Annex 4

 

Oceans 21 Programme

Project IV

COASTAL AND DEEP-OCEAN MONITORING SYSTEMS

 

Background

The evolving coastal and deep-ocean systems have been involved in accelerated changes due to the combined effects of climate change, increasing human pressure and globalisation. Hence, the need to monitor them to optimise management has acquired increasing importance.  This need is concerned with both coastal areas and deep-ocean spaces but, for self-evident reasons, at present it is much more important in the former  space. This justifies the efforts of scientists and practitioners to implement, to design and apply monitor and valuation methods and techniques, and the wide room that technical literature has given to these subjects.

 

Objective

To meet this need Project IV of Oceans 21 will aim at:

i.                     providing useful methods and techniques for monitoring  key deep-ocean uses and simulating the consequences from new kinds of use;

ii.                    providing methods and techniques for evaluating the impacts from coastal development on the ecosystem, economic organisation and social context;

iii.                  providing methods and techniques for monitoring and evaluating the efficiency of coastal management programmes.

 

Sub-projects

To pursue the mentioned objectives, Project IV will include five sub-projects:

Sub-project IV.1 – Deep-ocean resource development (DORD);

Sub-project IV.2 – Coastal ecological impact valuation (CEIV);

Sub-project IV.3 – Coastal organisational impact valuation (COIV);

Sub-project IV.4 – Coastal social impact valuation (CSIV);

Sub-project IV.5 – Coastal management efficiency valuation (CMEV).

 


Annex 5

 

Oceans 21 Programme

Project V

TRAINING, EDUCATION AND MUTUAL ASSISTANCE

IN MARINE SCIENCE FOR COASTAL MANAGEMENT

 

Background

In 1990-1992, during the meetings of the UNCED Prep.Com. there was consensus on the need to concentrate efforts on education and training. These two closely linked sectors were regarded as the main components of capacity building in integrated coastal management. Since then, literature has focused on how education could be implemented and relevant approaches could be re-oriented towards the application of sustainable development and integrated management concepts. Meanwhile scientific events in the field--see below the list of those convened in the framework of the UN Sea-Coast Train—have diffused and many courses have been designed and operated.

 

In 1998, in the context of the International Year of the Ocean, the Conference Education and Training in Integrated Coastal Area Management (Genoa, Italy, May 25-29), designed and convened with the key co-operation of IOC, was the ground for intense discussion. There was consensus that, at present, education has to deal with two basic issues:

i.                     to adopt conceptual and logical backgrounds effectively consistent with the need to holistically manage the coastal area—which implies referring to the epistemology of complexity;

ii.                    to  design, experiment and diffuse new techniques, such as GIS, distance learning and permanent education, to optimise productivity in courses and professional skills.

 

The specific background of IOC is based on the Training, Education and Mutual Assistance (TEMA) programme, which had a leading role in the design of the above mentioned Conference. TEMA aims at building marine scientific and technological capacity in INTEGRATED COASTAL MANAGEMENT for the developing IOC Member States, by organising global, regional and national symposia, workshops, seminars, and training courses for different types and levels, as well as provision of study grants, and if possible, fellowships for marine scientists to have training in the integrated coastal area management.  This project is a part of the  IOC/TEMA overall effort.

 

 

Objective

Moving from this wide background, as a main objective Project V will aim at:

i.                     designing and diffusing manuals on fundamentals and key sectors and issues of integrated coastal management;

ii.                    optimising efforts to use GIS in the field;

iii.                  designing and convening courses with the aim of optimising educational profiles and professional skills on a national basis;

iv.                  encouraging the design and experiment of distance learning courses;

v.                   experimenting permanent education techniques.

 

Sub-projects