COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT BEGINS COUNTRY REPORTS ON COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT
Press Release
ENV/DEV/356
COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT BEGINS COUNTRY REPORTS ON COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT
19960425 Regional approaches should be taken to coastal zone management in West Africa, the Commission on Sustainable Development was told this morning as it began consideration of national experiences on that subject. Damien Houeto, Director of the Ministry of the Environment of Benin, told the Commission that for many years unilateral action taken in Ghana, Togo, Nigeria and Benin had affected seacoasts of the entire subregion. Practices, such as river dam construction, mining of beach sand and urban development, had affected ocean currents and caused coastal erosion. Benin was now developing coastal zone management plans which embraced concerns related to the environment, agriculture, transportation, housing, infrastructure and economic development. In a presentation on integrated coastal management in the South Pacific islands, Chalapan Kaluwin, a representative of the South Pacific Regional Environment Programmes, said that the challenge of coastal management in the region involved the environment, population, education, climate change, culture and waste management issues. Factors such as the land ownership pattern also affected the implementation of integrated coastal management. In the region, both the land and the sea were owned by the people, not by the government. Also, 90 per cent of the population lived on the coasts in most of the islands. Cheryl Fraser, Assistant Deputy Minister, Department of Fisheries and Oceans of Canada, said that ocean policy in Canada was centred on conservation -- a principle that would not be compromised. National plans for coastal zone management were developed in close consultation with provincial authorities and local stakeholders. The overwhelming emphasis of the policy framework was to meet the economic and social needs of coastal communities, consistent with environmental security. Questions were posed to presenters by the representatives of Senegal, United Kingdom, Germany, Ghana, Antigua and Barbuda, Philippines, Benin, South Africa, Bangladesh, Iran, Brazil, Australia, Russian Federation, Colombia and the United States. The representative of Papua New Guinea made an introductory statement on coastal management in the South Pacific. When the Commission meets again at 3 p.m this afternoon, it will continue hearing presentations of country experiences on integrated coastal management.Sustainable Development Commission - 2 - Press Release ENV/DEV/356 11th Meeting (AM) 25 April 1996
Commission Work Programme
The Commission on Sustainable Development met this morning to begin two days of country presentations and exchanges of national experiences in coastal zone management.
Country Presentations
DAMIEN HOUETO, Director of the Ministry of the Environment of Benin, said that the sea coast of Benin was dominated by prevailing winds and currents which caused erosion and shifting sands. Benin's maritime waters were being polluted by activities undertaken in neighbouring countries such as effluent from phosphate plants in Togo, sediment in rivers, discharges from ships and leaks in offshore oil facilities. Construction in the capital city of Cotonou had also had an impact, notably in the mining of beach sand and overbuilding on the seafront.
Benin was now considering a project to partly enclose the harbour at a cost of $30 million, he said. Simulation studies had shown that erosion would continue to harm the harbour and endanger buildings near the oceanfront. The Government was now formulating a development plan for integrated coastal zone management which would embrace infrastructure, urban development, industry, agriculture, fisheries, transportation and other sectors.
General Discussion
The representative of Senegal asked how Benin was coordinating its plans with neighbouring countries. As the country had a coastline only 125 kilometres in length, that aspect would be crucial. Also, what regulations affected coastal-building development?
Mr. HOUETO said that his Government had attempted to organize high-level meetings with Togo, but officials of that Government had refused to meet. Benin was now trying to take the question to the international level. As to building on the coast, he said that when Cotonou harbour was built in the 1960s, studies revealed that erosion would result. But people forgot about those studies, and land speculators overbuilt. Unfortunately, it had been the State which had sold the land. You could now see water pipes which had been installed in buildings protruding from the sea.
The representative of the United Kingdom asked what in-land activities had caused flows of sediment in rivers. Had the Government integrated management of the riverine catchment with the management of the coast?
Mr. HOUETO said that the Nangbeto Dam on the Mono river had stopped the flow of sediment into the sea. With less sediment entering the sea, ocean currents had been affected, exacerbating erosion. When river dams were built,
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they had been thought to be a good thing, but Benin understood now that they had negative consequences. Erosion even impacted notions of national sovereignty. Benin was a small country, and erosion was making it smaller every year.
The representative of Germany noted that erosion was a problem in the North Sea coast of his country. Were there opportunities for greater cooperation between Africa and the European Union in that regard?
Mr. HOUETO said that Benin had signed an agreement with the Netherlands in 1994 to see whether that country's experience with coastal zone management could be applied in Benin. Benin understood what the problem was now, and knew what had to be done. He agreed with the European Union that a regional approach should be taken to coastal zone management in the subregion. That was appropriate because for many years unilateral action had been taken in Ghana, Togo or Nigeria. Each individual initiative had regional consequences. Countries of the region must jointly agree on means to protect their coasts.
The representative of the United States asked what was the view of the people of Benin on the coastal zone management efforts. Were there other priorities?
Mr. HOUETO said that the coast of Benin allowed the country to engage in fisheries and in offshore oil exploration. Benin had to choose between protecting a few kilometres of coastline and other priorities such as roads, schools, healthcare in the interior of the country. That was the dilemma that politicians faced.
Presentation of Country Report
UTULA UTVOC SAMANA (Papua New Guinea), making introductory remarks, said that most Pacific islands countries were coastal in nature. Almost all the agriculture and industrial activities in the South Pacific were coastal in nature. The countries in the region emphasized the importance of the management of coastal and marine resources. The need for coastal management was greater with the increasing pressure resulting from rising population. Such pressure was even higher in the coastal areas where most of the people lived.
CHALAPAN KALUWIN, Senior Climate Change Officer of the South Pacific Regional Environmental Programmes, presenting the country report on coastal management in the Pacific islands, said that the islands were mostly small isolated atolls. Their resources were obviously limited, but marine resources were extensive and unique. The islands were vulnerable to a lot of natural disasters and climate change/sea-level-rise issues.
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He said that the challenge of coastal management in the region had to do with the environment, population, education, climate change, culture and waste management issues. There was pressure on the coast from all sectors. Fishing was the livelihood of the people and marine resources were very important.
In the Pacific, land and sea were owned by the people, not the government, he went on. That created a problem in the implementation of integrated coastal management. Women actually own the land, not the men, and the governments encountered problems in managing land which it did not own. Ninety per cent of the people lived on the coasts of most of the islands. Also, people were moving out of the smaller islands to the bigger ones.
He said that the concept of coastal management was alien to the islands and that also meant difficulties in coastal management programmes. The question of the capacity of the islands to implement the various international instruments on coastal management was another issue of concern. What the islands needed was an integrated approach to coastal management. There was already a regional concept in place, but the region lacked the necessary financial support. Integrated coastal management must be developed the Pacific way and must have cultural sensitivity, as well as government involvement.
Discussion
The representative of Ghana asked for more light to be shed on the land ownership and how it affected integrated coastal management.
Mr. KALUWIN said that land in the region was owned by the people not the government. Coastal management had to take into account cultural sensitivity so that the people would not go up in arms.
The representative of Antigua and Barbuda asked if a comprehensive or individual approach would be taken in putting in place integrated coastal management.
Mr. KALUWIN said that because of the culture, it would be best to approach integrated coastal management individually in each country. If all the countries were lumped everybody together, it might not work.
The representative of Antigua and Barbuda asked if there was not a risk of duplication if an individual approach was taken.
Mr. SAMANA (Papua New Guinea) said that in his country, 97 per cent of the land was communally owned by individuals. Seventy-five per cent of the cocoa was produced by small holders, but export was dominated by larger investors in marketing. The emphasis in the region was, therefore, on direct participation of the people.
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The representative of the Philippines asked how high tides affected the Pacific islands.
Mr. KALUWIN said that it was a big problem. There were also cyclones, as well as big storm surges.
A sixteen-year old representative of the Youth Working Group from the Philippines, asked what the speaker meant when he referred to financial support by the United States.
Mr. KALUWIN said that it was a process by which funds were distributed for integrated coastal management. The funds were channelled through the governments and there were non-governmental organizations which did extremely good work. He said that he would not like to go into details on that matter.
The representative of Benin asked what measures were taken to control marine pollution such as those caused by ships washing their hulls.
Mr. KALUWIN said that the region had some regional agreements which tried to assist most of the governments to address that issue. Marine pollution was a problem, and some of the bigger islands were already looking at national oil contingency to address that problem.
The representative of South Africa asked how the region went about achieving community participation in decision making. What were the problems encountered in that regard?
Mr. KALUWIN said that because the land was owned by the people, it was better to work with the people than to come in from the top.
The representative of Bangladesh asked how community participation was being ensured. What was the method?
Mr. KALUWIN said that the governments made the community participate if they felt that a particular area was important to such communities. The biodiversity programme was having some success in that area.
The representative of Iran asked how the issue of rise in sea level had been confronted.
Mr. KALUWIN said that the region had been conducting vulnerability assessments along the coast since 1991. Migration in the region, however, had nothing to do with sea-level rise, but had occurred because of the El Niño syndrome which made people move to higher atolls.
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CHERYL FRASER, Assistant Deputy Minister, Department of Fisheries and Oceans of Canada, said that her country was dedicated to coastal zone management that protected the environment and the economic viability of its coastal communities. Canada today was reassessing the development and environmental protection of its coastal areas in light of the commitments made at the 1992 United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development (UNCED). Canada had very diverse coasts with different environmental and economic characteristics. Also, Canada had a highly decentralized government composed of 10 autonomous provinces and two semi-autonomous northern territories. While the federal government had overall responsibility for oceans, over 20 national and regional government agencies had some responsibility over coastal zone management.
Since 1987, the Government had undertaken a "major push" in coastal zone and ocean management. Canada had a vision of national coastal zone management which combined national regulations and mechanisms with a high level of regional and local participation. A new law, the Canada Oceans Act, will define the framework for national oceans policy. The overwhelming emphasis of the framework would be to meet the economic and social needs of coastal communities, consistent with environmental security.
The representative of Brazil said that the diversity of Canada's environmental challenges were substantial. His country also faced "diverse realities", and sought to balance provincial and national management. How did Canada balance those responsibilities?
Ms. FRASER said that coastal zone management policy was meant to be a flexible framework. It would not consist of rigid guidelines that were applied consistently in different coastal areas.
The representative of Australia said that her country also had a federal governmental structure and wide diversity of coastal zones. What issues were they facing?
Ms. FRASER said while Canada was developing an ocean management scheme, it was also developing an ocean department. Up to now, Canada basically just had a fisheries department. Issues now faced included fisheries management, protection of the marine environment, the relation of freshwater and marine environments and marine safety.
The representative of the Russian Federation asked what was the role of the federal government as regards the use of the marine environment by indigenous groups, such as fishing, trapping and other activities.
Ms. FRASER said that three different government departments -- dealing with indigenous affairs, environment, and fisheries and oceans -- were involved in managing development in the north of Canada. The approach was to
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"co-manage" the arctic resource base. The autonomous Nunavet indigenous territory would require unique administration.
The representative of Colombia asked whether local governments in Canada had direct participatory mechanisms when it came to management of ocean resources.
Ms. FRASER said that day-to-day management of such things as municipal waste was shared between federal agencies and provincial governments. Regarding fisheries, provincial governments deferred to the federal agencies regarding habitat preservation, though regional agencies carried out the national resource management policy. The new Oceans Act, which would likely enter into force in the autumn, would be built on the principle of sustainable development.
The representative of the United States agreed with Canada that community-based initiatives were critical to coastal zone management.
Ms. FRASER said that a typical community-based initiative in Canada was in place in Nova Scotia. Local people who knew the history and traditions of the region were brought together with land-use managers at the regional level and environmental planners at the national level. All their views were integrated into planning and databases and used to plan where to manage habitat, where to place aquaculture projects and other issues.
A representative of the Policy Research Centre asked if Canada got involved in issues such as the construction of oil tankers and the mitigation of oil spills.
Ms. FRASER said that all information with regard to oceans were integrated into policy. Canada was working internationally to minimize the risk of oil spills by developing international standards on such matters.
The representative of Benin asked how Canada managed the "thorny issue" of fishing -- particularly as regards fishing quotas.
Ms. FRASER said that conservation was Canada's primary objective, and that would not be compromised. All fishing industry stakeholders and provincial governments were involved in fisheries management. Canada took very seriously any infractions regarding over-fishing of quotas. Canada had a new Fisheries Act, due to enter into force later this year, which would address some of the more substantive issues regarding quotas.
A representative of the Permanent Commission of the South Pacific asked how Canada handled the overlapping of interests of different sectors -- fisheries, agriculture, tourism, industry -- which held stakes in the marine environment.
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Ms. FRASER said that with 15 federal agencies involved in marine management, there were always competing mandates. One federal minister was ultimately responsible for the management of oceans. Under the Oceans Act, that minister would have to develop policy guidelines and work them out with the various stakeholders.
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