Testing integrated coastal zone management in France

Abstract

In a previous article ( Deboudt et al., 2008) we analyzed the transformation of the French coastal zone planning and development policies from 1970 to 2007. The last decade has been marked by the search for a balanced development of coastal territories using Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM). Specifically, in 2005, the French government launched a Call for Proposals, which garnered 49 candidate projects from which 25 ICZM pilot projects were selected. Researchers conducted a preliminary evaluation of the objectives of these projects and then evaluated them while they were running, finishing at the end of 2007. Based on Internet research and discussions with the stakeholders involved in these projects, we conducted a final evaluation 3 years after this ICZM experimentation ended. We asked the following questions: What is the final evaluation of the experimentation conducted within the context of the call for ICZM proposals ( Datar, Secrétariat Général de la Mer, 2006)?. What is the final evaluation of the 25 projects selected in 2005? Was the ICZM approach extended beyond the experimental period? Was the ICZM approach implemented by the stakeholders of the non-selected projects? Although ICZM has permitted a prospective approach, an inter-communal planning approach (e.g., for determining the SCOT ( Schéma de cohérence territoriale: Territorial Cohesion Scheme.) boundaries), and the resolution of use conflicts, our global analysis of the final evaluation of the 25 projects allowed us to distinguish several orientations to be reinforced in territorial planning projects or ICZM implementation. These orientations concern land/sea integration and the appropriation of ICZM stakes at the coastal commune scale. Over the past three years (2007–2010), the foundations of the French coastal planning policies have considerably evolved under the influence of European policies. After the 2002 Recommendation, which led to identifying a new governance form for defining territorial planning projects based on ICZM, the 2008 French Prime Minister must lead to reinforcing the protections for the marine environment and land/sea integration. This perspective has already been discussed at the French Grenelle Environment Forum in 2007 and at the French Grenelle Maritime Forum in 2009. This discussion is going to accelerate the institutionalization of ICZM in France.