The Changing Faces Of Europes Coastal Areas

The 1992 Rio Earth Summit in its Agenda 21 document committed nations to the sustainable development of their coastal areas through the implementation of integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) policies. ICZM promotes an integrated long-term view of coastal zones which takes socio-economic and environmental concerns into account. This report sets out the first integrated spatial assessment of Europe's coasts, undertaken in order to analyse key trends and developments in coastal ecosystems, to examine current policies and financial instruments directed towards coastal management, to monitor progress towards sustainable development objectives and to identify a number of priority areas for action, in light of the review of EU Recommendation 2002/413/EC.