This book is a commendable effort to assess the progress of integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) in 15 widely diverse jurisdictions spread over four continents. 1 The books’ editors define ICZM as a conscious management process in which rational decisions are made concerning coastal resources and space. The ICZM management process includes a unified administrative structure to address the fragmentation among different agencies and levels of government.
January 12, 2022 Book Review
Book Review: Rachelle Alterman’s and Cygal Pellach’s Regulating Coastal Zones, International Perspectives on Land Management Instruments
The Hon. Peter A. Buchsbaum, Superior Court of New Jersey (Ret.)
The editors have significant experience to undertake this analysis. Co-Editor and Professor emerita Alterman has taught at the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology and has spoken and written extensively on comparative international planning and land use law. Her Co-Ediotr, Ms. Cygal Pellach was a professional planner in Australia, led a team on European Union-funded research project, and holds a master degree from Technion, where she is now completing her doctorate.
The book looks at two main facets of coastal zone management: 1) setting standards for what area is being regulated; and, 2) modes of governance. Each of these two areas is further divided into identifying criteria: 1) shoreline definition; 2) public access; 3) compliance; and 4) climate change. The authors also examine the impact of the few international norms that apply to coastal regulation, namely, the 2008 Mediterranean ICZM Protocol, ratified by Spain, France, Slovenia, and Malta, as well as the 2002 EU Recommendations on ICZM.
The 15 case studies, written by highly qualified contributors, illustrate the diversity of approaches to defining shorelines, building setbacks, and regulated areas of dry sand, and describe a cacophony of standards and approaches of varying strictness.2 The manner in which property rights play out also varies enormously. The book’s compendium of information unfortunately does not identify any emerging international norms for defining the areas to be regulated in an integrated fashion.
Regarding governance, the editors conclude there has been some progress toward unification of regulatory structures. Many countries have adopted binding plans for managing the coast, such as California’s special commission with regulatory control over the coastal zone. Control of illegal development, which occurs frequently, and the role of different levels of government, like municipalities and the 19 ocean coastal states of the U.S., as well as states in Germany or Australia, contributes to the complexity of issue. Likewise, the wide variety of responses to coastal protection from climate change is a factor.
The lesson from the book is while the road ahead to integration may not be paved with gold, the editors and the chapter authors have done an invaluable service by setting up goalposts for achieving improved coastal government.3
Endnotes
1. The countries studied include the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Slovenia, Greece, Malta, Turkey and Israel in Europe and Western Asia, plus the US and Australia.
2. Even within the United States, the rules as to beach access for example, may vary widely from state to state.
3. This writer’s own experience in advocating permit coordination in the coastal area met some local success, but there was resistance to replicating such integration on a larger scale. Buchsbaum, Permit Coordination Study by the Lincoln Institute for Land Policy, 36 Urban Lawyer 191, and N. 5; 233-245 (2004).