Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
12.4.1 The coastal area and the EEZs
The coastal zone space is one of the richest zones on Earth. It has been examined as a
Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), in 1992, of integrated
coastal zone management as the paradigm for addressing concerns related to coastal areas,
the analysis of these concerns calls for an interdisciplinary and system-oriented approach.
These concerns include the rising population in coastal areas, which is still ongoing, the
tourism and recreation industries, still increasing and a major source of income in many
developing and poor areas, as well as a source of conflict with other uses such as trans-
portation, shipping, aquaculture, fishing, energy production, and mining, and the role of the
oceans in waste management.
In many regions, pressure on coastal areas has led to large-scale land reclamation with
displacement of communities, loss of natural habitat, and serious impacts on biodiversity.
Estuaries are severely impacted, as are mangrove forests, deltas, coral reefs, and seagrass
beds, which are disappearing in some regions of the world (cf.
Chapter 4
); this situation, in
turn, leads to a severe decrease in available seafood, which may have serious implications
for human health and security.
Legal instruments, regulations, and norms for the various uses of the coastal zone have
been introduced in many areas, together with requirements for environmental impact assess-
ments. This is coupled with the increasing importance of the coastal zone in national eco-
and norms are often unsatisfactory. This has been demonstrated by the impacts of natural
and man-made disasters such as hurricanes, tsunamis, oil drilling and shipping accidents,
and food contamination from uncontrolled waste disposal. Over past decades, conflicts have
expanded in many regions of the world due to increasing potential for further offshore oil,
gas, food, and mineral exploitation. These concerns, which are exacerbated by the expected
impactsofclimatechange,canleadtonationalisticandpoliticalcomplicationsandconflicts.
