European and Mediterranean coastal protection assessment

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1 capitalisation

2 Introduction 2015 was marked by the celebration of several anniversaries: the National Trust s NEPTUNE program s 50th anniversary, the Conservatoire du Littoral s 40th, Action Plan for the Mediterranean s 40th (Barcelona Convention - UNEP), the Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas 30th, the Protection Agency and Coastal Planning of Tunisia s 20th, the French Fund for Global Environment s 20th and the PIM Initiative for Small Mediterranean Islands 10th anniversary. These anniversaries demonstrate the involvement of agencies in coastal protection. With 170 participants from 15 European and Mediterranean countries, bringing together many key-players involved in coastal area protection (governments, local authorities, coastal management agencies, NGOs and specialized networks) this meeting helped to exchange major technical issues regarding coastal management, to confront common problems and to build together a shared vision of the future of coastlines.

3 Several important moments also helped to define and confront the major objectives of coastal management, with the United Nations Summit to adopt the post-2015 program in New York, the Parties Conference at the UN Convention on Climate Change (COP21) in Paris and the 19th meeting of the Parties at the Barcelona Convention in Athens. «It is for all the key-players in coastal protection, to translate these global aspirations into reality on a national and local level where action will be needed and a difference will be made. «Mr. Gaetano Leone (Coordinator of the Secretariat of the Barcelona Convention). Coastal areas are some of the most productive areas in the world, offering a wide variety of habitats and ecosystems that have always attracted humans and their activities. This intensive population concentration and the exploitation of natural resources put enormous strain on these limited and vulnerable resources, further exacerbated by the issues due to global changes. Therefore, the challenges of integrated coastal zone management must be tied to collective action. Based on this, Mr. Gaetano Leone (Coordinator of the Secretariat of the Barcelona Convention), Xavier Sticker (France s Ambassador for the Environment) and Mrs. Odile Gauthier (Director of the Conservatoire du Littoral) have all stressed the importance of balanced coastal development and appropriate governing. This reinforces the need for international efforts to facilitate the exchange of experience in regards to the challenges of preserving this rich and fragile coastal interface subjected worldwide to significant pressures. For 40 years, the 21 countries bordering the Mediterranean as well as the European Union have been working together in this direction, through the Barcelona Convention and the seven protocols. Action plans and concrete measures have been taken to promote the resilience and the restoration of marine and coastal ecosystems. France, through the Conservatoire du Littoral, has opted for strong protection measures, land acquisition that allows it to currently protect 160,000 hectares and welcome 40 million visitors a year. The goal for 2050 is to reach 320,000 hectares of unspoilt coastline with the support and collaboration of local authorities.

4 European and Mediterranean coastal protection assessment Europe has km of coastline. Currently, 40% of the world population lives on a 100km strip and that percentage could rise to 75%. Coastalisation (coastal occupation by human activities) continues to varying degrees around the world. The Mediterranean for example, is strongly impacted by tourism (30% of worldwide tourism) but also by navigation with over 200 tankers per day, pollution around major ports, the concentration of economic activities (40% of the GDP in the EU comes from the 13 marine areas) as well as urbanization In addition to this there is the usual conflicts between different sectors. All these pressures on the coastlines is resulting in the degradation of ecosystems and loss of biodiversity, the loss of farmland, deforestation, coastal erosion, water shortages, vulnerability to climate change Despite implemented protection policies, the European Environment Agency, represented by Cécile Quefelec, believes that coastal conservation status in Europe is very adverse. The fundamental challenge is to make people and decision makers accept the compromise between short-term economic exploitation and long-term maintenance of ecosystems and their services. According to Ms Zeljka Skaricic (Director of CAR PAP) the underlying questions are numerous: How to deal with and who will be in charge of the impacts of rising sea levels? How do we protect the heritage and cultural identity of coastlines? How to plan the various uses, what tools, what governing mechanisms? Mrs. Skaricic (CAR PAP).

5 Illustrations of the speach by Mrs. Quefelec (European Environmental Agency).

6 The notion of coastal area sustainability in the world has changed since the seventies. At that time, the signing of the Barcelona Convention focused on the protection of marine mammals and the risk of land-based pollution as well as maritime transportation pollution. In terms of governing, regional approaches were favoured (agreements of Oslo, Helsinki ). Currently, specifically marine issues are the subject of greater attention with the importance of the higher seas and the creation of marine protected areas and of course climate change. The coastal topic is therefore losing momentum (in a coastline sense) within the major global agendas in inversely proportional measures to the pressures it faces. «In the seventies, the coast was a fundamental heritage to be protected, a place of pleasure and ecological discovery, it has now become a place of risk, disaster and flooding. We are now talking of strategic withdrawal both physically and philosophically, «said Lucien Chabasson (Chairman of Plan Bleu and Executive Advisor of the IDDRI). Furthermore, the coast is considered in various ways around the world with a wide variety of international and state approaches in terms of legal protection of coastlines, various sources of international law, various institutions as well as various tools. However, a comparison carried out by Mr Christophe Sanson (Member of the Bar of Hauts de Seine), of a panel of countries in the Mediterranean, Northern Europe and the rest of the world can highlight some trends. Several sectorial policies indirectly protect coastlines (aquatic areas, fauna and flora, impact assessment). The most specific tool in terms of coastal protection is the ICZM Protocol, derived from the Barcelona Convention, signed in 2008 in Madrid and implemented in It contains effective and binding measures «Article 8-2: the Parties shall set up a non-constructible area of not less than 100m.» 15 countries and the European Union ratified the protocol, which implies an obligation of implementation by all Member States as stated by Mrs. Skaricic. M. Chabasson (President of Plan Bleu and Executive Advisor of the IDDRI).

7 In the panel of Mediterranean countries (Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Albania and Algeria), there was the historical existence of general or sectorial laws (for example: regional framework for tourism in Greece), and then gradually, the adoption of specific legislation, (for example: Integrated Coastal Area Plan in Albania in 2002). In the Northern European panel (Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and the United Kingdom), there were many non-specific tools with some dilution of responsibility due to institutional expansion (for example: in Iceland, the coastline is managed by four ministries 12 state agencies and 67 municipalities). One of the particularities of Northern Europe is the importance given to private involvement, private owners are responsible for protecting their property against the sea and allowing access to the sea. Furthermore, NGOs play an important role in coastal protection, one thinks of course of the National Trust, which owns land in the UK. Finally in other states of the world (Costa Rica, United States, New Zealand), public involvement is dominant with specific laws. In this context, the Conservatoire du Littoral is an exception with its status of public coastal land agency which enables enhanced protection in addition to regulatory protection. A study carried out by the firm Vertigo Lab shows, through an approach based on ecosystem services, that the Conservatoire du Littoral s protection measures around 2050 will contribute to the sustainable development of territories with benefits valued at 250 million euros per year, a figure to put into perspective with acquisition and management costs. To the uninformed public, natural areas have often been tied to impediments on economic development. Economic tools show how the protection of these areas is a source of profit for territories and help to argue and support conservation policies among decision-makers. Illustration of the presentation by Mrs. Nastasia Keurmeur (Vertigo Lab)

8 Mrs. Bedu (event host), Mr. Sanson, Mrs. Keurmeur, Mrs. Corbier-Barthaux, Mr. Dissaux. Furthermore, funding mechanisms to support these conservation strategies are numerous: public subsidies (state government budget, public development assistance, taxes, fines ), donors, direct resources (entrance fees ) payment for environmental services, compensation for biodiversity, conservation trust funds. Mrs. Constance Corbier-Barthaux (in charge of biodiversity projects, FGEF) spoke about project funding mechanisms limits: the heavy reliance on donors, time-consuming fund raising and uncertainties in regards to how long they will last. To overcome these difficulties, it is possible to use trust funds that would fill the gap, to sustain preservation and to fund what the government and projects do not fund (sustaining of a governing body with the all local partners, daily operations and monitoring activities). Mr. Romain Dissaux, representative of the French Ministry of Ecology, presented on this occasion a project to create a trust fund dedicated to the funding of marine protected areas in the Mediterranean, already supported by several countries: France, Tunisia, Croatia, Morocco, Albania, Bosnia, Cyprus and the Principality of Monaco. The approaches and initiatives undertaken in Europe and the Mediterranean should be reinforced and pursued in favour of resilient, productive, diverse, unique and attractive coastal areas: coastal laws, protection strips, infrastructure limitations, protecting the natural character of coastlines, implementing networks of protected areas, integrating political issues through marine spatial planning, exchanging and sharing knowledge, developing cooperation with the aim of disseminating, sharing and capitalising on integrated coastal area management and innovative financing mechanisms. However, several challenges still lie ahead, including issues regarding climate change, naturality, coastal planning and partnerships for sustainable coastal management. These topics were the subject of workshops with updated framework notes following the speeches and discussions that took place throughout this meeting.

9 the future of coastal protection Every year September 25th is dedicated to Coast Day (Coast Day in the Mediterranean, an initiative of CAR/ PAP, Mediterranean Action Plan centre of the United Nations Environmental Program). Since 2007, Coastday helps to acknowledge the importance and value of coastal areas, to celebrate the partnerships on every level: governmental and nongovernmental, regional and local, as well as those developed with civil society and to reaffirm our commitment to act and cooperate in favour of integrated coastal management. The number of diverse contributors and the many anniversaries celebrated today perfectly illustrate the theme this year, «partnership, cooperation, synergy». A first round table on the future of coastal conservation involving Mr. Leone, Mrs. Janique Etienne (in charge of coastal the Haute Mer management projects at the FFEM), Dame Helen Ghosh (National Trust Director General), Mr. Khalil Attia (CAR ASP Director) and Mrs. Gauthier, allowed to discuss the difficulties and challenges as well as the need for governance on various levels (intergovernmental, between local communities, involving civil society, companies, associations) and how to overcome them. The conditions for implementing management that would be beneficial to all socioeconomic and environmental contributors must be carried out through various types of governance: - Vertical by striking a balance between the roles of civil society and public institutions. - Horizontal by strengthening the legitimacy and equality of organisations representing civil society through better knowledge of the territory (socio-anthropological analysis ). - Concerted by involving all stakeholders, strengthening the «trialogue» and the sharing of information and knowledge between experts, policy makers and citizens. «As an NGO, the National Trust is a reliable partner and we can facilitate local dialogue by finding common and shared issues,» said Dame Helen Ghosh. - Structured by tailoring the approach to each area (various institutional organisations, socio-economical contexts ). - - Interdisciplinary, by strengthening the content quality of the dialogue between contributors, rebuilding dialogue with economic key-players even if there are differences of temporality, agenda and sensitivity.

10 Finally, the issue of political support on all levels (international, national, regional, local, inter-community ) is a key and defining issue for project implementation in the long term. This therefore requires a commitment from politicians and a strengthening of their capabilities on coastal issues. «If we want to continue protecting the coastline, the issue of means is secondary to the political issue, we must convince politicians of the benefit of preserving coastlines as well as citizens since they are the ones that vote,» says Gauthier. Advocacy issues and therefore specific communication addressed to policy makers is key. How to get the message through and to translate scientific data into clear information to enable the implementation of concrete measures is a fundamental issue. Secondly the issues of effective funding in a complex context were discussed with Mr. Miquel Rafa (Director of the Caixa Foundation), Mrs. Skaricic and Mrs. Gauthier. In recent decades, there has been an increase in funding particularly international donors in support of environmental protection and the implementation of integrated management. The biggest work concerns the stabilising of funding on a national level where the affirmation of political resolve is essential, as well as the implementation of projects with the necessary support from banks and insurance companies according to Mrs. Skaricic. The economic and social impacts of poor coastal management (lack of planning in regards to climate hazards, erosion ) will have to be integrated by the banking sector and insurance companies for their powers to affect strategic choices. In fact, the Catalunya-La Pedrera Foundation, a large Catalan foundation created by three former banks, is a good example of private contributors working for the protection of coastal areas. It owns 8000 hectares and has established natural heritage management agreements and built in about 160,000 hectares of public and private areas in Catalonia. In this context of financial crisis, Mr. Rafa highlights the importance of cooperation between private and public areas with territorial co-management as well as international and regional cooperation with exchanges of experience. Finally, according to Ms. Gauthier, the granting of long-term funding is tied to politicians and citizens awareness, «if we are to achieve the ambition of a third of natural coastlines in France, it must be shown that protection pays, show the enormous benefits of preserving coastal areas, make people dream!»

11 Round table 1 (Mrs. Etienne, Mrs. Bedu, Mr. Leone, Mrs. Gosh, Mr. Attia, Mrs. Gauthier). Round table 2 (Mr. Rafa, Mrs. Bedu, Mrs. Skaricic, Mrs. Gauthier).

12 Currently it is no longer the time of the realization of a finite world, it is time for commitments so that all public policies and public behaviour are consistent with an actual implementation of ICZM. In this process, anxiety persists regarding the abandonment of civil society, however sustainable development is tied to an inclusive process of all stakeholders and the development of strong partnerships involving European countries and those of the North and South shores of the Mediterranean. The coastal development plan of the Var illustrates this participatory process and the inventive and creative compromises carried out for a sustainable coast. In fact France will provide initiatives for coastal protection next September at the World Conservation Congress. «What is the coastline of our hearts? Let the memory of this questions remain with us so that our actions remain determined, committed, confident and collective. Nature is not a legacy we pass on to our children, but one that we borrow from them» Mr. Sticker. Fifty children from the Fontonne primary school in the city of Antibes, came to present the «I love my sea» program that teaches children about the marine macro-waste problem and produces a teaching aid every year (a logo «stop waste, endangered sea», a video and the reconstitution of a beach with the foreshore and waste). The meeting ended with the Mediterranean and European children s declaration for coastal protection «As Children of Europe and the Mediterranean, we ask that coastal area conservation initiatives be urgently implemented and ask to be actively involved in these so that we can still have the pleasure of living there as well as all other generations to follow!» ICZM is also the combination of measures carried out by various institutions and NGOs. As such, the measures carried out by the Alpes Maritimes Departmental Council on Conservatoire sites were illustrated in particular by the work done under the Departmental Plan for Promenade and Hiking Itineraries on the Cap d Antibes coastal trail. This work is part of the partnership approach involving the Alpes Maritimes Departmental Council, as well as the city of Antibes-Juan-les-Pins, the Land and Sea Departmental Directorate and the Conservatoire du Littoral particularly on the Public Maritime Domain. Illustration of the presentation by the Fontonne school children.

13 Mr. Leonetti with the Fontonne school children. Mr. Castagnone (Alpes Maritimes Departmental Council).

14 conclusion It was the first time that organizations responsible for the preservation of coastlines in Europe and the Mediterranean came together to discuss the major technical issues of coastal management, to share with their peers the issues they are confronted with every day, and to build together a common vision for the future of coastlines. The main conclusions of these meetings were officialised by the creation of a Declaration of Antibes, which reflects the commitment of coastal agencies to safeguard coastlines in view of global change. It was presented by Mrs. Vivianne Ledissez (the Conservatoire du Littoral s President of the Board) to Mr. Sticker and Madam the Minister for Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy, so that it can be presented as a proposed solution at the COP 21 Paris. Transmitting the Declaration Antibes (Mr. Sticker and Mrs. Le Dissez)

15 thank you Auteurs Kahaia ROBERT Consultante en développement durable Fabrice BERNARD Délégué Europe International du Conservatoire du littoral Conception graphique Lélia CRASTUCCI Chargée de communication