The coastal zone-where the land meets the sea- contains many of the earth’s most complex, diverse and productive ecological systems.

Already more than 60 percent of the world ' s population lives within 60 kilometers of the coast and two-thirds of cities with population over 2.5 million are situated near estuaries. Coastal zones are often placed under multiple and intense pressures. This can result in short- term and long-term time and spatial changes in environmental quality leading to deterioration of the environmental, socio-economic and cultural resources.

Therefore, special attention should be directed to the planning and management of coastal zones. The use of techniques which attempt to assist in managing the resulting conflicts in a sustainable way is therefore becoming increasingly important. The course provides the principles and tools in ICZM.

The course:

will allow the participants to develop the skills in the management of coastal zones by examining the available technical and analytical frameworks;
provides an introduction and implementation of coastal zone management and helps to develop an appreciation for and know how of conceptualisation, policy design, methodology, tools and techniques for coastal zone management and understand the special nature of the coastal zone and demands made upon its resources; and
allows to share experiences as an approach for practical application for ‘learning from experience’, through the use of hands-on case studies relating to work conducted in diverse coastal locations covering both developed and developing countries.

Learning objectives

After the completion of the course the participants will:

Understand the need of sustainable development in coastal zones;
Be aware of the special nature of the coastal zone and demands made upon its resources;
Be familiar with the analytical skills and tools to diagnose problems and issues and be able to handle diverse information about coastal zones;
Gain the skills of critical awareness, analysis, evaluation and assessment for efficient environmental decision-making and management;
Be aware of the inter-actions between disciplines and sectors;the need for the involvement of all stakeholders for preparation of practical, integrated coastal zone management strategies;
Be able as a practitioner to undertake his/her role in implementing coastal zone management strategies; and
Be familiar with the state of the art in the development and use of different indicators.

Target group

Professionals from coastal/hydraulic and environmental sector institutions or agencies, coastal planners and managers and academics that have interest in learning the needs for integrated approach to problems in the coastal zone.

Participants should have education at university level in civil engineering or related hydraulic engineering and/or environmental management fields and worked after graduation for at least three years in professional practice or at university or research organization in the field of coastal/ hydraulic engineering or related fields to environmental management. Exceptionally, candidates who do not satisfy these requirements may be admitted by virtue of considerable relevant work experience which should be judged on individual basis subject to evaluation for submitted official documents.

Course content

1 General introduction
2 Introduction to ICZM
3 The ICZM process
4 Policy analysis
5 Final project

The ICZM course consists of four parts, which are divided in different units. The units are designed in such a way that they can be studied independently. However, it is advised to study the material and exercises in courses 1,2 and 3 in the prescribed order to be able to participate in the role play in unit 4. Presentations give an overview of the unit content, while the lecture notes provide more in detail explanation. The lecture notes are interactive to support the participants, including weblinks and further reading options. Case studies will link the content of the units to the practise, while supplementary material, like video and audioclips, are provided to illustrate and animate the units. A comprehensive glossary will support the participants to get familiar with the terms and definitions related to ICZM. The course provides interaction between participants through the online discussions and via video conferencing.

Several actual case studies in a number of countries are provided during the course, for example The Netherlands, India, USA (Rhode Island), Indonesia and Egypt.

Participants who successfully complete the entire course will receive UNESCO-IHE ‘certificate of attendance’. They will join the alumni community of the Institute and its more than 12,000 members.

UNESCO-IHE, its partner institutes and its alumni value this community and interact through conferences, refresher courses and other activities on a regular basis.